Small Town Charm and Coastal Calm All Around You

A stay at an E42 property connects you to a whole region of small towns, each with its own rhythm and each worth an afternoon of its own.

La Plata

This is home base for many of our stays, a role it has earned over time. It is a town built for slow mornings and easy errands, with local shops that know their regulars by name and a downtown you can actually walk. In December, it becomes something else entirely. City Hall is lit for the season, the tree goes up, and local businesses compete for the best window display in town. It is the kind of small town holiday scene most people assume only exists in a film, until they see it in person.

Year round, The Charles is where many La Plata evenings end up. Car shows appear out front some weekends, live jazz plays on others, and the menu is built around locally sourced food, with cocktails and desserts crafted with real care. It is a natural stop before or after a night at Port Tobacco Players, the local theatre just down the road, recently showing A Raisin in the Sun.

Leonardtown

A short drive out, Leonardtown carries itself as a town that takes its own history seriously without being precious about it. Galleries and a working arts scene sit alongside wine tastings and riverside dining, the kind of place where an afternoon plan can change more than once and still work out well. Each summer, the town shifts gears for its annual Renaissance Festival, a full weekend of jousting and costumes that turns Leonardtown into something between a history lesson and a celebration.

Solomons Island

Here, the region leans fully into the water. Boats line the marina, a boardwalk invites a slow evening stroll, and a crab feast tastes better with a view attached to it. In summer, it is also where the music happens. The Calvert Marine Museum's Waterside Music Series brings well known acts to outdoor concerts on the Patuxent, with past performers including ZZ Top and Earth, Wind and Fire, a notable draw for a town this size.

St. Mary's City

Maryland's first colonial capital still carries that history quietly, without turning itself into a spectacle. Walking trails wind through genuine history here, rewarding visitors willing to slow down long enough to read a plaque instead of walking past it.

North Beach

Head northeast and the towns grow smaller as the water draws closer, until you reach North Beach, a town built almost entirely around its boardwalk and the sound of the bay. A short stretch of shops and seafood spots lines the water, and the town has been growing steadily. Unauthorized Brewing opened on Bay Avenue in 2025, a small, two barrel operation started by three friends who set out to bring a genuine neighborhood taproom back to the area. The space is intentionally small, the kind that encourages conversation with whoever happens to be seated nearby. Beer is currently sold on site only, and a tasting flight is a good way to sample a few before committing to a full pint.

Chesapeake Beach

Just next door, Chesapeake Beach carries the same easy coastal character with a bit more room to stretch out. A working waterfront, an unhurried beach, and a town history closely tied to the bay itself define the pace here. As evening arrives, Rod N' Reel Resort is often where the night continues, offering live music most evenings and a waterfront setting that elevates even a casual dinner. For those wanting more afterward, the resort's game room stays open around the clock, home to more than 270 pull tab machines for anyone feeling lucky or simply looking to extend the evening.

Why This Matters for Your Stay

This region rewards exploration without a plan. Everything is close enough to reach on a whim, far enough to feel like a true departure. A third space extends beyond the home where you are staying, into everything within reach of it, waiting for the time to explore it.