jane

We're from the West Coast and have never been to the Maryland Shore and we're thinking of going next October. (Saw a show on the Food Network that featured St Michaels,MD and it looked like a beautiful town) Would we see beautiful fall foliage in that area?

yes

It is a great time to visit the east coast. I would suggest the New England States, Massachusettes, Vermont, Maine, etc. Up there they have beautiful fishing villages, cliffs, and beautiful landscape with fall foilage.

Maryland isn't overly impressive. They have nice beaches, but in my opinion, you'd do better off going further north.

Enjoy your trip.

Debi

My sister lives on the Eastern shore - and for the beauty of the beach, GREAT seafood, and lots of places to visit (you're not that far from DC, Annapolis, Baltimore) - the Eastern shore in Maryland is good. For fall foliage, the other poster is correct - you really want to go farther North where the foliage is extremely picturesque - Kennebunkport, Maine, Marblehead, Mass, Weston, VT - etc.

Molly

Chincoteage Wildlife Refuge is beautiful and protected from development - lots of wildlife including wild horses, and miles of undeveloped dunes and beach stretching from Maryland to Virginia [I've only visited the Virginia end}.

The birds should be migrating around this time of year - I've always wanted to visit Chincoteage in the fall. Downside: I don't know about foliage, but since the trees are rather sparse here, I don't imagine it's especially good viewing.

Jim

I like St. Michaels and even smaller Oxford. You can definitely see it in a day. The Inn at Perry Cabin is at the end of St. Michaels and has got to be he nicest hotel on the Eastern Shore by far. If you dont stay there, do eat there. I liked Chestertown, Md about an hour north of St. Michaels. The view coming over the little bridge kind of reminded me of a little Charleston, lots of beautiful historic homes and antique shops and very quaint. They always seem to debate (in Maryland) if their north or south, well I was there in July and trust me, ITS SOUTH!! October is probably a wonderful time to visit there, but I dont think the Eastern Shore has much by way of foliage, but I could be wrong. Also Tilghman Island and Smith Island were interesting to visit with Smith Island feeling like another country. I usually do well understanding accents but Jane, trust me on this its unique! lol
I also recommend flying into BWI (baltimore) over DC or Dulles because its just easier to deal with Baltimores traffic than DC's and I've done both.
PS: the people on the Shore seemed a lot friendlier than the rest of the state, at least to me. Also Annapolis was great.

Pam

I agree with more northern destinations for Fall color..however, we stayed on the eastern shore two Septembers ago and thought it was lovely. We opted to stay in Chestertown and explore the region from there. We stayed at the hotel in the historic district which was fine. We ate at the Blue Heron which I recommend with great enthusiasm as well as Waterman's in Rock Hall. FYI..we found Saint Michaels rather overrated. Oxford is quaint and we did take the Oxford Bellvue car ferry which is a must. There is not alot to do on the eastern shore which is part of its charm..we spent an entire afternoon hunting for Talullah Bankhead's grave in a country churchyard. The antique "auction" in Crumpton is a bust if you are a serious antiquer but the Amish food concessions are great fun.

Pam

We are from the west coast as well..I just remembered an article on the Inn at Easton. Check this out as a place to stay and eat. Again..we've also been to points North which I think could give you a better sense of Autumn..I can't say enough about Maine for food and beauty but I think the Fall colors come in September..October is for points further South. Maybe some locals can verify color times.

Jon-Eric

The previous poster is correct, leaves turn much later there then points north and its hit or miss if they change much from year to year. I thought St. Michaels was cute, but we have a boat and that makes a big difference. A particular store in St. Michaels stands out in my mind as having great pottery but I cant remember its name? Easton looked nice, it has a country club and big homes but its not that touristy. The inn there looked perfectly fine though. I have a friend who taught at Washington College and said Chestertown was nice. There are some really nice b&b's outside of Chestertown.

Pam

I think the article on the Inn at Easton was in Food&Wine within the past year. I recommend finding a book on "Delmarva" this will give you all sorts of tips for exploring the area.