I'm hoping to hear from people who've been to Smith Island recently. I keep reading about it in various books, but can't seem to find much on travel sites. What's it like? Worth going to? Day visit or overnight? Etc.
Thanks a lot.
(I know that it's reached only by ferry or private boat.)

Might be worth an overnight, if you like quiet. I think it would give you a better flavor of the island than you'd get from a day-trip.

I've never stayed at this place, but this B&B sounds interesting: http://www.smithisland.net/

My mother was born on Ewell. And I spent summers on Tylerton when I was growing up, some 50 years ago. Still have relatives there. And I know it's changed very little....

I went for the day a few years ago in late May. It is rustic and a throwback to quiter times, with the waterman who crab making up the majority of islanders. It was quite an adventure for us. The island is very small so after visiting the historic museuem (which was quite good) and having a crab cake (only ok - lots of filler, which we didn't expect in crab country) we decided to walk the length of the island. The deer flies were like nothing I've ever encountered, thousands of them! We spent the entire walk swatting at flies - if they'd had a camera on me, I'd have been on America's Funniest Videos for sure. So, needless to say, I dont really recommend it. I like lots of other places ont he eastern shore/ lower MD better - Cape Charles, Onancock, Berlin, Snow Hill to name a few.

Thank you both. I suspect the place is not our cup of tea.

The previous post recommended Berlin. We went as a family some years ago, mostly to see the horses on Assateague Island. The beach was lovely but crowded, and the ponies were everywhere, fighting, rearing, begging for food, following us out to our car.. that was fun and a little scary - but NOTHING prepared us for the huge black flies..that were everywhere and biting. The ponies themselves couldn't stand it and would go to the water for some relief. Still, it wasn't enough to ruin the trip. We had a wonderful time and some good memories and photos.

If you like to kayak, they've just completed a water trail system through the marshes that connects the three villages.

http://www.paddlesmithisland.com/

It looks like you'll need to bring your own kayak or canoe over on the ferry from Crisfield (or from the western shore) because nobody's renting them on the island (yet).

We're going down to Crisfield this weekend. I'd like to paddle the water trails at Smith Island, but we'll probably stay around Janes Island State Park since we need to rent the kayaks at the park anyway. Janes Island is great for kayaking and canoeing, too.

It's been a few years since we've been to Smith Island. The last time we went, we took our own boat. The channel to the island is winding and complicated. I think a sailboat would probably have to motor in. This weekend, we'll only have a jon boat. There're no way we'd take the jon boat across the bay, even on the calmest day.

I'd like to do a Smith Island trip again soon. This time I would take some kayaks with us and stay overnight.