The Best Sight in Annapolis and Southern Maryland, Maryland

Background Illustration for Sights

Reviews Updated by

S
Akilah Stroman

Annapolis and southern Maryland encompass the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, an area within easy driving distance of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Annapolis, on a peninsula bounded by the Severn and South rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, is a Mid-Atlantic sailing capital and the gateway to southern Maryland. Calvert County, just south of Annapolis, promises compelling bay-side scenery that includes the imposing Calvert Cliffs and several miles of Bay beaches. Beyond the Patuxent River, across the 1.3-mi Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge, lies St. Mary's County, a peninsula that protrudes farther into the Chesapeake, with the Patuxent and the Potomac rivers on either side of it.

Kunta Kinte–Alex Haley Memorial

The Story Wall, comprising 10 plaques along the waterfront, recounts the history of African Americans in Maryland. These granite-framed markers lead to a sculpture group depicting Alex Haley, famed author of Roots, reading to a group of children of different ethnic backgrounds. Here you'll also see a plaque that commemorates the 1767 arrival of Kunta Kinte, who was brought from Africa, sold into slavery, and later immortalized in Haley's novel. Across the street is "The Compass Rose," a 14-foot-diameter inlaid bronze map of the world oriented to true north with Annapolis in the center.