Boat Rentals in Solomons, MD

Rental fleets in Solomons include Jet skis and Waverunners. What is available on the day depends on the company and the season, so it is worth checking a few listings.

Mid-June through mid-September is the best all-around window for boating at Solomons, where the Patuxent River meets the Chesapeake Bay. Summer water temperatures on the Bay generally reach the mid-70s to low 80s. There is no local launch season to wait for: Solomons Boat Ramp operates around the clock, year-round.

Mornings often provide smoother conditions for powerboats because Bay breezes commonly strengthen during the afternoon. Late-afternoon thunderstorms become a regular concern by the end of June. September brings clearer weather, fewer convective thunderstorms and smaller crowds than summer.

Source: Calvert County Tourism (visitcalvert.com)

From Solomons, point into Back Creek and Mill Creek, out onto the Patuxent River, or through the river mouth to Chesapeake Bay. The public Solomons Boat Ramp provides direct Patuxent access.

Back Creek is the local harbor cove, with an anchorage used by yachts and fishing boats, while Mill Creek is another marina-lined branch that becomes shallower farther in. The Patuxent is broad, busy water exposed to tides, currents and changing weather. Between Drum Point and Fishing Point, it opens into the Chesapeake Bay’s open water. Farther up the Patuxent, St. Leonard Creek offers a sheltered small-vessel anchorage in any weather.

Source: NOAA Office of Coast Survey (nauticalcharts.noaa.gov)

Good day-trip choices from Solomons are St. Leonard Creek, the Broomes Island sandbar, Point Patience, Sandy Point, and Back Creek. The National Park Service identifies St. Leonard Creek as an especially popular anchorage for cruising boats.

Calvert County’s water trail maps short outings from the Solomons ramp to Point Patience and Sandy Point, plus extensions into Back Creek’s coves. Near Broomes Island, an extensive sandbar sometimes reaches from the island’s tip into the Patuxent River, providing another distinctive destination when conditions allow.

Source: Calvert County Government (calvertcountymd.gov)

Maryland does not issue a recreational boating license, but people born on or after July 1, 1972 generally must carry a boating safety education certificate when operating a numbered or documented pleasure vessel. This includes personal watercraft, whose operators must be at least 16. Anyone under 16 operating a motorized vessel 11 feet or longer without a certificate must instead be supervised by someone 18 or older who holds a valid certificate, or who was born before the cutoff. Exemptions include commercial operators, qualifying visitors, private waters, and those born before the cutoff. Renters of motorized vessels other than personal watercraft may be issued a 10 day temporary certificate after reading a safety sheet. Maryland Natural Resources Police administers the program.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Maryland Natural Resources Police (dnr.maryland.gov)

Maryland boaters should know the state’s life jacket, alcohol, registration and personal watercraft rules, enforced by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Natural Resources Police. Children under 13 must wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket while underway on a recreational vessel under 21 feet; children under 4 need added infant safety features. Operating while impaired is illegal, and an alcohol concentration of 0.08% is considered boating under the influence. Mechanically propelled vessels used most in Maryland during the calendar year must be registered. PWC operators must be at least 16, wear an approved life jacket and may not operate between sunset and sunrise.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources (dnr.maryland.gov)

Maryland sets no general minimum age for operating a motorized vessel other than a personal watercraft, but an operator under 16 is never unsupervised. Under Natural Resources §8-712.2, someone under 16 must both hold a boating safety certificate and have an eligible supervisor aboard. For vessels under 11 feet, the supervisor must hold a certificate; for vessels 11 feet or longer, the supervisor must hold one and be at least 18. Someone born before July 1, 1972, may also supervise.

Personal watercraft operators must be at least 16 and carry a certificate if born on or after July 1, 1972. The rental operator sets its own minimum, so confirm it when booking.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources (mgaleg.maryland.gov)

Alongside the boat rentals on this page, Solomons has 6 marinas and 1 boat dealer.