Your No-Stress Guide to the 2026 Annapolis Boat Shows

Every October, downtown Annapolis does something a little bit magical and a little bit unhinged: it fills the harbor with hundreds of boats, hundreds of thousands of dollars of fenders, and roughly every person in the Mid-Atlantic who has ever said "someday I'll get a boat."

I live for it. I also, every single year, forget how the parking works, wander toward City Dock like a lost tourist, and end up buying a jar of crab dip I did not need.

This year there's a twist. The City Dock Resiliency Project (the big flood-protection rebuild of the waterfront) is in full swing, and the show has been rearranged around it. So if you've been coming for twenty years and plan to walk in on autopilot, this post is for you. And if you've never been, welcome. Wear slip-on shoes.

The Dates

Annapolis Powerboat Show: October 8–11, 2026 Annapolis Sailboat Show: October 15–18, 2026

Two separate weekends, two separate tickets. Powerboats first, sailboats second (yes, the order flipped back in recent years, and yes, someone will argue with you about it at McGarvey's).

Hours run roughly 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Thursday is "Preview Day" for both shows, which means a pricier ticket but smaller crowds and actual room to walk down a dock without doing the sideways shuffle.

What's Different This Year (The Construction Part)

Here's the honest version. Lower Dock Street between Craig Street and Susan Campbell Park is closed for construction and will stay that way into 2027. Parts of upper Dock Street are closed too. A lot of the waterfront parking and staging space the show used to sprawl across simply isn't there right now.

So the show organizers worked with the city and redrew the map. What that means for you:

• The traditional A and B exhibit tents are gone this year. The other tents are being expanded to make up the difference, so the show is still full-size; it's just shaped differently.
• Exhibits are spilling out onto Compromise Street and Randall Street. If you're standing on a city street looking at a boat trailer full of electronics, you're in the right place.
• New gathering areas have been worked into the grounds, so there should still be places to sit down, eat a crab cake, and pretend you're seriously considering a catamaran.
• The construction footprint shrinks for the shows. The city has said the work zone gets partially pulled back for the fall shows, so it should feel less like a job site and more like the show you remember. Some equipment comes back afterward, but that's an after-you-leave problem.
• Dock Street businesses are open. The ice cream, the crepes, the deli, the galleries. They've had a hard year with the lost parking and foot traffic, and they are so, so happy to see you. More on that below.

The bottom line: the show is still at City Dock, it's still huge (400+ boats at the Powerboat Show alone), and the boats are still the boats. You'll just take a slightly different route to get to them.

Where to Park (Please Read This Before You Drive Downtown)

I'm going to say the thing every Annapolitan says every October: do not try to park downtown. The garages fill early, the streets around the show are resident-only during show weeks, and the city tows. Cheerfully.

Your real options:

1. Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (the easy button). 550 Taylor Avenue. Park in the big lot, hop on the free shuttle, get dropped near the show. Shuttles run from about an hour before opening until an hour after close. Historically, prepaying online is cheaper than paying at the gate (last year it was in the low-$20s in advance versus around $30 on site, credit card only), so buy your parking when you buy your tickets. Check annapolisboatshows.com for this year's exact rate.
2. Downtown garages, if you're early and lucky. Hillman Garage (closest, about a four-minute walk), Knighton, Gotts Court, and Park Place. The free Magenta Shuttle loops between the garages and downtown about every 10 minutes. Details at annapolisparking.com. Arrive at 9 a.m. or accept your fate.
3. Eastport. Free street parking in the neighborhood, then a short walk over the Spa Creek Bridge, which is objectively one of the best walks in Maryland on a crisp October morning. Some years Eastport Elementary opens as a paid lot on the weekend, too. Be a good neighbor: don't block driveways, and don't park in front of the "resident only" signs.
4. The Water Taxi. My personal favorite. If you're staying in Eastport or across the creek, take the Annapolis Water Taxi in. Fares run a few dollars a person, it drops you right by the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel, and you get to arrive at a boat show by boat, which is the correct way to arrive at a boat show. Call 410-263-0033 or hail them on VHF 68.
5. Rideshare. The city's designated drop-off is at 7 St. Mary's Street. Tell your driver that, not "the boat show," or you'll end up in a loop of Church Circle forever.

What to Expect Once You're In

Buy tickets online ahead of time. Every year the line at the gate is long enough to make you question your choices. General admission for both shows is $32, kids 7–15 are $10, and kids 6 and under are free. Preview Day (Thursday) runs $45 for powerboats and $55 for sailboats. Sunday is Military Appreciation Day ($22) for active duty, veterans, retirees, and spouses. Photo ID and a credit card are required at the gate.

Some things nobody tells you:

• Strollers aren't allowed inside. You'll park it at the gate. Bring a carrier for little ones.
• No pets except service animals. Your dog would hate it anyway; it is 90% docks and 10% people stepping on tails.
• Slip-on shoes. You'll take them off to board boats a dozen times. This is not the day for lace-up boots or, heaven help you, heels.
• Layers. It's October on the water. It'll be 48 degrees at 10 a.m. and 74 degrees at 2 p.m. and then windy.
• Bring a bag with a strap. You will end up carrying brochures, a hat you didn't plan to buy, and a Painkiller from the Pusser's tent.
• Get a handstamp if you want to leave for lunch and come back. Which you will, because see below.
• The free seminars are actually good. Living aboard, cruising, fishing with kids, "Ask Me Anything About Sailing." Even if you never buy a boat, you'll leave knowing things.

Where to Eat

This is the part where I get on my soapbox for a second. The Dock Street businesses have spent the better part of a year with construction fencing where their customers used to park. They are open, they are wonderful, and this is the week to show up for them.

Right at the show / Dock Street:

• Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory. A cone on the boardwalk is non-negotiable.
• Sofi's Crepes. Sweet or savory, and you can eat it standing up while looking at a boat you can't afford.
• The Big Cheese / Sammy's Deli. Grab-and-go sandwiches that beat any show-tent food.
• Chick & Ruth's Delly. A 50-plus-year Annapolis institution. Go for breakfast before the show opens, say the Pledge of Allegiance with the whole room when they do it each morning, and eat a sandwich named after a politician.
• McGarvey's Saloon & Oyster Bar. The classic post-show stop. If you want to eavesdrop on brokers, this is where they are.

Across the bridge in Eastport (walkable, and worth it):

• Boatyard Bar & Grill. The crab cake. You've heard about it. It's true.
• Davis' Pub. Old-school, unpretentious, exactly what you want after six hours of walking docks.
• Carrol's Creek Café. When you want a real sit-down waterfront dinner with a view of the show from across the creek.

Pro move: eat lunch late (after 2) or early (before noon). The show crowd all breaks for lunch at 12:30 like it's a fire drill.

Where to Stay

If you don't already have a room, book it today. Not tomorrow. Today. Boat show weekends sell out downtown months ahead, and rates are... let's call them "boat show rates."

Right in the middle of it:

• Annapolis Waterfront Hotel (Autograph Collection). It is essentially inside the show. You can watch the docks from your balcony. Priced accordingly.
• 134 Prince. A tiny luxury boutique hotel a one-minute walk from City Dock. Only 34 rooms, so good luck, but worth a try.
• Historic Inns of Annapolis (Maryland Inn, Governor Calvert House, Robert Johnson House). Old, charming, creaky in the good way, a short walk down Main Street to the show.

Walkable and a little more sane:

• Graduate Annapolis (near West Street). Fun, funky, about a 13-minute walk.
• The Westin Annapolis (Park Place). About 20 minutes on foot or a quick shuttle ride, and the garage is right there.

Just outside town (drive in and use the stadium lot):

• DoubleTree and Crowne Plaza on the Route 50 side of town. More availability, more parking, easy shot to the stadium shuttle.

Rentals: Eastport and Murray Hill short-term rentals are the dream setup for boat show week, since you can walk or water-taxi in. They also go fast, and some go to the same repeat visitors every year, so if you find one, grab it.

One Last Thing (The Real Estate Part, Because You Knew It Was Coming)

Every year I watch people come to the boat show from Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia, New Jersey, wherever, and somewhere between the Spa Creek Bridge and their second crab cake, they get quiet and say, "We could live here."

Reader, you could.

Eastport, Murray Hill, the Annapolis Neck peninsula, the creek communities down Route 2 in Edgewater and Severna Park up the Severn: there's a whole county of water-access neighborhoods that never make it into the show brochures. If you find yourself walking the docks this October and wondering what it would actually take to keep a boat here (or just to be close enough to visit one), I'm happy to talk. No pressure, no pitch, just a local who's spent a lot of years explaining what "deep water" really means on a listing.

Come for the boats. Stay for Annapolis. And for the love of everything, park at the stadium.

See you on the docks.

— Kara

Dates, prices, and parking details are current as of early September 2026. The show layout is still being finalized around construction, so double-check annapolisboatshows.com and accessannapolis.com the week of the show.