Potomac River · VA
Colonial Beach
The Playground on the Potomac, once the poor man's Las Vegas.
- Population
- 3,908 (2020 census)
- Incorporated
- February 25, 1892
- Beaches
- 2.5 miles
Then
- 1732
George Washington is born nearby, at what is now George Washington Birthplace National Monument. James Monroe is born a few miles away in 1758.
- 1892
Colonial Beach incorporates. Most visitors arrive by boat from Washington.
- 1949–1958
Maryland's border runs to Virginia's low-water line, so pier casinos built out over the river can offer slot machines legally.
Now
Colonial Beach's 2.5 miles of beach are second in Virginia only to Virginia Beach. Alexander Graham Bell's summer house still stands on Irving Avenue.
Reader's Digest named it the nicest place in Virginia in 2019. Aquia Creek, Dahlgren and the lower Potomac round out this stretch.
15 tide stations around Colonial Beach
- Colonial Beach, Va.in town
- Dahlgren, Upper Machodoc Creek, Va.6.0 mi
- Lower Cedar Point, Md.6.1 mi
- Mills Point (south of), Wicomico Riv., Md.8.6 mi
- Mathias Point, Va.11.1 mi
- Riverside, Md.13.4 mi
- Port Royal13.5 mi
- Hopyard Landing14.3 mi
- Goose Creek, Port Tobacco River, Md.14.6 mi
- Park Turn15.4 mi
Show all 15 stations
- Clifton Beach, Smith Point, Md.19.8 mi
- Liverpool Point, Md.21.8 mi
- Aquia Creek, Va.24.0 mi
- Massaponax24.2 mi
- Quantico, Va.25.3 mi