From Whiskey Runs to Ecological Sanctuary: The Tides Inn Continues to Evolve

From Whiskey Runs to Ecological Sanctuary: The Tides Inn Continues to Evolve Tides Inn, ca. 1950s; the Miss Ann; liquor lockers still in use.

One of our region’s most enchanting sunset-watching spots is the Tides Inn. Today, you can order up cocktails like the Lancaster Lemonade and Palomas from the Golden Eagle Grill on the golf course, the Chesapeake Restaurant, and the Fish Hawk restaurant by the pool. The resort even offers mixology classes at Fish Hawk during the summer months. It wasn’t always so easy to order up a drink here, though.

The Tides opened in 1947. E.A. Stephens and his wife Ann (aka Big Steve and Miss Ann) transformed a 25acre farm overlooking Carter’s Creek. The hotel became a beacon for families and couples looking for peace, fun, and riverside elegance.

At the time, you couldn’t buy liquor by the drink, meaning it wasn’t legal to walk up and order a mixed drink from a bar. That meant you had to bring your own bottle of liquor to the Tides Inn to enjoy a hard drink.

“When the Tides Inn opened, Lancaster County was a dry county, and guests would bring their own liquor to enjoy,” says Jason Trollip, Managing Director of the Tides Inn. “Their bottles were kept in one of the 100 handmade walnut lockers in the Golden Eagle Room. If you showed up empty handed, the resort hosted guests on a boat ride, called a ‘Whiskey Run’– aboard the 127-foot Miss Ann,”

After, The Tides would bring you what was called ‘the set up.’ That included glass, ice, mixers, and garnish. Tides employees would help guests create drinks using the liquor they brought along with them. While

Top–Bottom: At the Tides, you can explore your creativity side with painting and pottery classes. Building a living shoreline, one plant at a time. Take an ecology tour by spending the day as an oysterman — visit an oyster farm, pull up cages, and learn how to shuck an oyster. Fish Hawk restaurant sits poolside with great views of Carter’s Creek.

the laws eventually changed, the resort kept up the Whiskey Run as a fun homage to the past for many years.

On July 15, 2022, the Tides Inn celebrates its 75th Anniversary in Lancaster County. Today, you can still see the lockers at the Tides Inn, but you can freely order a variety of cocktails. More recently, the Tides Inn has integrated more of the ecological history and heritage into the guest experience through the newly unveiled Shoreline Restoration.

The Tides is situated on Carter’s Creek, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay estuary. More than 3,000 migratory and wildlife species, including blue crabs and oysters call it home. In 2021, the Tides embarked on a $3.6 million restoration in collaboration with Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR). The complete beach restoration and 18,000 square feet of “living shoreline” wrapped up its inaugural phase in Summer 2021, including development of a curvilinear wharf and nature trail.

As the shoreline restoration progresses, hands-on experiences including the Chesapeake Gold oyster excursion allow guests to dive into the history and ecology of one of the Chesapeake Bay watershed guided by the property’s ecologist, Will Smiley. You can board a traditional watermen’s boat, shuck oysters like a pro, learn how oysters are a keystone species, visit an oyster farm, pull up oyster cages, and more.

Learn more about staying at the Tides Inn and its programming: www.tidesinn.com