You’re standing on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, looking across at Maryland. It feels like you could throw a stone and hit the other side. Honestly, in some spots, you basically can. But if you’re trying to figure out the actual distance for a road trip or a daily commute, the answer is a lot more "it depends" than a simple number on a map.
The reality is that Virginia and Maryland share a border that stretches for over 200 miles.
Because of that long, winding boundary, the distance between them can be zero feet or a four-hour haul. It’s a geographic quirk that catches a lot of people off guard.
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How Far Is Virginia From Maryland: The 10-Second Answer
If you just want the quick math, here it is.
At their closest point—the border—the distance is 0 miles. They touch. You can walk across the Chain Bridge in McLean, VA, and be in Washington, D.C. (which sits between them) or Maryland in minutes.
However, most people asking this are looking for travel times between major hubs. Here is the breakdown of the most common routes:
- Arlington, VA to Bethesda, MD: About 10 miles. This is the classic "commuter crawl."
- Richmond, VA to Baltimore, MD: Roughly 150 miles. You’re looking at 2.5 to 3 hours if the I-95 gods are smiling on you.
- Virginia Beach, VA to Ocean City, MD: About 140 miles via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
- Alexandria, VA to National Harbor, MD: Only 5 miles. You just hop across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
The Potomac River Problem
Geography is weird here.
Most states that are separated by a river split the water right down the middle. Not these two. Thanks to a royal charter from 1632, Maryland actually owns almost the entire Potomac River all the way to the low-water mark on the Virginia shore.
This means if you’re standing on a pier in Virginia and you drop a fishing line into the water, you’re technically fishing in Maryland.
Crazy, right?
Back in the 1950s, this created a hilarious loophole. Gambling was legal in Maryland but banned in Virginia. Clever entrepreneurs built "slot machine piers" that extended from the Virginia shore out into the river. Virginians would walk out a few hundred feet, "cross the line" into Maryland territory while still attached to Virginia land, and pull the levers.
Driving from Northern Virginia to the Maryland Suburbs
If you've ever lived in "NoVA," you know that distance isn't measured in miles. It's measured in "how much of my life am I losing to the American Legion Bridge today?"
On a map, Tysons Corner to Rockville is maybe 15 miles. On a Tuesday at 5:00 PM? That’s a 75-minute odyssey.
The main artery is the I-495 Capital Beltway. It circles D.C., connecting the two states at two primary points: the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the south and the American Legion Bridge to the north.
Traffic Realities
I talked to a guy named Mike who commuted from Fairfax to Silver Spring for three years. He told me he once finished an entire multi-disk audiobook of The Stand just waiting for the traffic to move near the Bethesda curve.
According to data from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the D.C. metro area—which includes these VA-MD crossings—consistently ranks as one of the most congested in the country. If you’re planning a trip, avoid 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Seriously.
Crossing the Chesapeake: The Eastern Shore Route
There is another way these states meet, and it’s way more scenic.
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Down on the Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia and Maryland share a land border. If you’re driving north from Chincoteague, VA, toward Ocean City, MD, you’ll cross the line on Route 13 or Route 175.
It’s flat, salty, and smells like old bay and pine trees.
The distance from the tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore to the Maryland line is only about 70 miles, but it feels like a different world compared to the urban chaos of the I-95 corridor.
Train and Water Options
You don't always have to drive.
Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and Acela lines are the gold standard here. You can hop on a train at Staples Mill Road in Richmond and be at Baltimore’s Penn Station in about three hours. It’s often faster than driving because you bypass the Fredericksburg bottleneck—a place where dreams go to die.
There is also the MARC train (Maryland) and the VRE (Virginia). While they don't technically "cross" into each other's territory directly, they both terminate at Union Station in D.C.
You can literally step off a Virginia train, walk across the platform, and get on a Maryland train.
Can you take a boat?
Sorta.
There isn't a major car ferry connecting the main parts of the states anymore, but the Potomac Riverboat Company runs water taxis. You can take a boat from Old Town Alexandria, VA, straight across to National Harbor, MD. It takes about 20-30 minutes and is infinitely better than sitting in bridge traffic.
Surprising Facts About the Border
People often forget that the "distance" between these states was once a matter of life and death. During the Civil War, the Potomac was the line between the Union and the Confederacy.
- The Point of Rocks Bridge: This bridge connects VA and MD near Leesburg. It’s beautiful, but it’s also a bottleneck.
- The Smallest Gap: In Western Maryland, near Hancock, the state is only about 1.8 miles wide. You can stand in West Virginia, look across Maryland, and see Pennsylvania. Virginia isn't far south of there either.
- The "Lost" Land: Due to bad surveying in the 1600s, Virginia actually ended up with about 15,000 acres that should have technically been Maryland's. Marylanders are still a little salty about it (kidding, mostly).
Planning Your Trip
If you're mapping out how far is virginia from maryland for a move or a vacation, don't trust the raw mileage.
Use an app like Waze or Google Maps, but set your "Arrive By" time for a weekday morning. You’ll see the "15-mile" trip suddenly turn into a "45-minute" trip.
If you are traveling between the two state capitals—Richmond and Annapolis—you're looking at about 130 miles. This route usually takes you up I-95 to the I-495 East Beltway, then onto US-50.
Actionable Travel Tips:
- Use the Express Lanes: If you’re on I-495 or I-95 in Virginia, the E-ZPass Express Lanes can save you an hour, but they’ll cost you. Prices fluctuate based on traffic.
- Check the Wind: If you're taking the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (MD-50) or the Bridge-Tunnel (VA-13), high winds can close them to trailers and high-profile vehicles.
- The "Back Way": If I-95 is a parking lot, look at Route 301. It crosses from Virginia into Maryland via the Nice-Middleton Bridge. It’s often much clearer.
Basically, Virginia and Maryland are siblings. They share a lot of history, a lot of water, and a whole lot of traffic. Whether you're crossing a bridge in minutes or driving the length of the coast in hours, just remember to bring some snacks. You’re gonna need them on the Beltway.
To get the most accurate time for your specific start and end points, check a live traffic map right before you leave, as the "distance" in this region changes by the minute. Keep an E-ZPass in your car regardless of which state you live in; you'll need it for the tolls on both sides of the river.