Frontier Town Western Theme ParkA 1959 Old West theme park near Ocean City — staged gunfights, can-can shows, a steam train, and a full water park on a 200-acre complex

Bill Patten and Bill Pacey built Frontier Town in 1959, when Western movies were packing Baltimore theaters and a real-life frontier town seemed like the obvious next step. It sits on Route 611 (Stephen Decatur Highway) just south of Ocean City, Maryland, on Sinepuxent Bay. The campground opened in 1963 and grew to nearly 600 sites; a Nor'easter leveled much of it in 1992 and it was rebuilt within a year. Sun Communities has owned the property since 2015, but the Western Theme Park still runs the same shows it opened with.

The day is built around live performances on Main Street and around the grounds. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral uses the original script written by Guy Frederick in 1959 and runs twice a day; the Golden Nugget Saloon stages can-can shows; the Native American Village hosts dancing; and the morning opens with a flag-raising and a cattle drive. More than 40 animals — longhorn oxen, horses, goats, and chickens among them — live on the property, and a coal-fired steam train circles the grounds (and turns into a haunted ride each Halloween season).

Beyond the Western park, the 200-plus-acre complex includes a full water park with a lazy river, a stagecoach-themed activity pool, and two flumes, plus a High Ropes Adventure Park and zip lines installed in 2013 and a mini-golf course. The theme park and water park charge separate admission. The park is seasonal — plan for roughly mid-June through Labor Day — and pairs naturally with an Ocean City beach trip ten minutes up the road.