The drawbridge over Knapps Narrows is one of the busiest in the country measured by the number of lifts per day — an indication of how much boat traffic passes between the main Chesapeake and the creeks and harbors on the island's eastern side. Watching the bridge go up and down for crab boats and pleasure craft is one of those idle Chesapeake pleasures.
The narrows itself — the thin channel that separates Tilghman Island from the mainland — is the heart of the island's working waterfront. A small seafood market and several crab shacks sit along the water here, along with the charter fishing and crabbing operations that take visitors out on the bay.