Maryland Route 261

Maryland Route 261
Maryland Route 261 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MDSHA and Town of North Beach
Length	12.86 mi[1] (20.70 km)
Existed	1930–present
Tourist routes	Roots and Tides Scenic Byway
Major junctions
South end	MD 263 near Parran
Major intersections	MD 260 in Chesapeake Beach
North end	MD 778 in Friendship
Location
Country	United States
State	Maryland
Counties	Calvert, Anne Arundel
Highway system
Maryland highway system Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← MD 260 → MD 262

Maryland Route 261 (MD 261) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs 12.86 miles (20.70 km) from MD 263 near Parran north to MD 778 at Friendship. MD 261 connects Prince Frederick with and serves as the main street through the Chesapeake Bay beach communities of Chesapeake Beach and North Beach in northeastern Calvert County and Rose Haven in southeastern Anne Arundel County. The highway was constructed from north of its present terminus through Chesapeake Beach in the early 1930s. The road was built as MD 613 east from Friendship in the mid-1930s and extended east to Rose Haven in the late 1940s. MD 261 was extended south to its present terminus near Parran and north through North Beach to Rose Haven in the mid-1950s. MD 261 took over MD 613 west to Friendship in the early 1960s.