By: Liz Farmer

I guess when you think about it, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey are pretty boardwalk-heavy compared with other U.S. shorelines … but we’ll take what we can get.

Especially when it means Maryland’s Ocean City boardwalk is rated by ShermansTravel as the fifth-best boardwalk in the country behind Atlantic City, N.J.; Coney Island, N.Y.; Kemah, Tex. and Mission Beach, Calif.

And Shermans is showing the love for the Del-Mar peninsula — right behind Ocean City is nearby Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Shermans cites Ocean City’s 2.5 miles of restaurants, night life, shops and amusements (especially Trimper’s Carousel, the country’s oldest continuously operating carousel) as its reason for the ranking.

In a statement, Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan said the boardwalk was one of the city’s most popular attractions and a “source of pride and heritage” for the town.

This is not the first time Ocean City has been nationally recognized for its boardwalk. In 2004, the Travel Channel recognized Ocean City as one of the “Best Boardwalks in America” and in 2005, USA Today placed Ocean City on its list of “One of the 10 Great Places to have Fun on the Boardwalk.”