Cape St. Claire is bound on three sides by water: the Little Magothy River, the Chesapeake Bay, the Magothy River, and Deep Creek. With all that water around, you'd expect a community with many ways to take advantage of it, and Cape St. Claire doesn't disappoint. There are three marinas (with a combined total of over 200 boat slips), a boat ramp, several beaches, and a couple of water parks with playground equipment for the kids.

Cape St. Claire is very much like a small town. The community has a shopping center, a volunteer fire department, ball fields, and a swimming pool. The Cape also boasts of many community organizations including a garden club, yacht club, Boy and Girl Scout troops, and a recreation council. Cape St. Claire is also served by its own monthly newsletter, The Caper. The Cape St. Claire Elementary School and Broadneck High School are also located within Cape St. Claire.

In the late 1980s, the community was granted permission to form a Special Community Benefit District and began collecting an annual fee to pay for administrative costs, special security, and the maintenance of beaches, parks, playgrounds, and other community property.