Ambience: Downs Park is one of those hidden gems that feels…read morelike a deep breath. It's spacious, peaceful, and full of variety. Whether you want to walk along the waterfront, sit on a bench with a view, or just let the breeze hit your face while your kids play. It has a little bit of everything. I've been here at least 5-7 times and still haven't explored it all! Playground: There's something for every age group from a sweet tot lot for the little ones to a multi-level climbing structure with twisty slides that kept my oldest busy for a while. There are swings, a merry-go-round, and plenty of open space to run around or play. Scenic Walks & Waterfront: We usually park near the visitor center (convenient and close to everything!) and stroll down to the pier or relax on the benches with that peaceful waterfront view. You'll find grassy picnic spots, a pier with folks fishing, and even a small beach and separate dog beach. The trails are partly shaded and the breeze coming off the water makes it feel extra calming. Stroller-Friendly: Yes, it's stroller-friendly! The trails are paved, but heads-up: it's not totally flat there are some hills. Still, it's very walkable and manageable with a stroller. Great for littles who need a nap or just want a ride. Extras: Bathrooms are located inside the visitor center, and there's a quiet garden area called Mary's Garden if you need a tranquil reset. I've always had friendly experiences with the park staff when entering and asking questions. Parking is $6 per car and there's usually plenty of space, especially if you don't mind walking a bit. Why I Love It: This park has become one of my go-to spots when we need a peaceful outing. Between the water views, the open space, and the mix of kid-friendly and adult-friendly features, it's just easy to love. Perfect for picnics, gentle mornings, or letting your thoughts wander while the kids play.

This dog beach is smaller than the one in Annapolis, but still is nice. I came here on Memorial Day…read moreand there was quite a lot of dogs. The dog beach rules are pretty much the same as with any other dog beach. Children under six years old must be accompanied by an adult. No human or dog food allowed on the beach. Humans aren't allowed to swim in the water. And of course, no aggressive dogs. I do wish there was a wash station either at the beach or nearby, which would be very convenient to both human and dog.

This is a cute idea, a great quiet spot adjacent to the water in a beautiful park so your dogs can…read moreromp in the water off leash. I'm not sure if something has changed recently but I went there today and there are big gaps on both sides of the fence where a dog can easily escape, on both the gate and other side, and on the far side, the dog would get loose into the tall grass and wetlands where it would be impossible to chase them. If your dog won't go far and/or has good recall maybe not a problem but I was definitely not comfortable taking my dog off leash here.

How did I not know that Quiet Waters has its own dog park?! I've been here before to kayak on…read moreseveral occasions and never knew this area was here. It's a nice option for the dogs on these hot days. However, there's not a lot of shade so make sure you bring an umbrella or hat. I was lucky to get a shaded spot while I was there. I brought a beach chair and a small cooler with some drinks and ice for Toby. It's not a very large area so it was a bit active with the people who were already there. Many people just stand in the water with their pets and some sit on the beach side. My dog loved it! He was running in and out of the water chasing other dogs and just having a good time. Once you park it's about a 10-minute walk. When you get to the fork in the road go left and that will take you to the dog beach. One thing I wish they had more of was garbage cans. They do have one of those dog poop dispensers with poop bags and a trash receptacle, but that was so full it was overflowing. So if you go, it would be helpful to bring a small trash bag so you can put your trash in there and probably leave it behind so others could discard their trash in there as well. There are bathrooms right across from the parking lot. It's a nice little getaway for you and your dog. You only pay to get into the Quiet Waters Park, which is waived if you are a veteran. Check it out!

This is a phenomenal dog park all the way at the end of the road. They have a small dog section,…read moreseparate from the large dog section. Most patrons are friendly and respectful of dog park etiquette. I have never encountered a reckless owner or aggressive dog. There are benches and chairs and lots of trees that provide shade from the sun. There is a concrete pad with dog bowls and kiddie pools. There is a water hose that you can use to replenish the water bowls and pools. The grass and dirt areas are maintained well. I really like this park!

This is my pups favorite dog park! There's lots of space, like it's massive!, and almost always a…read moregood amount of dogs for him to play with! The hose and small pool let's dogs cool off on hot days as well as shaded, grassy areas. I've seen nothing but respectful owners who are diligent about cleaning up their dogs waste and supervising their fur babies. On hot or dry days it can be a little dusty and if the hose and pool is full it can get a little muddy, so maybe bring a brush or towel if you don't want your seats dirty but I highly recommend it! Also it's usually best to wear shoes or pants that aren't your favorite as some dogs jump up to say hi with wet and dirty paws lol They even have a rack for you to hang your leash and things which is nice to be able to be hands free. It's a bit of a drive for us but with how exhausted he is when we go home it's so worth it!

We came to Sandy Point State Park on an off season day. When you look at the photos on social…read moremedia, you create a visual in your mind. On this day, the weather was less than ideal. Hence, there were very few visitors in the park. When we pulled up, no one was at the toll booth. You just made your payment to park and you were on your way. If you use my photos as a reference, you can see exactly what type of day it was. It was no more than 50 degrees with low clouds and light rain. Visibility wasn't the best. After we parked our car, we started to walk around the property. The booths were closed and the only people that we saw were a family playing on the playground and a parent taking his son fishing. A park ranger came by and parked next to our car but when we came back, he drove off. He was trying to figure out why we were there. When you walk down the path, you'll notice that the sand is a rusty color. I've seen wet sand in California, but the sand at this state park was different in color. All of the sand was also soaking wet due the rising tides. You can see bridge across the water and a boat or two on the water. The winds were blowing and the water was choppy. You definitely weren't out on the water unless it was work-related. Sandy Point has a plaque in which it outlines the history of this area. It was once a segregated beach. Things have changed for the better and now everyone gets to enjoy the area. When I saw photos from summer months in this area, Sandy Point is the place to be.Maybe we will come back during the summer months for a different experience, so that we can enjoy it, just like the locals.

BLUF: Lights on the Bay is a fun experience but I'm otherwise not a fan of this park…read more Truth be told, I have not been to Sandy Point State Park during the day in over 25 years. It didn't leave a good impression back then so now I stick to visiting at Christmas time to see Lights on the Bay. Lights on the Bay is fun and I would give it five stars so my three-star review reflects the overall experience of Sandy Point State Park. For $20, you can drive a car full of friends and family through the park to see the lights. I feel like they really stepped it up in 2025 and I was more than glad to make that donation, via the $20 entrance fee, to the SPCA. Another fun way to see Lights on the Bay is via bike. There is a local club that organizes a ride in early December - they deck out their bikes and take a leisurely, albeit chilly, ride through the grounds.

One of the nicest parks that I have been to since living in Maryland. Great for a bike ride a walk…read moreor even a run. This park runs along the Chesapeake Bay which is pretty cool and the views are pretty nice. I also like that there are various points of exiting and entering the park in case you want to do a long run and or bike ride. This place also looks wonderful for a nice picnic with the family or a loved one would definitely recommend.

The dog beach is closed and is being redone. The bathrooms were closed the day I went. I've been…read moreonce before and got ticks on one of the walking paths. The flies and mosquitos can get pretty nasty while walking as well, so I wish they would spray with non-toxic sprays to help reduce them.

Love how close this is to our house. It is in great location that is easy to get to. It is not very…read morecrowded and has a good amount of space for the dogs to run around. They have a few balls for dogs to play with, but recommend brining your own if your dog is particular about their toy. Also, bring water with you for the dogs. Their fountain not always works.

Good size for a dog to run. It's very clean, trash cans to throw away anything needed, seats to sit…read morewhile your dog plays. Only thing miss is no dog agility equipment

The good: Parking was spacious, free and had shaded spots…read more It was a short walk from the parking lot to the beach. The path was lined with tanbark. It's a small beach with a short shore and there is shallow water. I saw herons and folks using metal detectors. The sandy area had cool shells and some interesting bugs. I liked that there was a clean bathroom between the parking lot and the beach. There were picnic tables on the sand where we enjoyed snacks. They were shaded so it was nice. The bad: There are lots of jelly fish that can definitely sting so you basically cannot get into the water. No tents are allowed. The interesting: I saw lots of dogs here running around in the water. It looks very dog-friendly despite other reviews saying there are signs that don't allow dogs.

Quick note for potential beach goers: Only single-pole beach umbrellas are allowed on the beach. We…read morekind of learned the hard way that beach tents are not allowed. Originally, we were interested in Matapeake Beach because of the dog beach. However for our first visit (of hopefully many visits), we decided to leave the dog at home because it was super hot. But, I think in the future, we will take the dog if we can arrive to the beach around 8 am. The second reason we were interested in this beach: It is fairly close to Silver Spring, MD. With a departure of 9am, we arrived at the beach around 10 am on a summer weekday. For the most part, we did not experience too much traffic (on a weekday) in both directions Silver Spring-Matapeake-Silver Spring. Also, I think there were 1-2 tolls in each directions. Overall, I thought the beach/park was very clean and well-maintained. I'll note that there are not very many amenities (if any) on or near the beach the beach (e.g., food vendors), which necessarily was not a bad thing for me. Although parking is limited, it is free (a very pleasant surprise) as of June 2025. I'm not 100% sure, but I think there were like 50 (or less) parking spaces. Since we visited on a weekday, we did not have any trouble finding a spot in the parking lot. However, I can imagine that parking my be a bit of a nightmare on weekends and holidays. Also, the access to the beach was free (another pleasant surprise). The folks at the beach were pretty friendly and respectful of their surroundings -- for instance, I did not hear super loud music (just the soundtrack of waves, a few dogs barking, and a few kids playing); see people acting a plum fool; notice substantial litter (or other not so fun things) on the beach. Even though we were disappointed that we had to take down our beach tent, the park ranger was super nice about it. The water was a pretty smooth with little to no waves so it is nice for little humans and dogs. I think I had to walk about 0.25 miles to get to a point where the water was waist level to me, but that was a VERY minor inconvenience. Overall, I think this is a great beach for a quick day (or half a day) trip.

Most people don't drive over the Bay Bridge for the purpose of stopping on Kent Island, and I…read moreusually don't either. Having found the occasion, I discovered the park was free, had some nicely kept facilities, and more paths than I had time to go through in bad weather. A variety of environments from swamp to beach await. There is too little public land on the bay, and this was one of the larger stretches in the area. And hey, you need to get out of the car every now and then.

Visited on a Sunday, nice parking area with modern restrooms that were open. Plenty of maintained…read moretrails with different views of the water, woods, marsh areas. Only really issue was trail signage, did not have a map (should have took a picture at entrance) so trail signage was not the greatist. The Map Legend at entrance did not have a legend that we saw so distance was a guess. Overall, nice park, be back in the Summer.

Bottom Line: A small Anne Arundel County park with views of and a kayak/canoe launch into the…read moreMagothy River. As the name implies, once a farm, Spriggs Farm Park is now a small park bordering the Magothy River. The amenities are very simple and limited to a porta potty, one or two picnic tables and a small sandy beach with a kayak/canoe launch. The park is gated but visitors can contact the county if they would like to be able to drive in and park. Otherwise, there is some street parking. Once inside the gate it is a bumpy ride down a gravel road past the porta potty. Before too long you arrive at a place where you can turn off to park in a grassy lot. If you go to the end of the road you can unload your kayak/canoe but you will then need to move your car to the parking lot. As far as the kayak/canoe launch goes, from the drop off point it is about 150 yards to the sandy launch. There is a little bit of a steep hill down to the launch but it as been stabilized with some railroad ties for steps. For those not in search of a small boat launch the best part of the park is probably views of the river including Dobbins Island and Gibson Island. But be aware, there is very little shade at this park.

I highly recomed this place!! Take the dogs or the kids swimmin!! Could use a few more picnic…read moretables tho.