Absolutely worth the visit! I was looking up nearby beaches to DC for a day trip, and this one…read morepopped up. Who wants to cross the Bay Bridge in traffic? (No one.) You won't have to with this find! 1000% better than Calvert Cliffs Park. 2025 rates: $20/car for non-county residents on weekends. Parking is easy if you get there early, and there are real bathrooms at the visitor center. It's still a .5 mile hike to the beach, but it's mostly a firm gravel path with more sand as you get to the beach. Lots of other hiking trails that I didn't try on this visit. Signs help you navigate your way to the beach. There are restrooms and a rinse off station prior to the boardwalk onto the sand. Once to the beach, it's a pretty narrow strip of sand, but off to the right of the main path there is more space. Bring your own everything--shade, seats, snacks, and any digging/sifting equipment for finding fossils! Pack lightly. I saw some people with big beach carts and I'd not recommend it as coming back from the beach it's mostly uphill! Signs at the entrance indicate jellyfish may be present but I didn't see any for the 3 hours I was there. The waves are not very rough and the water is clear out to about 3 feet. I'd recommend water shoes as there are lots of shells/rocks at the shore. I hiked in Teva sandals and it was the perfect shoe for me hiking and on the beach and in the water. Because parking is limited, the beach was not too crowded. It was fun watching other people find fossils as I relaxed in the sun and enjoyed the peace of the sand and surf!

What a total gem of a park- obviously our first time there and it was just a gorgeous Fall day!…read moreApparently this spot is "lesser known" or less visited than the nearby Calvert Cliffs but offers a lot of the same views and perks like finding fossils and shark teeth. Part of the beach have a very small shoreline but around the corner it opens up to this huge wide beach area with a little look out deck. We walked along some of the other pond trails and they were just beautiful. Saw tons of birds and turtles. A lot of the paths are maintained by boardwalks, and sometimes you're just walking along the dirt/sand mix but it's very peaceful and picturesque! We brought our dog and she loved it too! Being that it was November, it felt like a very few amount of people around- I imagine its much busier when it's warm out- but if you're looking for a day on the water- this is a very accessible and fun spot! I would imagine you'd want a wagon or something to carry chairs or anything that you were planning on bringing to the beach as it's a bit of a walk from the parking areas. They do have a handicap accessible lot close to the shore for those that can't do the walk.

Attended a family reunion at indoor facility. The indoor space was very nice. Holding many people…read more Bathrooms right at entrance. Sadly there are no playground areas in the park. We couldn't find picnic tables either. So for us with little ones in tow, being outdoors wasn't a good experience. It's such a beautiful park hopefully a playground area is in the works.

This is a great hidden park It's very quiet and clean and…read moreeveryone is very friendly. They have a peer that you can go fishing on as well as crabbing and they also have a kid friendly outdoor pool which is separate from where the pier is located. It's very inexpensive only three dollars to enter and everyone is nice. I've never had any problems and the kids are super friendly Cash Only (it's not posted on the web site) and be ready to have a lot of fun!!

Battle Creek Cypress Swamp State Preserve is located in Prince Frederick MD. Had an opportunity to…read moreenjoy the flora and fauna of the preserve, and an amazing Boardwalk trail over the swamp itself! This is a relatively short (only 0.90 miles of trails) but nonetheless a fascinating adventure!

A cypress swamp sounds like something you'd find in Belize or in Dinotopia, but in fact we have one…read moreright here in Maryland. It's free, and from the parking lot one finds a visitor center with several animals (including some disabled rescue raptors outside). Restrooms are the first thing you see upon walking in, a wise choice given that this place is a pretty decent drive from almost anywhere. It is, however, not far off Route 4, and a viable stop on the way to other things in the region. After the visitor center, a boardwalk leads out into the swamp, and make no mistake it is pretty swampy. The trees apparently put their roots out aboveground to stabilize themselves, leading to a bizarre aesthetic of knobby root bits sticking up everywhere. The area is quiet but for the slow flow of water, and you can almost feel nature renewing itself; wetlands are tremendously valuable. It isn't a large area; not something you'd spend a whole day at with just the boardwalk and a few other areas to walk through, but it makes for a nice diversion.

We randomly dropped by Calvert Cliffs park for an easy hike with our dog. The park is about…read more1.25-1.5 hours from the Silver Spring area...of course, this depends on DMV traffic, which is always unpredictable. The cost for entry for MD residents was five bucks per car. The park has free parking, but it appeared to be limited. For our trip, we managed to find a spot in the last parking area. So, I do not know if they close the park once the parking lots become full. We visited on a Sunday afternoon in early May, so I would imagine that the parking situation might be a bit more intense during the summer months. For our first visit, we hiked the easy Red trail, which is about 1.8 miles to the beach area. Also, the majority of the red trail was well-shaded so folks should not have too much of a problem with direct sun until hitting the beach. I thought this trail was pretty easy, and almost anyone from multiple age groups could complete this hike. The beach is a bit on the smaller side; however, we did not venture too far from the point where you complete the hike. So, maybe there are more spots on the beach. We though that the park was very dog-friendly. Although the park is dog-friendly, please keep your furry friends on a leash especially since families with young children use the Red trail. A couple of tips: -The park is trash-free so whatever you bring to park, you will have to dispose of it once you leave the park. I wished that the park had a few trash receptacles at the beginning and end of the trails. But I get that having these receptacles might result in visitors overfilling the receptacles with waste and/or the local wildlife eating things that they should not. -Although I'm not 100% sure, I think the entrance fee is cash only.

My son has been really into fossils lately so we went on a hike to the beach. Had a great time!…read more When you arrive, there will be a cash box to pay in. Parking wad easy! There are restrooms to use before going on your hike! Also a playground which was a huge bonus. We hiked the red trail which was 1.8 miles to the beach. Easy to find and walk! There were benches to sit and rest along the trail. I saw some families with strollers which was cool! Tons of wildlife on the walk! We saw snakes, bull frogs, turtles, cardinals, butterflies and eagles. When we arrived to the beach it was amazing! There was a big box with tons of toys to use to dig to find fossils. Loved all the educational information too. We laid down a blanket, pulled out the toys and had such a fun afternoon! Very very peaceful hike and location.

For a State Forest, the park is not special; it has nice, easy to navigate flat trails which is…read morenice especially for novice hikers/trail walkers, but the park can be confusing to drive around, and during off season you need to call a park ranger for assistance. The park specializes in camping and seems like it would be nice for camping, but the park should have more signage for instructions/procedures during off season for more clarity. There are pretty trees and fall foliage to take advantage of. There should be more defined trailway and signs though for the different pathways. There is potential, but I would say that the park is average. I like the abundance of trees, (State Forests) and the pretty leaves during the fall time and the fact that this park is a lot better than Rosaryville, as the trailways are flat and not hilly and as dangerous as Rosaryville. There are regular parks that may not be state parks or forests that are more worth the experience. This is cool, if you are local to Brandywine or live in maybe Waldorf, Accokeek, Upper Marlboro or someplace, but if you are driving over half an hour coming from Bowie, Greenbelt, or other areas, than for a walking trail/hiking forget about it just not worth it. I don't know how the camping experience is never camped her but for trails nope.

What a gem of a campgrounds, so glad I found this spot in PG County…read more The online reservation system is great and easy to use. I like how there are pictures of each campsite so we were able to select a site that was just right for us. Checking in the day of the our trip was a breeze also, since we paid ahead for the site we just had to sign a few documents and get on our way. I will say, that charging $1 for a trails map caught us a bit offguard -- $1 hardly broke the budget but why charge us for a map if we're already paying for a campsite for the weekend? All the general family campsites are found in nice sized loop towards the back of the park. We went in early October and were pleased to see a good number of families and couples also out camping for the weekend. Generally, folks abode by quiet hours so no issues there but man were the kid campers chatty in the mornings. Neighboring kids seemed to get up an sunrise full of energy which woke us up a couple of times. Our site was clean and free of debris and we were able to set up camp within an hour or two. As we were setting up, the friendly camp ranger made rounds to come say hello and to ask if we needed anything which was a nice touch. The ranger made a few rounds around the camp loop each night just to make sure things were swell. Cedarville is great in that you don't have to buy wood only from the camp ranger (as is the case with many other sites that we tried to stay at). We were allowed to use fallen wood for campfires. We did buy one bundle of wood for $5 (got about 8 pieces) just to have as backups but our site was a goldmine of fallen limbs. I had a bow saw with me, so I just spent about an hour ear day cutting wood for the morning and evening fires. Feels so much more like camping when you gather and cut your own wood! We went for a long hike on Saturday through the blue, white, and orange trail areas. Remember to pack some water and a snack for those long hikes. The trails were well cleared and decently marked -- there were a couple of times where we were unsure exactly which trail we were on but we soon figured it out (with the help of that $1 map). The views from the trails were quite nice, definitely stopped to take a photo or two! Overall, a great camping experience for a getaway weekend. Just out of the way enough to allow you to take a break from it all, but still close enough to major roads like 301 to stock up on food, drinks, ice, etc. Definitely check Cedarville out!

What a gem! Chessie's Big Backyard is such a great spot for kids (and grown-ups who like a good…read morewalk). The walking trails were really nice--well maintained with peaceful forest views. Perfect for a stroller, and some nature scavenger hunts. The playground itself is huge and looked really well cared for. The toddler area was unfortunately closed during our visit, but the rest of the space more than made up for it. There are tons of benches and seating all around, and you can see most of the playground from just about anywhere, which is so helpful when you're keeping an eye on kiddos. There's a massive covered pavilion area that would be perfect for group meetups or a picnic in the shade. And while it was still closed for the season, the splash pad/water park area looked like fun! Definitely planning to come back in the summer to check it out! Such a great spot to have in the area!

Would definitely come here again didn't know that it was a park with a waterpark next to it just…read morefor small kids nothing major nothing big but it's still amazing. Granddaughter had a blast.

This is the perfect spot for locals and travelers. If you're looking for a place to take your young…read morekids to look at the boats, the marsh, and all of the unique little creatures around, this is the place that you need to head to! It's such a joy to walk around with family and loved ones learning history of the area along the way. Also the place is absolutely stunning!

The Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail was dedicated September 30, 2011. After more than 20 years of…read moreplanning the Railway Trail was officially opened for the enjoyment of us all. The boardwalk trail is accessed from behind the Chesapeake Beach Water Park where it then extends westward along the shore of Fishing Creek. Interpretative signs have been placed along the Trail to help point out the marsh plants, animals and other features of the adjacent water and marshland. Fully handicapped-accessible, the pet-friendly Trail is open from dawn until dusk for pedestrians and those on bicycles.

A large and well designed county Park. Accommodating football, baseball, basketball, tennis and…read morepickleball. Large, outdoor acquatic center.

Didn't realize how many different activities there are here at the Cove Point Park. There are…read moretennis courts, playground, baseball field, outdoor basketball court, and many other activities here.

Beautiful, remote peninsula that goes out where the temperature is much cooler on a hot day because…read moreof the breezes from the water. This was in April so the water was still cold from the winter, but I still can imagine relief on a hot day.

Bottom Line: An Anne Arundel County park a bit off the beaten path with limited access during the…read morepeak-season but lovely views of the Bay year round. Thomas Point Park in Annapolis is a county park that offers beautiful views of the Thomas Point Lighthouse, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the bay in general. There is a pavilion that can be rented and a day camping area but I believe what makes this park so popular in the summer months is that its a good fishing spot. As the name implies, the park is on a point of land that jets out into the bay offering great views of the water year round. From November through March visitors can drive into the park without paying a fee. But if you are wanting to drive into the park April though October then you need to obtain a permit and I think they can be a bit tricky to come by. Permits are sold at Quiet Waters Park and sold on a limited first come, first served basis. A limited number of daily permits are sold each morning and a total of 75 monthly permits are sold each month on the last Thursday of the prior month. So yeah, a little tricky but its understandable that admission to this small park, which is accessible through a residential neighborhood, needs to be limited.