Came here on a Saturday night about two hours before sunset. Wonderful chill place to dip your feet…read morein. You can almost miss the turn if you're not careful. I was the only one there for most of my two hour time.

A quiet small waterfront with a short pier that is great for fishing. Wonderful views of the…read moreNanticoke River.

Everything could improve here! From the employees and lack of customer service to the route cops…read morethat patrol the area, nasty stinky toilets, dirty waters& areas, no music allowed not even for you to play on your phone!!! All of this and you have to pay $10 to get in each person!! are you out of your minds!? Look at the reviews unless you're looking for shark teeth or something like that, do not bother.. heck, even then there's better free beaches. It should be free. It's public waters. Does not belong to the people to try to make money off of! Paying for beaches in general is a joke it's part of mother, nature, & we're there trying to enjoy This bitch should definitely be free !! If you're going to charge, don't be stingy and ask for $10 or even $7 -Even some of the best beaches I've been to have all of them free. The only time I paid a fee it was $3 and it was a very well-maintained clean area with food on beach, trash, cans, and clean bathrooms and an amazing beach. Stop profiting off of people in these deceitful ways! This is where we go to be dressed free to listen to music to enjoy mother, nature to get away from the everyday struggles of fees, and payments in the real world!

It's not the ocean but pretty solid beach not far from DC. Way better than sandy point! No…read morejellyfish (net keeps them out I think). It was $24 for two of us in one car. Good for families. There's a playground and good bathrooms and showers. I'd come back with kids.

I'm fairly new to the area, and I am so glad that we found this diamond in the rough…read more We visited Colonial Beach (technically estuary, I think) during a weekday near the end of June, and it was exactly what we were looking for. During our four hours at the beach, I think we saw only 10-13 people in our area. This was absolutely perfect for me because I was looking for a quiet, chill beach experience. Since we visited during the week, parking was not a hassle. The walk from our parking spot to the beach was less than 5 minutes on foot. Also, parking was about $2 an hour, which is not bad because some places charge $5+ per hour. I would image that parking probably is a nightmare during the weekends. From other reviews, I guess we lucked out because we did not have any interaction with jellyfish. Although I saw information about shops and business along the boardwalk, we did not visit any local businesses during our trip. *Hopefully, we'll have a chance to check out some shops during our next visit.* However, I think a lot of places were closed anyway because we did not see many people on the boardwalk in general. If you are used to (or looking for) crystal blue water and fine sand on a beach, this beach might not before you. The water is dark (you're technically in the Potomac River) and the beach itself is quite rocky. I think if you visit without high expectations of experiencing a beach off of the Amalfi Coast or somewhere in the Caribbean, I think you will be fine with a very low-key beach/estuary/river adventure at CBVA.

It was quiet. It wasn't crowded. It was peaceful... BUT... it's so many rocks and bugs in the…read moresand... like millions of these sand flea black crab looking things... it was a very uncomfortable situation. So glad we had chairs because sitting on that beach blanket was awful. Probably won't be back... but it is okay

Day trips to nearby beaches from the DMV, put it on your to-do list…read more Our weekends are usually spent marking off bookmarks and going to eat at places our Yelpies recommend. We ended up in North Beach this past weekend, how pretty! Small but nice! Boardwalk and all! There is a private beach but it's for locals. Very very cute quaint neighborhood surrounding the "beach" area. Looking at water will never get old. If you're a water baby, or just love looking at water (lakes, oceans, ponds) then this is it! Super beautiful. Love this! Romantic for couples!

Beautiful, charming, small town in the midst of the Western shore of the Chesapeake and nice…read morealternative for those who cannot or do not want to deal with the hassles of heading out to Ocean City or Sandy Point. Sandy Point is way too crowded and can be over stimulating for people wanting a relaxing yet local beach getaway. North Beach punches above its weight by having that peaceful, charming presence and vibe for you to relax. It is a year around destination, in that sure the beach (sand) might not be open, but the boardwalk is free all year around. I have found myself walking the boardwalk on gorgeous Spring and Fall days not during peak season enjoying myself. There are nice restaurants, eateries, food trucks and other charming venues around to grab smoothies, ice cream, and other delectables. My only gripe is the price of admission for the beach itself for non-county residents is a bit steep and has risen. You can rent an umbrella too, but that also costs more money. However, you do not always need to head to the actual beach and can enjoy the boardwalk and the local venues without having to pay that and get some sightseeing in. This is one of my favorite day-trip destinations in the DMV especially to wind down and relax with some good ole therapeutic peace and tranquility. NB is peaceful and slower paced than a lot of the faster paced locales in the DMV, folks should at least give the beach and town a shot to visit. It is a DMV day-trip destination for sure!

We wanted to make a day trip to search for fossils at Calvert Cliffs and this seemed to be one of…read morethe only options so off we went. The road to get to the campsites / office is relatively bumpy and the road is full of ruts and rocks that could actually be challenging for a small car or a car that is low to the ground. We drove slowly and it was fine. The lady in the office was very friendly and we paid in cash which is preferred. This is clearly a family-run operation. The walk down to the beach was via a kind-of steep set of stairs. At the bottom there were a few other groups of people there, many of them apparently semi-professional fossil hunters with specialized digging hand tools. Unfortunately the tide was coming in when we got there (poor planning on our part), but this limited our fossil searching to a sliver of exposed beach itself as the water was covering a significant portion of the ground. I would highly recommend Wellington-style rubber boots or something similar to keep your feet dry while you search (everyone else on the beach was wearing them). Your sneakers will probably get wet. As far as fossils go, we didn't find much. One of us found what appeared to be a very small shark tooth. You are not allowed to dig into the cliffs themselves due to erosion concerns but you could see layers of shells and small fossils in the cliffside which was interesting. All in all it was not the fossil-rich experience I was expecting. I've heard about digging for fossils at Calvert Cliffs for many years and so it was a bit disappointing to come away empty-handed. If we had been better prepared to wade out into the water and brought some sort of implements with us we may have had more success. Not a terrible afternoon at all but not a place I will be chomping at the bit to return to.

This review is for the beach. Perhaps a new owner has taken over, as we had nothing but a pleasant…read moreexperience with the woman who took our money and her husband, who showed us where to park. It was $10 per person (cash only!), but considering that the beach has tons of shells and fossils, and lots of parking, we found it a very fair price. They even give you a permit so you can leave and come back on the same day. I would suggest bringing an umbrella or sun tent, as there isn't much shade (at least before 2 pm est, when we left). The water is a bit murky, but refreshing and sandy once you get out past the shoreline. You may want to bring water shoes.

Always enjoy visiting parks on travels & as a lighthouse buff I made it a point of visiting this…read moreone. Park appears well-maintained (including the restrooms near the lighthouse). Enjoyed walking around the lighthouse & paths. Great views of the River & Bay. Looking forward to the completion of exhibits and opening of the lighthouse to visitors!

Be aware, do not stay on campground: There are ticks everywhere, including playground. I have never…read moreseen that amount of ticks in my 50-years camping experience. It is difficult to avoid contact with poison ivy. Probably only if you stay on the main road. I reserved 2 campsite: one for 6 people, another was claimed as for 12 people. They are of the same size and advertisement still did not change. Comfortably you can set just one tent on the gravel surface.

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.

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.

This little spot has a bit of beach territory which looks out across the Patuxent to the rather…read morespectacular bridge nearby, as well as some trails. The trails were thickly wooded and wide but unevenly surfaced. The beaches are pretty, but modest. It's nice that there's a public space here, but if you really want a beach, Elms Beach is better (no idea why my review for that place blew up). If you want a place to eat by the riverside, Greenwell is prettier. If you want to views of the river and the bridge, Solomons Island is better. So this place is fine to stop if you're around, but it's not great for anything. They charge admission only on peak days (weekends and holidays starting in May, according to the website), at which point they charge a lot. I wouldn't pay it, but if I was in the area I would stop by now and then.

Locked all visitors inside the park against our will over an hour before close & refused to unlock…read moreand let us leave. Still waiting now- going on two hours in a line of cars and calling the police. Park is supposed to close at 8. Completely irresponsible to lock the only entrance out at 6:45 when there are still nearly 30 people inside trying to get out. This is completely illegal and messed up. Loved how beautiful this park was but will never be back. Somebody else managed to get through to the police and they suggested leaving cars here and walking but couldn't guarantee our vehicles wouldn't be impounded. The walk home would be many hours on a dark highway at night- not an option, there are elderly people and a pregnant woman in the car ahead of me. Do not come here- you may be held against your will.

Started 2026 off with a 1st Day Hike, decided to go to Mason Neck. Free entrance (1st Day),…read morefriendly Ranger at check-in and he provided info, 1st Day Sticker. Very nice Visitor Center, staffed with more friendly & helpful Rangers/Staff. Informative displays, gift shop and clean restrooms. Plenty of trails with a nice view of the water, a boardwalk, and the woods. They were hosting a Winter-Fest which was nice, and full of great information, events especially for kids.

This was a beautiful park with peaceful water views and easy walking trails. We went in August and…read moreeverything was so green. We saw spots to kayak, so hoping to bring our stand up paddle board next time.