Several people from my retired women's group have started meeting each week to walk on the Cross…read moreIsland trail. Most of us live in Annapolis but it is a really nice trail and worth hopping across the Bay Bridge. We have been meeting at the Macuum Creek parking lot off Piney Creek Rd. There is enough parking and nice public bathrooms so it is quite civilized. The first time, we walked west, back towards Stevensville & turned around at the high school, which was a couple of miles. This week, we walked the other way, so heading east. I think that was even prettier. There are some quiet sections and some places where you hear the traffic on Route 50. There are boardwalk and bridges over the creeks. The next time, I hope to take my bike.

So the parental units decided to have a little weekend fun and ended up biking on this trail...of…read morecourse, all while looking stylish with their matching bikes and gear ;) They really enjoyed the trail, which was easy and safe to navigate, and they really loved the scenery! The park is a straightforward short drive from the bay bridge going east, with a few restaurants and parks nearby. There were a few other families that were biking and hiking along the trail as well (all while maintaining social distancing), who were very friendly and helpful. My parents told me to tell the yelp peeps that they highly recommend this trail!

It really wouldn't be fair to rate an entire park on the basis of the playground alone. That's the…read moreonly reason I've given it 3 stars, because the small playground itself would barely earn 2 otherwise. The Children's Memorial Playground is relatively new, according to the Queen Anne's County official website. The equipment is perfect for smaller children (my DGS, who is almost 10, quickly lost interest). But really, the lack of shade is a real deal-breaker for us - the equipment gets hot! It appears the park is mostly devoted to sports, with several softball/baseball diamonds, a sand volleyball court, tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer fields, and a concession stand for refreshments. The website also lists batting cages and a lacrosse field, which we didn't see. It appears there is a paved trail that runs through it and off in two directions (Cross Island Trail) so the parking lot provides free parking for that. Whenever we travel, we always seek out a new playground so the kiddos can run off steam. It worked for that, briefly, but it was just too hot to hang out there for long. And I wish the info board had more, well, info on it.

unlike the name of this park, we really didn't see anything "lovey dovey" about this place. no…read moreinitials carved in trees, no look out points, no special views of the city. however, this is a good place to go for a run, walk, after dinner stroll, etc. since my family had a mini-reunion in nearby chester, hubby and i took it upon ourselves to find parks and trails where we could workout (and work off all the food that we'd be consuming during our reunion time)! this park is on the path of the cross island trail, and provides running paths, basketball courts, tennis courts, several baseball fields, soccer fields, and lots of grassy areas for picnics and other recreational activities. unfortunately, since we were here during the winter, and it was cold and snowy outside, we didn't get to take advantage of any of the amenities aside from the running paths. but i do recommend taking a jog through this park as it's quite big. will definitely try to return in warmer seasons to take advantage of all that this park has to offer.

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.

We arrived on Thursday morning and this particular center is only open on the weekend so we…read morecouldn't get a stamp for our book. It's strange because normally these are not open on the weekend so it was refreshing that this one is even if we did miss it. No worries we will send an email in for our stamp. This island is very large, and full of life. Jeff says You can smell the crabs lololol I thought more like a worm farm. Seen wild turkeys, birds, water and ducks. Unfortunately not the greatest weather but we will still take it. #88 in the books

Excellent spot for birding…read more It's not as visited as other places so taking photos/videos of wildlife is easy. I came into contact with perhaps 3 other human beings. It's winter now, of course, but that's when you can see more birds because they're wintering here. I was able to observe for the first time many tundra swans, with their distinctive black bills; what a treat. Also, terns, yellowlegs, sandpipers, herons, egrets, snipes, plovers, gulls and a large number of ducks, including a hooded merganser which I hadn't seen before -- so striking. Enjoyed Tubby Cove and Box Point. Took walks on a variety of trails. The refuge is 2,285 acres and that makes this place nice and quiet. The local history is interesting too, well, at least I think so. Eastern Neck is just my speed.

Mowbray Park is right next to Matapeake School Complex and offers a lot of outside fun for kids of…read moreall ages. 2 age appropriate playgrounds (with disability access swings and ramps) as well as tennis courts, 2 baseball diamonds, a pavilion, and bathrooms. Dogs on leash welcome