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    Fort Smallwood Park

    3.7 (26 reviews)
    Closed Closed

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    Dee M.

    Even in the dead of winter it's a Beautiful park located at the convergence of 2 rivers that empty in to the bay. Things to love : Well marked roads. Nice vistas. Walking trails. Playgrounds for children. A nice place to see boars go by. You can partake of this park and 4 other county parks with a pass for $40 yearly, $30 for seniors. If you are 65 you can get that pass for a lifetime for 1 fee.

    Summer 2020
    Alma G.

    I honestly can't do this review without a before and after. We used to come here so much in the summer for a nice close by swim. 2021 it was closed down and 2022 we didn't get to go. Man we were super disappointed when we came back. Ready for a nice swim and some fresh sun. But nope. The smell and muck near the water made it impossible to tolerate being there. I was honestly very disappointed with the change here. It's so much nasty stuff, bathrooms aren't clean. Not clean water to swim like it used to be because there's green muck and geese poop even in the water!!!!! Not at all sanitary. Last time we would go back. I really miss it 3 years ago

    Michelle Y.

    I've been coming here since I was a kid and it's definitely one of my happy places. There's so much to do here: there's picnic tables with grills, there's small beaches you can swim in during the summer, there's playgrounds and basketball hoops for kids, and if you've got boats, you can leave and come back from and fishing. There's tons to do and lots to see. It's so beautiful and the people are truly so kind. The only downside is there's lots of geese and often the poo is not taken care of.

    Beach
    Marc H.

    Had a good time yesterday visiting this park and it's small beach It seems to be not well known as the beach was small but not too many people there. The water goes way out before it goes too deep. Kids we're enjoying it. The park also has a fishing area and a place for kayak's to launch. They charge $6 a car to enter but it's free to military and veterans. I recommend this park

    Stevie C.

    Nice park to walk with my dog, on the smaller side- but very nice views of the water! It took us about 30-45 minutes to walk the whole park. The attendant talked me into buying the yearly pass(4 parks included) and I'm glad I did.

    Leon H.

    Fort Smallwood Park features numerous opportunities for outdoor activities, from running to just sitting in your car looking out over the water. I have spent many hours walking along the trail that runs the circumference of the park. It is a good fishing spot, too. The county has an ongoing project to refurbish the park, and it shows well. It's well worth the cost of entry, currently 6 bucks.

    My kids in the water
    Mary B.

    Small beach , pretty clean n peaceful , the water is low so u have go pretty far out if u want it to be deep , u don't step on a bunch of rocks n seashells , they have a part on the beach where your dogs can swim as well as a part for finishing , it was only $7 for a car load, I'm looking forward too going back next year

    Rock jetty's
    Ever P.

    This park is very pretty and family friendly. There are small trails and in the summer beach are for swimming. Parking can be tight. There are rock jetty'sfor fishing.The only thing that I didn't like was that the water makes anything white you wear to an ugly brown, make sure you wear dark colors to the beach area.

    Armando H.

    My boyfriend and I finally decided to come to this beautiful park and we definitely love it we swimming here and love the water the atmosphere and everything we definitely recommended to everyone

    Joe J.

    Looking beyond all the yellow tape and orange fences due to what looks like remodeling. This is a pretty nice park. It's got a nice view of the water, and even a pier. The playground is nice, and there is a lot of space to run around or do other group activities. There is also a basketball court. The only downside is that there is really no shade near the playground, and the picnic tables are a good distance away. This park would be perfect on maybe a windy 65° day, but other then that I'll pass. Hook up some shade and this park would be perfect.

    Tiffany W.

    Great park not very large but I enjoyed it. You can swim in the the beach or go fishing. There's a playground for the kids. The cost is $6 per car which I don't think is bad.

    Ebonee J.

    This is a lovely park. Great for a picnic get together or just sitting by the shore listening to the waves. There is one playground for the little ones.

    where we fished

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    4 years ago

    Half the park is closed for renovations. Don't bother unless you want to take small child to playground

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    9 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Large park and beautiful lake. Nice play area for small children set aside but still in view of land marks and water.

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    Ask the Community - Fort Smallwood Park

    Are dogs allowed?

    Yes

    Is this a dog friendly park? Are they allowed on the beach? Thx fellow Yelpers!

    There is a dog beach

    Are dogs allowed?

    Yes

    View All 4 Questions

    Review Highlights - Fort Smallwood Park

    Great for walking, kayaking or just a picnic .

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    B&A Trail - Jurassic Park!

    B&A Trail

    4.5(21 reviews)
    6.7 mi

    CYCLING THE B&A TRAIL…read more The B&A trail is about 15 miles long and easily accessible via the parking lot on Route 450 (about 2 bikes north of the "old Severn River Bridge). The trail can get on the weekend (starting at 9am) and has a number of stop signs at the entrance to neighborhoods and at road crossings. This will interrupt your rhythm if you're a fast road bike. This is a multi-use trail with joggers, dog walkers, skaters and cyclists. It's easy to share this train with 2-way traffic .. 2 can cycle side-by-side and easily pass others. Plenty of places to stop for food and drink, especially as you near Severna Park.

    I think I'm in love!!! ha!…read more Going forward, THIS will be my favorite trail (until I find another)! While riding the BWI airport loop last week, I saw a sign for the B&A trail, so I knew I'd be here next. I still parked at the Thomas Dixon Observation Area and took the trail backwards (well, there's really no right way to take the Airport Loop, but the connection to the B&A is towards the end of the loop). Once I made it to the B&A connection, I had to ask myself, "Where have I been?" I could have been riding THIS trail the whole time! There's so much nature along the trail. Wetlands, native flowers, tons of bamboo, farmland, horses, etc. I love. Also, the trail is nice & flat with few bumps from raised roots. AND the areas that are raised are painted red so you can see them and prepare for the bump. WINNING! AND, there's a bathroom along the trail with a water fountain and bottle filler. The bathroom is air-conditioned, and I even had room to take my bike inside. It was spotless. It's a cute little orange house with benches in front & grass. Many people rest there. At that same spot there's also a contraption that has tools to fix your bike and an air pump. There are several rest areas along the way in the form of benches in the shade. There are also shops in the Severna Park area that cater to trial-goers. I saw a B&A Acai and Smoothie shop, The Bean Co, which I assume to be a coffee shop, and little sandwich shops. The trail is on the back side of the strip mall, but they have tables & chairs back there for trail patrons. I even saw a taproom if you'd like to stop for a beer. My mileage from the Thomas Dixon observation area to the end of the trail in Annapolis was 16 miles (32 roundtrip). You can get some good speed on the back half of the trail which seemed to be less populated. And I'm sure it's also less crowded during the week versus the weekends. It's a nice trail!

    Photos
    B&A Trail - The boys

    The boys

    B&A Trail - The trail is based around the solar system and this is the Sun.

    The trail is based around the solar system and this is the Sun.

    B&A Trail

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    Sandy Point State Park - Sunrise at Sandy Point Beach, photo by Daniel B. McNeill

    Sandy Point State Park

    3.4(165 reviews)
    10.8 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Sandy Point State Park
    Sandy Point State Park - Beautiful sunrise

    Beautiful sunrise

    Sandy Point State Park

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    Fort Smallwood Park - parks - Updated June 2026

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