Sandy Point State Park Informations

Sandy Point State Park is a public recreation area located on Sandy Point at the western end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The state park grounds include the Sandy Point Farmhouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, which is undergoing restoration and is not open to the public. The historic Sandy Point Shoal Light stands in about five feet of water some 1,000 yards (910 m) east of the park's beach.

In 1948, the state purchased the site of a ferry landing that had served the Chesapeake Bay Ferry System on its run across the bay to Kent Island at what is now Matapeake State Park. The park opened in 1952 with racially segregated beaches and bathhouses which led to litigation in 1955. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the park to become integrated in Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City v. Dawson, which ultimately extended the Fourteenth Amendment to state beaches and other recreational facilities.

In 2015, the park became the second Maryland state park, with Assateague State Park, to reach an annual attendance figure of one million visitors.

The park offers a marina store and boat rentals, swimming beaches, fishing, crabbing, hiking, wildlife viewing, nature center, and picnicking. The park is adjacent to the Corcoran Tract, a forest preserve with 4 miles (6.4 km) of hiking trails. In January, the park hosts the annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge, where participants run into the Chesapeake Bay to raise money for Special Olympics.

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