This visit really showed the diversity of options for beach seekers in our area. Everyone has been soo different, and Flag Ponds Nature Park was quite different.

Key Info:

Hours: Saturday & Sunday 9  a.m – 5 p.m. , Monday & Friday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m,
CLOSED -Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
Beach and entrance gate close 1 hour prior to park closing.

Use the address 1525 Flag Ponds Parkway, Lusby, MD

When the park’s capacity is reached, the park will be closed and traffic will be turned away from the park entrance.

Entrance fee (or annual pass) is per vehicle:

January through March: $5.00 for in-county resident or non-resident.
April through October: $5.00 for in-county residents, $8.00 for non-residents
November through December: $5.00 for in-county resident or non-resident.
Bike/Walk-in: $2 per person
Annual Park Pass: $20 for in-county residents, $30 for non-residents. Vehicle registration is required for annual pass holders. $10 for additional vehicle registered in the same name.

They are cash only. No credit cards and no ATM. Non-residents going 3+ times would be worth it to get the annual pass.

When you enter and park, try to park close to the building. There are bathrooms (decent shape) and a vending machine. There appeared to be bathrooms closer to the beach but they were closed the day I went so it was rather long walk or nature. The walk to the beach will take about ten minutes, longer if you have littles in tow. It’s a mostly gravel type road to the beach area. I do not recommend strollers (you will see why soon!), sturdy waterproof wagons could work.

Once you get towards the water, the scenery is equisite. Just raw untainted beauty.

Chances are you will be going during high tide in the morning. In that case, the quickest route to sand will have this in the way:

I know it is not deep… I saw a boy lifting up his little sister to cross and a mom traversed it with a heavy wagon. I did not choose this route because I saw a sign about snakes and was not interested in seeing one.

The other options are going left or right. First I chose to go right. There is an observation deck there which is feeds gorgeous views. But the path to get to the beach involves makeshift logs to get across. As it was just me I was happy to jump on the logs to make my way over, but…. SNAKE! Splashing in the water between the first two logs. NO THANKS SNAKE!

So I went all the way back and made my way to the leftside entrance. There was no water, just a bit narrow, but puts you at one side of the beach. From there the beach contracts and expands as you walk. The water was pleasantly cool on this hot day, and the wind was blowing extra here, making it feel spectacular.

Other delights… it was so sparcely populated. I got there around 1000 on a Friday, and people were starting to file in as I was leaving at 1130. But still there seemed to be plenty of space to roam without being near anybody. Also loved the mix of soft sand and SHELLS. You hear that, Auntie Leslie?? Lots of shells. Not huge ones, but lots of mussel shells and if I looked close enough there should be shark teeth too.

What I liked:

• Raw beauty. Pure nature here. Think opposite of Jersey Shore
• Not crowded
• Wind keeps it cool and bugs away
• Sand and shells!
• Clear views, including of Calvert Cliffs I think
• Not that expensive
• Trails

Not a fan of:

• The path to get to the beach (which limits what we would bring)
• Snakes
• The nuclear site next door?

Concluding thoughts…

I LOVED Flag Ponds Nature Park. 100% would come back here, but if I was to come with the family I would plan accordingly and make it a day of nature exploring rather than chilling on the beach. This is not the best place to bring all our beach setup and park for half a day. Rather, I would probably dress more for hiking (with proper rainboots!) with plenty of time to hang out on the beach looking for fossils and shark teeth.