Great beach and great company this morning at Fort Smallwood Park in Pasadena, Maryland.

This one exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t tell much about it from googling and there was a good probability it would be a bust. We got there at 10am on a hot weekend day. There was plenty of parking at the time and very short walk to the beach. If you just want to go to the beach, then keep going all the way down to the right past the people fishing. To find a beach spot you have two choices– set up closer to the parking lot where you will be closer to the bathrooms, or you can go down the paved path after the parking lot to go down further to a less crowded portion of the beach. We stayed close to the bathroom side, and while the beach filled up somewhat, we never felt crowded in. And when we left around 1, they were at capacity so I don’t think the beach ever feels super crowded.

Lots of people had tents, and while I love my coolcabana, I do kind of want to try some of the other options I saw. They seemed pretty easy to set up but maybe required more than one person. If you don’t bring shade, you will be in the sun. No natural shade here as they have planted grasses right behind the beach. But! I did not tell you to bring a pop-up canopy, because according to the rules I’m reading now, they’re prohibited. But most people on the beach had pretty awesome setups and the park rangers came by and didn’t bug anyone on the sand, so….

The beach sand seemed pretty shallow– I had trouble getting the stakes in pretty deep. Part of the sand is pebbly and about half is soft sandy as I like it. It didn’t seem to get that hot and because it is pretty narrow, you are never far from dipping toes in the water.

And onto the water! It was less than lukewarm, but felt nice. Lots of people enjoying wading in shallow, peaceful bay/river water. I definitely want to bring a tube next time to float around in. My kids were able to go out pretty far while still standing. Saw people on a variety of boats, some jet skiiers, and some of the bigger ships in the distance. The wading/swimming areas are little pockets with rocks kind of enclosing them (though plenty of people beyond the rocks). This is great for those with kids that follow the rules and can follow the instructions to stay in front of the rocks. Mine are not those kids though. I can’t say for sure but one possibly major benefit of this water is it may not have many jellyfish. From the sign this is river and bay water, which may limit the jellies. I will check back in in August!

As for other amenities, there were a few noteworthy here. There are actual bathrooms within a building. I did not go in there, but was told they were typical and may have even had areas to change.

The park itself has other activities and is just a pretty park. Lots of people fishing, a boating launch site, a big playground (though at the other side of the park), lots of areas to grill, and a basketball court. Saw many people put hammocks up and having small and large gatherings. Also, if you walk all the way down the beach you will come to a dog beach. Dogs still need to be on leash and there is very little sand so might not be ideal for setting up for the day.

What I liked:

• Not free but $6/vehicle is a pretty sweet deal for a weekend beach place
• Soft sand. Pebbly/rocky/shelly too but plenty of the soft stuff.
• Shallow, lukecold (is that a word?) water. Kids can safely wade and play, no real waves beyond what comes from the boats.
• Not that crowded
• Pretty clean
• Real bathrooms on site
• Less than an hour from our home!
• Good probability there won’t be that many jellies
• Other activities if you want to make a day of it

Not a fan of:

• Lucy: Nothing!
• Perry: Did not like that the rocks were blocking the view
• Me: I didn’t like the views to the left of the beach of the more industrial areas. I would have also liked a bit more sandy areas.
• Matt: It was a little crowded.
• Bubbe: Bathroom could be a little cleaner
• Papa: Beach was perfect! Would have liked a concession stand

Concluding thoughts..

We will be back. No doubts.