Matapeake State Park

Matapeake State Park
Matapeake Beach & Clubhouse[1], Matapeake Marine Terminal[2]
Maryland State Park
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Queen Anne's
Elevation	23 ft (7 m) [3]
Coordinates	38°57′13″N 76°21′09″W / 38.95361°N 76.35250°W / 38.95361; -76.35250Coordinates: 38°57′13″N 76°21′09″W / 38.95361°N 76.35250°W / 38.95361; -76.35250 [3]
Area	29 acres (12 ha) [2]
Opened	2009
Management	Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Location in Maryland
Website: Matapeake Beach

Matapeake State Park is a state park managed by Queen Anne's County located in Matapeake, Kent Island, Maryland. The park is the site of a former ferry landing that served the state-owned Chesapeake Bay Ferry System before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened. Today, the pier that once served the ferry is now used as a fishing pier. Also located on the park's grounds is the restored ferry house. The northern terminus of the Kent Island South Trail, a 6-mile paved trail from Matapeake State Park to Romancoke Pier, is also located in the park.^[4]

History

The park land was first acquired by the state in 1941 with the purchase of the Claiborne-Annapolis Ferry Company, which became the Chesapeake Bay Ferry System. The Sandy Point-Matapeake Ferry, which had used the land as a landing, was discontinued in 1952. Afterwards, uses for the land by the state included a shooting range and a building housing a scale model of the Chesapeake Bay. The bay model was made obsolete by computer simulations, and the building was left vacant. In 2003 the building collapsed during that year's Presidents' Day snowstorm.^[5] The park is leased by Queen Anne's County. The county has renovated the ferry terminal building and renamed it Matapeake Clubhouse. Both Matapeake Clubhouse and the adjoining public beach on the Chesapeake Bay opened to the public April 25, 2009.^[1]

See also

• Sandy Point State Park

References

External links

• Matapeake Beach Queen Anne's County