Elk Neck State Park occupies the Elk Neck Peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the Elk River near the peninsula’s southern tip, preserving a Maryland shoreline of forests, bluffs, beaches, and marshland. The park began when naturalist Dr. William Abbott left his Elk River lands to the state in 1936 for park use after changing his will following a meeting with State Forester Fred W. Besley. The state later added more acreage, and the Civilian Conservation Corps made early improvements from 1937 to 1941. Its best-known landmark, Turkey Point Light, dates to 1833, and the park today combines that historic setting with camping, trails, boating, fishing, and swimming.