Sandy Point State Park

Sandy Point State Park, on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis at the western end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, became a public park after Maryland bought a former ferry landing in 1948 and opened it in 1952. Long known as one of the bay’s busiest recreation areas, it also became important in the struggle against segregation. After opening with racially separate beaches and bathhouses, it was ordered integrated by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1955 case Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City v. Dawson, helping extend Fourteenth Amendment protections to state beaches and other recreational facilities. The park remains a major leisure destination with historic structures, shoreline views, and varied outdoor activities.

Maryland · United States