calvert cliffs state park

We had a great time hiking down to the bay. Lots is aquatic things to see. Then hunting for sharks teeth when you get to the bay. Very nice day trip.

This is such an interesting place -- 15 million year old fossils on the beach and you're permitted to find them and take them home. You'll want to take bags or buckets, and perhaps a small rock pick hammer for getting some of the fossils out of the cliff strata.

Who knew that you can go to a beach in MD and watch tons of Fossilized shark teeth, Stingray dental plates and other fossils just appear before your eyes thousands of years old just rl up in the tide... If you have not been I highly recommend. some days are better than others so be patient.

Having spent a week in Maryland seeing the sights, this is one of teh few spots where I felt like you got to take in a bit of nature and it's beauty. I arrived late and the 1.8 mile hike one way surprised me. The trail is pretty flat, but after a long hot and steamy Maryland day, I wasn't super excited for the hike. I arrived with enough time to spend about a half hour on the beach and enjoy the scenery. There isn't a ton of places to go from here and the beach to the left was closed, but the cliffs in the distance, the light house and the rig set up off shore were all interesting sights. If I had small children or didn't like hiking, this may be a long walk for the pay off. If you like the outdoors and enjoy the exercise, it's a great opportunity to stretch your legs and take in some of natures beauty.

Yes, there is a little hike to get to the cliffs, and yes, it does go through a swampy area. However, the trail is nicely maintained, board walkway through the swampy part. There was a little bit of wildlife, snakes, frogs, and lizards. Once you get to the cliffs, if you plan on looking for shark teeth, etc, bring something to sift the sand with. If you want to get in the water, BRING WATER SHOES. There is a small sandy area you can relax on but there are large rocks, shells, and pieces of metal in the water. Our feet were cut up. Be aware there is nothing at the cliffs, ai: trash receptacles, water hydrant, or restrooms. They do have a few picnic tables and there is a portapotty on the trail. There are many resting areas along the trail with benches. Not a particularly tough trail but if you take your time, takes about 50 minutes to reach the cliffs.

My review doesn't really describe too much that others haven't already complained about, but all I can say is this is definitely not a beach for small children. The 1.8 mile hike would be worth it if the beach and cliffs were an enjoyable outcome. We drove all the way from Frederick, MD (104 miles one way) for what the brochures and website falsely represented as an awesome experience. The beach was ridiculously small, overcrowded, and quite dirty. We shared the 200 foot stretch with probably 100 other people. The cliffs were off limits, a large research platform was insight right offshore, and even the boardwalk out to the center of the swamp along the way was rotted out and closed to passers by. The best part of the park is the children's playground made out of used tire shreds. Just sayin'...There is no quick escape route, so hopefully it doesn't rain while you're out there with your 2-year old either. Just sayin'...I've been to quite a few of MD's state parks over the years...many of which I've made return visits. This one, sadly, will NOT be one of them.My suggestion...get an inflatable pool from Wal-Mart. It's cleaner, and the beach surrounding it is larger than the one at Calvert Cliffs. Just sayin'...

I've been wanting to visit Calvert Cliffs SP for years. It is a very nice park (trash free, so make sure you bring trash bags to take your trash with you). My party of 5 had a 4.5 hour stay here. We first hiked the red trail to the beach. The trail is very flat, with great scenery. It is sandy in many spots with some boardwalk parts near the marshes. We saw blue heron, red tailed hawks, turtles, and evidence of beavers. The beach was very clean with tons of shells. The cliffs are nothing spectacular (might that might be our opinion since we'd been in Maine with huge rock cliffs earlier this summer). We (a 9 year old, 20-somethings, and 40-somethings) all had a fun time searching and sifting (we brought along a small shovel and a sifting screen) through sand and shells to find sharks teeth and fossils! There are no shower or even foot rinse off stations, which would have been nice after playing in the sand and surf. After our walk back to the parking area we enjoyed a picnic lunch at one of the many tables available. There is a large recycled tire park for children to play at, though we did not stop by.

The red trail hike is 1.8 miles of reasonably flat, ever terrain. My husband and I walked it in flip flops with no problem. We saw several families with young children, many seniors and eight or so dogs ranging from a Chiweenie to a Rottweiler. No one seemed to have any difficulty with the walk. The beach is blocked off at each end to prevent injury from sliding rock and soil. The portion that is left open to visitors is a bit small. The view of the bay is nice and the hike was enjoyable, but I don't believe we will do it twice. If I were recommending it yo a friend I'd suggest they visit the Doyle Point Lighthouse and Calvert Marine Museum first, bring a picnic lunch to eat at the Clavert Cliff Park before heading out for the hike, then after the beach and return hike, head over to the beach at North Bay, MD and have some ice cream at the Cold Penguin. It makes for an enjoyable day.

August 2014 Heard Calvert Cliffs was a sight to see when in Southern Maryland. Right next to a nuclear power plant, We thought we would pay the $5 / car entry fee. Three choices of trails to the beach/cliffs. We took the (red) easy trail. It was about a 2 mile hike in. Nice trails, easy to walk. Would not recommend you bring your luggage, strollers and coolers with you. Trail was muddy and wear bug spray. Made it down with only one fall. We knew the cliffs were having land slides and parts of them were off limits. Very disappointed to see they were all off limits. In fact, I wouldn't even call them cliffs! More like bad beach erosion. Photos make them look tall, they are not. Impossible to find fossils with all the debris. The view was industrial piers on the water. A big waste of time and $5.

We loved the location and atmosphere. We found a lot of sharks teeth. It is also located close to Chesapeake Beach and Solomons Island

We are very outdoorsy and up for a long hike but were hoping the hike was worth it. The cliffs are blocked off so all you can do is walk a short stretch of unattractive beach far from the cliffs. We looked for fossils and sharks teeth with no luck and headed back on the long return hike. We were all disappointed.

We had a two mile hike to the Calvert Cliffs and enjoyed every minute of it took a back pack,water,shovels and some lite food.This is what my wife and myself needed.

We went on an extremely hot day, which probably affected our experience. It was a 1.8 mile walk from the parking lot to the beach. Trail was flat and very well groomed. A few extremely minor slopes, not really worth noticing unless you have difficulty walking or have a stroller. Part of it was boardwalk, passing through wetlands and swamp, interesting to see. The beach area at the end is very small and the cliff area is fenced off so you can not really see them or photograph, which is why we went, so we were disappointed. Families were swimming. Many people bring dogs, who sometimes do not get along, so there was some barking and snapping, somewhat disturbing the tranquil atmosphere. There is a nice bathroom building and water fountains at the parking lot, and some porta potties and a few big orange canteens of water for people to use at the beach.Unless you intend to swim, I would recommend a cooler day.But it was pretty along the path.$5/car entrance fee seemed very fair to us.

After passing on the $15 per person charge at North Beach, we drove to Calvert Cliffs - what a state gem! Spectacular nature walk on a neatly groomed trail. Beautiful sandy beach and stunning cliffs. Be sure to bring your own hydration and snacks as there did not seem to be a town for stops.This is a definite on the stop by and see it again the next time around. The park ranger was very informative and helpful.

This State Park has Spectacular Views of Nature along the trail down to the Beach! You will see some beautiful wetlands and lilly pads and you will also get a much needed walk. No sharks teeth- that they advertise were EVER found.We did find some good Fossils and a few shells.There is alot of Clay in the area. The Trail is not for those who are not used to walking long distances..there are alot of hills, tree roots to step over... Not a good idea for those in Wheel chairs and small children- Just being honest.