Elk Neck State Park is a public recreation area located between

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

and the Elk River near the southern tip of the Elk Neck Peninsula in

Cecil County Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The state park is home to the historic Turkey Point Light and offers land-based and water-based recreation. The park is located on MD 272, eight miles (13 km) south of the town of North East, and south of exit 100 on

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

. It is operated by the

Maryland Department of Natural Resources The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. I ...

History

The park had its genesis when, in 1936, naturalist Dr. William Abbott bequeathed his holdings along the Elk River to the state for use as a state park. Although he originally intended the land to be a gift to the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, a meeting with State Forester Fred W. Besley in 1935 persuaded Abbott to change the terms of his will. Following the state's purchase of additional acreage, the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

created park improvements from 1937 to 1941.

Activities and amenities

;Turkey Point Lighthouse Dating from 1833, the Turkey Point Lighthouse sits on a bluff overlooking the Upper Chesapeake Bay. The tower is a "private aid to navigation" maintained by a non-profit organization, Turkey Point Light Station, Inc., which offers weekend tours seasonally. ;Campgrounds The park offers more than 250 campsites, rustic cabins, camper cabins, and youth group sites. ;Trails The park has of trails for hiking and biking. ;Water recreation The park offers a swimming beach, fishing, and crabbing, plus a boat launch and launch area for canoeing and kayaking.

Ecology

The park is part of the

Northeastern coastal forests The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont a ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

, with a landscape characterized by deep forests, bluffs, beaches, and marshlands.

In popular culture

The park was used as a filming location for the 1997 Clint Eastwood movie '' Absolute Power'', ''

The Curve (1998 film) ''The Curve'' is a 1998 thriller film starring Matthew Lillard, Keri Russell and Michael Vartan, which premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival under its original title, ''Dead Man's Curve''. It draws on the urban legend that a student will ...

'' and as the setting of an episode of the television series '' Hannibal''.

References

External links

Elk Neck State Park
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Elk Neck State Park Map
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Turkey Point Light Station
Turkey Point Light Station, Inc. {{authority control State parks of Maryland Parks in Cecil County, Maryland Protected areas established in 1936 1936 establishments in Maryland Civilian Conservation Corps in Maryland IUCN Category III