DATE
SOURCE: Cecil Daily
NORTH EAST, MD — Elk Neck State Park is closing its campgrounds by the end of the year so much needed repairs and renovations can be done. The campsites won’t reopen until early 2025 so damage and decay can be addressed.
Some of the damage can be blamed on the 2019 tornado while others are due to age or slow maintenance.
The beach, picnic grounds and select trail areas will remain open in 2024.
Mary Ironside, park manager, said most of the projects fall under the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Capital Improvement plans but some items, such as the replacement of playground equipment, will need alternate funding sources.
Elk Neck State Park has 300 campsites, including 18 rustic cabins.
On the list of projects is the replacement of several rustic camping cabins, modernization of all cabins, realignment of the walking trail around Turkey Point Light Station and parking for visitors to the iconic lighthouse.
“The neighbors at Chesapeake Isles are concerned about parking,” Ironside said. Visitors sometimes encroach on the community because of the very small 17-spot parking lot.
“We have plans for a new 52 spot parking lot with additional ADA parking,” Ironside said. “The walk to the lighthouse will be shorter.”
To make that parking lot means redirecting the trail but Ironside said more trail will be added and it will loop around the Light Station, which she notes is a popular trail for dog walkers and walkers in general.
The existing parking lot will be returned to habitat with native tree plantings. Stormwater management at Rogues Harbor will be addressed.
“We’ll be adding culverts and a rain garden,” she said of the plans. Ironside said the existing trail has severe erosion issues; so bad that trees along the trail have major root exposure, putting them at risk of falling.
It’s a big project, all being overseen by DNR with the aid of an architectural firm, all under the shadow of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Areas. That’s the rules governing any construction on land along the shores of the bay and its tributaries.
However, Ironside said the biggest project is the campgrounds on Mauldin Mountain. It’s the oldest part of the park populated with 18 rustic cabins built more than 80 years ago by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
“We are removing eight cabins and building new cabins on the same footprint,” Ironside said of the plans. The Maryland Historic Trust is part of that project. One of the other rustic cabins will be restored — using what wood can be salvaged from the demolished cabins — and will remain as a tourist attraction and historic site only.
All the other rustic cabins will be completely renovated to replace roofs, add heating, air conditioning and running water. Ironside said DNR no longer permits cabins without those amenities. She added that, even in their somewhat derelict condition — tarps on roofs for example — campers still signed up this summer. With that modernization, however, it means the cabins will be available year round.
With that year long closure, Ironside said her staff will have the time to do a lot of projects put on hold due to lack of time.
“This will afford the camp staff the ability to renovate camp sites, clear trails, trim trees,” she said. “Usually we only have a month ... to get campsites ready.” That’s on top of regular daily duties.
Volunteers are welcome to help with these projects, she added. Call the park office to sign up; 410-287-5333.
It also gives Ironside a year to try to find funding for replacement of those playgrounds, most of which have been deemed unsafe and have either been removed or have been fenced off to prohibit access. She hopes to add more amenities there as well.
“This is a park where families have made memories,” Ironside said. “We are dedicated to preserving the visitor experience both recreationally and in resource conservation.”
Ironside is looking forward to when Elk Neck State Park is re-opened and the public welcomed back to the entire park.
“We promise they’re going to love what we do,” she said.
