Anne Arundel currently has only one public beach for swimming and only two sites with free public boat ramps. Calvert County isn't much different. It recently opened one small Bayfront beach and two towns, North Beach and Chesapeake Beach, have smaller swimming areas. There are two public boat ramps on the Patuxent River but none on the Bay. In St. Mary's County, which has one swimming beach and a handful of boat ramps, park officials recently bought the largest undeveloped tract of waterfront land in the county.
Some residents think beach neighbors are being selfish.
That committee ultimately voted to recommend that non-motorized watercraft, such as windsurfers and canoes, be allowed at the park. They also approved the construction of baseball diamonds. But other residents say beach neighbors have valid concerns. Lloyd Lewis, a member of the Anne Arundel citizen's committee who lives near the beach, said many can recall visitor traffic that crowded the narrow peninsula when the beaches were open 30 years ago. Park officials also say that swimming is often impractical for waterfront parks.