It was the fourth week of September 2020, and the weather was gorgeous. I had vacation time to use, but my husband and two daughters were still tethered to their Zooms. So, I set out by myself to see how many sandy beaches I could visit within a reasonable drive from our Annapolis, Maryland, home. Over five days, I made it to 32 beaches and enjoyed one of the most epic adventures of my life, sharing the journey along the way with my friends on social media. Every year since, I've challenged myself to do it again, making it to a grand total of 147 different beaches: 2021 (37 beaches), 2022 (31 beaches), 2023 (23 beaches), 2024 (13 beaches) and 2025 (11 beaches)! ​
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Ground Rules
First, I had some ground rules. To qualify for this quest, the beach must be on the Chesapeake Bay or one of the tributaries and must be publicly accessible. This doesn’t necessarily mean public land, however. One beach was privately owned, but anyone can visit for the day or even camp there for a fee. For the most part, however, I visited federal, state, county and municipal lands. Some of the parks I visited have free admission, but many charge a fee ranging from $2.50 to $15.00 per person or vehicle.

Disclaimer
For one day, I cheated on our beloved Chesapeake and traveled to Delaware Bay, which I also love, but I wore plenty of Chesapeake swag to make my true allegiances known.

Planning
To plan my trips, I used FindYourChesapeake.com, a partnership website from the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office and Chesapeake Conservancy [NOTE: In 2023, the NPS funding for this website was discontinued, and the website is no longer available]. In addition, I also used Google and even aerial imagery to detect sandy stretches of shoreline. Then I researched if they were publicly accessible.

History
A journey to the beaches of the Chesapeake is also a journey through its history. Some of that history is quite painful, and the effects are still felt by many even to this day. Thoughts of the Indigenous people who lived here for more than 10,000 years before the European colonists (reflected in so many of the parks’ names: Kiptopeke, Chippokes, Matapeake, and Aquia—named for Algonquian Indian word for gulls)—and thoughts of the enslaved people whose labor enabled the many plantations that lined the Chesapeake’s shores made standing on a beach not just standing on a beach. I could literally feel the history of the place, and it was heavy.

I was really struck by how many of the parks were former plantations. As conservationists, you understand how these large tracts of intact land made them ideal for conservation. Sometimes the family bequeathed the land to the state, or sometimes funds were raised to purchase the land. These are places with stories to tell—and certainly not just the stories of the plantation owners.

Throughout my trips, I typically took a silly selfie photo on the beach, a way to mark that I had reached another milestone on the quest. But looking back at my pictures, I am reminded that at quite a few places, I just couldn’t. Did I really want to stand there on a beach smiling where hundreds of people were enslaved? No. Not every beach got the selfie. At some places—like Fort Monroe, where 402 years ago, the White Lion carried 20-30 enslaved people from Angola, considered to be the beginning of race-based slavery in America—the history was too heavy, and the moments were just too solemn.

But isn’t that the point? What I am describing is a vital part of many park experiences. These are places where we can learn about and reflect upon the people who came before us. While not an expert on the Chesapeake’s history, I do have an insatiable curiosity. I want to learn more, and I want to ensure that my daughters learn more. Helping us better understand how we got to where we are now is a huge part of why these places are so very important to conserve and share with the public.

Sense of Place
I do a lot of reading and writing about the Chesapeake both professionally and personally, even as part of my own genealogical research. Thanks to these beach trips, I have a much deeper sense of place.

Here is just one example: One day, I was following my car’s GPS directions basically on autopilot when I happened to notice on a few street signs that I was traveling through San Domingo, an area established in the 1800s by free Black men and women in Maryland’s Wicomico County. Of course, I paused on beaches and spent a little more time exploring San Domingo, which I had read about in the Chesapeake Bay Journal and The Baltimore Sun. Thanks to that fortuitous stop, I now will have a sense of place as I learn more about this area in the months to come.

People
The most memorable parts of both the 2020 and 2021 trips were the people I met. Something about a beach breaks down social barriers. You may remember making beach friends when you were little: you start building a sandcastle with another child, who you would probably be too shy to speak to were it not for the magic of the beach. I feel like I’ve been on a grown-up version of that. I work in public relations, and I’ll have a conversation with anyone who is willing, but there is just something different when it comes to the beach.

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What’s Your Favorite Beach?
I heard from many people during my trips: my own Facebook friends, of course, but also people who heard about the trip, from a county leader in tourism thanking me for stopping by, professional colleagues and even a Maryland cabinet secretary who took the time to write. They often asked: “What’s your favorite beach? Which one would you recommend?” Each beach has a different personality, but I love them all. My honest answer is the best beach is the one that you can get yourself to.

Closing Thoughts…
So, I made it to 147 beaches in 30 days of exploring. Although drop-by visits to the Chesapeake’s diverse beaches are not ideal, I consider these whirlwind trips to be reconnaissance for choosing places to return to with family and friends and the time to truly enjoy what each place has to offer.
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This probably sounds like folks who live or visit around here have plenty of beach access. You may have noticed that my photos show few people. Consider, though, that I had the luxury of taking vacation time and doing my exploring during the week in the off-season, something not everyone can do.

It’s a different story in peak season, especially weekends, when many of the places I traveled to are filled to capacity, and park employees must turn people away at the gate. Or, if there is no gate, there’s simply no parking left for all the people who want to visit. This was true even before the pandemic, but now, even more people are turning to nature for solace and recreation. Our demand for water access and outdoor recreation is pushing our parks to the limits.

One natural area preserve that I visited in 2021 had no trash cans and no bathrooms, and there were just a handful of unofficial parking spots. Many of you know this is customary for nature preserves meant for low human impact. This worked fine for my off-season, weekday, brief visit, when I was the only one on the beach for most of my time there. But a local woman told me that on summer weekends, there are hundreds of visitors a day, many of whom stay for a significant amount of time. Hundreds. Remember, there are no bathrooms and no trash cans and very little parking. Remember, too, that every single one of those hundreds of visitors a day has the right to be there.

Just down the street from the last beach I visited in 2021 (North Beach in North Beach, Maryland) is the resort town called Chesapeake Beach. To visit their public beach, called “Bayfront” or “Brownie’s Beach” by locals, you must literally be a local. During 2020, it was only open to municipal residents as a COVID-related precaution. It remains closed to non-residents due to the potential for collapse along the cliffs area. This is a reminder to check for the latest information on beach closures before you go.

Communities are grappling with how to provide public access, including near my home, where Sandy Point State Park fills to capacity and turns people away on the most glorious summer weekends.

I certainly don’t have the answers, but I do know that we need more parks. Parks don’t make themselves. Here’s a shout-out to everyone working in conservation and trying to create more opportunities for people to visit beautiful places like these. Now more than ever, it is important that our federal, state and local governments, along with nonprofits, foundations and private donors, work to conserve more sites for public access to the Bay. 

What started out as a Covid-safe solo “staycation” adventure turned out to be so much more. We’re lucky to live where we are surrounded by beauty in nature, amazing wildlife and the opportunity to learn the history of the Chesapeake and its people, past and present.

Here I will share a list of all 147 beaches, photos and invite you to follow along the three journeys!

​P.S. There are so many more to see! Same time next year!

Beach #147 on the Bush River is tiny but symbolic to me. At Willoughby Beach Park in Edgewood, Maryland, there's just a small sandy beach next to the fishing pier. But when I arrived, I spied a broken (and sandy) beach chair in the trash can. Proof that these small beaches that are just big enough for a beach chair are special places for beach people too!
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That's a wrap for Beach Trek 2025! It was a great week full of surprises, special people and sandy toes. See you next year!

At my fifth stop today (all were beautiful even if they were beachless), I finally reeled in a real beach!

Beach #146 at Harford County's Flying Point Park at the intersection of Otter Point Creek and the Bush River feels like a big prize!
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Lots of folks enjoying this 16.5-acre park today!

​For today's grand finale, we visited Beach #145, Conquest Beach Preserve.

Acquired by Queen Anne’s County between 1998 and 2003, this 758-acre waterfront preserve on the Spaniard Neck peninsula has five miles of shoreline on the Chester and Corsica Rivers.

For generations, Conquest Beach located on the Chester River, was a favorite local swimming beach, but by 2016, it had eroded to a point that Queen Anne's County, the state and the National Wildlife Federation partnered on the Conquest Preserve Living Shoreline Project. It was the first project in the U.S. to try a “shingle beach,” swapping out soft sand for a shoreline built with pebbles and small cobbles.

Supported by grant funding, Washington College's Natural Lands Project and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have joined forces with Queen Anne’s County to restore wildlife habitat.
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This is a great spot to host an outdoor gathering, wedding or family reunion. See links to rent the pavillion and a video about the history in the comments!

Beach #141 with special VIP surprise guest, my best friend, Susan LaRue Snider! She was on my doorstep when I came home from Beachwood last night, all the way from Lake Huron!

Town Foot Log Park in Charlestown, Maryland, is a beautiful pocket park on the North East River. Cross over a picturesque footbridge and soak in this view!

​11 Park Street, Earleville, MD 21919

At Beach #144, we were treated to breathtaking views of the Elk River from this sandy beach at Crystal Beach Manor, a former resort. Just across the river is Maryland's Elk Neck State Park (Beach #24) and the Turkey Point Lighthouse.

Privately owned, all are welcome here for $8 a day, comparable to public park entry fees.

Concessions are available in high season.

Learn more about the resort's history here.

Beach #142 is Sandy Beach Park (the best name ever!), another pocket park on the North East River with a stunning view of the Elk Neck peninsula.
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This small town, just about 1.5 hours from Philadelphia, is the ancestral homeland of the Susquehannack and Lenape people.

Located near the corner of Market and Water Streets, ​Charlestown, MD 21914

​Charlestown, Maryland for a triple win! Here we found Beach #143 at Veteran's Park.

Hello from Beach #140, historic Beachwood Park in Pasadena, Maryland, on the Magothy River!

From 1948-1963, present day Anne Arundel County's Beachwood Park was a rare and special place, a welcoming escape for Black families during a time when segregation kept them out of most recreational spots. Created by Rev. Hiram E. Smith, a Black entrepreneur who bought the land through a proxy to get around racist property laws, the park quickly became a lively summer destination. It featured a Ferris wheel, a dance hall and even live shows by stars like James Brown and Tina Turner.

Beechwood (note the original spelling difference) thrived for years, offering joy, music and community until Smith lost ownership in 1963. The property changed hands a few times before eventually being taken over by Anne Arundel County. Thanks to the hard work of local volunteers and the Magothy River Association, the property is now a peaceful public park with wooded trails, kayak access and beautiful waterfront views.

To learn more about historically Black beaches of the Chesapeake, check out this website from Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation and Chesapeake Conservancy.  

If you'd like to learn more about the Chesapeake's amusement parks in their heydays, check out my dear friend Lara Lutz's book, "Chesapeake's Western Shore: Vintage Vacationland." 

There's only a small sandy beach here, but it will fit a beach chair, and so it meets the stringent requirements of Beach Trek. 

​723 Second Street, PO Box 3088, Annapolis, MD 21403

Hello from Beach #139! Real life got in the way of Beach Trek today so #139 is Beach Trek lite....
There is a wonderful small waterfront park with a sandy beach at the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park, the site of the old McNasby Oyster Company in Eastport, Annapolis. It's the perfect spot to launch your kayak or soak in the view. You can fit a beach chair here, so it counts for Beach Trek!

Standing here, I can instantly conjure up the smell of visiting McNasby's and the nearby Sadler's Seafood with my dad as a child. This is how I remember the Annapolis of my youth.

According to the museum, the McNasby Oyster Company was founded in 1886 by William McNasby Sr., and began as a single storefront on Compromise Street. The business continued to grow until it became necessary to expand to a packing plant on 723 Second Street in the neighborhood of Eastport, a community in Annapolis. Today, this same historic structure is home to the Annapolis Maritime Museum.

The Annapolis Maritime Museum is a wonderful event space for weddings, meetings and parties. Come on out sometime for their Tides and Tunes concert series. The park portion here is open to the public from dawn to dusk. There is another campus off Edgewood Road ("Beach" #81, this just barely counts as a beach, depending on the day/tide). 
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And remember, when real life gets in the way, maybe you can only carve out time for a small local spot, but it can still have a big impact on your day!

​26280 Alfred J Lawson Dr, Crisfield, MD 21817

Beach #138, Maryland's Janes Island State Park in Crisfield, has been on my beach wish list for years!

Janes Island is the ancestral homeland of the Annemessex. In the 19th century, it was the site of a menhaden oil factory and lighthouse.

From an article related to my work, writer Jennifer Latham described a bit of history about how Janes Island became separated from the mainland. "For years, watermen heading out of Crisfield to prime crabbing and oyster grounds had to sail west around Janes Island, often braving rough seas. A man named Daugherty began digging a canal shortcut in 1918 that was completed in the 1930s, providing overjoyed watermen a safe, quick route north."

Janes Island became a park in 1963. You can RV or tent camp here and explore 30 miles of water trails. After a 45-minute kayak trip, I found myself on a beautiful white sandy beach overlooking Tangier Sound and the Chesapeake Bay.

Chesapeake Conservancy helped develop plans for a new visitor center here. 

Highly recommend! 10 out of 10!

1920 Scientist Cliffs Road, Port Republic, MD 20676

Kicking off Beach Week 2025!

​At Beach #137, I’ve finally returned, after 40 years, to Warrior’s Rest, a place steeped in childhood memories.

My father’s friend, Dr. Page Jett, and his wife Vashti owned this 200-acre farm on the Chesapeake Bay in Scientists’ Cliffs, about 11 miles north of Calvert Cliffs in Port Republic, Maryland. Established in 1935 as a summer colony, Scientists’ Cliffs was home to some of the area's leading scientists.

Sadly, I learned recently that the state will be tearing down the house because it has fallen into such disrepair.

Dr. Jett played a key role in founding Calvert Memorial Hospital and was a strong advocate for the rights of his Indigenous patients.

When my father became seriously ill and was hospitalized in New York for over a year, Dr. Jett split his time between Calvert County and Annapolis, selflessly covering my dad’s medical practice. Thanks to his generosity, my father was able to return to his patients and pick up where he left off.
The land has been conserved is now owned by the state of Maryland and managed by the American Chestnut Land Trust - ACLT, a great nonprofit. ACLT provides public access several times a year through guided kayak tours from the bay front property to Parkers Creek. Thank you to my awesome kayak crew, Chad, Keith & Matt, for joining me today for this great adventure!

To register for a future trip, visit www.acltweb.org/canoe-trips

Pro Tip: if you bring your own kayak or canoe, you do not count toward the registration quota. Contact the office to sort it out!

Taking Sunday and Monday off—I'll be back on the beach trail Tuesday starting at Beach #138!

River Farm Road, Lothian, MD 20711

Slow start this morning, so beach week will end with just one beach today but it's a very special one.

I'm at River Farm, a property that is part of the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Lothian, Maryland. Jug Bay is on the Patuxent River, and the sanctuary, which was established in 1985, is about 1,700 acres.

I first came to River Farm last year with my cousin for an archaeological talk hosted by Anne Arundel County. One of the speakers was kind enough to meet with me a few months later and review our collection of arrowheads and points, all tidal finds from Chesapeake shores. He was particularly impressed by three that are approximately 8,500 years old!

Just around the bend here from River Farm is Pig's Point, a 9,000-year-old pre-historic site, discovery of which has changed our understanding of migration of the Indigenous peoples of the Chesapeake.

Over a decade ago, The New York Times reported that Anne Arundel County's archaeologist, Al Luckenbach, realized Pig's Point was more than just a "feasting site," it was a ceremonial site, also known as a ritual site.

Human bones were found but it was clear that this was more than a graveyard. The small bones were altered or smashed, as were arrowheads and pottery--all deliberately smashed as if part of a prehistoric ritual. Some of the materials were sourced from elsewhere. They were carried here over hundreds of miles, evidence of Indigenous migration. The bones were small, perhaps easier for traveling and brought here from somewhere else. Even points from the Clovis era (13,000 years ago) have been found here.

A private property owner and amateur archaeologist found the first evidence of how special Pig's Point was and reached out to Dr. Luckenbach who began studying the site in 2009. Research continues to this day. 

Come and visit River Farm and Jug Bay. You will feel the history all around. Due to the ongoing research, this property is not open every day. I called the sanctuary this morning and explained that I'd like to take a walk at River Farm this afternoon. The representative gave me a code for a lock at the gate, and the most remarkable thing happened--it worked! I felt the weight of my civic duty to lock the place back up and not mess up! Public access to such a special place, and the collective civic trust that I felt, are a great way to end Beach Week 2024!

A few quotes about Pig's Point:

“Habitation sites are everywhere,” said Dr. Luckenbach, the archaeologist for Anne Arundel County. “Ritual sites — that’ll only be a few places. Boy, were we lucky to blunder into this one.”
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Darrin L. Lowery, a University of Delaware archaeologist and a former Smithsonian Institution research fellow, called the site “almost like a prehistoric funeral home.” But it is more than that, he said. “It’s a very sacred funeral home.”
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“Finding that is pretty rare — actually, virtually unheard-of in the archaeological record,” he said. “Finding the activities leading up to the burial preparation is a pretty unique lens into that moment in time."
 
 
 

​10540 H G Trueman Rd, Lusby, MD 20657

my husbStopping to smell the roses (or find the sharks' teeth) at just one beach today!

Calvert Cliffs State Park is a 1,311-acre park with a quarter mile beach on the Chesapeake Bay. These soaring cliffs were once a part of the coastal ocean about 18 million years ago, providing an ideal place to find Middle Miocene sub-epoch fossils.

The red trail is the shortest path to the beach (1.8 miles), weaving along breathtaking wetlands.
Calvert Cliffs made news this month when it was announced a team had found 53 teeth from the same megladon shark (link in comments).

No teeth for me today, just a cool fossil. In fact, the only tooth we've ever found here, my husband, Chad, found in the parking lot! So never stop searching, even when you get to the car!
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The park is nearby the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and the Dominion Cove Point liquid natural gas facility.

Route 10 at 15080 Talcott Terrace, Smithfield, Virginia 23430

Well, if there was going to be an incident today it surely would have been here.

Have you ever seen me climb straight up a vertical cliff like a billy goat (in slippery sneakers and with a purse)? Let's hope no one did because it was a sight to see.

At Fort Huger on the James River, I took a short hike through the woods, checked out some Civil War replica cannons and looked for the path to the beach. The only one I could find involved a vertical death drop. I slid down it like a kid on a slide at the playground (pine needle removal to follow).

And here was my sweet reward!

For the spry among you, I highly recommend this huge sandy beach on the James River in Rushmore, Isle of Wright County, Virginia.
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Fort Huger was a confederate fort to defend the James River not too far from Fort Boykin (another beach on my website!). In 1862, the Union Army fired upon Fort Huger and the confederates fled.

​2001 Daniel K Ludwig Dr, Woodbridge, VA 22191

At Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge, VA, I found several stunners! Located on a peninsula bordered by Powells Creek, the Potomac River and Neabsco Creek, this park has it all! Gorgeous wetlands, boat access, campground, trails, playground and large pavilions.

We have the generosity of Daniel K. Ludwig to thank for this gem. He donated the land for the park in 1978.

Once owned by the Lee family, President George Washington made several visits here. The Lee family eventually sold it to the Fairfax family. The Fairfax family plantation was farmed by enslaved workers. This is an important site in the Civil War due to its Potomac River access.
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Researchers believe this land was the site of an Algonquian village prior to the arrival of European settlers.

​6800 Lawyers Rd, Spotsylvania Courthouse, VA 22551

​Hello from Lake Anna State Park, a man-made lake built to cool a nearby nuclear power plant at the former Goodwin Gold Mine where gold was discovered in 1829 and the ancestral homeland of the Manahoac.

15074 Tyler's Beach Rd., Smithfield, VA 23430

Goodnight from Tyler's Beach, a historically Black beach on the James River in Smithfield, Virginia.

Upon his death in 1802, Timothy Tynes' last will and testament freed the enslaved who had labored on his land and transferred his property to them. In the 1920s, Nettie Tyler bought 10 acres, and they became known as Tyler's Beach. Today, Tyler's Beach is owned by the county of Isle of Wright. During my visit, several groups began to gather and fish before sunset.

Note the traditional Chesapeake watermen deadrise in the photo, as confirmed by my friend Vincent Leggett, founder and president of Blacks of the Chesapeake. Learn more about Tyler's Beach and 65 other historically Black beaches of the Chesapeake from a partnership study with Chesapeake Conservancy and Blacks of the Chesapeake (see link in comments).
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Thank you, Vince, for all that you have taught me and for inspiring me to keep learning!

Note: Sadly, Vince Leggett passed away a few months after this blog was published. Please read this incredible tribute and my submission.

​21843 National Pike, Boonsboro, MD 21713

Hello from Beach #127, a 1,000-foot man-made mountain lake at Greenbrier State Park in the far western reaches of the Chesapeake Bay watershed - Boonsboro, Maryland. A drop of rain here will one day make its way to the Chesapeake Bay.

Greenbrier State Park was created in the early 1960s and is an access point for the Appalachian Trail. In 1995, the park made news when not just one but two rare albino deer were spotted. In 2008, the park built the first official concrete culvert turtle crossing in the United States so that box turtles could safely pass the road.

Greenbrier State Park is the ancestral homeland of East Coast Native American tribes, including the Susquehannock, Piscataway, Catawba and Lenni Lenape.
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As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) laid the groundwork for many park amenities we enjoy here today.

Note: In 2025, in order to ease overcrowding and to ensure that visitors are not turned away due to capacity limitations, day use reservations are now required at Greenbrier State Park on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day.​ Click here to make your reservation.

12500 Pleasant Valley Road, Flintstone, MD 21530

A shout out to Edward Habeeb and others for donating land nearby Cumberland, Maryland, that started Rocky Gap State Park, which is celebrating 50 years. Parks don't make themselves!

Beach #128 is a white sandy beach along the man-made Lake Habeeb with excellent facilities. Lake Habeeb is said to have the "bluest water in Maryland."

Rocky Gap Run flows into Evitts Creek, which flows into the Potomac River and into the Chesapeake Bay at Point Look Out State Park!
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The casino here was a political firestorm when I started my career and sold a lot of newspapers.....

​818 Cacapon Lodge Dr., Berkeley Springs, WV 25411

Hello from Beach #129! She's all tucked away and fenced up for winter but there's a beautiful beach at Cacapon State Park in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.

A New Deal project under President Roosevelt through the Civilian Conservation Corps and National Park Service, Cacapon became a West Virginia state park in 1933. This park is a great example of how our elected officials and their land use policies can shape the future for generations to come.
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This land was once hunting ground for the Iroquois Confederacy and later home to the Tuscarora. Berkeley Springs is famous for its mineral water, and even President George Washington was known to seek its health remedies.

​14274 William Houck Dr, Thurmont, MD 21788

Goodnight from Beach #130! This might be the second closest I've come to being locked inside a park! Good thing that nice ranger did one last sweep! He was very surprised to find me here at the south beach at Cunningham Falls State Park before locking the main gate for the night.

Another New Deal project under President Roosevelt through the Civilian Conservation Corps, this land was transferred to the state of Maryland in 1954. I'm just around the bend from the president's Camp David retreat. My photos do not do the fall foliage justice.
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"See" you tomorrow!

​483 Great House Road, Stratford, VA 22558

There's a beautiful beach on the Potomac at Stratford Hall Historic Preserve, the former plantation of the Lee family and birthplace of confederate general Robert E. Lee.

I purchased a grounds pass for $10 and drove right up to the beach, well known among local shark's tooth hunters.

It was close to closing time, and I was formally warned I could be locked in for the night, but I noticed the Payne Cabin, which was built in the 1940s at the request of a descendant of the enslaved here to serve as a memorial to his ancestors.
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That's it for today! I'll be back at it tomorrow.

​38370 Point Breeze Rd, Coltons Point, MD 20626

It's Beach Week 2024! This is my 5th year on an adventure to explore the publicly accessible sandy beaches of the Chesapeake Bay watershed!

The week kicks off with beach #124 via water taxi ($7) to St. Clements Island State Park.
This state park is the ancestral homeland of the Algonquian-speaking Yaocomico Native Americans. On March 25, 1634, Maryland's first colonists landed on St. Clement's Island after sailing from Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England aboard two small ships, the Ark and the Dove. Later that day, they held the first Catholic mass in the British-American colonies. Today, the park commemorates religious toleration.
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Now the island is uninhabited and only one-tenth the size it was in colonial days. I took a short hike to the lighthouse where I’m enjoying the sweeping view of the Potomac River from this 62-acre island park!

​1732 Popes Creek Rd, Colonial Beach, VA 22443

This one is squishy and the purists out there may not think I should count it but I'm going to count it because while I didn't get my toes in the sand, I got very very close......
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Potomac River Beach at George Washington's Birthplace National Monument is closed on Mondays (it's at the end of a road so I thought I could just roll on in). I tried to pull a fast one and hike in through the woods but I started to get that familiar "there's going to be an incident" feeling. National Park Service photo for now.... I'll swing by someday and actually get my toes in the sand.