Improving Beachwood Park on the Magothy River

Improving Beachwood Park on the Magothy River. . Background
Public access to the Magothy's tidal shoreline is very limited. Downs Parkhas tidal shoreline on the Bay mainstem and on Bodkin Creek on the Patapsco, and the Magothy is nontidal in Lake Waterford Park (Fig. 1). The county has owned about 71 waterfront acres at Beachwood Park, on the north shore of the upper tidal Magothy, since 2002 (see map, Fig. 2). It was operated as a beach resort and amusement facility from 1948 to early 1960's, primarily serving the African American community but open to all. It offered swimming, fishing, pavilions, and piers for excursion boats that went down the river (see Figs. 3-4).

Current plans
The MRA, Friends of Beachwood Park, Eagle Cove School, and county Recreation and Parks are working to revitalize the park for public use. The MRA's Friends of Beachwood Park, led by Kelly Kalinowski, are working with the county on several projects which will be completed as volunteers, funding, and permits allow. The MRA has received $1150 in donations for this, but much more is needed to complete these planned projects:
- Clearing fallen trees blocking various planned trails.
- Creating nature trails suitable for easy hiking and better access to fishing areas (see Fig. 6).
- Removing invasive plants and debris (see Fig. 8).
- Planning, funding, and installing interpretive signs about the history and fauna of the park.

Get involved!
In 2011, the Magothy River Association created a sub-committee, "Friends of Beachwood Park," which is dedicated to improving the overall quality of Beachwood Park. Contact Kelly at [email protected] to help, and look for announcements of future volunteer work days at the park.

[Captions]:

Fig. 1. Locator map [unreadable]

Fig. 2. Map of Beachwood Park.

Fig. 4. Pavilion, Beachwood Park, 1950's.

Fig. 5. Park shoreline

Fig. 6. Remains of pier in mouth of Beachwood Branch (labeled as Fishing Area on map).

Fig. 8. Debris in woods.