Since the cold weather arrived, fewer of our members are out there fishing. There are only occasional posts. I had some errands to run in Arnold this morning and decided to visit the Spriggs Farm Park kayak launch. Here is what I found.
This waterfront park (an old farm property surrounded by expensive homes) is located off of Bayberry Drive in Arnold, MD. It was opened to the public in October 2015. I launched there twice during the first month and caught fish trolling in the outer end of the Magothy River on both trips. But the water access was not easy. You could drive to the top of a steep cliff and unload. There was an uneven dirt trail down to the beach. Once there, you were in a wide section of the Magothy not far from Ulmstead Point and across from Dobbins Island.
2022-11-21-004.jpg
Because of the difficulty navigating that original trail, I never returned to launch there. The neighbors in this area were not happy about having outsiders coming into their neighborhood and created some issues. One of the responses the county made was to put a locking gate on the entrance road. You need to go online to get the code for the lock.
Over time, the county has made some improvements but has not made beach access any easier. Here are a few photos I took this morning. The first photo shows the end of the road on top of the cliff. When I went there in 2015, you could park in this area. Now, it is clearly marked so that you can unload in this area but must park farther back. The top of the trail to the beach is next to the post on the right side of the photo.
2022-11-21-001.jpg
The next photo shows the top of the trail. I it is uneven with some twists and tree roots.
2022-11-21-002.jpg
The next two photos show the bottom end of the trail -- a steep set of steps. The first photo is the view from the top -- the second one is taken from the beach looking up.
2022-11-21-003.jpg
2022-11-21-005.jpg
My reaction was that I am unlikely to ever use this facility because of the difficulty getting my kayak to the water. The steep steps at the bottom would be really tough to navigate with a cart. The most likely way to use this launch is to carry your kayak down the steps. It is a shame that access is not easier, as there are very few public access points on the Magothy.
This waterfront park (an old farm property surrounded by expensive homes) is located off of Bayberry Drive in Arnold, MD. It was opened to the public in October 2015. I launched there twice during the first month and caught fish trolling in the outer end of the Magothy River on both trips. But the water access was not easy. You could drive to the top of a steep cliff and unload. There was an uneven dirt trail down to the beach. Once there, you were in a wide section of the Magothy not far from Ulmstead Point and across from Dobbins Island.
2022-11-21-004.jpg
Because of the difficulty navigating that original trail, I never returned to launch there. The neighbors in this area were not happy about having outsiders coming into their neighborhood and created some issues. One of the responses the county made was to put a locking gate on the entrance road. You need to go online to get the code for the lock.
Over time, the county has made some improvements but has not made beach access any easier. Here are a few photos I took this morning. The first photo shows the end of the road on top of the cliff. When I went there in 2015, you could park in this area. Now, it is clearly marked so that you can unload in this area but must park farther back. The top of the trail to the beach is next to the post on the right side of the photo.
2022-11-21-001.jpg
The next photo shows the top of the trail. I it is uneven with some twists and tree roots.
2022-11-21-002.jpg
The next two photos show the bottom end of the trail -- a steep set of steps. The first photo is the view from the top -- the second one is taken from the beach looking up.
2022-11-21-003.jpg
2022-11-21-005.jpg
My reaction was that I am unlikely to ever use this facility because of the difficulty getting my kayak to the water. The steep steps at the bottom would be really tough to navigate with a cart. The most likely way to use this launch is to carry your kayak down the steps. It is a shame that access is not easier, as there are very few public access points on the Magothy.
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