North Point State Park: A getaway close to home
A new poll shows that many Americans won’t take a summer vacation this year because they can’t afford it. But there’s some good news for those of us in the Baltimore area. For $3 and a short drive, you can feel like you’re away from it all at the beach at North Point State Park, formerly home to the Bay Shore amusement park.
- People enjoy grilling at North Point State Park. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- October 25, 1925-THE PIER AT BAY SHORE PARK–Showing Lt. James Doolittle’s Curtiss R3C-2 plane carrying race number 3 winning the Schneider Cup Race. Photo by Baltimore Sun Staff Photographer.
- Undated photo of old Bay Shore Park restaurant, which included a bowling alley. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- Undated photo of old Bay Shore park. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- Undated photo of old Bay Shore park. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- Bay Shore Park, photo dated June 4, 1925. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- Bay Shore Park, photo dated June 24, 1928. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- 1987 photo of the dilapidated trolly pavilion, where scores of Baltimoreans once unloaded in order to spend the day at Bay Shore amusement park. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- Aerial view of Bay Shore Amusement Park, August 1947. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- Baltimore County Picnic at Bay Shore Park, photo dated August 8, 1955. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- Baltimore County Picnic at Bay Shore Park, photo dated August 8, 1955. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- People swimming in the Chesapeake Bay during the Baltimore County Picnic, photo dated August 8, 1955. (Baltimore Sun archives)
- August, 1947: Moon rocket riders front to rear Winifred N. Long, Mary Louise Thomas, R.C. Smith, F.T. Klingelhofer at the Baltimore Transit Company outing at Bay Shore Park. (Robert Mottar/Baltimore Sun)
- August 1, 1947- One of two largest families at the Baltimore Transit Company outing at Bay Shore Park. (Robert Mottar/Baltimore Sun)
- Roller coaster enthusiasts heading for the big dip at the Baltimore Transit Company outing at Bay Shore Park, August 1947. (Robert Mottar/Baltimore Sun)
- Baltimore County, MD–July 25, 2013–This is the fountain at the site of the old Bay Shore Amusement Park, which is now part of North Point State Park. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
- In addition to the beach, North Point State Park includes trails and fields and is excellent for a bike ride or a long walk. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- Gabe Bruins, 15, holds a bowl full of clams that he and his friends have dug up from the water at North Point State Park. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- Though fish were hard to come by on a recent visit to North Point State Park, clams were plentiful. Gabe Bruins, 15, and his friends spent an hour digging up clams that they planned to later cook and eat. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- In addition to the beach, North Point State Park includes trails and fields and is excellent for a bike ride or a long walk. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- The visitors center at North Point State Park is designed to look like the old restaurant at Bay Shore amusement park, which operated from the early 1900s until the 1940s. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- The old fountain is a relic from the days of Bay Shore, a bustling amusement park along the Chesapeake Bay. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- The old fountain is a relic from the days when the park was known as Bay Shore, a bustling amusement park along the Chesapeake Bay. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- Aiden Freyer, 8, holds a clam that he managed to crack open at North Point. Clams were abundant along the beach on a recent visit to the park, though fish were scarce. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- The pier at North Point State Park juts into the Chesapeake Bay and is an ideal location for walking and fishing. It was recently rebuilt. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- Joe Miller,19, right, is pictured here with friends Amy Pineda, 20 and Daunte Metcalfe, 19, and puppies Louie and Jack. A locksmith by trade, Miller first came to North Point to assist someone who had gone swimming in the Bay with their car keys in their pocket. He’s since come back for fun. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- The old trolley pavilion at North Point State Park harkens back to the early 1900s, when passengers would arrive via streetcar from Baltimore to spend the day at what was then known as Bay Shore amusement park. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- There’s no lifeguard on duty at North Point, so it’s strictly “swim at your own risk.” That hadn’t deterred many beachgoers from taking a dip in the Chesapeake Bay. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- For Catherine Walker of Highlandtown, here with her grandson, Isaiah Daugherty, 11, North Point means “family bonding time.” (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- Erica Coleman, who lives in Dundalk, enjoys the variety of people who come to North Point State Park. “It’s a mixed crowd –there’s a mixture of people like all different nationalities,” she said. “Everyone’s been friendly.” (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
- Raymond Averella of Water’s Edge, Maryland, with his sons Giuseppe and Luke. Averella said they come to North Point about three times a week. The water’s warm, said Averella. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)
In early 1900s the 26 streetcar clanged from dawn until 11 p.m., northwest toward downtown Baltimore, and back to the Chesapeake Bay, ferrying Baltimoreans to a bustling amusement park along the water. The opulent Bay Shore, built by the United Railways and Electric Company, included a bowling alley, Ferris wheel and restaurant, and provided a fun day trip for families in the area.
Things are much quieter here today. The amusement park is gone, and the area is known as North Point State Park. The streetcar hasn’t run in decades; you’ll have to take a car. But for $3 ($4 on weekends) you can still enjoy the summer oasis.
A few reminders of the Bay Shore days remain. Odd hunks of concrete and metal peek out from the trails — relics, perhaps, of the park’s old rides. The brightly painted visitor’s center recalls the park’s restaurant. Still remaining, too, is the pavilion where streetcars of families once unloaded, children giggling in anticipation of a day at the beach.
Isaiah Daugherty, 11, was smiling on the beach — his body almost entirely covered in sand.
“It’s family bonding time,” said his grandmother, Catherine Walker of Highlandtown, who said she has been coming to the park for many years.
Though the park gets crowded on weekends — regulars tell me the front gate sometimes turns people away when the lot gets full — on a weekday, there’s plenty of free space for blankets and grilling.
Erica Coleman of Dundalk said she likes the mixed crowd the park attracts — there’s people of every race and nationality. Plus it’s safe.
“You can set your stuff down and go in the water,” said Coleman, who sat on a blanket in the sand. “You come back and all your things are where you left ‘em.”
And the water isn’t just for swimming.
Hever Diaz, who lives in Washington, D.C., but is originally from Guatemala, wore a Yankees cap as he fished along the park’s long pier — which recently underwent a $1.3 million renovation. He wasn’t catching much. Budding clam-catchers were having better luck. Gabe Bruins, 15, and his buddies managed to fill up several buckets with crusty, closed-up clams. They said they would cook them for dinner.