19-05-2025
‘We had to do something': Maryland rolls out mandatory reservation system for two state parks
Visitors take in Greenbrier State Park in Washington County during an event called "Es Mi Parque" in 2019. (Photo Courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources)
At Greenbrier State Park in Western Maryland, the line of cars sometimes started forming as early as midnight, with visitors desperate to secure a coveted spot beside the park's popular lake after the sun came up.
On the busiest days, the line could stretch a few miles from the park entrance as more and more cars arrived, said Tim Hamilton of the Maryland Park Service. The resulting traffic is just one of the reasons why the park service will begin requiring advance reservations from all Greenbrier visitors on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Hamilton said.
The reservation website rolls out Monday, and reservations will be required starting next weekend for the Memorial Day weekend — both at Greenbrier and Sandy Point State Park, which hosts a popular swimming beach on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County.
Some time later this summer, the reservation requirement will expand to include Point Lookout, Newtowne Neck and North Point State Parks.
Hamilton starts the story in 2019, when there were 14.9 million visitors to Maryland state parks, which 'shattered' all previous records. But another storm was coming.
The coronavirus pandemic brought Marylanders outdoors in droves, and park visitorship skyrocketed to 21.5 million: a staggering 45% increase over 2019. That year, 14 of the state's 75 state parks had to close 292 times during peak season because they had reached full capacity.
A limited staff of park rangers was forced to contend with the crowds and manage traffic, pulling them away from other duties, Hamilton said.
'This is a safety issue,' said Hamilton, the business and marketing manager for the park service. 'People get lost in the woods, children go missing by a lake — and every second counts.'
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The high visitorship wasn't just a one-year blip. In 2021, the visitorship dipped slightly. But at 20.6 million, it still blew every other year but 2020 out of the water.
'Once we were discovered, we stayed discovered,' Hamilton said.
The idea of a mandatory reservation system isn't without precedent in Maryland. In 2019, the park service debuted a reservation system for entry to the Falling Branch area of Rocks State Park in Harford County, home to 17-foot high Kilgore Falls, which is Maryland's second-highest vertical drop waterfall. The falls' popularity would quickly overwhelm its 28-space parking lot, Hamilton said.
'For a couple weeks, people grumbled,' Hamilton said. 'After they got a hang of it, it went swimmingly.'
Park managers got to thinking: Could the reservation system be scaled up?
'We knew we had to do something,' Hamilton said.
Vendor Kaizen Labs developed a website that goes live May 19, where prospective weekend visitors can vie for open slots at Greenbrier and Sandy Point, and pay park entry fees. The first day registration is required is Saturday, May 24.
There's been at least some grumbling on social media since the park service announced the reservation system earlier this month, Hamilton said.
'They said: 'Well we already paid for these public lands and now were being told that they're limited?'' Hamilton said. 'What do you do? We don't want someone waiting there from 3 a.m. on.'
Upon registration, guests will receive a QR code that will be scanned at the park entrance. Park staff will verify the number of people entering the park and assess any additional fees. Visitors without the registration code will be turned away.
Reservations can be made up to seven days in advance, and can be edited or canceled until 8 a.m. the day before the visit.
As of now, there aren't any plans to expand the reservation system beyond the initial five parks, Hamilton said, even though other parks experience closures during peak season, such as various areas of Patapsco State Park. The focus is on the parks with the most serious visitation woes, he said.
'We want to alleviate problems that we have. We don't want to create a process where we don't need to,' Hamilton said.
At both Greenbrier and Sandy Point, signs advertising the reservation requirement went up this week, and park staff members have been handing out flyers to visitors as well. They're hoping the public information blast, which is also hitting email list subscribers, will ease the transition to reservations.
'For the first few weeks there are going to be some rough edges we have to knock off,' Hamilton said. 'But in the end it's going to be a much better experience for everybody.'
At Greenbrier, the state also just finished a repaving project meant to widen the entry road leading into the park, Hamilton said.
In the end, state officials are hoping the reservation effort eases stress for park staff members, and slows the impact on the state's delicate natural lands.
'It's like having a party on your lawn: You love having everyone there — but you're watching them trample your grass,' Hamilton said.
