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Point Lookout State Park

St. Mary’s · Maryland Department of Natural Resources

BEFORE YOUR VISIT

A place to get outside.

Hours of Operation: 7 a.m - Sunset (May through September) 8 a.m. - Sunset (October through April) Certain activities are permitted outside of the regular park hours (e.g. boat launch, hunting where permitted). No Night Fishing is permitted at Point Lookout State Park. Please check with the park before your visit if you plan to engage in an activity which requires you to be in the park before or after the posted hours. Open daily 7 a.m - sunset (May through September) or 8 a.m. - sunset (October through April). Limited parking is available near the entrance of the beach picnic area. The beach area has grills, and picnic tables. Limited numbers of grills and picnic tables are available on a first-come first-served basis. Point Lookout is a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River. It attracted attention from the outset of English colonization in America. Captain John Smith explored the Point in 1612. In 1632 it was included in King Charles I's grant to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore. Calvert's younger son, Leonard, Maryland's first governor, claimed the Point for his personal manor in 1634. During the American Revolution, and again in the War of 1812, it was the subject of British raids, and served as an American lookout point for a watchman to convey, via post riders, news of British fleet activity in the lower bay. In 1830 the federal government erected a lighthouse on the tip of the Point. This lighthouse, though modified, is still in existence though it is no longer active. In 1857, William Cost Johnson, a wealthy Marylander, bought much of the land on the Point to develop as a resort. The Civil War intervened to disrupt Johnson's plan and in 1862, following General George B. McClellan's unsuccessful campaign to capture Richmo

Official park information

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Locations represent park land, not necessarily an entrance. Follow official entrance directions. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

This map represents park land. Use the official park map and entrance directions for your journey.

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Sources & verification

Park facts and notices are checked separately. Missing facility information does not mean a facility is absent. Official visitor page checked Oct 15, 2026.

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