Calvert Cliffs State Park Beach
Lusby, MD
You'll find fossil hunters at Calvert Cliffs before you find sunbathers, a sandy quarter-mile Chesapeake beach reached only by hiking the Red Trail beneath the cliffs that give this stretch of coast its name. Shark teeth, some from Megalodon, wash out of the cliffs regularly enough that it's the real reason most people make the trip.
One of the best fossil beaches on the entire Bay, the nearly two-mile round trip hike keeps it from ever being a quick, casual visit.
How we score beachesStay off the base of the cliffs themselves. Landslides are a real, ongoing hazard there, and rangers close that area for good reason.
A lot at 10540 H.G. Trueman Road serves the trailhead, with a $5 per vehicle day-use fee, plus $2 more for out-of-state vehicles, cash only.
The shortest route to the beach is the Red Trail, about 1.8 miles each way through the woods, not a direct drive-up beach.
Leashed dogs are allowed on the beach and throughout the park.
Water reaches the mid 70s by August. Fossil hunting is often best after fall and winter storms churn up fresh material, when the trail itself is far quieter than on a summer weekend.
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