Miami Beach Park
Essex, MD
Miami Beach Park is a small Baltimore County beach on Hopkins Creek near where it meets the Chesapeake, with a lifeguarded swim area, a playground, and nature trails that keep families busy beyond just the water. The name promises more than the actual size of the place delivers, but it's a legitimate, low-key local option.
A genuine local swim spot with a playground for the kids, but the weekends-only lifeguard schedule and small size keep it well below the county's bigger beaches.
How we score beachesThe lifeguarded swim window is weekends only, so a weekday visit means swimming at your own risk in an unguarded area.
A small county lot serves the park directly, free to use.
A short, flat walk from the lot to the defined swim area.
Water warms into the mid 70s by mid summer, with lifeguards on duty 10am to 6pm on weekends only through the season. Weekday mornings are the quietest time to visit.
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