Weekend reservation passes at Mayo Beach Park ended September 7. The park is still open seven days a week, 7 a.m. until dusk, through December 31, except on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Summer crowds are gone and the gates stay open. The shoreline itself is also changing. At the tip of South River Farm Park, crews have spent 2026 rebuilding about 1,600 feet of eroding shoreline along Selby Bay and adding oyster habitat. Neighbors who skip the parks until Memorial Day will come back to a point that looks different.
So the case for using these parks in winter is simple. Access is easy now, and the most interesting shoreline on the peninsula is in the middle of being rebuilt.
The gates stay open, but each park has its own winter rules
The three county parks closest to Mayo Road each run on a different set of rules, and those rules decide which one fits a given morning.
| Mayo Beach Park | Beverly Triton Nature Park | South River Farm Park | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address | 4150 Honeysuckle Drive | 1202 Triton Beach Road | 3553 Loch Haven Drive |
| Hours | 7 a.m. to dusk daily, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas | 7 a.m. to dusk | Sunrise to sunset |
| Entry | No reservation pass needed after Sept. 7 | $8 per vehicle | Small parking lot |
| Trails | Beach and shoreline | Five miles of natural trails | Three miles of natural-surface trails |
| Paddling | Cartop launch, gate code required | Cartop launch for non-motorized craft | No launch yet |
| Dogs | Leashed | Leashed | Leashed |
Mayo is the easiest place to launch a kayak or paddleboard in November. Its cartop launch takes non-motorized craft from 7 a.m. to dusk. You fill out the county's launch-access request form before each visit to get a gate code. There are about 20 launch parking spaces and no overnight parking. Dogs on a leash are allowed in the park. The summer rule keeping them off the swimming beach only runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There's also something new to look at. The park's camp and maintenance building opened with camps on June 22, and the county held a ribbon cutting the next day.
Beverly Triton Nature Park has the longest walk on the peninsula. Its five miles of trail run along the shoreline, into the forest, and around brackish ponds, with about a mile of natural shoreline between the South and Rhode Rivers. The $8 daily vehicle fee still applies after the summer pass season. The county charges $5 per vehicle with MVA handicapped tags or a hanging permit. Entry is free for military members, veterans, and their families with a service-connected ID. Dogs must be leashed at all times, and the park provides bags and a dog waste can.
Beverly Triton also has a scheduled closure ahead. The county is closing the park until 1 p.m. on Friday, November 20, for deer management. That morning, walk Mayo or South River Farm Park, or wait until after lunch.
South River Farm Park is the simplest of the three: three miles of natural-surface trails, picnic tables, a portable toilet, and a small lot. Bikes aren't allowed on the natural trails. It's also the park where the most is happening right now.
Long Point is being rebuilt with stone, wood and oyster reefs
Arundel Rivers Federation announced in February that construction had started on the Long Point Shoreline Resilience Project at the end of South River Farm Park. The federation's project page still lists the work as under construction.
The design layers three things: traditional stone sills, large woody debris, and oyster habitat structures. Together they cut wave energy and create habitat for oysters, crabs, fish and birds. Some of the reef balls will be set with oyster spat and placed with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Long Point is one of several South River sites where Arundel Rivers and its partners plan to place more than 550 oyster reef balls this year. Once it's finished, it will be the federation's third major shoreline restoration on the Mayo Peninsula.
BayLand Consultants & Designers did the design, and Pay Dirt LLC is doing the construction. The funding grew as the project moved forward. In December 2021, the Chesapeake Bay Trust announced a $36,183 award for the design of the living shoreline. The county's FY25 stormwater permit report, published in December 2025, lists a $406,559 award from the Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration plus a $251,000 match for the Long Point Shoreline Resilience and Oyster Habitat Project. Put together, those two figures come to roughly eighteen times the design award.
In the federation's announcement, Erik Michelsen of the county's Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration described the long-term plan:
"When you can build a project to protect and enhance existing resources, and create the future opportunities to build more marsh by beneficially re-using future dredge material on site, that's a true win-win."
The site is built to allow more work later, including marsh creation, more oyster restoration, and the return of underwater grasses. If you walk out to the point this winter, you'll see the first layer. Arundel Rivers says park visitors may see equipment in the water and temporary changes to shoreline access near the work area. Plan to turn around wherever the work zone starts.
The water access at South River Farm Park is still on paper
Long Point is the first visible change at South River Farm Park, and the county has more in the pipeline. Its capital projects page lists a water-access project with a kayak soft launch, a fishing pier, an observation platform, and access trails. The project is still in design. The park's master plan is complete, and further development depends on funding, according to the page's September 17, 2026, update.
That's why paddlers on the peninsula keep using the gate-code launch at Mayo or the cartop launch at Beverly Triton this winter. From the trails at South River Farm Park, though, you can watch the shoreline that a future launch and pier would face as it's being shored up.
Plan Tuesdays around coffee
The stops along Mayo Road and Mitchell's Chance Road keep winter hours that fit well with a 7 a.m. park opening. Tuesday is the day to watch, because two of them close that day.
- Rise Up Coffee, 121 Mayo Road: open every day, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Black Market Bakers, 155 Mitchell's Chance Road: 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Tuesdays.
- Chesapeake Seafood, 135 Mayo Road: opens at 11 a.m. Monday and Wednesday through Sunday, closed Tuesdays. Call ahead to check the evening closing time.
- Nico's Bagels & Brunch, South River Colony Center, 100 Central Avenue: the second location of this New York-style bagel shop held its grand opening on July 9, as reported by Eye On Annapolis and Patch.
A Tuesday walk at Beverly Triton ends with coffee at Rise Up. On the other days, a morning paddle out of Mayo fits before Black Market Bakers closes at 2 p.m., and Chesapeake Seafood opens for lunch at 11.
Dates for the rest of 2026
These are the dates on the county's posted schedules that change the plan:
- Friday, November 20: Beverly Triton Nature Park closed until 1 p.m. for deer management.
- Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving: Mayo Beach Park closed.
- Friday, December 25, Christmas: Mayo Beach Park closed.
- Thursday, December 31: last day of Mayo Beach Park's 2026 hours of 7 a.m. to dusk daily.
Each visit to Mayo's launch still needs its own gate-code request. Beverly Triton still charges its $8 vehicle fee all winter. The trails at South River Farm Park stay open sunrise to sunset, and Long Point will keep changing all season.
I grew up on this water, and I still like the bay best in the quiet months, when the launches are empty. If you've walked out to Long Point lately or found a favorite winter route on the peninsula, I'd love to compare notes. Selling The Chesapeake is always happy to talk about life along the South River. Let's Connect.
