This is the first November with all of the Broadneck Peninsula Trail open, from the B&A Trail to Sandy Point. For most of the month, the trail stays open later than its destination. Anne Arundel County keeps the trail open from dawn to dusk. Starting in mid-November, Maryland's Department of Natural Resources closes Sandy Point State Park at 4 p.m. so crews can run Lights on the Bay. So you need to reach the water and leave again before the trail itself closes.
The trail is still new enough that most of us haven't used it in the dark months. The full route opened on March 30, so spring and summer were the only seasons anyone had with it. The fall schedule is new to everyone.
Eight miles that took a quarter century
The Capital Gazette reported that the $17.5 million trail was first proposed in 1999, construction started in 2012, and the three sections that opened at the March ribbon-cutting added 5.4 miles. The same article quotes Jessica Leys, director of the county's Department of Recreation and Parks, on the finished project: "Today, that goal is no longer a line on a planning document or in a budget. It's the ground beneath your feet."
The trail follows College Parkway, with spurs to Bay Head Park, Broadneck Library and Anne Arundel Community College. The Anne Arundel Trail Network lists the full trip at 9 miles, from Jones Station Road in Severna Park to the bay. That count includes a short cul-de-sac road segment after the Ritchie Highway crossing and a park road at the far end into Sandy Point. If you ride or walk to the water and back from Jones Station, plan on about 18 miles. In November, that's a lot of ground to cover before the light goes.
The November clock, in one table
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, three days after this post goes up. Here's how the month lines up, using timeanddate's sunset times for Annapolis and the posted park hours:
| Date | Annapolis sunset | Trail closes | Sandy Point gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Nov. 1 | 5:05 p.m. | Dusk | Sunset |
| Sunday, Nov. 15 | 4:51 p.m. | Dusk | 4 p.m. from mid-November |
| Monday, Nov. 30 | 4:44 p.m. | Dusk | 4 p.m. through Jan. 2 |
In the first half of the month, the park and the trail close at roughly the same time. In the second half, the park closes about 45 to 50 minutes before sunset, while the trail stays open until dusk. The county's trail-system page says its trails have no lights and close at dusk. You can't use the dark stretch after work the way some people use a lit track.
From mid-November on, schedule Sandy Point for the morning or midday, and save late-afternoon outings for the College Parkway end.
What the bay end costs, and what it doesn't
Walking or biking in still saves money. The Anne Arundel Trail Network notes that people on foot or bike enter Sandy Point free, while vehicles pay. Off-season, the savings are small. DNR's Sandy Point page lists a $3 day-use fee per vehicle from October 1 through April 30, and processing fees may be added.
Arriving on foot really pays off with parking. The Anne Arundel Trail Network names five places to leave a car along the route:
- Jones Station Park and Ride, near the B&A Trail end
- Anne Arundel Community College
- Broadneck Library at 1275 Green Holly Drive
- The high school
- Bay Head Park at 1661 Bay Head Road
The county lists Bay Head Park as open sunrise to sunset, so the closest parking to the bay runs on its own daylight schedule. If you park there for a late ride, check the time before you head out.
The county's trail rules don't change with the season. Dogs stay leashed and under control, e-bikes are allowed on paved county trails unless a sign says otherwise, and bikes are limited to 15 mph. The speed limit matters more now that the trail is busier. On a cold Saturday, families with dogs and riders headed for the bay will share the same paved lane.
After dark, Sandy Point becomes a ticketed event you drive to
Sandy Point closes at 4 p.m. from mid-November because the park becomes a holiday light show after hours. The Anne Arundel County SPCA runs both evening events, and both start after the trail has closed.
Lights & Leashes, Friday, Nov. 20 through Sunday, Nov. 22. The walking version, and dogs are welcome. The event page describes a 2-mile route along the bay shore, open 5 to 8:30 p.m., with everyone out of the park by 9. Tickets are sold at the gate each evening, and there are pet photos with Santa. The SPCA's announcement gives admission as $25 per car and lists closing as 9 p.m., so check the hours with the organizer before you go.
Lights on the Bay, Monday, Nov. 23 through Sunday, Jan. 3. The drive-through display, open 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The SPCA lists admission at $25 per car, $40 per large passenger van and $60 per bus.
Lights & Leashes opens at 5 p.m., after sunset on every night it runs. So even the walking event is a separate evening trip by car, not a stop at the end of a trail outing. The free walk-in entry on the trail covers daytime visits. In the evening, the bay end is a ticketed event you drive to.
The College Parkway end holds the late afternoon
When the bay end closes early, the inland half of the trail is the better choice for late-day outings. It passes the places most Broadneck errands already go. At the ribbon-cutting, District 5 Council Member Amanda Fiedler said every community on College Parkway would be "a hop, skip and a jump away" without a car, the Capital Gazette reported. The Anne Arundel Trail Network points riders to the food and coffee on Bay Dale Drive and Cape St. Claire Road. These are the stops close to the route:
- O'Loughlin's Restaurant, 1258 Bay Dale Drive, in the College Parkway (Bay Hills) Shopping Center
- Green Valley Marketplace, 1238 Bay Dale Drive, a few doors away, for picking up groceries on the way home
- Broadneck Grill & Cantina, 1364 Cape Saint Claire Road, close to the trail's spur toward Walnut Ridge along Cape St. Claire Road
- Naval Bagels, 1460-112 Ritchie Highway, near the trail's Ritchie Highway crossing at the western end
Anne Arundel Community College has the busiest November calendar on the corridor, and its spur is the easiest way onto campus.
On Monday, Nov. 2, the day after the clocks change, AACC's Empty Bowls fundraiser serves soup and a roll for a $10 donation to AACC HelpLink, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Student Union Hawk's Nest. It falls at midday, when the trail is easy to use.
AACC Theatre's production of "Book of Days" runs Nov. 6 through 8 and Nov. 13 through 15 at Kauffman Theater in the Pascal Center for Performing Arts, 101 College Parkway. General admission is $20, according to the college's performance page. Because the trail closes at dusk, plan on driving to any evening performance.
On Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, the Y Turkey Trot Charity 5K starts at 8 a.m. The race page lists the Greater Annapolis Y at 1209 Ritchie Highway, and the course runs in and around the AACC campus, starting and finishing at the West Campus Drive entrance. Registration currently shows $44.46 for adults, including a $3.46 fee. Packet pickup runs Nov. 23 and 24 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Nov. 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and race morning from 7 to 7:30 a.m. With an 8 a.m. start, you could add a holiday-morning walk on the trail afterward and still have hours of daylight left.
The Magothy side may also have something on the water this month. The Severna Park Voice expected the fourth annual Deep Creek Lighted Boat Parade to return "in mid to late November" and pointed readers to Facebook for the date.
A November week on the trail, planned around the gates
For a typical late-November week, the schedule looks like this. Saturday morning, start at Jones Station or Bay Head Park, ride or walk to Sandy Point, and leave well before the 4 p.m. gate. Weekday afternoons, stay inland: a loop from Broadneck Library to Bay Dale Drive and back before sunset, which is close to 4:45 by the end of the month. Evenings at the bay mean the car and a $25 ticket for the lights.
If you're out on the Broadneck trail more often this fall and wondering how close a house sits to its spurs, Erica Baker knows the College Parkway corridor street by street. She's glad to talk through how trail access figures into what an Arnold home is worth, whether you're curious now or planning for spring.
