Franklin Point State Park

(Maryland)

Franklin Point State Park is an undeveloped Maryland state park located in Shady Side in Anne Arundel County. It is one of Maryland's newest provincial parks opening after long running efforts to prevent the area from being developed. The area was originally Deep Creek Airport which closed in the 1980s, and was then purchased by a real estate developer who planned on building 300 houses on the property. This effort was stopped by a local citizens group, who were later sued by the developer for defamation, but ended up winning the case. The property was then bought by Maryland Department of Natural Resources who turned it over the county, whose plan on developing the area included baseball diamonds and a parking lot. This plan was rejected by the Critical Area Commission owing to the sensitive shoreline. After this, the county lost interest in the project and the area stood unused for a decade. The park was later opened with the help of volunteers in 2015, who helped demolish abandoned structures and created trails as well as a boat launch. (Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Point_State_Park)