Hart-Miller Island State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hart-Miller Island State Park |
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IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
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 Hart-Miller Island State Park
Location in Maryland
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| Location | Baltimore County, Maryland, United States |
| Nearest city | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Area | 244 acres (99 ha) |
| Elevation | 3 ft (0.91 m) |
| Designation | Maryland state park |
| Established | 1977-78 |
| Administrator | Maryland Department of Natural Resources |
| Website | Hart-Miller Island State Park |
Hart-Miller Island State Park is a special place in Maryland where you can enjoy the outdoors. It's a state park, which means it's owned by the public and kept safe for everyone to visit. This park is located on Hart Miller Island, which is a unique island because it was mostly made by people! It's near the Middle River and the big Chesapeake Bay.
What makes Hart-Miller Island so interesting is that it was created by connecting three smaller natural islands: Hart, Miller, and Pleasure. It was built using material dug up from the bottom of the Baltimore harbor. Because it's an island, you can only get to this park by boat.
History of the Island
Before it became a state park, one of the smaller islands, Pleasure Island, used to have an amusement park called New Bay Shore. This fun park was open from the late 1940s until the mid-1960s. Sadly, it had to close down because of a lot of damage from big storms.
In the late 1970s, the state of Maryland bought the land that made up Hart, Miller, and Pleasure islands. Together, these islands were about 250 acres big. To create the larger Hart-Miller Island, a special wall, called a dike, was built in 1983. This dike connected Hart and Miller islands.
After the dike was built, the area inside it became a place to put "dredge material." This material is like mud and sand that is dug up from the bottom of waterways. For about 20 years, material from the Baltimore harbor and the Patapsco River was used to fill in this area. This is how the man-made part of Hart-Miller Island was created.
Activities and Fun Things to Do
Hart-Miller Island State Park offers many cool activities for visitors. If you love the beach, you'll enjoy the sandy area that stretches for about 3,000 feet (about 914 meters). It's a great spot for swimming or just relaxing by the water.
The park also has trails where you can go hiking and explore the island. There's an observation platform too, which is a perfect place to get a good view of the park and the surrounding bay. If you want to spend more time there, you can use the picnic areas for a meal or even camp overnight at one of the designated sites.
The island is divided into two main parts: a north cell and a south cell. The north cell, which is about 1,100 acres, is currently closed to the public. However, the south cell of the island officially opened for everyone to visit in May 2016. So, when you visit, you'll be able to explore the south side of this unique man-made island.
