ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Beginning May 31, 2024, the East and West Access Roads at Greenbury Point will be open to the public more frequently.
Greenbury Point, located at the mouth of the Severn River in Anne Arundel County, is Navy property managed by Naval Support Activity (NSA) Annapolis as a mission-supportive natural resources conservation area. It also serves as a popular hiking destination for nature lovers, runners and dog walkers.
The southern end of Greenbury Point in the vicinity of the East and West Access Roads is within a Surface Danger Zone (SDZ) for the firearms range at NSA Annapolis. An SDZ is an area where firing operations pose a safety risk. The SDZ encompassing the East and West Access Roads on Greenbury Point is currently open to the general public when the firearms ranges are not operational or other training events do not preclude public access.
“NSA Annapolis is continually evaluating training schedules in order to provide our community safe public access on Greenbury Point to the maximum extent possible, without impeding our ability to achieve our training mission,” said NSA Annapolis Commanding Officer, Capt. Chris Schwarz. “I’m pleased to say that we were able to consolidate and modify some training components this summer to safely allow public recreation on the East and West Access Roads three to four days per week.”
This is an increase from the previous regular schedule of two days of public access per week.
Visitors can expect public access to the East and West Access Roads to be available on Sunday, Monday, Friday, and alternating Saturdays most weeks. The Timberdoodle, Bobwhite, and Pipsissewa walking trails will remain open daily. The Poet’s Nature trail is generally open daily, but may experience some closures this summer due to construction on a shoreline restoration project along Carr Creek. Hours for public access on both the walking trails and access roads will remain the same: 5:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., unless otherwise posted.
The public access schedule is subject to change at any time due to changes in training schedules, shoreline construction schedules, and mission requirements.
“The specifics of our training schedule this summer have allowed us this great opportunity for additional safe public access,” said NSA Annapolis Installation Training Officer, Joe Glennon. “While we can’t guarantee this as a permanent schedule, our team will always work to maximize public access within current training requirements.”
Visitors to Greenbury Point this summer may notice several ongoing shoreline restoration and tree planting projects, both inside and outside of the SDZ area. Construction projects within the SDZ may have special authorization to operate on days when the East and West Access Roads are otherwise closed to the public. These operations are able to proceed safely using strict accountability measures and frequent communication between the project manager and range operations officer.
Greenbury Point serves a vital training support mission for midshipmen, enhances quality of life services for MWR patrons, and allows NSA Annapolis to be a good neighbor in our community by extending recreational amenities to the general public. In the spirit of transparency and expectation management, the dates the various trails and access roads will be open are posted on our social media platforms at the beginning of each month.
NSAA