| Friends of Gwynns falls leakin park |
MARYLAND JUST MADE HISTORYThe Maryland Department of Natural Resources has finalized the acquisition of Wetipquin Creek State Park — 445 acres of tidal marsh on the Eastern Shore — which will become Wicomico County's first state park. When it opens, every one of Maryland's 23 counties will have a state park for the first time ever. But Baltimore, Maryland's largest city, is not in a county. That technicality has kept this city out of the count. For most of the last decade FOGFLP has been working to change that. We're closer now than ever |
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Baltimore's first City-State Park. The work is underway. So far, we've brought in $4.28 million in state funding. But the hardest work is ahead. |
Maryland State Parks just reached a milestone. Baltimore is next.
In July 2026, the Maryland Department of Natural resources celebrated the acquisition of 445 acres of tidal marsh land in Wicomico County that will become Wetipquin Creek State Park -- the first for Wicomico. When it opens, every one of Maryland's 23 counties will have a state park. That is a milestone decades in the making. As a member of the Maryland Parks and Recreation Commission, FOGFLP Executive Director Pickett Slater Harrington was there for the celebration. But since Baltimore City is an independent jurisdiction, not a county, it has never had a Maryland State Park within its limits. Yet, Baltimore is Maryland's largest city; a home to 573,000 residents. And within it sits the largest urban woodland park on the east coast. That's both an opportunity and a clear case for state investment. Baltimore is Maryland's largest city, and home to the largest urban woodland park on the east coat. State park designation brings the resources to match the scale. Baltimore City Recreation and Parks brings real expertise to Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, including a top-notch forestry program . But BCRP is responsible for more than 250 facilities across nearly 5,000 acres. State funding and city-state park designation would bring the investment, the staffing, and the sustained management capacity that a park this significant has always deserved. |
Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park is not a typical city parkIts hilly, closed-canopy forest, meadows, and stream valleys are a critical habitat for birds and wildlife not traditionally found in urban spaces. And for the humans, it features miles of trails, historic structures, and recreational and educational programming. However, most people who live in Baltimore have never visited the park. We want to change that.
FOGFLP's growth is leading the park's growthFor most of our history, FOGFLP has been run by an all-volunteer board made up of community members who believed in this park and showed up because they love it. To drive the campaign for a city-state partnership, we needed to grow. We brought on an Executive Director and engaged expert consultants to carry the advocacy, policy, and community engagement work this effort requires. That growth let us build the relationships, the political standing, and the sustained advocacy to put Baltimore's own state park within reach. And is what led Governor Moore to appoint Pickett Slater Harrington to the Maryland Parks and Recreation Commission, which helps guide state parks policy. The donors and community members who've supported this work made it possible to keep showing up through every stage of this campaign "While Gwynns Falls Park in its current state might be described as a diamond in the rough, it could be a crown jewel for the city — much like New York's Central Park, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park." — Maryland Chapter, Sierra Club, written testimony on HB959, February 2026 |
OUR WIN Maryland has committed $4.28 MillionIn April 2026, Maryland committed $4.28 million toward establishing a city-state partnership at Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park — a joint management model between Maryland DNR and Baltimore City Recreation and Parks. What it becomes depends on the work ahead.
April 14, 2026 Left to right: Delegate Malcolm P. Ruff (District 41), FOGFLP Board member Anita Cathcart, and Pickett Slater Harrington, with a ceremonial check. The funds go directly to Maryland DNR and Baltimore City Recreation and Parks. |
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The trail is blazed, but we have many miles to goGetting this far wasn't easy. The bill to formally establish the park died in committee. But we kept pushing—working through budgets, teaming up with partners, and staying on it thanks to a community that refused to give up. In the end, the funding came through to initiate critical elements of a city-state partnership park, including a master plan and a visitor center. The funding is just the start. We have two critical priorities: |
1. Keep working on legislation to build the city-state partnership for the park. While HB959, the bill that would have formally established the park, did not pass in the 2026 session, the funding commitment behind it did. We will keep pushing for the legislation that makes this partnership permanent — and we'll be better positioned every session we stay in the room. |
2. Advocate for a master plan that serves communities The $280,000 appropriation funds a master plan process, and we are actively working to make sure that process moves. Our goal is a completed master plan by summer 2027, timed so that when the next legislative session moves forward on the partnership, Baltimore is ready to act on it. The master plan will determine the park's boundaries, how it's managed, what gets built, and how communities that have long been underserved by this park finally get real access to it. Our goal is to make sure those decisions don't get made without community input. |
Lawmakers need to hear why this matters. Agencies need a community partner who shows up and doesn't leave. Neighbors need a voice at the table. Donor support is what makes it possible to stay in this fight for as long as it takes. |
$4.28 million is a historic start. The work ahead is bigger.Years of advocacy got us to this moment. More years of advocacy will carry it through. Your support keeps FOGFLP at the table — through the master plan, through the next legislative session, and through whatever comes after that. FOGFLP is in this for the long haul. We hope you are too. Stay informed. Sign up for updates on master plan milestones, community meetings, and ways to engage. Volunteer. This park has always been cared for by people who love it. There's still work to do on the ground. Support the work. FOGFLP is a small organization doing this work with limited staff. Your donation directly funds our capacity to show up, speak up, and hold the process accountable. Subscribe for Updates Donate Now Volunteer |
This moment was built by many hands coming togetherFriends of Gwynns Falls Leakin Park · Audubon Mid-Atlantic · Chesapeake Bay Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School · Hope Harbor Community Development Corporation · Forest Park Action Council · Hunting Ridge Community Association · Blue Water Baltimore · National Aquarium · Sierra Club Maryland Chapter · Carrie Murray Nature Center · Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks · Maryland Department of Natural Resources · and the residents of West Baltimore and the 18 neighborhoods that border this park. Special recognition to the District 41 delegation: Senator Dalya Attar; Delegate Sandy Rosenberg; Delegate Malcolm P. Ruff, who carried HB 1358 in 2024 and HB 959 in 2026 and secured the funding commitment; and Delegate Sean Stinnett. Special thanks also to State Senator Antonio Hayes, the Senate co-sponsor of HB959. Onward and Upward! |
On the western edge of Baltimore, right where Interstate 70 terminates.
| Major areas/entrances (links to Google maps)
| Mailing Address: Friends of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park |
Where is the park?