From a young age, Angela Crenshaw heard the call of the wild. Growing up first in West Virginia, then Baltimore County, the now-41-year-old former Girl Scout fell in love with nature through the trees in her backyard, eventually earning a degree in environmental policy and landing a job with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Working her way up as a park ranger, she spent time in several of the state’s 68 parks, forests, and wildlife areas, such as Elk Neck on the Eastern Shore, Susquehanna north of Baltimore, and the county’s own Gunpowder Falls. By all accounts, this career has been her calling, and after 15 years with the service, she became Park Service’s interim director last April, before being hired full time in the fall. And with the Great Maryland Outdoors Act ushering in new parks, staff, and funding, plus record-high visitation still lingering from the pandemic, she arrives at a pivotal time—with lots of her own big ideas to boot. 

Growing up around Baltimore, how did you connect with nature?
Nature is always around, if you look for it. When I was about four, we lived off Loch Raven Boulevard in a built-up area, but we still had trees. We moved a few years later, close to Herring Run Park, so I spent a lot of time there as a kid, running around, splashing in the water, collecting crayfish and tadpoles, looking for salamanders. Then we moved a little further north, near the Big Gunpowder Falls…I’ve just always felt at home in the woods.

You’ve helped bring the likes of Juneteenth and Pride celebrations to Maryland’s state parks. How do you hope to continue these efforts toward more inclusivity into your new role?
My entire goal is to bring the Park Service forward. Sometimes public lands aren’t accessible to everyone. You definitely need a car to get to most of our state parks—there’s only one you can take the bus to. Camping can get expensive—you need the time off and the gear. And, of course, the history of African Americans in public lands is very negative. In the beginning of national and state parks, people worked hard to keep minorities out. I want to make sure that everyone feels welcome to not just visit, but stay and work here…And that the stories that we tell in our state parks resonate with everybody, too.

For example, the history of Maryland’s Black beaches that have recently come to light.
Lonesome vs. Maxwell is the court case that desegregated all of our public lands, and that started at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis. What’s currently the East Beach was for Black folks and the South Beach was for white folks….On the way to South Beach is a large plantation house that was owned by Henry Mayer. He enslaved people on that property. And a lot of people visit that park and have no idea. But sharing that history is important work to me.

You also spent years at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park on the Eastern Shore.
Living down there changed my life. I felt like I was not only telling Harriet’s story but living it. I would walk in the woods and feel the same things she did. In the wintertime, you could look up and see the stars through the trees. In the summer, it’s atmospheric and full of leaves. I just really felt a connection to her, and to the outdoors, and to her connection to the outdoors. And I loved sharing that. A lot of people are familiar with Tubman but not her knowledge of nature. She was a natural outdoors woman. But she needed to be, for the Underground Railroad. It’s a luxury for me.

What are some of your other priorities this year?
The Great Maryland Outdoors Act is huge and has a lot of parts to it. It creates one new state park right away, which is Freedman State Historical Park [in Montgomery County]. And then by 2025, it creates Port of Deposit State Historical Park up in Cecil County. It requires the Department of Legislative Services to do a comprehensive one-year research project about Maryland State Parks—how we can improve them, how we can make them more accessible.

That’s taking up a lot of my time, because I want to get it right…We’re severely underfunded and severely understaffed, and the plan addresses that, too. We’ll be hiring more people, breaking up some of our complexes, where sometimes one park runs two, three, four, sometimes 10 of our public lands. When 2020 hit with the pandemic, our visitation skyrocketed, and we have to be able to serve all of these people that want to enjoy these places, and safely…The Great Maryland Outdoors Act will allow us to do more than just fix problems. It will help us be able to treat these resources that we’ve taken pledges to protect and love with the honor and the respect that they deserve. I don’t know the last time we had such an influx of cash and interest. So this is a very exciting time to take the reins of the Maryland Park Service.

What are the perks of visiting the parks in the off-season?
With fewer people, more critters come out. When I was taking this photograph in Gunpowder Falls, an eagle flew over, then an immature bald eagle, and then another. And that happens to me a lot in our state parks, when it’s just me and nature. I see foxes. I hear turkeys. It’s very quiet and peaceful.

This spring, one saving grace during the spread of the coronavirus across the state has been access to Maryland’s great outdoors. And now with Governor Hogan’s eased restrictions on many outdoor activities, as well as the stay-home order lifted for non-Baltimoreans, there are plenty of ways to safely get some more fresh air. Here’s the latest on getting outside during the continuing times of COVID-19. One key takeaway: not all has returned to normal.

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PARKS

Maryland’s dozens of state parks offer a great escape during the times of a global health crisis. From the mountains of Western Maryland to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, most have remained open throughout the coronavirus pandemic, but several previously closed locations will now reopen as well, including Sandy Point outside of Annapolis, Assateague on the Eastern Shore, and Swallows Falls in Western Maryland.

Plan ahead for potential filled-to-capacity closures at the likes of Patapsco Valley, North Point, and Gunpowder’s Hammerman Area, as well as continued closed portions, such as the Houck Area of Cunningham Falls in Thurmont, certain trails at Elk Neck in Cecil County, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Cambridge. All visitor’s centers, administrative buildings, nature centers, and most concessions also remain close, while playgrounds have reopened for kids and families. All visitors are encouraged to social distance, as well as provide their own soap or hand sanitizer, stay home if sick, and visit parks close to their homes.

Meanwhile, all Baltimore City and County parks are still open to the public, as they also have been throughout the pandemic, with social distancing and face coverings encouraged, though the use of playgrounds and exercise equipment continues to be prohibited. The Canton, Latrobe, and Howard Street dog parks are limited to a maximum of five visitors at a time, while the Patterson Park dog park is limited to 10.

CAMPING

If one thing is certain in these uncertain times, there’s never been a better one to sleep under the stars. With the wide-scale reopening of state parks, several state-owned campgrounds, which typically make up some 2,000 campsites, will also begin reopening on a gradual basis for tent and RV camping, though cabin rentals currently remain closed as locations consider reopening strategies. All campers must be with immediate family members or people with whom they reside, in groups of no more than 10, and abiding by social distancing guidelines. For reservations, visit the Department of Natural Resources’s website.

BEACHES

With the announcement of the lifting of the state’s stay-home order, we could almost feel the traffic begin to build at the Bay Bridge. Though previously closed in their entirety, all state-owned beaches, including Hammerman Beach at Gunpowder Falls, as well as Hart-Miller Island, Calvert Cliffs, and Assateague have now reopened, though do note that the latter’s National Seashore is still off-limits. Under social distancing guidelines, most forms of outdoor exercise can resume, such as walking, running, swimming, and fishing. But leave the seating home, as chairs, blankets, and picnics are still prohibited.

Meanwhile, Ocean City has reopened to the general public with social distancing and gathering limitations in place. It’s largely business as usual, besides beachcombers being encouraged to remain at least six feet apart and in groups no larger than 10. Lifeguards are on duty for swimming, boardwalk restaurants are open for carryout, and lodgings have since reopened to visiting guests. Up the road, however, out-of-state visitors are still prohibited from the likes of Dewey, Rehoboth, and Bethany beaches until at least May 31 under Delaware’s stay-home order, which remains in place. Many restrictions apply to locals, as well, such as bans on sunbathing, swimming, and surfing.

BOATING

After weeks of pressure on Governor Hogan, recreational boating is back on the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding waterways. In addition to personal watercraft like kayaks and canoes, the use of both motor and sail boats is once again permitted after a brief hiatus during the recent stay-home order.

All boaters must be with immediate family members or those with whom they reside and in accordance of social distancing guidelines. Regardless of vessel size, parties larger than 10 are prohibited, as are gatherings on the likes of piers, boat ramps, beaches, or via raft-ups, in addition to docking at waterfront restaurants. Many marinas have already reopened, though they may do so at their own discretion, so be sure to call ahead. Be it on water or land, recreational fishing has reopened, too, where standard rules and regulations still apply.

GOLF

If there was ever an ideal sport for social distancing in the great outdoors, golf would be it, and sod is once again soaring across the state, with Maryland courses now permitted to reopen at their own discretion. Open greens in the Baltimore area include Bulle Rock in Havre De Grace, Rocky Point in Essex, Greystone in White Hall, and Fox Hollow in Timonium, as well as all Classic Five courses, with tee times reserved online and all high-touch items removed from clubhouses, cars, and ranges. Restrictions and safety measures vary from location to location, though all golf carts are limited to two players from the same household.