Matoaka Cabins St Leonard Md Is Open For 2012 & Beach Hunting

[Taxman56]

Matoaka Cabins St Leonard MD is open for 2012 & Beach Hunting

The wife passed away last fall and the husband is unable to run the business but the children and their partners are trying to make a go of it this year.

You can't beat 6 dollars a night camping (2 day minimum). Its pretty rustic, no showers, cold water available and an a very vintage out house. But your 100 feet from the beach and hunting for shells and teeth. And electric is 3 dollars a day.

Or day access to the beach for 4 dollars a day without camping.

Or spend 500-600 and rent a cabin for a week with all the comforts of ......... a cabin.

And there only a few miles north of Calvert Cliffs or 20 miles south of Brownies Beach. And 12 miles from a large area of stores and restaurants.

Fossil finds are few and far between on this section but someone found 2 sand dollars after last months rains and a few teeth this spring.

The family's involved are thinking about how to keep the place open and yet upgrade it without putting a lot of money into it.

This could be the last few years before its sold and another access for beach hunting and launching kayaks is gone and another developer puts up million dollar houses with million dollar views.

I want dips on the their fossil collection.

[Vordigern]

sad news, my first trip to Calvert was Matoaka though that was 13 years ago and the hunting was actually pretty good

[hokiehunter]

Very sad news. Mrs. Smith was a very sweet woman and always shared in the excitement of a good find. Matoaka is where I cut my teeth when I first got into collecting (3 years ago). That stretch of beach got me through some tough times and will always hold very fond memories to me. I've seen 5+ inch perfect megs come from that beach and I have personally found 3+ inch megs and 2.5+ inch Makos there. The big teeth are hard to come by but they are certainly there (around 1 every 20 or so trips for me). That said on a summer day in July 2010 I saw a very green/novice hunter pull a 4 inch meg, a 2 inch meg, and two perfect ecphora shells off the marl in front of the jetties.

I'm glad the family is trying to make a run of it and I encourage everyone who has a chance to visit if they haven't. As said above the cottages are a bit rough/rustic and the big fossils can be hard to come by but the scenery and seclusion alone are worth the trip.

[Fat Boy]

That is sad indeed. I may have to make plans for a weekend stay there this year. You really can't beat the prices.

[Scylla]

Sad to hear the news, she was so kind to the kids when we visited there a couple of years ago. I saw some decent teeth pulled out from that beach, I'ld definately go back.

[Auspex]

A link to their website: LINK

[Taxman56]

I heard of finds out in the shallow water but never looked that hard since its always april when I go down and the water a bit cold. Maybe I should make another trip again. I found my first almost complete ecphora at Brownies last weekend in a falls pile and when I touched it, IT EXPLODED into tiny pieces. Oh so sad. I'm hoping some crazy glue and diluted white glue might make it a sad reminder of what it looked like for 30 seconds.

Very sad news. Mrs. Smith was a very sweet woman and always shared in the excitement of a good find. Matoaka is where I cut my teeth when I first got into collecting (3 years ago). That stretch of beach got me through some tough times and will always hold very fond memories to me. I've seen 5+ inch perfect megs come from that beach and I have personally found 3+ inch megs and 2.5+ inch Makos there. The big teeth are hard to come by but they are certainly there (around 1 every 20 or so trips for me). That said on a summer day in July 2010 I saw a very green/novice hunter pull a 4 inch meg, a 2 inch meg, and two perfect ecphora shells off the marl in front of the jetties. I'm glad the family is trying to make a run of it and I encourage everyone who has a chance to visit if they haven't. As said above the cottages are a bit rough/rustic and the big fossils can be hard to come by but the scenery and seclusion alone are worth the trip.

[Carl O'Cles]

I had heard she had passed, sad indeed. My first collecting trip was to this beach over 30 some years ago when i was about 8 months old(No Joke), not sure if i found anything crawling around. The thing i remember most about this place once i got a little older was the steep set of stairs heading down the cliffs and the forest of bamboo at the bottom of them. Oh yeah and little debbie fudge rounds NOMNOMNOM. Kinda funny when i went back as an adult the steps were not steep at all nor was there a forest of bamboo just a small patch. I also remember a time when some one said the the blue's were feeding and fish were jumpin onto the beach by the thousands and thats NO joke, they were everywhere flopping all around. If you go head north and just keep walking and walking and walking my experince is collecting was much better up that way

[Stahlhelms]

We were planning a trip down to the cabins this weekend and decided to check in on the forum.... very sad news indeed.

I only met her a couple of times, but she was very nice and helpful.

She always gave the kids a few shark teeth and other fossils to make the trip a special one.

If anybody else is going this saturday...be sure to say hi! I'll be the 6'4" guy carrying bags of shells and 'stuff' that my 6 year old finds.....he'll be the one filling another bag to give me.

Has anybody ever metal detected on the beach? Not sure what there would be to find, but I read about coin beach in Delaware....so I wonder if anything ever washes up there.

[revasius]

We made our first trip last August and loved it. Our kids had a blast. We are on the books to return this August. I hope they make a run at keeping it open......

[newsharktoothfinder]

This is sad news -- I went with the kids last summer, and she was very friendly and you could tell that Matoaka was a labor of love. It's a great spot -- it was beautiful, not crowded, a great place for kids to swim (this was before jellyfish season), and huge numbers of fossil shells (with a few teeth too). It really felt like going back in time, in more than one way.

One of the unfortunate things about the Chesapeake is how few places are open to the public, and I hope the family can keep it going, or else possibly the county or State can buy it, although I realize public money is tight. It would be a shame if it was turned into just another housing development when you consider that out of the thousands of miles of Chesapeake shoreline in Maryland, there are only a few miles of publicly accessible beaches. I don't have a problem with paying access fees, when you consider that a day at the beach swimming and picking up fossils is still cheaper than going to the movies or a baseball game or many museums.

[squali]

That is indeed sad. Unfortunately, I would have to advise them to check prices at other campgrounds. I haven't seen $6 a nite since the 1980's and that was for a backcountry permit with no facilities.

[revasius]

We went back to the cabins this August. It was hot as heck but we had a blast. One big concern is the state of the cabins. Mr. Smith and his son (in-law, not sure) are doing what they can but the cabins need some serious attention. I found myself doing what I could with a multi-tool while we were there. My fear is that it will prove to be too much for them and another public access point will be lost.

[Trevor]

Sad news....;(........

[lissa318]

Anyone stayed here recently? Or collected at this beach???

Edited July 31, 2014 by lissa318

[Auspex]

Anyone stayed here recently? Or collected at this beach???

Good to go: LINK

[lissa318]

Good to go: LINK

Great Auspex thanks!!! We are staying here for 3 nights the beginning of Sept. Cabin 8 has been remodeled for anyone interested!