Getting access to a US regional park from neighboring house

Factual Questions
21

I’ve never heard the term “regional park”, and suspect that it has as many definitions as the US has regions. And it’s not at all clear, just from the name, what kind of park it’d be […]

I’m from Maryland, and I’ve never heard the term “regional park.” Was the OP being coy, perhaps, out of a desire not to give away the location of their new house?

There is a big park there that spans many municipalities: the Patapsco Valley State Park. As you might imagine, it follows the Patapsco River as it flows through the state. It spans several counties and cities/towns, so it seems like a candidate for what someone might call a “regional park.” Because it meanders through towns, it’s not unusual to have houses abutting parts of the park.

22

Maybe they’re thinking of

It’s a system of parks, some large and some small, scattered across Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.

23

I mean, based on the information given, it could be literally any park in Maryland.

The OP hasn’t provided enough information to answer the question. Until we get some more details, we’re all just speculating.

What’s the scoop, OP?

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I don’t disagree. I’m only pointing out that MNCPPC (in Maryland) is similar in character to East Bay Regional (in Northern California) in that both consist of lots of smaller parks scattered across multiple cities and counties.

25

I was a volunteer ranger at Alum Rock park, a City park. We only controlled access by parking fees. The park was too big to fence off, and yes, people did have houses with fences and gates int the park, no issue with that.

The other big source for fees was reservation fees for party areas. Quinceañera, birthdays, etc were all common on the weekend.

Overnight camping was not allowed.

Very cool park.

26

MNCPPC runs 8 “regional parks” throughout Montgomery and Prince George’s County.

In MoCo:
Black Hill Regional Park
Cabin John Regional Park
Little Bennett Regional Park
Wheaton Regional Park

In PG:
Cosca Regional Park
Fairland Regional Park
Walker Mill Regional Park
Watkins Regional Park

I have not visited them all, but I do know that there is a fence around at least a large portion of Wheaton Regional Park, not necessarily for security so much as to keep the deer out. There are special collections kept there that they don’t want eaten.

Of the others, I know that there is no fence around Cabin John and it is surrounded by mostly residential neighborhoods and the private properties go right up to the park boundaries. I suspect most if not all of the others are the same.

27

Okay, that’s a clue: “regional park” doesn’t mean anything on its own, but the MNCPPC parks use “regional” in the name, so it’s likely one of those.

But apparently the OP has lost interest, so :man_shrugging:t2:

ETA: what a weird shrug emoji the board software uses!

28

I live and hike in Maryland and also frequently hike in Delaware and Pennsylvania in parks of various types – state, county, and various other mysterious sorts. There are usually adjacent houses, some with fences, and some of the fences with gates. Some parks have fences limiting access, but generally for historic reasons and not because the park put them up. Some for example were private hunting reserves that the state bought. It seems obvious from all these that, if you’re not cutting a hole in a fence that the park owns, you can fence your yard and gate your fence.

There are also various little tributary trails that depart the main trails and go to houses or neighborhoods. I always hear these called “social trails”.