Baltimore Open Water Swim

Flat water laps gently against the shoreline of High Tide Farm in Pasadena, where Redhouse Cove provides a calm estuary haven. This sheltered inlet hosts the Baltimore Open Water Swim, an open water gathering organized by Swim Across America in Maryland. Swimmers step into the sea off the farm to tackle either a 1-mile or a 3-mile challenge in Redhouse Cove. The course is laid out as a single 1-mile circuit, meaning those swimming the longer 3-mile distance exit the water after each lap to complete a brief jog across the sand before plunging back in. Crisp coastal air and brisk autumn waters welcome swimmers where wetsuits are optional but strongly encouraged for comfort.

While the cove remains exceptionally flat, the refreshing bite of the estuary sharpens every stroke as you navigate the buoys. Established in 2010, the event is non-competitive in nature, fostering a supportive community spirit rather than a cutthroat race to the podium. Every swimmer still wears an ankle timing chip to track their personal journey across the cove. The gathering raises vital funds to benefit the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine. In past editions, the starting beach has welcomed over 350 swimmers ranging in age from 11 to 82, creating an inspiring shoreline atmosphere before the first waves break into a rhythm.

High Tide Farm and the flat-water cove

The Swim Across America page for the Baltimore Open Water Swim lists High Tide Farm, at 5101 Mountain Road in Pasadena, Maryland, as the venue. In 2012 the swim took place at Waltjen Shedlick Farm, 5101 Mountain Road, on the Magothy River in Pasadena. A Baltimore Fishbowl preview of that 2012 swim described the water as a cove with flat water. At the 2012 swim, participants covered a three-mile course at Redhouse Cove. In its first year, Baltimore's Swim Across America enlisted over 400 participants across its open water and pool swims.

The Patapsco River mouth: guarding Baltimore Harbor

Just about five kilometres up the shoreline from the cove lies Fort Smallwood Park, situated where the outer Patapsco River empties into the expanse of the Chesapeake Bay at Rock Point. Looking northwest across the water from the park, one can spot the natural rock formations known as White Rocks protruding from the shallows. Between 1896 and 1928, this headland functioned as an Endicott Period coastal fortification designed to guard the outer approaches to Baltimore Harbor. Its concrete gun emplacement, Battery Hartshorne, mounted two six-inch disappearing carriage guns between 1900 and 1927 to deter hostile fleets. Once its military duties faded, the site became a beloved local destination for saltwater fishing and bathing from the 1930s through the 1980s.

Across the river mouth, about nine kilometres away on the North Point peninsula, stands Fort Howard, gazing out over the entrance to the harbor where the Patapsco meets the northern reaches of the bay. The peninsula is flanked by Old Road Bay to the west and the Back River to the east, occupying a key strategic threshold in Maryland maritime history. On September 12, 1814, an expeditionary force of around 4,500 British marines came ashore at North Point during the War of 1812 in an attempt to capture Baltimore. Nearly a century after that invasion, reinforced concrete batteries were erected at Fort Howard in 1902, armed with massive twelve-inch disappearing rifles, heavy mortars, and rapid-fire coastal defense weapons.

The marksmanship from this shoreline was formidable: in 1908, the fort's coastal artillery gunners established a world record by striking a moving target more than 5,000 yards out to sea nine times out of ten. Further up the river channel, about eleven kilometres from the swim venue, Fort Armistead was built at the turn of the twentieth century to complete the defensive cordon. Equipped with a command casemate designed to operate a harbor minefield, the fort housed Battery Irons to guard the coast against Spanish naval threats before serving as an ammunition depot during World War II.

Fort Carroll and the historic Chesapeake Bay beacons

Resting in the middle of the Patapsco River, about eleven kilometres from High Tide Farm, lies Fort Carroll, an ambitious 3.4-acre artificial island. Engineers laid its foundations directly in the shallows of Soller's Point Flats to create an offshore stronghold protecting the maritime gateway of Baltimore. In 1853, a navigational lighthouse was erected atop the fort's masonry ramparts to guide incoming vessels into the river channel. The low-lying stone complex faced severe natural trials, including torrential rains in April 1864 that completely flooded its underground ammunition magazines. A replacement lighthouse went up on the island ramparts in 1898 and still stands above the river today, enduring decades of change that included service as a World War II checkpoint and target range.

Maritime safety along the shallow shoals of the Chesapeake required specialized beacons, nowhere better exemplified than at Seven Foot Knoll Light, located about seven kilometres from the race cove. Built in 1855 at the mouth of the Patapsco River, it was Maryland's oldest screw-pile lighthouse, raised nine feet above average high tide on iron pilings driven straight into the submerged rocky bank. During a ferocious 1933 gale that brought 90-mile-per-hour winds and fifteen-foot seas, the Seven Foot Knoll lighthouse keeper heroically rescued the crew of a distressed tugboat from the churning water.

Downs Park and the colonial waters of the Severn

Closer to the swim site, about three kilometres away, Downs Park preserves roughly 610 meters of natural Chesapeake shoreline. The coastal grounds originally formed Rocky Beach Farm, a rural waterfront estate owned by tobacco importer H.R. Mayo Thom. Today, the public shoreline features a designated beach where local dogs can splash in the estuary waters. These estuaries carry memories reaching back to the earliest colonial encounters on the Chesapeake. A clash between rival colonial factions, known as the Battle of the Severn, unfolded on March 25, 1655, about fourteen kilometres south of Redhouse Cove on the Severn River at Horn Point. An armed sloop was positioned to seal off Spa Creek, an inlet of the river, trapping opposing movements. The conflict on the Horn Point peninsula reached a swift and decisive conclusion in less than thirty minutes. Back in the calm reaches of Redhouse Cove, swimmers glide across the tranquil waters, feeling the peaceful rhythm beneath every stroke.