670 - Six Flags Maryland (Abandoned)
Today I went into an abandoned amusement park. And it was an absolute mission.
Maryland’s Six Flags “America” has been abandoned for nearly 9 months now, and few, if any, urban exploration reports have appeared online about it.
This meant it was a potential gold-mine for adventure photography, but not without some risks.
For one, you couldn’t just waltz into the place. There was a documented security team watching it 24/7. And secondly, nearly the entire park was surrounded by residential houses. The only part that wasn’t was a 625 acre old-growth forest on the park’s eastern edge.
This meant that just to get to the park’s boundary, you either had to trespass through a random person’s yard, go through a dense Maryland forest, or drive in the main entrance from the highway, which, for obvious reasons, wasn’t smart.
Out of these three choices, the forest, also known as the Belt Woods, seemed like the best option. But it came with its own set of challenges.
It was nearly a mile long in length, and the natural area had no infrastructure besides a deteriorated road that got you about half way before disappearing entirely. The woods were also owned by the state of Maryland, and officially closed to the public.
Despite this, a plan formulated in my mind.
I’d arrive about an hour before sunrise, hike through the woods with my GPS, and climb into the park before dawn, when security was (hopefully) at its lowest.
I pulled up at about 7AM, and the gravity of the upcoming adventure slowly dawned upon me.
Since the entrance to the Belt Woods was simply a gated fence along a main road, this meant I’d have to park my beat-up, Colorado-plated Prius in a nice, family neighborhood, then walk down a busy road with no sidewalk to get to the woods.
But it was Maryland after all, so I had a little slack in the “what’s this guy doing” department.
I slowly parked the Prius under a bright street light to appear as inconspicuous as possible, then walked through the dark and dewy neighborhood with all my camera gear. A couple cars passed me by, and I cringed inside. Maybe nothing was out of place, but I definitely felt out of place.
Once I got to the main road, I hurried along the edge then quickly hopped the iron gate into the Belt Woods. Phew. I was in. Now for the second obstacle.
The overgrown road took me about a half mile into the woods, before it ended at an abandoned yellow house. From here, a small pathway trailed into the backyard, then quickly disappeared. But I noticed a small ribbon on a tree.
Then another one. And another one. So this trail doesn’t end.
I hesitantly followed a couple dozen more ribbons, then checked my GPS. It appeared to be heading in the right direction. But it wasn’t easy trotting.
These were dense woods, and for some reason I decided to wear shorts. My legs were getting torn to shreds by thorn bushes, and I kept feeling invisible webs graze my skin.
There’s nothing quite like checking the time only to see a spider the size of a thumb on your wrist. And as the heat of the day began to set in, I quickly realized these aren’t the kind of woods you want to get lost in. Everything was starting to look the exact same.
I whipped out Google Maps and began dropping pins in a half-hearted attempt to preserve my route. Even though the ribbons were still going strong, they frequently split, switched colors, and disappeared without warning.
But alas, I finally made it to the perimeter of the park. And like a friend welcoming me in, there was a hole conveniently cut into the fence right in front of me.
I was in.
The corner of the park that I landed in appeared to be a storage facility. Looking around, I saw old ride parts, decorations, and assorted machinery items. I also noticed a portable security camera about 50 yards away from me, just a little too late.
I kept moving. The good thing was that the place was absolutely massive. If I kept off the main roads, I felt like I could avoid any security just fine. Imagine trying to find one person in an entire theme park.
Except there was one little thing. Just one. My plan all along had been to make it to the top of a roller coaster for sunrise- for the vibes.
I quickly hopped the fence and scaled The Wild One, which was the oldest roller coaster in any Six Flags park. It originally opened in Massachusetts all the way back in 1917, before being relocated to Maryland in 1986.
Reading this fact, in retrospect, freaks me out. I’d walked up the entire emergency staircase of this track to get to the top-most point, which was precisely 98 feet off the ground.
At the top, I was shaking like a goddamn leaf. The wooden plank I’d gone up was merely a foot wide, and completely exposed. Heights weren’t my thing, and it was obvious that the flimsy wooden railing to my left would not have supported my weight.
I primarily relied on the metal centerpiece of the track to steady myself, as I knew that piece wasn’t going anywhere. Through shaking hands, I quickly snagged an opening shot which I put on my Reel, then bailed. Absolutely terrifying.
Once I got back down, I took a deep breath. Alright. Now for some real photography.
For the next hour I ran around the outskirts of the park, and snagged a reflection shot of Firebird and Superman Ride of Steel:
It was honestly quite peaceful. The entire place was open, and there were no rules. Wanna get right below the tracks? Go ahead. Wanna walk through the kitchen of an old dining hall? Sure. Wanna walk through the tunnel of QuantumCanyon Rapids? Sure:
It was pure freedom, besides the obvious security I could hear zipping around the park. But I had the advantage. All I had to do was listen and stick to the edge.
The turning point happened when my phone battery started to get low. My rule was that once it hit 30%, I had to go back. As tempting as it was to stay, (and believe me- I could have stayed here all freaking day) I needed that battery to navigate through those god-for-saken woods.
So I started the trek back, and snagged one last photo of Shipwrecks Falls and the Voodoo Drop before making my way to the fence:
Although as I was approaching the storage facility I’d come in through, I spotted two men out of the corner of my eye. Both of them were looking at their phone, and neither of them had seen me yet.
This was surprising, given I was in the middle of a concrete plaza. Sure, there were buildings and props near me, but I was blatantly exposed.
I decided to fucking book it.
They were gonna look up any second, so I might as well get a head start. Upon hearing my footsteps, they suddenly glanced up in shock. I heard a “Sir! Stop!” echo behind me, but I didn’t look back.
I was sprinting towards that hole in the fence like there was no tomorrow.
My fear wasn’t in getting arrested, a ticket, or whatever petty trespassing charge they decided to slap on me. It was about them taking my $3,500 camera setup, and keeping “the evidence” for an indefinite amount of time. No insurance was going to cover that issue.
Once I got to the woods, I kept running. I had no idea what these guys had in them. But when I finally decided to look back, they hadn't followed me in. The park was where they drew the line.
I breathed a sigh of relief and took a second to catch my breath. It was 85° F out already, and climbing. Blood was dripping down my legs from some thorn bushes, and sweat intermingled like some adrenaline-fueled concoction.
My best guess is that they saw me on camera walking into the park, and decided to camp out at the spot until I came back. Either that, or it was just pure chance I ran into them.
I took my sweet time walking back, and landed at the Prius without any issues. And once that thing hit the road, I was out.
Total damage was some scratches, a headache, a little roller coaster grease, and a heck of a lot of sweat. But I had a full set of images to show for it.
Let’s fucking go.
