Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary

Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, operated by Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks, consists of 1,700 acres of open water, tidal freshwater marshes, forested wetlands, upland and riparian forest, creeks, meadows, pine and sand barrens, and fields along the Patuxent River.

Located in southern Anne Arundel County, 20 miles east Washington D.C. and 18 miles south of Annapolis, the Sanctuary is a designated site on the Patuxent Water Trail.

The Sanctuary is located in the tidal reaches of the Patuxent River, and its network of habitats, including its extensive tidal freshwater wetlands, provides a safe environment to a high diversity of plants, invertebrates, birds, fish, reptiles, and mammal species. The National Audubon Society has designated the Sanctuary as a Nationally Important Bird Area.

In 1990 the Sanctuary was designated as one of three components within the Maryland Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve – a research, stewardship, and education program administered jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Maryland's Department of Natural Resources, and Anne Arundel County. 

​Founded in 1986, the Friends of Jug Bay is a non-profit citizens’ organization that acts to preserve the Sanctuary and to support its education, stewardship, and research programs. Through financial contributions and active engagement, FOJB members provide critical support that greatly enhances Sanctuary programs and activities and its long-term protection