Calvert County, MD Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Section 82-2-105 of the Calvert County Code flatly bars smoking, vaping or use of tobacco products anywhere in and on park property, the broadest prohibition in Chapter 82's Article 2 list. The chapter's definitions in § 82-1-102 sweep broadly: SMOKING covers lighting, smoking, or carrying a lighted or smoldering cigar, cigarette, or pipe, VAPING is the act of using an electronic cigarette, and ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE reaches any product that delivers nicotine or another substance for simulated smoking through vapor or aerosol, regardless of the brand name it is sold under.

The ban has exactly two carve-outs under § 82-2-105A: an outside area next to an employee workplace that the County Administrator has designated, and outdoor areas at Chesapeake Hills Golf Course, and both must sit at least 100 feet from any indoor facility entrance. Section 82-2-105B requires the county to post signage conspicuously at each entrance to every park stating the prohibition, and § 82-2-105C makes clear the rule adds to, rather than replaces, any other federal, state or local smoking law that might also apply.

The chapter covers Department of Parks and Recreation property in unincorporated Calvert County, outside the self-governing towns of Chesapeake Beach and North Beach. As with the rest of Chapter 82, violations are enforced under § 82-1-104: a $50 civil penalty for each day of violation, plus possible loss of eligibility for Department rentals, activities or programs, and, for anyone who refuses a law enforcement or Department official's order to leave, a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine, six months' imprisonment, or both.