If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Laurel, look no further. Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Laurel, including sites, reviews, and tips. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
$28 / night
Bay side back country campsite
The campsite offers a quite, private, and secluded getaway from the business of life! Find serenity under the trees and stars!
$30 / night
Youth Group Camping
There are five youth group camping sites available and reservations are required. Youth Group passes are honored.
Access to pit toilets, fire ring, and one 12 foot picnic table are provided with each site. (Available April-October)
You can make reservations through parkreservations.maryland.gov or by calling 1-888-432-2267.
Matoaka is a privately owned and operated bay-front getaway in Calvert County, Maryland. The facility is nestled quietly on the west shore of the Chesapeake Bay with hundreds of feet of bay views and a one third of a mile private sandy beach for visitor access.
The property's many acres are primarily wooded with fields and a winding dirt lane which brings visitors to the main grounds. The main grounds boast beautiful views of the bay, sunrises, and easy access to the beach. The cabins back up to a bamboo forest and overlook the bay.
Cabin Rentals: April 15 to November 1
Check in between 3-8pm - Check out by 11 am
Dogs are not permitted
All cabins have their own kitchen with fridge, propane stove, microwave & basket style coffeemaker.
Bathrooms have stall showers, flush toilets and sink.
Grills are for charcoal cooking only, no wood fires please.
Cabins are not furnished with bedding, towels nor kitchen utencils, etc.
Please remember to bring: Bedding, towels, kitchen items, paper products, soap and charcoal for the grill.
Area Info:
Grocery stores are located about 10 minute drive away in both Prince Frederick (north) and Lusby (south).
Nearby Restaurants -
Gateway Seafood Restaurant & Lounge, Port Republic, MD (Take out & Dine-in)
Fredy's Woodfire Pizza, Prince Frederick, MD (Delivery Available)
Happy Buddha, Saint Leonard, MD (Take out)
Bay side back country campsite
Back Country Camping; ocean side
Traveler
This place has been great to us Even though we are tent camping in the middle of winter we have still made it work it has great warm bathrooms that are very clean and sanitary they clean them everyday faithfully we have hot showers we have laundry facilities it's on the border of a beautiful water they have a camp store that could provide everything that you could need every site has barbecue/hot fire pits just a very comfortable; very hospitable everyone's very friendly very willing to help you out everybody's giving and it's just been a very good experience and I would recommend this place for anybody.
Guide
Unfortunately, there was a fire ban and extremely windy conditions, which is out of the parks control so I didn't get to enjoy it as much. From what I have experienced, it was amazing! The hike trails are so beautiful and being by the water was a complete experience! I got to see the sunset for the first time in a long time. Park was clean and well maintained. Bathroom was clean and WARM! they also have showers. They sale firewood at the cabin store but the store is only opened Thursday- Sunday
Legend
General: There are two units to this state park campground - one north of the Charles W. Cullen Memorial Bridge and one on the south side. We stayed on the south side, so this review focuses on this part of the park. The south side has over 300 campsites, some with hookups and some without. I don’t know what the difference is between the designated tent sites and the sites with no hookups. Regardless of which type of site you choose, there is NO privacy/separation between sites, however, we were there on a Monday the week after Memorial Day and while the sites with the hookups were completely full, there were plenty of empty non-hookup sites.
Site Quality: All of the non-hookup sites are sand/grass/gravel and completely level; the hookup sites have paved camper pads (and are also level). As mentioned above, there is zero privacy/separation between sites, but this is the price you pay for easy and close beach access!
Bath/Shower house: Reasonably clean, especially being so close to the ocean. No garbage receptacle which was slightly annoying. The utility hooks are outside of the showers compromising some privacy. I didn’t use the shower so I cannot comment further.
Activities/Amenities: This is a popular fishing spot on the inlet. There is direct access to the beach under the bridge where there are restaurants, concessions, and other activities at the Big Chill Beach Club. There is also a pedestrian walkway on the bridge which was kind of cool. The playground is large and modern. There is a camper store, but it was not open when we were there. The dumpsters are a bit of a walk depending on where your site is located. Our site was almost directly under the bridge (and also a power pole!) but this was cool, especially at night when the bridge was lit up.
I’m glad we were not there on a weekend OR in the hookup sites; we had no neighbors directly on either side of us so it felt more private, but I would imagine that on weekends when all sites are completely full, it would be a different story!
TravelerGood site space.. no check in before time. We were there Halloween so all sites full. Great biking(mountain and gravel). All in..would stay again
Scout
Used to be a great campground, than Sun Outdoors bought it out increased rates. Now it is grossly overpriced.
ScoutThis is just a park no camping…
Scout
Me and a friend came in on motorcycles and stayed in the primitive tent sites and had a great time. Stayed a few weeks before Halloween and there were plenty of festive activities going on.
Legend
General: Large campground in 10 units (A-J). J is a walk-in tent site only; the others all have paved camper pads. The layout is horizontal so that all units are close to the ocean. Some back right up to the dunes while the ones on the other side of the loops have a tree barrier separating the sites from the ocean. 80-100 wild horses roam free on the beach and throughout the campground. You are instructed to give them a 40-foot berth. Generators need to be “whisper quiet” and the hours are strictly enforced (although the camper in the site next to us did not understand the definition of whisper quiet; when we asked the camp host, we were told it was up to the ranger to police this).
Site Quality: Sites are level and paved. Each comes with a picnic table and a fire ring. Although there is nothing to physically separate the sites, they are located a modest distance apart from each other. I don't believe there are hookups in any of the sites.
Bath/Shower House: Modern and very clean. Hot water from the taps was appreciated. The showers looked nice, but we did not use them.
Activities/Amenities: There is beach access from each loop in the campground and miles of beach await you. There is a beach toy lending station, and it was filled with toys. A little free library, recycling, and dishwashing sinks. The visitor center sells ice and other basic sundries. Only saw a couple of horses as we arrived but a site across and down from us had four horses wander into their site when they were making hot chocolate, and they wouldn’t leave! As we were leaving the next morning, we saw many horses. They tended to congregate in the sites closer to the entrance.
We were only able to spend one night here. The check-in time of 2 pm is strict as is the check-out time of 11 am, which was a bit of a bummer. Wish we could have spent more time here and would definitely return.
Traveler
Bike to the ferry and Rehoboth. Some sites too close together..check camp map before booking
Guide
I love this campground very much. I called the office book my reservation, the representative put me in Acorn loop.
When I arrived by the late evening, there are only two camper in a huge site. Then I drove to Butterfly loop, this site have much more peoples, some camper tell me, the Ranger will coming soon; finally the ranger help me move my site into the Butterfly loop. From my experience, better book campsite by yourself online, then you have an idea this site how many occupancy.
Guide
We stayed at this campground to be close to Ocean City for Ocean Calling music festival in September 2024...It is a great family rv Park...Lots of amenities...clean...close to OC or Historic Berlin...After the in-season fee and lock site fee...our nightly overall cost was $145...I will stay again next year if we attend the music festival. Only 4 stars b/c the showers need upgrading.
Scout
Doesnt allow tent camping
Guide
We were looking to explore Maryland's Eastern Shore and picked Tuckaho because they had electric sites available. We were so pleased with our stay. The campground is well maintained and the sites are great. We have a small travel trailer and our site was pretty level and nicely private. We backed up to a hiking trail which was nice. There's lots to do here. There's a disc golf course and the camp store has discs available to use. We've never played before but had a blast learning, now we're hooked. We also enjoyed kayaking on the lake. If you enjoy birding this park is great, we saw so many cool birds. There's an arboretum and horse riding trails. We will definitely be going back!
Traveler
Amazing state park in the woods. Lots to do for the kids.
GuideHad a great time. Came with an outdoorsy circle of friends and we all had a awesome time at Assateague. The Atlantic was pretty rough but we still had a lot of fun at the beach. Our site was perfect too. We were very close to the bathrooms, showers, and the beach. The sound of the beach at night makes for great natural white noise. Chickens and horses might wake you up at a reasonable early hour, which isn’t a problem for me since I’d probably oversleep myself
LegendThe 5th & last state on our East Coast trek is Delaware!
We took the ferry from Cape May & it was a novelty for us. We enjoyed it so much!
The state park is just a half mile on the left when you pull out.
For Delaware I had my heart set on Cape Henlopen State Park. The sites go fast & I felt lucky to get the site I ended up with. When we got there we found out a water main broke& there was no water. Fortunately, we only went a day without.
There are cabins & primitive sites with their own bath house. The water/electric sites are in rows A-F. We were in B 14.The sites are laid out at an angle, but some were a straight backin. The even A sites- you park your rig or car on the road in a straight line & you get a big wooded site. Not sure if these sites have electricity.
There's 2 dump stations on the way out.
There's shower houses for E/F/T, the G loop& on the B loop road. They were clean. There's an asphalt trail leading through the main sites for bathroom access. It's clearly marked on the map, so keep it in mind when you pick a site.
There are some pullthroughs that can take big rigs. The sites are not uniform, some larger, some smaller. Watch the site dimensions or you might not be able to fit your vehicle AND camper on the site. It HAS to all be on the asphalt behind the white line.
There are combo toilet/showers which I'm not fond of. You're a tenter & want to go for your morning BM& all the doors are locked with people showering. :( They're clean.
The camp store/ laundry is the building next to that. The playground is also right there.
This was my husbands favorite campground on our trip. It was a very enjoyable place!
This park has a LOT of activities: the beach, a nice nature center. Fort Miles for WW 2 history. Biking is hugely popular & they have bike rentals at the nature center if you forgot yours. You can climb a WW 2 watchtower. There's hiking trails, a fishing pier. So much to do.
Lots of good restaurants in the area also.
We had a great time there. Sorry we had to leave...
ScoutWe have been here many times before and it continues to be our favorite. Every weekend there’s a band or Dj at the beach at night and every visit we have made friends. There are usually food trucks and things for the kiddos like bounce houses during the day but just check the website for events (always subject to change so don’t hold that against them) People are always super friendly, kind and welcoming. The rules are what the standard should be for all campgrounds and even if you bend them a bit they aren’t jerks about it if you aren’t. We LOVE it and always hate to leave even though we pay the $25 to stay to 8pm on departure day, it’s never long enough. It truly is our happy place.
Scout
This was our 5th and final trip to this campground. This time campground seemed to have LOTS OF little things that needed upkeep.
Positive - close to Cape May, nice pool
Negative - lots of airplane noise all day (due to local airport), nightly sites are slowly being turned into permanent sites. Lake seemed filled with algae on sides. Store was nice but not stocked as previous trips.
GuideWe had a wonderful time camping at Assateague State Park. We have camped here 5 times now.
The bath houses are always clean and well stocked and the showers are warm. The park rangers make their appearance known throughout the park and always available to help. The park is beautiful with paved bike/walking trail. You will definitely see horses throughout your stay. This is one of our favorite campgrounds.
ScoutAssateague Gone is the Assateague Island RV campground that we grew up with all our lives! Not only has some genius made the executive decision[in recent years] to REPLACE all the park's glorious sandy campsites with knee high pricker-grass...(which has NOTHING to do with preserving the dunes)...but now, they ONLY MOW their weed-filled sites once in a blue moon...and they REFUSE to mow it upon request(when you arrive at your personal, bug-infested jungle, for your 14-day vacation)...so, you can't even sit around your campfire ring or play a game of cornhole. I guess they'have us', since they're the only oceanside State Park RV campground, around. And for what? It's not as if they can't afford to mow it. It's not as if camping/campers have declined. Now there's nowhere to camp anymore where you can gather around the campfire with your toes in the sand. Heartbreaking!
Scout.
Traveler
We absolutley loved this campground. It had some of the cleanest bathrooms for a State Park. The sites were spaced out. Close to the ocean.
Scout
We loved our stay! A quick drive to the beaches and a gorgeous rail trail! Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming which was the biggest selling point for us. Upon check in we were greeted by the friendliest man who made us feel right at home. We have a 25ft pull behind and our site comfortably fit the trailer and our whole outdoor setup. We will be back!
TravelerTried to reserve a site for August. Was told they only do long-term rentals.
TravelerThe camp hosts are so nice, helpful,caring and friendly. Bathroom very clean. Sites not very private but nice and the wild ponies!!! Amazing
I had a non electric site The electric sites r very hard to book and need to be booked a year in advance.
GuideWe parked the trailer in the pouring rain. Now I own rain gear... Go figure. :-)
We spent 4 nights there and it was amazing. There is so much to do in the area.
GuideWe took our travel trailer down for a long weekend at the end of the season. It was pretty full, but didn't feel crowded. There are a few (seasonal) restaurants with in a few minutes walk/drive.
There is an unmarked speed bump on the way in, so go SLOOW.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Laurel, DE is Redden State Forest Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 5 reviews.
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