The Hollofield Area of Patapsco is located almost in the center of the Park along Rt 40 (Baltimore National Pike) making it a great place for camping near Washington. Home to The Patapsco Valley State Park Headquarters and one of two campgrounds in the park,  This area is perfect for a family gathering or a quick picnic lunch while on your lunch break from work. The Ole Ranger Trail or Peaceful Pond trail provide a quick respite or workout in a beautiful setting just minutes from the hustle and bustle of Baltimore. Anglers can gain access to the river by following Union Dam trail down to the river.

The Hollofield Area boasts one of the most stunning views of the Patapsco River Valley. The Overlook changes with every season from the brilliant greens of spring to the rich colors of fall. This is a perfect place to view the changing blanket of the seasons. You can see historic Rt. 40 Bridge to the North. You can see the River peek through when the leaves fall from the trees in winter. In the spring new green leaves blanket the valley and in fall the patchwork of color provides spectacular views of the Patapsco River Valley.

Our campground is a little piece of wilderness in the middle of suburban Baltimore. While occasionally you can hear the buzz of cars along Rt. 40 or see a nearby neighborhood through the trees, you really feel like you’re away from everyday trappings enjoying the great outdoors when camping with us.

The Hollofield campground has 73 campsites, some with electric hookups. Each campsite has a picnic table and a fire ring. All equipment must be positioned on the designated camping pad and driveway.

Hollofield Area Campground

This is part of a super large park that runs 32 miles along the Patapsco River.  It has 8 recreation areas and we stayed at the Hollofield Area in April- one of our first experiences in a Maryland State Park.  Beautiful park with 70 miles of hiking/biking /multi use trails.  There are parks on both sides of the river to explore and experience the trails.  Be sure to bring/download maps.  You are close to Ellicott&amp; Columbia in  Maryland and DC.

Campsites-  nice size gravel sites, some are a bit close to each other in the “electric” loop and some face a neighborhood that probably couldn’t be seen if the trees had regained all their foliage.  There is only 20/30amp electricity and NO water or sewer- although there was a dump and a place to fill your water tank. No washer or dryers.  There is one bathhouse for the campground, which was clean and well maintained.  Tenters will be happy because many of the smaller sites were more secluded and had great views of the woods.  Cell coverage was good with our sprint/Verizon.

ALSO- APPROACH THIS PARK ONLY FROM THE WEST IF YOUR VEHICLE IS OVER 11 FEET HIGH.  (There is a 11’ bridge coming east bound into this park.)

We enjoyed hiking the trails directly from our campsite that led us down to the Patapsco River.  There is a lot of history associated with the River and the area.  You can even swim in this river.  Fishing looked like fun too but we didn’t have time.  

We really loved road biking to the nearby H Mart to have fun shopping and browsing their unique selection.  (This is a super large Korean store packed with fruits, vegetables, seafood and other food stuff that could put an American grocery store to shame.  If you are into K Beauty, they have a nice selection)

You can also bike/drive to nearby Ellicott city which has a charming downtown area.

There is mountain biking and kayaking in the area but we were not in explorer mode this visit because we were visiting family.

Here is a link to the updated trail map of the area:

https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Documents/Patapsco_HollofieldPickallmap.pdf

Happy Camping!  Pamela and Keith 


Slice of Nature near big cities

The campground was great.  Pet friendly.  Very quiet.  I only gave it 4 stars because the camp sites are too close together.  Fire pits were well designed, bathrooms were relatively clean.

Car camping

We always have a blast at patapsco state park. Great wooded sites

Close to everything yet alone in the woods

This is our second time staying here this year and we have reservations to come back in September. I have family in the area and it is convenient and inexpensive to stay here. Nice wooded sites set far apart from each other in two concentric circles. The inner circle has electric but no water or sewer. The outer circle is primitive. There is a dump station. There is a decent bathhouse but it does get buggy. Powerful fan keeps it comfortable on all but the hottest days. The camp hosts are helpful and friendly

The campground and park fill up on the weekends but are nearly empty during the week. There are several hiking trails in this part of the park or you can drive to other parts for additional hiking. They run very few ranger programs. But the main attraction is the proximity to the tourist sites in Baltimore. If you camp and want to visit the city, this is a budget conscious way to do so. And, when you are at your campsite, you really are in the middle of the woods.

Great Location for Visiting Baltimore 

We have stayed at both the Hilton location of PSP as well as this one. We preferred the Hilton spot, with kids. However, this location is also great. The sites feel private, the camp hosts are lovely and they provide good firewood (instead of those preset bundles).

There is a "natural" playground in the loop, and then if you drive down further to the park entrance, there is a large playground for the kids. I've attached photos from the "natural playground" aka, large rocks and overturned trees. The kids loved it.

The things I didn't like about it were the old bathrooms- they were clean, but very outdated-, and the fact that the planes from the airport kept flying over, which made it hard to sleep. I've heard that this area gets pretty crowded on the weekends, but during the week, it wasn't too bad. Easy to walk trails are right off the loop and there are tall trees with a little opening to see the stars. Overall, it was a great place to get away for a few days!

Great place for a weekend getaway!

The site was nice and level, but a bit small, with a short driveway. We actually brought 2 vehicles this time, and it was really tight. Fair amount of trees surrounding our site, but since there are still very few leaves, it felt way closer and less private. This campground is very popular, and set up as two loops; an inner loop with electric sites, and a more spread-out outer loop with non-electric, tent-only sites. The inner loop was completely full, and the sites were just too closely spaced for my preferences. There were a few sites with a little extra room and privacy (419 and 420 caught my eye), but for the most part they were packed in pretty tightly. If you’re a tent camper and don’t need electric, the sites on the outer loop were quite nice and private.

Bath house was old, small, and not exceptionally clean, but adequate for our needs. Did not use the showers this time. However, there are only 4 restroom stalls and 2 showers on the ladies side, so I can imagine the lines would be pretty crazy during the summer time. I expected lines this weekend, considering the campground was full, but we lucked out. There is also a dishwashing room with a deep double sink, but this was old and dingy as well. I’m really surprised that the bath house hasn’t been renovated yet, considering the size and popularity of the park. I’m also amazed that there is only one bath house and a single water spigot to service both loops; normally in MD State Parks, there is a water pump every few sites.

Overall, while this is a great park for day-tripping with a very convenient location, we just didn’t care for the campground. If you don’t mind the proximity to other campers and multiple scouting groups, or if you can make use of the more private tent sites, this might be a good option. We were hoping to count on this park for quick weekend getaways, since it’s only about 15 miles from us, but we may be willing to drive a bit further to get the more peaceful, woodsy experience we prefer.

Great location, but too close and crowded

We were at site 430. It was a perfect spot tucked away from the others and a short walk to the restrooms. You can purchase firewood from the camp hosts nearby as well. The fire pit at this site was a little difficult to cook with because the grate was very high and could not be lowered. Overall we had a great time exploring the park especially the nearby railroad track. Would visit again.

Great if you don’t want to travel far

This is our second time to this campground and our first in a new RV. Campground is very close to the Baltimore beltway and basically in a neighborhood but you feel like you are farther from things. Bathroom is clean and camp hosts are very friendly. Campsites are fairly close together but not right on top of each other. Lots of good hiking trails can be accessed from the campsite as well as a nice playground for the kids. One drawback is that the spot to check in is a little tricky to find and not very well marked. Overall we had a great visit and will be back.  

Great Campground 

Only reason for 4 and not 5 stars is the proximity of the sites to one another ... but if you can get good neighbors, no neighbors, or the right site, this park is a perfect escape. We had a terrific time; lots of green canopy kept us cool in the summertime.

  

Walking the grounds and visiting the camp host to buy firewood (fill up the crates and be sure to add some extra) was extremely pleasant, and to date I think this was the cleanest (no trash on the ground) site I've visited.  

  

You can hear the din of traffic (after all, route 40 is right there) but considering your proximity to Walmarts and Subways, aside from that noise you might forget how close you are to civilization. Relatively dense vegetation and hills offer you that simulation of escape.

Beautiful grounds and manicured sites

Being just barely off the beaten path, I wasn’t expecting all too much from the one night stay over planned heading from New Jersey to Shenandoah in Virginia. I was surprised at the quiet, understated beauty of the forestry around the perfectly level campsite. With on-site electric hookup, and amenities including dump, water fill, garbage and recycling easily accessed on the way in/out, all creature comforts were there for enjoying. Took a fairly easy hike down to the river and even went for a swim. Loved it so much, I stopped on the way back home again! 
- Stayed Fall 2020

So good I did it twice

I enjoyed a nice, quiet stay here. There weren't many activities for kids but the hiking was great right from your site.  The bathroom could use an update but it was clean.

Great Spot

The campground is small but has good amenities. A little outdated but a decent price. Some privacy which is nice.

Decent price campground 

We stayed here with our van to enjoy being stationary for a few days. It’s a good campground. Site was clean and pretty level. We only used one block to level the van. There’s fire wood available to purchase at the camp host for $5 for what you can fit in a milk crate. They even have a cart you can borrow to take the wood to your campsite. The bathroom was alright. There’s a sign in there saying to bear with them that they have a scheduled bathroom makeover in the works. (I assume that’ll happen when they close for the season.) There’s two showers which isn’t enough when it’s busy. We took showers after 9pm each night to avoid people. The bathroom toilets take some patience to flush. They have four porta potties outside to help with that and the quantity of people. There’s a utility room where you can wash dishes. 

Edit: I docked a star from 4 to 3 because of the dump station. The dump station is a pipe attached to a man hole cover. There isn’t a bowl around the sewer hole. We watched the rig in front of us empty their black tank and poo water emptied out into the road around the hole. There’s a hose to rinse but the sewage wasn’t contained. We ended up emptying our cassette toilet tank into the porta potty instead because we would have dumped sewage on the road too upon the initial tilt of the tank. If you are tent camping, still consider the campground a 4 star. If you have a rig, then it’s a 3-star. 

Internet. Verizon via iPhone 12: 37 mbps down and 4 mbps up with 37 ms ping; T-Mobile via Nighthawk MR1100: 15 mbps down and 1 mbps up with 36 ms ping.

Comfortable campground 

Patapsco State Park provides impressive solid food given its proximity to a major city.  The campground has very minimal road noise and, at least mid-week, is quite quiet. I have heard that weekends can be loud here but I have not personally experienced.

Electric sites are generally too close to the bath house and very close to each other. The non-electric sites are spaced out nicely and provide privacy.

Most sites seemed level enough. Some leveling blocks were used.  

Electric is 30 and 15 amp.