Looking for the best campgrounds near California, MD? There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that Maryland camping has to offer. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in California, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.
Choose your next adventure at Pohick Bay Campground in Lorton, Virginia. Bring the kids for a day of splashing and sliding at Pirate’s Cove Waterpark, spend a day on the bay with our canoe, paddleboard, stand up paddleboard and kayak rentals; or bring your own boat to our public boat launch ramp. Make a day of it by renting a picnic shelter or stay a little longer and reserve one of our cabins or campsites.
$30 - $60 / night
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)
Welcome to our newest resort! From the moment you drive through the front gate of Bethpage Camp Resort, youll be greeted with our warm and welcoming staff. Feel the weight of your daily routine and stresses lift as you anticipate ultimate relaxation on the beach and quality time with your loved ones! The biggest decision youll have to make is which activity to do first. From movie nights to arts & crafts; live entertainment, to hay wagon rides. Make memories with friends and family while fishing on the Chesapeake Bay or taking a cruise on the Bethpager. Chow down at the new Poolside Cafe and Beach House Grill or make it a night to remember by playing miniature golf and enjoying 20 different flavors of ice cream at Bethpage Miniature Golf & Ice Creamery! Bethpage RV is conveniently located to many of Virginia's most popular attractions and is situated along the Rappahannock River that runs into the Chesapeake Bay. Relax, Splash, and Play by Chesapeake Bay!
Lacy Oasis is a land that is encompasses a history of women who loves nature, family and heart of gold who wants to share her property with others to embrace the benefits of nature specifically clarity of life.
Learn more about this land:
*Welcome to a place that allows you to be in pure tranquility with nature and yourself. Come to connect, share laughter and create endless memories with your family, friends and your pets. The sunlight bursting through tree leaves, to the sound of frogs dancing along the streams to fluttering butterflies of amidst buzzing bees and the birds that whistle will encourage you to embrace the journey that you will embark on at Lacy Oasis. *
*Our space is private property within a tight knit, friendly, family oriented neighborhood. We encourage our guest to wave or simple double tap on the horn on your way in and out of the space. It truly means a lot to our neighbors at the entrance of the property. *
*All parking is provided on our property not at our neighbors house or community. We have ample amount of parking and drive up campsites for you and your guest. *
*We look forward to seeing you soon. *
Come Adopt The Pace Of Lacy Oasis: Patience
$90 - $190 / night
We are a family oriented place offering nice modern beach cottages and campgrounds. All our cottages are on the beach or have nice views of the beach and river. They are modern and come with WiFi, Satellite TV, full kitchens including microwaves and coffee makers. The cottage you choose can be a snug little place for a romantic getaway, or you might have a celebration in mind. Well then, bring the friends and family and stay in one of our larger cottages that can accommodate up to 24 guest. Whatever your need we’re sure we can find the right size cottage for you. For the more adventurous outdoor crowd we have campsites along the beach. All the campsites come with picnic tables and fire rings. Campmd offers an olde time atmosphere with modern conveniences, most of our guest are repeat customers. Check us out we really believe you’ll like it. We’re only 2 hours away but you’ll feel like your halfway around the world.
Leesylvania is nestled along the tidal shores of the historic Potomac River. Native Americans lived on this land for thousands of years. Capt. John Smith visited the area in 1608 on his voyage of discovery. Listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, Leesylvania offers many land and water activities, including hiking, picnicking, fishing, and boating. A universally accessible fishing pier, playground, boat launch, boat storage area, snack bar and store, visitor center, and gift shop are available. A 20-station fitness trail and canoe and kayak rentals also are available.
$15 - $18 / night
Pohick Bay Campground in Virginia offers a peaceful escape with beautiful views and a variety of outdoor activities like hiking and fishing. It's an ideal spot for families and nature lovers. Don’t forget to register dito sim to stay connected during your visit!
If you are a nature lover, a person who loves peace, serenity, and, tranquility, or just need some respite, Lacy Oasis is the place to be. Whether you are an adult or a child, this place will have a positive effect on you. The owners are involved and designed this space with the visitors pleasure in mind. This space is about healing and being grounded with yourself. My agency took about 25 children there last week and they did not want to leave, neither did I. The rates are very economical for what is being provided on the space. There is not enough I can say about this place. It was definitely more than I expected. But my agency has worked with the owner in the past on other community support initiatives and she has always been an overachiever. Please come and enjoy this space. You will not be disappointed. I cannot wait to return.
We loved staying at Pohick. We were here to visit DC and it was an excellent spot to stay. It was extremely hot as it was July but the sites had a lot of shade. Site 46 where we stayed was close to the bathrooms and nice and flat. The bathrooms were cleaner than any other campground we have stayed in and they have laundry and a nice stainless sink and counter for washing dishes if needed. About a 40 minute drive into DC and definitely worth it. Also, campers get a discount at the water park which was a very reasonable 5 dollars per person. The weekend tends to be a bit louder but during the week was very quiet.
Cottage 4 stars- clean but floors needed some attention, a bit cramped, somewhat outdated, large porch Campground 5 stars- bustling on weekends, quiet throughout weekdays, clean and well maintained Amenities 5 stars- great weekly activity schedule, great pool, putt putt etc. Staff 5 stars- Very friendly
Stayed one night in our camper van, walked down to fossil beach which was the perfect amount of hiking for a two year old, great playground with plenty of other kids, camp store is well stocked and had decent hours. Our site was right next to bathrooms which was also great with the kids but we didnt hear or smell them. Cleanest campground bathrooms we've ever seen. Gravel parking and pebbles in the picnic table area, which my 2 year old enjoyed and my 9 month old tried his hardest to ingest. Loved it, would def go back.
We have been camping here for nearly 20 years. Each military tour brought us back to this area so Pohick became our second home. Our kids kayak now older but used to walk the trails as little kids. The waterpark is new and loud so we avoid but nice if you have young kids. Careful low bridge on Route 1 exit ramp little warning when taking ramp off I95. Go around to next exit. The check in at the cap store is crowded and narrow even with renovations but our 34 ft makes it okay. Bring bikes. Long bike trail along road. Farmers markets in Lorton and things to do in DC. Park at Huntington or Springfield metro. Short boat ride straight across from Ft Belvoir new family campground. Ice cream shop in season by water docks. Bathrooms clean always hot water three stalls each. Sink outside for dishes. Playground buts up against inner circle which are the only sewer sites. Others are electric water. Careful some near steep drop off. Stick to main road or inner circle or first circle if in big unit. Must go round circle to get to those spots which can be annoying. Two speed bumps. Camp store sells smores ingredients, limited candy, no eggs or bacon get those off Rte 1. Past entrance on Rte 1 is a Food Lion, McDonalds. Gas stations along Rte one are tight so fill up before exiting to campground. If you are desperate there is gas 7/11 at corner of Pohick and Rte 1 but its sketchy. Up the road off Rte 1 is Fort Belvoir Access w a drivers license however cant shop without military sponsored ID. Great bbq at Telegraph Rd and greek at Olympians family restaurant. Movie theater on Telegraph is nice. Springfield Mall close. Take Onville Rd which is a backroad by Pohick Church to shortcut to Rte 1. Pohick Rd past camping turn deadends into private neighborhood. Do not pass camp entrance. Hard to turn around if you do. Near End of Pohick is a small walk with overlook. See birds at point. Drive a car not RV. Park at lot on right before road split deadend. Gunston Hall on left can see from campground and water. Tours are nice.
While we only camped here for one night, we enjoyed the park from check in to checkout!
Since we tent camp our site was dry and had no amenities but there were full hook up sites available. Our site was nestled in with the full hook up sites so it was as far away from the bathrooms as possible, not a big deal just something to note.
Since we visited in March, the trees did not have much foliage so the sites were more exposed than I tend to prefer and lots of the campers around left their outside RV lights on all night.
Being in campground A, we were only a short walk to the trail leading to fossil beach which was beautiful!
This place is so noisy with these helicopters that fly 24/7. Another absolutely insane noisy campground run by nova. Absolutely a rip off because of the noise just like all nova parks seem to be. Insane
Jake from the Dyrt here! Lacy Oasis is new to the Dyrt, and provides guests with a quiet spot to stay while enjoying this escape. Check them out and show them some love!
Stayed as thousand trails. We were on a huge site; other sites are average for rv park. Great pools and splash pad. Beach. Boating. Very poor to non existent Wi-Fi and cell service (both T-Mobile and Verizon) management great. We were in middle of week and it was calm and quiet but other campers said weekends can be quite boisterous to the point of police being called.
This is a stunning state park with a gorgeous campground. The whole place seems very well taken care of, with a camp store, visitor center, and discovery/education center for kids.
We are on our way up from South Carolina, so we only stayed a night, but it was wonderful nonetheless. Everything was closed when we arrived, so it was a welcome surprise to have firewood available for sale on an honor system. The roads to the campsites were paved, and we had an easy time finding ours thanks to a prominent sign.
We booked a pull through site with full hook ups, a faux wood picnic table (no splinters,) and fire pit. The site was pretty big, laid with gravel and pebbles, and edged with wooden curbs. We didn’t have any trouble leveling out and hooking up, the connections were in a great spot for our trailer and others on the grounds. The site is in a thicker forest, so bring bug spray, and I found setting out a couple Thermacell mosquito repellants was effective (very little wind that day.) The site had a lot of privacy and the ones around us were spread out nicely as well, some even had two levels with stairs put in. Easily one of the nicest sites we have ever stayed in. The campground has a ravine behind it, something to be cautious about with pets/kids.
The park is on a cliff overlooking the Potomac River, and the Big Meadow trail brings you too Fossil Beach. It’s a sandy beach with lots of rocks and clay, I’m sure I would have found more fossils had I brought a little sifter with me.
We loved it here, it was a beautiful and private campsite with a great park to explore.
This campground is about 25 sites. Only 5 sites have electric (2, 5, 18, 24, 25)but all 25 sites have water hookup. Weekends are some what noisy because of the games across the street in the park. This is not a gated campground so anyone can come through and have a tour. Park Police patrol the campground 2 times a day. Also the bathrooms are clean, their are 2 stalls and 1 shower, cleaned daily by park rangers. Raccoons run wild at night flipping trash can lids on your campsite hunting for food. Use repel spray to keep the raccoons off your site. Site 24 and 25 are very close together but the other sites are at a distance however, 6 of the 25 sites are unleveled so tent camping is probably the only option. This is not big rig friendly but there are pull through sites but the roads are very narrow and there is only 1 way in and 1 way out (same entrance) there is a dump station at the beginning of the campground with access to water as well. Free of charge. This is a quiet campground and it's cheap for maryland residents and about $20 for non-resident. There is no registration on site it's online only. www.pgparksdirect.com
We tent camped at Matoka Cabins and it was a beautiful Peaceful camping trip! Out spot was very private and you could see the bay and hear the waves. We will definitely be back for another visit. The owners are very nice.
We were traveling with our daughter and have had a long day. Pohick bay was on our list and Owen at the camping office did such a great job making sure that everything goes well for us. The bathrooms are clean and very well kept. We will definitely stay here again!
I was thinking back to our visit from 2022 and realized I never wrote a review! We loved our stay! It was quiet and peaceful and we were able to take the metro into DC for a day of exploring!
Workers are nice, campground is decent. After hours ranger was really helpful and sweet helping spot me backing in. The trails to the bay are fun. Whoever designed the comfort station in the front needs to refund the park. You have to be on the toilet to close the door, there isn't an inch of extra space in the stalls. The laundry machines are positioned as inefficiently as possible. The second comfort station smells badly of sewage and the grate in the showers is painful on my feet, and I'm a barefoot gravel walker. Try to get a spot with full hookups to avoid the bathrooms.Other than the bathrooms, it's okay.
My partner and I camped here in the middle of February '23. Great campground, clean comfort stations. Comfort station 1 is newer and more renovated that comfort station 2 but both were clean and well kept! it was very warm in the comfort station ( a plus in the winter) with hot water. There are a few trails here, a marina, waterpark & mini golf when in season. great for families. The staff at the camp store were nice and very accommodating. This was our first trip so when we booked our site we had no idea how close the RV sites were. I mean, zero privacy, barely any trees in between. So the camp store clerk allowed us to change our site to a more private one. Site 11 seemed very private for anyone looking to book.
also, just to mention, all sites that back up to the playground have no buffer or trees. You will be exposed to the playground but that may be what you're looking for.
All in all, a great stay!
Although we only stayed one night, it was a nice stay. Nice pull through space…had to angle in quite a bit to level out. Overlooking the trees instead of another camper. Water, electric and picnic bench at the site. Campground was fairly busy; but I guess that’s Veteran’s Day weekend for you! It was drizzling when we got up, so we quickly headed out to Fossil Beach to take the autumnal trail down to the beach for fossil hunting. I found the tiniest shark tooth…or maybe it was a ray’s tooth. All in all it was great place to stay amongst the trees. We’ll be back!
First time camping and visiting this park. Campsite was just right for our needs. We were within walking distance of a few trail heads and a short drive to the main office and play ground. Checked out fossil beach and the boat launch at the opposite end. Lovely stay all around.
We enjoyed camping here. We have been twice in the past few years. Perfect spot for campers who like to fish.
We had spot 84 which was great for privacy and location to the laundry! The staff was nice. It was a bummer to have no water hook-up (we did know this before booking) but that would have made it perfect. WATCH OUT for poison oak - our electrical cord must have come in contact with it as we did not hike through the woods yet we both got poison oak on the inside of our arms (from holding the cord) and it has spread down both our arms. The laundry facility was clean and it’s $2 to wash and $2 to dry. Easy 45 minute drive to DC. Overall, would stay again if passing through.
Such a great campsite. So many things to do. There was a waterpark, mini golf, marina, lots of trails and playground. Our stay was awesome. The staff were so nice and helpful. Pretty Quiet at night.
Some bugs but not too bad. Didn’t have to use too much bug spray. Our site was spacious. Peaceful, water spigot across the road. Close to comfort station.
Great for families, groups, single, anyone. Noticed different size sites. Great stay definitely planning to stay again.
Had a fantastic time camping here. The "primitive camping" is not primitive. It is a grass area behind the rv park very very visible to the RV's that are backed up to it. Very surprising once we got there. But, still fun to set up a tent and hang with friends! We met another couple there Blake and Kate from WV and had to leave before saying bye so hope they see this one day! The water was warm and you can rent kayaks which is so fun. The only thing is, when the sun goes down the snakes come out on the water, we had a few encounters and just decided to hang back at our campsite. Again, awesome family spot, live music was great!!!! Just wasn't expecting to be so close to other people that weren't in primitive as well. Overall experience was sweet!
Exelent
Super clean park and friendly staff, but be warned on a holiday weekend you’re packed in like sardines. The pool was literally standing room only. Spotty cell (ATT) and WiFi coverage, so if you need to work while you’re away it’s something to keep in mind.
This was our first time at a state park and we definitely enjoyed it. Relaxing, fishing was nice and we loved walking the trails with the dogs.
This is always our spot when we were are in the area, sometimes even when we’re not. We love rainbow acres! We’ve been in groups and just the two of us. It’s so relaxing and so much to do. Everyone is friendly and helpful. Great place to fish or paddle board whatever you’re into really.
Camping near California, Maryland, offers a great mix of outdoor fun and relaxation. With several campgrounds in the area, you can find the perfect spot to enjoy nature, whether you're in a tent, RV, or cabin.
Camping near California, Maryland, has something for everyone, whether you're looking for adventure or a peaceful retreat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near California, MD?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near California, MD is Westmoreland State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 33 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near California, MD?
TheDyrt.com has all 15 glamping camping locations near California, MD, with real photos and reviews from campers.
