Best Tent Camping near California, MD

Tent campsites near California, Maryland offer several established options along the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River watersheds. Calvert Cliffs State Park provides youth group tent camping with access from March 31 to October 29, while Matoaka Beach Cottages offers tent sites with waterfront views. Primitive tent camping can also be found at Endeavor Point, which features ten sites with water access and boat-in capabilities.

Sites at these tent campgrounds typically include basic amenities suited for primitive-style camping. Calvert Cliffs provides picnic tables, drinking water, and toilet facilities, but lacks showers or electric hookups. Fire rings are present at most locations, though fire policies vary by season and drought conditions. A review mentioned that "Calvert Cliffs State Park is awesome with a great trail through the woods, across bridges, and next to a marsh." Many locations require reservations, particularly during peak summer weekends when waterfront tent sites fill quickly.

Walk-in tent locations offer a more secluded experience compared to standard campgrounds. Caledon State Park Campground in nearby Virginia features primitive tent sites accessible via a 2.5-mile hike on groomed gravel trails. As one camper noted, "It was my first hike-in primitive camping experience. We hiked for a few hours and finally got to our site which was right on the Potomac River." These backcountry tent sites typically include designated tent pads and limited amenities. Campers should prepare to carry in all necessary supplies, including water, as filtering sources may be limited or unavailable. Sites often provide fire rings with firewood available through honor-system payment boxes. Portable toilets are typically the only facilities available at these remote tent camping locations.

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Best Tent Sites Near California, Maryland (12)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near California, MD

11 Photos of 12 California Campgrounds


Tent Camping Reviews near California, MD

260 Reviews of 12 California Campgrounds


  • K
    Jul. 4, 2019

    Final-Lee Here

    Ranger Review: LiquidI.V. Hydration Multiplier at Final-Lee Here Campground

    CAMPGROUND REVIEW: Nestled within the beautiful greenery of Huntingtown, Maryland, this campground offers heart, scenery, and access to numerous adventures. The grounds are a short drive to Washington D.C. parks and museums, as well as the Chesapeake Beach Water Park, or North Beach's beautiful new pier and Friday night Farmers Market including local art vendors and food trucks. Kings Landing Park is just a few minutes from Final-Lee Here, which offers hiking and equestrian trails, picnic areas, disc golf, swimming pool, fishing, and a launch for kayaks, canoes, or paddle boards.

    Final-Lee Here Campground offers its own beauty. As a long planned and awaited dream coming true, Connie and Ken Lee are using their gorgeous property to harbor a love for the outdoors in their family as well as those who visit. The land is well groomed with grassy, shaded tent sites, RV sites, tall, privacy-offering bamboo, evergreens (it's a tree farm), and forested trails to a soothing, water-trickling creek.

    The campground has several tent sites, and some are big enough to hold multiple tents for bigger gatherings. Sites offer tables, chairs, and a fire pit. Hot showers are available in a very nice outdoor tent set up. A potty chair, along with wet wipes and trashbags are available for use, or you can just use the outdoorsman's method ;). The Lees gave us plenty of firewood, offered dry wood after storms came through, and even offered to bring us fresh eggs from their chickens. (The rooster brought smiles as it welcomed our mornings with hearty salutes.) There is a small zip line for kids and you may request games such as cornhole, horseshoes, or Yardzee to play. The Lees also rent and transport single and double kayaks or canoes to Kings Landing for a minimal fee.

    On Friday, my teenage daughter and I took a trip to the Chesapeake Beach Water Park (I would recommend this for younger children, checking the internet for discounts) and we cruised the North Beach antique shops, pier and farmers market. Saturday was well planned for adventure, but out-of-the-blue storms hit hard. After breakfast, we kayaked the river and creek through beautiful marshlands where we saw caterpillars walk on water, a heron and bald eagles soaring above, turtles, a cove where thousands of tadpoles were amidst metamorphosis (having both tails and legs) scampering through and atop the water, and a multitude of dragonflies. We stopped at a Kings Landing dock, hydrated ourselves and ate our packed lunch. Dark clouds began rolling in and we paddled back to the boat launch, texting the Lee's to meet us for boat pick up. We had planned to hike and swim while at the park, but instead headed for our tent during the storm surges. Once the storms passed, we adventured onto the campground trails. One trail, though very well groomed, was steep, heading to the creek. We avoided it due to the wet conditions, and found other trails leading to the creek which were easier to maneuver. The creek was so peaceful. I would have loved to have more time here just taking it all in, but evening and another storm came upon us.

    I highly recommend this campground based on its heart and available opportunities. The Lees are absolutely wonderful and truly want their visitors to enjoy the outdoors and their stay. The only "con" I came across was the toileting situation. My teen daughter is not much on the outdoors, so the portable toilet and the natural method option were too weird and uncomfortable for her.


    PRODUCT REVIEW: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I receive products to test from time to time - during this trip, I tested LiquidI.V. Hydration Multiplier. It is an electrolyte drink mix you add to a water bottle or 16 oz. of water. We tried the sampler pack. My favorite flavor is acai berry, and my daughter enjoyed the lemon-lime. Though we tried to remain hydrated, setting up camp and kayaking in the heat left us truly parched. Adding the LiquidI.V. to our water seemed to rejuvenate. Both my daughter and I feel that a whole "stick" seem to be overwhelming in one water bottle, but using half to 3/4 of a packet brought tasty hydration. I'm very picky when it comes to aftertastes, hating all fake sweeteners; however, this is made with pure cane sugar, and leaves your mouth satisfied. That is pretty rare! (Note: the passion fruit flavor left a slight aftertaste to me.) Additionally, my girlfriend and son tried some of our LiquidI.V. and loved it as well. This was great to have on hand!

  • Justin G.
    Sep. 14, 2016

    Cedarville State Forest

    Cedarville State Forest (Tornado)

    I took my girlfriend car camping in Cedarville State Forest. The camping trip turned more into a stay in the tent the whole trip. We set up camp and ate dinner only to be hit by a tornado watch in the area. I spent most of the trip adjusting the water proofing so we stayed dry. When the rain did calm down Cedarville state forest offered some very serene and peaceful views. Which is surprising due to the forests location.

  • R
    Oct. 4, 2021

    Cedarville State Forest

    Peaceful

    We picked up the camping registration outside the office at the entrance, no need to speak with anyone. Then we just drove down to our campsite in the family camping loop. We could hear and smell horses when we got to our campsite, but it didn't last forever. 

    The site was mostly clean, had a few pieces of small trash scattered around when we arrived. The sites were decently spaced out from one another, it didn't feel like we were right on top of the people across and next to us. Our site was close to the restroom, it had a little path leading to the restroom, and it looked like there was little trail paths all around leading to the restrooms from the different parts of the loop. The path leading to the restroom from our site was gravel and easy to walk on. The restrooms were clean, but the floor was wet almost the entire time we were there (likely due to the showers).

    If you need to buy wood it is $5 for 8 pieces and you call a number given to you in your registration packet. The ranger will then drive by and drop off the wood at your campsite. The inner ring of this loop has electricity, and the electric box was just on the far side of the picnic table in the corner.

  • Crystal C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 13, 2018

    Hidden Acres Campground

    Quiet nights at Private Campground

    Stopped off at this campground after finding it while passing though just before Labor Day weekend. While it was the last weekend for the pool before its closure and while they were in the process of working on some of the plumbing at the campground, it was a well put together campground which was very impressive.

    Located somewhat remotely from the larger community and near several places of interest along the road, this camp was a great stop for a tent camper like myself. They offer a basic tent site for $26 with nice bath houses. For full connections the price does rise slightly offering both both 20/30 amp and 50 amp connections for RVs.

    The roads around the camp are gravel and a little bumpy but the sites themselves were pretty level and grassy for tents which was pretty nice. Sites are located far enough off the road that road noise is minimal.

    I did also notice they have cabin rentals available and a pretty nice little store with lots of options for those who didn't bring everything with them.

  • Andrew M.
    Dec. 2, 2020

    Pohick Bay Campground

    Great for activities; not much privacy

    Great if you’re looking for a quick escape from DC and with a lot of activities—paddling, hiking, and a 5 minute drive from Meadowood for mountain biking. I camped at the non-electric area and it was nice to play some disc golf across the street before dark. The hiking is nice—15 minutes on the trail to get to the water—and a quick walk to the marina/boat rentals.

    Campsites are well-equipped, but depending on which you will not have privacy and/or enough flat space for more than 1 tent. Most sites are right next to each other and no trees or other natural separation, and some saw did not have much space for tents. I had 141 which was good; 138 was the best that I saw; and if you want to get 2 for a bigger group try to get 112/113.

  • D
    Nov. 22, 2021

    Thousand Trails Harbor View

    Nice place

    Nice campground, friendly staff Joe was great. Greeted us when pulling in, did not make it into office, took us to our assigned site, asked if needed anything fire wood etc. They also called and told us going to be a cold this night and make sure arrive before dark as can not get in after dark.

  • Cristina G.
    Aug. 12, 2021

    Pohick Bay Campground

    Site 58 was nice and private

    Really enjoyed this park especially since it is so close to Washington DC. The sites were fairly level and shaded with a fire ring and picnic table. Verizon cell coverage was good. The comfort house with showers and flush toilets was clean. My only minor complaint would be during the weekend there are a lot of children making noise at the water park. It wasn’t bad but if you want peace and quiet, keep that in mind.

  • Gina G.
    Aug. 26, 2018

    Belle Isle State Park Campground

    Amazing Site but SUPER MUTANT BUGS GALORE

    Hello,

    Wow is all I have to say about this camping trip. It was partially our own fault because we had to rush in and didn’t research local bug populations. But holy crap! We kayaked in a sunset which was gorgeous and their were six tent sites. 4 of which were close together and two new ones which were really nice. No one was there but us. You can boat or hike in. We did primitive tent camping and it was so beautiful with our own lake view and private site for the time being but the BUGS were from another planet. We had super mutant mosquitoes and horse flies. They were resisitant to citronella candles, essential oils, and bug spray with 40% deet. We only found relief in the water. They invaded our tent as well and spent an hour in the evenings killing them before bed but still woke up with welts. If we come back it will be in winter when there are NO BUGS!!!!!! (Hopefully)

  • Katie M.
    Jun. 24, 2019

    Westmoreland State Park Campground

    Solid campground, amazing park!

    Westmoreland State Park is a gorgeous park with amazing views of the Potomac River. The camping is pretty good too! The sites we have stayed at have all been super clean and close to bathrooms and water. They include a fire ring, picnic table and a hook for your trash. The bathrooms are clean and have hot showers. The site specific campsites are definitely better than the unspecified ones. A24 was a good campsite, very unique in terrain. You walk down a set of stairs from your car to the site. There's a 2 foot drop off the side of the campsite making it seem like your on the edge of the world, very cool!

    Beautiful views! Amazing hiking! Go to NN Burger, if you need to leave the campground it is close by, yum!


Guide to California

Tent camping near California, Maryland offers a variety of scenic spots where nature lovers can unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. With options ranging from private to public campgrounds, there's something for everyone.

Affordable Tent Camping Options

  • Prices for tent camping typically range from $20 to $50 per night, depending on the campground and amenities offered.
  • At Endeavor Point, you can enjoy a riverside experience with basic amenities like drinking water and picnic tables.
  • Calvert Cliffs State Park Youth Group Camping provides a well-reviewed camping experience with access to hiking trails and fossil hunting, perfect for families and groups.

Local Activities for Adventurous Campers

Amenities to Enhance Your Camping Experience

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near California, MD?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near California, MD is Calvert Cliffs State Park Youth Group Camping with a 4.4-star rating from 5 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near California, MD?

TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near California, MD, with real photos and reviews from campers.