Best Campgrounds near Chester, MD

We came into the park at 2:00 on 3/9/25 our site had a broken power circuit breaker. There is no way to contact a person. So we moved to a site #1 so we could call someone, maybe see a ranger drive by. Had to move out as the site was occupied by someone who had arrived so we moved to another empty site for the night . Tried contacting anyone to help us out but no answers at the phone numbers. When we did get in contact with a lady , she was only a phone answer person with no information or help.

In February, about 1/4 of the sites were occupied. It was very quiet. The sites are large and well spaced. Many are in full sun. The bathroom facilities and laundry are clean and modern. There are separate, individual shower rooms Great for outdoor activities. Nearby grocery stores and restaurants.

This is an urban oasis.  Traffic can be heard but not seen.  Weekdays are pretty quiet in this campground. Living nearby but storing my popup camper elsewhere, I often park my camper here for a few days while I pack it for a trip.  It's also just nice to experience that "getaway" feeling without being too far from home.  Rangers keep a close eye on things, and there are monthly programs at the campfire circle that I sometimes attend even when not camping here.  No electric or hook ups.  There is a dump station and water available at spickets throughout the campground.  Showers and bathrooms are basic and clean.   Oh, and bonus, the American Discovery Trail (ADT) passes through the park.  https://discoverytrail.org/

Sites were well-maintained, including lavatories. Plenty of tree cover. NOTE: park service forbade tying lines or straps to the trees at the time of our visit (Autumn 2024), so if you favor hammock camping or deploying tarps/ridgelines, plan accordingly.

super pretty. shower up in the dark but was super easy to navigate with a map. people super friendly.

They have renovated the beach and per my friends, the fencing protecting the area is new, but needed. The sites are too close to each to each other and people were blaring their music. The bathhouse needs updating. Not enough fire rings and if you don’t have one and the campground is full, you’re out of luck. Saw an otter one night!

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.

Did stay here after visting Vicksburg. Nice clean restrooms and showers. Friendly hostess and we had a nice shady spot, what was great with a heat of 94F.

Good near by camping less then 90 minutes from me. Relatively quiet campsite, family friendly. We stayed in site 38 on the Acorn loop,  which had a fair amount of roots and took some work to get leveled , but was manageable once the camper was leveled. Electric worked great. Hiking trails were infested with yellow jackets and stung myself and my wife while hiking. Also Steppingstone farm was closed , but was not indicated on the website prior to camping. If you like beer I recommend checking out Hopkins Brewery, which is about 8 minutes away from the campsite.

We camped here to hike and visit Havre de Grace. For a State Park it's pretty nice. We have a tiny camper so we stayed on the Acorn loop which has a few sites with power. Our site was really good and I love that it had it's own access to the bathrooms. Quite a few of the inner loop sites do. If you're a tent camper Acorn has some very private and secluded sites. Beechnut sites are more open and close to the road. It also seemed more crowded and noisy over there. There is a hiking trail right off Acorn loop which was nice, with options for easy or difficult. The staff were super friendly and the bathrooms were kept clean. There was quite a bit of poison ivy though and we had to keep the dogs on tight leashes. Phone service is very spotty but if you wander around Beechnut you can pick some up. Lots of great hiking and there are a couple of great tubing and fishing areas. I would camp there again.

This is a fairly nice, bare bones NPS campground. If you are really looking for somewhere to feel far away from civilization and see some beautiful scenery, this probably isn't it. Helicopters and planes fly over regularly, and you can hear sirens from neighboring college park. The campsites are pretty close together, we could see probably about 10 or so other campsites from our campsite. And there is not a ton to do within the park itself -- there are a few picnic areas, a pretty unimpressive small playground, some nature/walking trails, and that's about it.

But it is a pretty nice campground -- campsites and showers seem clean and well maintained, bathrooms are fine and you're never far away from one. Rangers come around regularly to check on things and every one we interacted with was extremely friendly. I don't think there's anything comparable so close to DC, so if you're in the DC area and just want someplace close by for a short camping trip, or are looking for an affordable outdoors-y option to stay while you're visiting DC from out of town, this probably fits the bill. As soon as you leave the park you are in College Park with Metro access close by, and very close to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

Had a nice time camping for two nights. If you like small breweries, about 20 minutes away is Stewarts Brewpub. They have been around since the 1990s!

Great secluded campground, peaceful. Great bath houses, always super clean.

Some engineering genious put the bath houses furthest from the people that need them most. Tent campers….keep your shoes handy, its a hike. Meanwhile Mr and Mrs 12 slideout supernova with 5 bathrooms and a washer/dryer get the closest spot to a quick potty/shower break.

Accessible and pet friendly. Great trails and great staff

Quick one night stop on our way south. While the sites are pretty exposed, it was a cold night so there were only a few other campers!

The bathroom was clean and extremely warm which was much appreciated after a cold night.