Best Cabin Camping near Chester, MD

We had a wonderful time at Martinak State Park. We rented a mini cabin and it had a full bed, two bunk beds and AC which was such a nice amenity. The site had a fire ring, grill and picnic table. We were right next to the bathhouse walkway. The bathhouse was very nice, clean and the showers had warm water. Due to the boat ramp being closed, there were not many places for fishing besides fishing off the back of the amphitheater. We drove to sister park, Tuckahoe State Park (15 min) and there was plenty of fishing locations. Cell signal was spotty, but perfect for a weekend away. Will stay again!

The Hilton area campground is unique because, unlike the Hollofield area of the park, it doesn't allow RVs and its tent sites are non-electric. However, a tiny cabin experience with electricity is available... within the same loop as non-electric tent camping. My non-electric tent campsite was surrounded by brightly lit cabins, even unoccupied all of their porch lights stay on all night. It doesn't make the upper half of the campground ideal for stargazing. The other reviewers are correct that the lower half of the loop is situated lower in the valley which will make any rain you get more difficult, so avoid booking a site at the very bottom. Overall the campground and state park deserve 4 stars because from what I could see tent pads were level, firepits had grill gates, showers were hot, and staff were cleaning and maintaining the grounds everyday. But be safe; prepare detailed offline navigation if you use the trails surrounding the camp. I definitely got lost relying on blazes for what I thought was supposed to be the Charcoal Trail.

Site was heavily wooded and very private; we were surrounded by woods on three sides, and could only see our neighbors across the narrow loop road. Site included a picnic table, fire ring, grill grate and lantern post. Pad was nice and level; didn’t need to use any blocks. Drive way was just long enough to accommodate our truck. Site was a little farther from the bath house than we usually prefer, but didn’t really matter as we were camping sans kids this time. I loved the privacy of this site, so I didn’t mind the little bit of extra walking. Almost all the sites looked relatively private, with a fair amount of trees in between, but our was on of the only sites that was truly surrounded by forest. Since we were here in November, the leaves were especially beautiful. Bath house was large, heated and extremely clean; looks recently renovated. There was also a nice large dishwashing station on the Men's side, which I love. The park itself is very quiet, pretty, and easy to get around. Lots of multi-use trails, which i believe are mostly flat, so maybe not the best for die-hard hiking enthusiasts. We took the Lake Trail down to the day-use area, and it was a very pleasant, scenic hike that took less than 20 minutes. The lake/day-use area is beautiful, with a pavilion, picnic tables, boat launch area, volleyball and large recycled-tire playground for kids. There were quite a few people out and about, more than I would have expected during November. The lake is popular for fishing, kayaking and canoeing (no swimming allowed). During the on-season, canoes and kayaks are available for rent to explore the lake and water trails in the adjacent Tuckahoe Creek. Would love to come back in the summer to check them out. There is also a disc golf course, challenge course, and archery range on-site.

Overall, we really enjoyed this park. It has all the major elements we typically look for: privacy, lots of trees, electric hookups, clean bath house, large playground, and a place to fish. The fact that it’s only about an hour’s drive from us is a bonus. We can’t wait to come back in warmer weather with the kids!

★★★★★ Washington, DC Vacation 

Cherry Hill Park may be the greatest campground we’ve stayed at yet! 

Located less than 3-miles from I-95, about 40-minutes drive time from downtown Washington, DC, and about 35-minutes from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, this park is ideally situated for a capitol vacation. We spent 9-days in mid-July and it really wasn’t enough. 

The staff and the array of services available is awesome. They offer concierge assistance with sightseeing tours and mass transit(Metro). They run an express bus to/from DC each weekday which is reasonably priced. Their day and night tours are informative and fun. 

The cafe offers snacks and ice cream at the cafe, at the pool, or delivered to your site. 

The camp store was well-stocked with food and drinks, souvenirs, and basic supplies. 

They charge your purchases to your site(cafe, tours, store) which is smart and convenient. 

The pools are clean and offer a nice cooldown after a day about DC. 

For those without RVs, there are cabins and cottages to rent. There are indoor and outdoor reception facilities. For a few hours a day a few days each week, they offer a tram around the park. Nightly tractor rides are fun and there’s mini golf, ponds, and walking trails. The list goes on and on. 

Our site (#1715) was level and the full hookups all worked fine. Beside our gravel site, there was a small brick patio with cafe table and chairs in addition to the picnic table, fire ring, and grill. 

Everywhere I looked, I saw staff working on cleaning and maintenance— and all this work shows. The place isn’t fancy, but really well maintained and clean. 

This is a great place and we can’t wait to go back! 

THINGS I LIKED: 

• Lots of staff to help make the most of your stay. 

• Clean and well maintained property and facilities. 

• Proximity to DC and Baltimore. 

THINGS I’D CHANGE: 

• My only negative is the lousy wifi. It’s 2022, and I feel having reasonable wifi should be standard. It’s important to check in with work or watch movies. Come on, folks!

We had another great stay at Cherry Hill Park in College Park, MD. 

We stayed in a level pull-thru site(#1715) with picnic table on a paver patio, iron table and chairs, clean gravel surface, grill, and fire pit. The site was just big enough for our motor home and Jeep. Full hook-ups with 50-amp service all worked fine. 

If you’re visiting Washington, this is the place to stay. They offer a daily charter bus plus the Metro bus stops at the campground entrance. And if you have a car, it’s about 35-minutes drive time(maybe a bit longer with traffic). 

To be honest, it’s a great place to stay even if you’re not visiting D.C. They have two swimming pools, a cafe, playgrounds, well-stocked camp store, delivery of firewood, ice, and cafe orders, and a concierge to help with travel and tourist sites. 

The entire park is clean and well-maintained. 

THINGS I ESPECIALLY LIKED: 

1. Proximity to Washington, D.C. 

2. Excellent condition and clean 

3. Great staff to help with making the most of your stay

This is a small state park with two loops, one with and one without electric hookups. Sites have fire rings and picnic tables. There is a dump station available. Sites are level, in a loop around the bath house. There are also a few cabins available to rent. There's a small $1 surcharge for out of state campers.

For kids, there’s a simple swingset in the loop and a larger, newer playground. Firewood available.

Martinak and Tuckahoe are sister parks, about 20 minutes apart. Tuckahoe offers a number of additional activities, including disc golf, mountain biking, fishing, swimming, and boating(canoe/kayak rentals available). If you’re looking to learn and explore with your kids, there is an extensive junior ranger program.

August 1, 2021, the boat ramp will close for a year; that will likely diminish the appeal of this park for those who want to get out on the river for fishing or boating. When open, there is a network of river trails accessible from the park. There’s a boat launch in nearby West Denton or also at Tuckahoe and a few other nearby spots.

Denton is also your destination if you've forgotten anything.

Nice small campsite in MD not too far from DC. One negative was that when it rains it really flushes through the grounds. We had a site on the lower end of the loop and our site was hard to set up as we arrived during a storm and it was very wet even after the rain died down. Another negative was after the storm for the next few days we heard trees falling nearby. Where we were hiking. 😬 The positives are as others have pointed out there is a huge park for kids- it’s not within walking distance for little kids but it’s a very short drive by the entrance to the park. There’s also another small park on the loop. The restrooms were central and well maintained. We found a small river and swimming hole at the bottom of the hill off to the side opposite the cabins/park. All sites had a picnic table and fire ring. Firewood available from camp host. Hiking poles would have been good for the trails when we had a kid in a pack on our back. Overall a nice close small campground.

Admittedly, I was here mid-week in May.  I'm not entirely sure I'd want to be here on a weekend in the summer when the place is full of families, noise, and activity.  But my visit was very quiet and peaceful.  I stayed on the pet-friendly Miles loop.  There were only two other sites in use, aside from the camp host at #171.  The predominant sounds were birds and my own footsteps, although there is some unidentifiable hum that seems to come up off the water.  I didn't notice it when I was in my tent, but I did as I was walking around.

The campground is well-wooded, offering reasonable privacy given the space constraints.  Site 166, where I was, offered a wooded path directly back to the nearby  bathhouse, which was otherwise inconspicuous from my site.  Across the way, there was a partially tree-obscured view of the water.  You could see enough through the trees, at least this time of year, to get the benefit of a sunrise view.  A short walk provided a very impressive sunrise view.

Within a short walk were a small dumpster for trash, a potable-water pump, and the aforementioned bathhouse (with a slop sink for dishwashing outside, at the rear).  The site itself had a fire ring, a picnic table, a post with a hook on it, and a stonedust pad.  All tents have to be on this area and not drift into the adjacent, softer earth.  Although clean, dry firewood and bags of ice are available on an honor system outside the otherwise closed park store (near the entrance) there was plenty of dry, dead, downed wood to be found if one was inclined to gather one's own.

Park rangers were very pleasant and helpful.  They occasionally drove past but weren't overbearing in any way.  Similarly, the camp host offered a cheerful greeting and pleasant conversation as I walked by but was otherwise invisible.  Their efforts were obvious, however.  The bathhouse was immaculate, as were all of the unoccupied sites I walked past.  The grounds are clearly well maintained. 

The only hiccup in that regard was a damaged camper parked in the best site on the loop, #169.  The roof was badly dented, and apparently the occupants had escaped harm when a tree  fell on the camper as they slept.  This is a park, after all, and trees will sometimes break or fall.  Fortunately no one was injured - and honestly, that really IS the best site on the loop, as it offers the best view of the water. 

I didn't explore the entire park, as I was in the area for an event at Cecil County Fairgrounds.  That said, I did do a bit of exploring.  Although you can certainly drive to the parking lot that's only a mile or so from the lighthouse, you can easily walk there from the campground if you're so inclined.  The only downside to that is that approximately a mile of your walk (each way) will be on the paved road, and cars can be brisk (so I wouldn't recommend it with small children).   Trails through the park are extremely easy to navigate (the substrate isn't rugged at all) yet it's scenic in a gentle, understated way.  I enjoyed the Beaver Marsh loop which is easy to get to from the Miles campsites.

If I had any criticisms, they'd probably be more along the lines of cautions.  Not all campsites are equal.  Sites 159 & 160 are across from and adjacent to the dumpster, respectively, for example.  Maybe that wouldn't be an issue if you were in an RV, but I would think that the aesthetics (and summer aroma?) would be a deal-breaker if you were pitching a tent.  Site 157 has a nearly unobstructed view of the bathhouse as its "backyard".  On the other hand, Site 155 is directly across from the potable water pump, and that might be a convenience.  Site 152 on Miles loop is nearest to the playground, and within eyesight of it, which could either be wonderful or nightmarish depending on whether or not you have (or want to hear) small children.

Arguably, the best sites are probably 167, 169 (which I would say is THE best one on this loop), and 176.  The latter has the most direct access to a path that leads gently down to a sandy shoreline, and it seems to have a little more privacy than some of the other sites.  This is just my casual impression while walking around.

All in all, this is a clean, beautifully maintained, pleasantly staffed, and well equipped campground.  It isn't far from "civilization" (you know, if you need to pick up something from a store), but the campground itself is quiet and has enjoyable trails to wander.