The best GROUP camping near
Columbia , MARYLAND

The primitive sites have a lot of space.

It was both mine and my fiancé’s first time camping in a decade. Needless to say, we were a bit nervous about our experience. Every part either met or exceeded our expectations. We stayed at camp site ten, which was open yet felt like our own private spot. The were right by the water and the little waves lulled us to sleep each night. We were close to the building that has a kitchen, coffee and bathroom with a shower, which was super convenient. It’s a dog friendly spot and our dogs thrived while making new friends! James was kind, communicative and super helpful when it came to any questions we had.

My family lives near Greenbelt National Park and we have hiked the five-mile perimeter trail dozens of times with our dogs. However, this park has a serious bug problem. Most  of the time, we return home from our hikes only to find ticks on at least one of us! 

We were excited to finally tent camp at Greenbelt two years ago for my wife's 30th and had a memorable time around the campfire, but were disappointed the next day that chiggers and ticks had once again swarmed us on our hike. Enjoy the camping but wear bug repellent and stay out of the tall grasses!

I was excited to go to this campground based on reviews and it’s location. Unfortunately it was so noisy with the sounds of guns from 9am-to 8pm daily. The highway is close so we could hear cars while sleeping and planes flying over head constantly. I’d give it zero stars, but the park itself is very clean and the site was big.

We stayed at site D72 for 4 days. The sites are quiet, very spacious, level, and heavily wooded with 50A service, water and sewer hookup. D Loop is for RVs, A, B, C& E are tents only. AT&T 5 MB/s w/o booster(1 bar), 8 MB/s with it(2 bars). There is no satellite coverage due to the heavy tree canopy. OTA TV was descent using an external omni antenna. There is no WiFi. There is a very nice network of trails, most if not all were leashed dog friendly.

Stayed one night in September and had a nice level gravel site with fire pit, picnic table and bath house. Greeted by a friendly and helpful camp host as we backed into our site for our maiden voyage. Clean bath house and amenities. Stayed in site 25 with water spigot nearby. Dumpsters for garbage not a far drive and dump station as you leave the park was convenient.

The individual campsites are decent for a light camping experience. The hiking trails are great. The rivers for kayaking a real nice. Would recommend. Only warning is unless you rent 2-3 campsites you will be close to other campers as the campsites are in groups of three right next to eachother.

The park is a beautiful one to visit and the sites are huge. It’s super close to breweries, winery’s, and historical battlegrounds. It’s dog and kid friendly with clean facilities. Unfortunately, gun fire from the shooting range can be heard 9 hours a day from any point in the camping area. The highway is close and airplanes can be heard so there is never a moment of quiet. We had a great time no matter what, but would have loved to know ahead of time. If you want to just get out of the city and be at a campsite within an hour this is your place, but if you want peace and quiet in nature look elsewhere.

We stayed for 3 nights at a hike in island camp site and LOVE IT!! The pictures just don’t do it enough justice, it was beautiful and relaxing. We lucked out to have the weather vary from cloudy, drizzles to full sunny days. Yes, there are trains that go by, and there is a zip line that goes over some camp sites (we were aware so it wasn’t a surprise) but honestly, we were down by the water and it wasn’t too bad. All the beauty and relaxation definitely over shadowed the other noises. There are plenty of water sports to do on the spot of the river (which was pretty calm, more like a lake than river). There are plenty of hiking and other adventurous things to do in the area. Finally there are lots of local history spots to enjoy as well as some local breweries and wineries. The only downside to this camp site for us was the hike uphill to the shower houses.

We were here for just one night during September. Our first time camping in the area and since COVID. Check in process was relatively simple, just pull up and pop out of your car to check in, with mask of course. We got a quick run down, some wood and a brochure with maps and area info. We were at site 133, non electric non water. I feel like the spots at the end of each loop might have slightly more privacy, but our site was fine. It included a picnic table and probably the best fire pit with grill that I've had in a while. It rained the night before we came, and the night we were there so the ground was pretty wet. Bathrooms had a sign for taking care with COVID precautions, and to wear your mask. Bathrooms were ok, but floors were a mess from muddy feet. Not much to be done about that. There were showers, and a dishwashing sink, plus laundry available. It's nice to know we've got a close spot to escape to if we don't have time to go far. This is a pet friendly campground. There's a lot to do out at the whole park, and its worth exploring (we just didn't have time). I'm sure its so pretty out near the water.