The best EQUESTRIAN camping near
Ilchester , MARYLAND

We stayed at Bull Run Regional Campground on our visit to Washington DC. It was fall and the colors were gorgeous. The sites are all pull-through off the roads through the campground. So your camper faces the woods and you feel like you're all alone. Bath houses are clean and well maintained. Our site was very level, but I could see that some others were not so much, so you might want to ask about that. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

We stayed at this campground during the COVID pandemic so not much was open at the campground. But from the looks of it they have a small mini golf area, nice size basketball court and a good size building for activities. This campground has horse stalls and rings if you would like to bring your own horses. There were a few families that brought their horses and they were right across from our site. Kids loved being able to see them and get close and even pet them!

This campground is minutes from town and is practically on the battlefield.

Nice spread out camp sites with power hookup.

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.

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.

There’s a ton of camping at Elk Neck, including a loop with full hook ups. In the full hook up loop pay close attention to the lengths specified. The actual pads are fairly level but some of the driveways to them are very sloped. Long rigs will have issues in a few of the sites.
There’s a camp store, boat ramp, swimming, fishing and lots,of great hiking. Definitely drive to, and then hike to the light house (open most weekends) the light house and the view are definitely worth it.

We go to Tuckahoe a lot. There are two main, amp ground loops. Each have central bath house. One loop has electric at the sites. There is portable water available at several locations in each loop. No water hook ups. There’s a nice lake for paddling and fishing and great hiking trails. Adkins Arboretum is just a mile away and a great place to visit and hike.
Sites are all back in. They’re fairly level and all are wooded and well separated.

Nice pads, even with rain none were flooded. The wooded area makes you feel a little more secluded from any neighbors. The state park has two playgrounds that are both open and trails to hike. I LOVE the commercial-sized washing sink for your dishes, since you don't have full hookups its a BIG deal. The bathrooms could use some updating, and the showers actual doors instead of double curtains. There's a nearby Arboretoreum as well. I think my only problem is that parts of this state park are not on adjoined property and you do have to drive to them.

We chose this campground based on proximity to work. This campground was priced fairly, however, it does come with its downfalls.

PROS

Let me start with the positive, we were 1 of 3 campers in this loop during our week-long stay. This made it peaceful and quiet. 

CONS

It's close to a Naval base, and therefore you constantly hear airplanes, and helicopters at all times. 

Other than the daily bathroom cleaning, this campground lacks maintenance on sites and walkways. They are both overgrown. 

Playground, fishing, archery all seem blocked off at this time. 

Trails seem open but are across and through hunting areas. They are also muddy from the rain. There is even standing water around our site which brings us to…the MOSQUITOS! We tried fans, tiki torches, and many deet free or light deet products before having to buy 100% deet so we could be outside. These things are awful!

Overall, we enjoyed our August 2020 stay at Elk Neck State Park. We stayed in the North East Loop as we needed both pet-friendly and electrical hook ups. During our hikes, we discovered that the tent sites have some truly amazing water views (particularly Miles Loop sites 169 and 173).
The bathrooms were immaculate in our loop, although the hot water heater was not working. Staff was friendly and kept their distance. The lighthouse was a nice flat hike and made for pretty pictures. We were disappointed to discover that there was a do not enter advisory for the beaches, as there was high bacteria content at the time. We did take a walk down to look at the beach, and to be honest, we probably would have passed on it anyways. Loud music and lots of litter. We don’t travel to the same site more than once, but the kids have both asked to come back to this one!