Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Joppa? Find the best information on tent camping near Joppa, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of Joppa, Maryland's most popular destinations.
Hilton is a place for kids of all ages to play and explore. Located off Hilton Avenue, this area is within walking distance for many residents in Catonsville. A popular spot for afternoon walks and morning workouts, the trails are active with local residents and visitors from far away.
You can also gain access to the Patapsco River by traveling down into the river valley along the Forest Glen Trail. This trail follows the Saw Mill Branch Stream and can connect with several trails to make for very interesting hiking adventures. The area also has a small campground with six mini-cabins and 12 basic campsites.
$20 - $51 / night
The park has two Youth Group Camping sites that are strictly for official youth groups only. The youth group camping sites are open from the beginning of April through the beginning of November. These rustic camping sites overlook the Chesapeake Bay. Each site has a small picnic shelter with two tables and a grill. Download a Youth Group Pass application online.
If your youth group would like to do a service project during your stay, please call the park two weeks before the date of your arrival and speak with the volunteer coordinator to set up a project.
Make youth group camping reservations on-line for Sandy Point State Park or call 1-888-432-CAMP (2267).
Open for camping 365 days a year at a cost of $25 per night per site. Online reservations only and credit card is required. Blackbird State Forest, located on the border of New Castle and Kent Counties, is Delaware's northernmost state forest. It is only a 30-minute commute from Wilmington and Newark. The ten tracts of Blackbird State Forest are open year-round at no cost to the public for nature walks, hiking, jogging, and horseback riding. The forest features a 1/2-mile, wheelchair-accessible wildlife and nature interpretation trail on the Tybout Tract as well as the Blackbird Education Center on the Meadows Tract.
$25 / night
The campground is open Friday and Saturday nights only. Two camping units are permitted at each site, one unit must be a tent. Sleeping in personal vehicles is not permitted.
$15 - $50 / night
There is currently no water supply, and there are no restrooms available on Hart-Miller Island due to repairs and an unanticipated supply shortage. The current anticipated return of these amenities is July 2022.
Hart-Miller Island is a 1,100-acre island located in Baltimore County on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of Middle River and is a must see for those who want to get away from it all. The island was originally part of a peninsula that extended from Edgemere, Maryland. The two islands, Hart and Miller, were joined by the construction of a dike in 1981, and until 2009, the impoundment was filled with dredge material from Baltimore Harbor, eventually creating Hart-Miller island. In recent years, Hart-Miller Island has become a haven for boaters in the northern Chesapeake Bay, providing the public opportunities to encounter many different species of plants, insects and wildlife along with other fun recreational activities.
The western shore of the island offers safe mooring, wading and access to a 3,000-foot sandy beach. Hart-Miller Island State Park also includes Hawk Cove and Pleasure Island, which also provide recreational opportunities and camping. The park is well-known for its abundant migrating bird populations.
Camping is available from May 1-September 30.
Hart-Miller Island State Park offers 22 campsites available on a first come, first serve basis:
6 sites in the main camping area on Hart-Miller Island 11 sites at Hawk Cove 5 sites on Pleasure Island All sites have a picnic table, lantern post and campfire grill.
Campfires may only be built in the fire rings provided.
$6 / night
$40 - $45 / night
The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring is Maryland's biggest climbing and ziplining adventure!
We have 5 campsites on site. Please note, these campsites are only available for scout troops and youth groups who are also taking part in park activities.
$150 - $200 / night
Scout
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.
Scout
super pretty. shower up in the dark but was super easy to navigate with a map. people super friendly.
Traveler
This was a great park to stay in. Close to local activities, clean and quiet. The front desk staff was super friendly and the site was perfect
Guide
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.
Traveler
We arrived at 1am, hadn’t made a reservation, and it was closed and the gates locked. No where on the website does it say it’s closed. Very frustrating, especially as a weary traveler.
Traveler
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.
Traveler
Staying in the overnight section was just OK. Only 4 50 amp spots, luckily we secured one. No sewer hookup, but there is a dump station in the seasonal/ permanent section. The campground is gated and that is nice, because the surrounding area is not great. *Highlight- super fun restaurant very nearby, great food, live music, on the Elk river. Restaurant is Unwind on the Water.
Guide
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.
Scout
Granted it’s a Yogi Bear campground, so the kids were expected. However, adults carrying on well beyond the 11pm quiet time, outrageously loud hay rides well past 9pm on Friday, combined with a ton of golf carts and under age drivers it’s unanimous, we won’t be back.
Guide
We were looking to explore Maryland's Eastern Shore and picked Tuckaho because they had electric sites available. We were so pleased with our stay. The campground is well maintained and the sites are great. We have a small travel trailer and our site was pretty level and nicely private. We backed up to a hiking trail which was nice. There's lots to do here. There's a disc golf course and the camp store has discs available to use. We've never played before but had a blast learning, now we're hooked. We also enjoyed kayaking on the lake. If you enjoy birding this park is great, we saw so many cool birds. There's an arboretum and horse riding trails. We will definitely be going back!
TravelerBeautiful and very clean campground. Nice bath houses. Well maintained with friendly staff. Reasonably priced and great location.
Scout
I've stayed at Cordorus a number of times as it's not too far away for a weekend getaway. Last time was in Sept. 2023 when some tropical storm poured rain for three days. I'm booked for next weekend now in Sept. 2024, so I hope it's a dry one. I pulled up The Dyrt to see if anything has changed, but I see it's still the great place it always is.
I usually end up in a dry site as I book late and the electric sites are all filled.
RangerCodorus state campground provided a comfortable and quiet stay. The trailer sites in loop C are spacious enough with plenty of shades and trees. The open field pet friendly sites are also large but provide no shade and it gets hot! You can feel the difference between these sites and the interior loop sites. No cross winds, no breeze, just hot! The trails from
Campground are ok for a short walk, not much of a lake view but mostly shaded trail. The pool is conveniently located maybe even walking distance for some. But be advised, this is a public pool open to everyone and folks start showing up at 7am, separate entrance road and entry fee was around $10 pp. The lake is great! Lovely areas to relax and explore. No swimming allowed anywhere but you can find places to sneak a dip 😉 just look past marina near state park public recreation area. The park staff won’t give you a hard time they just ask that you don’t go further than waist deep. It is a very large lake. We highly recommend that you rent a pontoon boat to head out and explore! Very worth it! All grounds and areas are clean and kept in great condition.
Scout
I'd have stayed at a different site on different conditions, but they have a spot for just about anything, from what I could tell. Staff and grounds are awesome!
TravelerThis campground is pleasant, but the sites are situated quite close to one another. The camping area is away from the main parts of the park through gates, so you won't be bothered by non-camp traffic. A few hiking trails lead to many more extended trails, but it is a steep slope down to the river.
Traveler
Stayed 2 nights. Located w/in walking distance of small town of Intercourse, PA, with plenty of shopping and Amish crafts. Very friendly people. Inexpensive stay.
Traveler
Beautiful picturesque campground with large spots and a lot of trees. Very quiet and close enough to Lancaster for shopping. Covered bridges and road side shopping are close by. Enjoyed river tubing which is close by to this campground. Music bingo on Saturday night was so much fun. Owners are very nice and helpful.
Bath house is located at top of steep hill and bathrooms were not very clean. So if you don’t have a camper to use, you might not like the bath house situation.
I would definitely stay here again due to the beauty and quietness of the camp sites. Thanks Lori and John for a great 4th of July extended weekend!
GuideWe 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.
Guide
We stayed a week at Cherry Hill and it had everything we needed for visiting DC. Staff very helpful and really explained the Metro system very well. We didn't drive to DC at all - just used public transit We also did 2 tours with Cherry Hill, which were good overviews of the featured sites. Nicely stocked store, great cafe onsite, and clean bathrooms and showers were great features. Swimming pools pretty crowded so we didn't use. Still, very happy with site, partial shade too. Would return to Cherry Hill.
Scout
Has outhouse, fire pit, running water on side of house near outhouse. An is a wonderful person. Good reception with T-Mobile!
Scout
FANTASTIC Campground!! Its close proximity to the Susquehanna River, Otter Creek, and the Mason Dixon Trail is absolutely ideal! Sites are spacious and nice! Restrooms clean! Showers good; cost 50¢ for 6 min, but that's fine...ensures enough hot water for everyone and no waste. Most of all, I really liked the campground managers, Scott and Mandy!! They are extremely helpful and friendly, and all around great people!!
Ranger
My husband stayed here as a kid and wanted to revisit it. It was a great stay! Very easy going place and so well kept up. Some of the cleanest camp bathrooms and showers I have seen. A small amusement park to the side (very local and quiet sound never bothered us) and a small creek to the back of it. Off a busy road but never heard any traffic at all - guess they are far enough away. Was a tranquil little spot right in the thick of it so kind of perfect! Peaceful grounds and friendly people. Pretty perfect and highly recommend. Weather was sublime. Easy to drive to bird in hand too!
TravelerThis 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.
GuideLori was great with booking process, the general store has ice, and anything else you could forget. They deliver firewood to your site. We brought our 7 year old and we visited the playgrounds, hiked the trails and explored the creek area. Boat ramp near by, we had site 54 which was nice and private. Site had fire ring, picnic table, water and electric. 25 mins from dt Lancaster which we visited as well. I’d definitely stay there again.
TravelerTried to reserve a site for August. Was told they only do long-term rentals.
ScoutSpacious, beautiful, clean, quiet, easy, and lots to do and see.
Guide
We arrived and got setup only to find out the water didn't work. We had crawl into the bushes to get to a hose running down from a campsite up the hill. If we'd have had a long enough hose, I would probably have forgotten that entirely, but having to find a hardware store to get a hose, was annoying.
The place had an overall dingy, old feeling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Joppa, MD?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Joppa, MD is Patapsco Valley State Park-Hilton Area with a 4.2-star rating from 18 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Joppa, MD?
TheDyrt.com has all 15 tent camping locations near Joppa, MD, with real photos and reviews from campers.
