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Best Tent Camping near St. Leonard, MD

449 Reviews

Tent campsites near St. Leonard, Maryland include both established campgrounds and more primitive options along the Chesapeake Bay. Calvert Cliffs State Park offers youth group tent camping with access to hiking trails and fossil hunting opportunities on its beaches. Nearby, Matoaka Beach Cottages provides waterfront tent sites with views of the Chesapeake Bay, while Endeavor Point features tent camping areas on maintained grounds with proximity to water activities.

Most tent camping areas require reservations, especially during peak season from late spring through early fall. Calvert Cliffs State Park provides basic amenities for tent campers including drinking water, picnic tables, and toilet facilities. Fire rings are available at many locations, though fire bans may be implemented during dry conditions. Tent sites at Matoaka Beach Cottages feature beach access with sites situated to provide privacy and water views. Seasonal operation varies by location, with some parks closing for winter months. Campers should verify amenities before arrival as drinking water may not be available at all tent locations.

Tent campers frequently mention the peaceful nature of sites with waterfront access. Calvert Cliffs offers a 1.5-mile trail leading to a fossil-rich beach where tent campers can search for shark teeth and other prehistoric finds. Matoaka Beach provides tent sites where campers can hear waves while sleeping. Some tent camping areas offer more seclusion than others, with varying levels of privacy between sites. Reviews indicate that holiday weekends can bring higher occupancy, while weekdays offer more solitude. A camper noted that Endeavor Point offers "great views of the sunrise" from its tent sites with access to fishing and crabbing from the pier. Many locations permit pets at tent sites, though restrictions may apply in certain areas.

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Best Tent Sites Near St. Leonard, Maryland (15)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near St. Leonard, MD

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Tent Camping Reviews near St. Leonard, MD

449 Reviews of 15 St. Leonard Campgrounds

  • Laura M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 11, 2023

    Greenbelt Park Campground — Greenbelt Park

    Beautiful campground, and great for visiting DC

    Beautiful campground, fairly large with 4 separate loops. Loop A is for organized groups/youth/scouts, Loop B is for tents and RVs under 30 ft, Loop C is for tents, and Loop D is for tents and RVs under 35 ft. No hookups at any of the sites.

    There’s a dump station and drinking water fill in loop C (sorry tenters who wanted to avoid RVs). The water fill was a little annoying in that there’s a handle you have to hold down the whole time, but we used a rock to prop the handle down. 

    The bathhouses are ok, happy to have free showers with hot running water. Faucets allow you to control the temperature and there’s continuous running water (no button to push). There’s only one large shower per bath house, and you only have a curtain (no door and no lock). Sites vary in levelness, some are fairly level and some are on a mini hill. Driveways are all very narrow. Most have too much tree cover for solar or starlink, but some sites are more open and you might be able to make it work. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Cost is $20/night, must reserve on recreation.gov, and you can do that when you arrive and pick a site (no service fee for this site)

    Cell service is pretty good for Verizon and ATT. 

    No alcohol allowed in the park. 

    GETTING TO DC: There’s normally a walking path from the campground to the metro station that takes you into DC (the green line takes you to the National Mall), but as of Oct 2023 the bridge is out due to a storm, and by the looks of it it’s been out a while and it doesn’t appear that it will be fixed soon. So what we did, since we don’t have a tow car, and just have our 26ft motorhome, is we packed up and drove to the Greenbelt station about 5 miles away, parked there for the day, and took the green line into town. The lot there is huge and open and free on weekends. Weekdays it’s about $5/day if you take the metro, and about $9 if you’re just parking there. The College Park station is closer but is apparently a parking garage (can’t confirm because we didn’t go to that station). This worked very well for us. You can pay for the metro with an app or get a card, either way it costs you $2 to buy the card, and then $2 each way on the train. Everyone over age 5 needs their own card, no sharing one card. The train ride from the Greenbelt station to the national mall is about 30 min. Get off at the Archives station to be in the center of all the sites.

  • R
    Oct. 13, 2021

    Tuckahoe State Park Campground

    Great Kayaking and Beautiful Woods

    We camped with our 17' travel trailer at site 19E with electric hookups. Some sites have water and sewer as well, which is rare in a MD state park. We had a picnic table, lantern pole and fire ring in a spacious, wooded site. Good dry wood was available for $5 a bundle. The restrooms were spotless. Hiking trails everywhere- and all level for easy biking. There's a small lake where many people were fishing for bass, and a calm waterway (Tuckahoe River) excellent for kayaking. We had our own yaks, but the park will rent them. A few miles down the road is a boat launch (Hillsboro) with access to another section of the Tuckahoe River, also great for kayaking. We saw beautiful aquatic plants, many birds, and a gazillion turtles. We paddled past several beaver dams, but they successfully stayed hidden. We love this park and campground!

  • Kristy R.
    Nov. 13, 2020

    Cherry Hill Park

    Great Family Fun

    Great camping amenities, soft cushioned sites, with power and water close by. DO NOT GET BASIC TENT SITES AS THEY ARE NEXT TO HIGHWAYS AND VERY NOISY!!! Premium tent sites would be a better choice. My grandchildren live it there. We will return to a premium tent site soon.

  • K
    Jul. 4, 2019

    Final-Lee Here

    Ranger Review: LiquidI.V. Hydration Multiplier at Final-Lee Here Campground

    CAMPGROUND REVIEW: Nestled within the beautiful greenery of Huntingtown, Maryland, this campground offers heart, scenery, and access to numerous adventures. The grounds are a short drive to Washington D.C. parks and museums, as well as the Chesapeake Beach Water Park, or North Beach's beautiful new pier and Friday night Farmers Market including local art vendors and food trucks. Kings Landing Park is just a few minutes from Final-Lee Here, which offers hiking and equestrian trails, picnic areas, disc golf, swimming pool, fishing, and a launch for kayaks, canoes, or paddle boards.

    Final-Lee Here Campground offers its own beauty. As a long planned and awaited dream coming true, Connie and Ken Lee are using their gorgeous property to harbor a love for the outdoors in their family as well as those who visit. The land is well groomed with grassy, shaded tent sites, RV sites, tall, privacy-offering bamboo, evergreens (it's a tree farm), and forested trails to a soothing, water-trickling creek.

    The campground has several tent sites, and some are big enough to hold multiple tents for bigger gatherings. Sites offer tables, chairs, and a fire pit. Hot showers are available in a very nice outdoor tent set up. A potty chair, along with wet wipes and trashbags are available for use, or you can just use the outdoorsman's method ;). The Lees gave us plenty of firewood, offered dry wood after storms came through, and even offered to bring us fresh eggs from their chickens. (The rooster brought smiles as it welcomed our mornings with hearty salutes.) There is a small zip line for kids and you may request games such as cornhole, horseshoes, or Yardzee to play. The Lees also rent and transport single and double kayaks or canoes to Kings Landing for a minimal fee.

    On Friday, my teenage daughter and I took a trip to the Chesapeake Beach Water Park (I would recommend this for younger children, checking the internet for discounts) and we cruised the North Beach antique shops, pier and farmers market. Saturday was well planned for adventure, but out-of-the-blue storms hit hard. After breakfast, we kayaked the river and creek through beautiful marshlands where we saw caterpillars walk on water, a heron and bald eagles soaring above, turtles, a cove where thousands of tadpoles were amidst metamorphosis (having both tails and legs) scampering through and atop the water, and a multitude of dragonflies. We stopped at a Kings Landing dock, hydrated ourselves and ate our packed lunch. Dark clouds began rolling in and we paddled back to the boat launch, texting the Lee's to meet us for boat pick up. We had planned to hike and swim while at the park, but instead headed for our tent during the storm surges. Once the storms passed, we adventured onto the campground trails. One trail, though very well groomed, was steep, heading to the creek. We avoided it due to the wet conditions, and found other trails leading to the creek which were easier to maneuver. The creek was so peaceful. I would have loved to have more time here just taking it all in, but evening and another storm came upon us.

    I highly recommend this campground based on its heart and available opportunities. The Lees are absolutely wonderful and truly want their visitors to enjoy the outdoors and their stay. The only "con" I came across was the toileting situation. My teen daughter is not much on the outdoors, so the portable toilet and the natural method option were too weird and uncomfortable for her.

    PRODUCT REVIEW: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I receive products to test from time to time - during this trip, I tested LiquidI.V. Hydration Multiplier. It is an electrolyte drink mix you add to a water bottle or 16 oz. of water. We tried the sampler pack. My favorite flavor is acai berry, and my daughter enjoyed the lemon-lime. Though we tried to remain hydrated, setting up camp and kayaking in the heat left us truly parched. Adding the LiquidI.V. to our water seemed to rejuvenate. Both my daughter and I feel that a whole "stick" seem to be overwhelming in one water bottle, but using half to 3/4 of a packet brought tasty hydration. I'm very picky when it comes to aftertastes, hating all fake sweeteners; however, this is made with pure cane sugar, and leaves your mouth satisfied. That is pretty rare! (Note: the passion fruit flavor left a slight aftertaste to me.) Additionally, my girlfriend and son tried some of our LiquidI.V. and loved it as well. This was great to have on hand!

  • Jen V.
    Jul. 14, 2017

    Tuckahoe State Park Campground

    Great, quiet park on MD's Eastern Shore

    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!

  • Justin G.
    Sep. 14, 2016

    Cedarville State Forest

    Cedarville State Forest (Tornado)

    I took my girlfriend car camping in Cedarville State Forest. The camping trip turned more into a stay in the tent the whole trip. We set up camp and ate dinner only to be hit by a tornado watch in the area. I spent most of the trip adjusting the water proofing so we stayed dry. When the rain did calm down Cedarville state forest offered some very serene and peaceful views. Which is surprising due to the forests location.

  • Roger W.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 8, 2023

    Greenbelt Park Campground — Greenbelt Park

    Close to DC, Quiet, and Pretty

    Greenbelt, MD: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 4.5 Price: About $12 w our senior pass. Usage during visit: 50 % during week Site Privacy: Most inner loop sites are not very good. However, our inner loop site was very private. Most inner loop sites lack privacy. Pull Through” sites are more like pull over sites. The picnic table privacy is often not very good for the pull over sites. This is because the adjacent back in site is deeper with picnic table not blocked by the trailer.
    Site Spacing: Some are close. Check the map. Site surface: black top Reservations: Yes. We were able to change our site upon arrival on Rec.gov. Campground Noise: Very quiet.
    Road Noise: None Through Traffic: Not a problem if the site is in a loop. Electricity: No Water: Available at a few spigots and at the washbasins at the bathrooms Sewer: No Dump: Yes Generators: 6AM till 10PM Bathroom: Old but clean. Showers: Old but clean. Cirtains Pull Throughs: Some “pull over spots”. I have a pic or two of good ones in the D loop.
    Cell Service (Verizon): Great. Setting: 10 mins from subway for DC access. Great way to get to DC. Located in a deciduous forest serving as a pleasant getaway for locals.
    Weather: It was cool during our stay.
    Bugs: No problems yet. Solar: Most sites are not adequate.
    Host: They are friendly and very courteous. Notes: Amazing that there is such a pretty place so close to DC. This must be a great getaway for locals . …. We did not walk the park trails , but there are some.

  • R
    Oct. 4, 2021

    Cedarville State Forest

    Peaceful

    We picked up the camping registration outside the office at the entrance, no need to speak with anyone. Then we just drove down to our campsite in the family camping loop. We could hear and smell horses when we got to our campsite, but it didn't last forever. 

    The site was mostly clean, had a few pieces of small trash scattered around when we arrived. The sites were decently spaced out from one another, it didn't feel like we were right on top of the people across and next to us. Our site was close to the restroom, it had a little path leading to the restroom, and it looked like there was little trail paths all around leading to the restrooms from the different parts of the loop. The path leading to the restroom from our site was gravel and easy to walk on. The restrooms were clean, but the floor was wet almost the entire time we were there (likely due to the showers).

    If you need to buy wood it is $5 for 8 pieces and you call a number given to you in your registration packet. The ranger will then drive by and drop off the wood at your campsite. The inner ring of this loop has electricity, and the electric box was just on the far side of the picnic table in the corner.

  • J
    Jul. 26, 2023

    Martinak State Park Campground

    Beautiful park, already planning a return

    This was our first visit to this park and we really loved it. We stayed in a tent site which included a fire ring and picnic table, and we had two tents and plenty of space for everything. While we were there, I believe all of the cabins were full and some other tent sites reserved, but the grounds were still very quiet and peaceful. The bathrooms and showers were modern and very clean and looked to be only a brief, flat walk from most of the sites/cabins in the loop. The loops were smaller than I expected, but that wasn't a bad thing. There is also a large sink on one side of the bathhouse which was nice for cleaning up after cooking. AT&T phone service was slow but available. While in the area, we also visited WorkHorse Farm for a tour, First Fruits Orchard for PYO blueberries, and Denton Station antique mall.

Guide to St. Leonard

Tent camping options near St. Leonard, Maryland include sites situated along the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay coastline. The region features low elevation waterfront camping with humid subtropical climate conditions typical of the Mid-Atlantic. Summer temperatures average 85-90°F with high humidity, while spring and fall offer milder temperatures between 60-75°F for more comfortable camping conditions.

What to do

Fossil hunting adventures: Calvert Cliffs State Park offers excellent opportunities for finding prehistoric fossils. A camper notes, "I was a TA on an optional field trip to Calvert Cliffs for an intro level class. I was a rainy day but we were able to go down to the shore and find fossils. What a great experience for (hopefully) future geologist."

Fishing and crabbing: Endeavor Point provides access to prime fishing spots on the water. According to a reviewer, "the pier was perfect to fish or crab off of and the beach had great views of the sunrise."

Hiking through diverse terrain: Caledon State Park features well-maintained trails leading to riverfront camping. A visitor shared, "It's a nice 3 mile hike to the campsite which is right by the Potomac river! They have porta Johns and a pavilion close by."

Beach swimming access: While many campers come for water activities, availability varies seasonally. At Sandy Point State Park, one camper advised, "August is the worst month to visit if you like the water. Jellyfish take over with a vengeance!"

What campers like

Waterfront views: The best tent camping near St. Leonard includes sites with direct water access. At Matoaka Beach Cottages, campers appreciate the natural setting: "Our spot was very private and you could see the bay and hear the waves."

Morning scenery: Multiple campsites offer memorable sunrise views. One Endeavor Point camper mentioned, "the beach had great views of the sunrise."

Privacy between sites: Campground layout varies significantly between locations. A Matoaka Beach visitor noted, "We tent camped at Matoka Cabins and it was a beautiful Peaceful camping trip! Out spot was very private and you could see the bay and hear the waves."

Educational opportunities: Lacy Oasis Campground focuses on providing enriching experiences. A group leader reported, "My agency took about 25 children there last week and they did not want to leave, neither did I. The rates are very economical for what is being provided on the space."

What you should know

Seasonal crowds: Public access areas become extremely busy during peak months. At Sandy Point, a camper warned, "The line to get in can be a mile long!"

Site selection considerations: Some campgrounds have designated areas for tents. At Caledon State Park, a camper noted, "7 or 8 tent pads. Wood for sale at the site for $4 honor system. Porta pottie right next to wood pile. You're not supposed to setup anything outside of the 'tent pads'."

Campground management variations: Rules and enforcement differ by location. A recent Pax River Hog Point visitor warned, "When we saw a review of this campground on Rec.gov complaining about the amount of bugs we thought they were being ridiculous, they were not."

Noise levels: Some campgrounds experience significant noise issues. One visitor to Pax River Hog Point reported leaving early because "a (clearly quite drunk) group nearby was singing at the top of their lungs until at least 11pm."

Tips for camping with families

Wildlife viewing opportunities: Several locations offer educational nature encounters. At Calvert Cliffs, a parent shared, "Such an amazing expieriance and brings right into the eyes of child with both adult and children searching for shark teeth."

Playground accessibility: Some campgrounds feature play areas for children. A visitor to Leesylvania State Park noted, "This park is ALWAYS full of family's having picnics and enjoying time together! There's playground and a beach area for kids and family to all enjoy."

Educational programming: Structured activities for youth groups exist at several locations. A visitor to Lacy Oasis shared, "Whether you are an adult or a child, this place will have a positive effect on you. The owners are involved and designed this space with the visitors pleasure in mind."

Water safety considerations: Beach conditions vary by location and season. At Sandy Point, one visitor cautioned that during summer "the sand is brown and rough. It generally looks dirty."

Tips for RVers

Limited hookup options: Most tent camping sites near St. Leonard have few or no RV amenities. At the Military Park United States Naval Academy/Annapolis Naval Station Annapolis FamCamp, a visitor noted it's "Very spartan but great location. Not much to do in the campground and some long timers there. Dirt cheap."

Space constraints: Many waterfront camping areas have tight access roads. An Endeavor Point camper mentioned, "the campsites aren't dispersed and are pretty small but that's the only downside."

Seasonal accessibility: Off-season camping provides better availability. A camper at Sandy Point advised, "The best times to go are winter, spring, and fall."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near St. Leonard, MD?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near St. Leonard, MD is Calvert Cliffs State Park Youth Group Camping with a 4.4-star rating from 5 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near St. Leonard, MD?

TheDyrt.com has all 15 tent camping locations near St. Leonard, MD, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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