Best Glamping near New Market, MD

We stayed in the Bear Branch Loop of the William Houch Camping Area.  This is a lovely area if you're a beginner camper or just looking for the glamping experience.  The sites are small and not very private but are well defined.  It's very clear where to park, set up the tent etc.  The park itself is very scenic with nice hiking trails and a lake to enjoy.  I was there in the fall so didn't go out on the water but can imagine it would be popular during the warmer months.

This campground is huge, and very crowded. We were there in the days leading up to 4th of July, and there was not a single empty site. Our section had mostly pop-ups and mid-size travel trailers, so the sites were all grass and gravel. However, the area with pull-through sites for big rigs was just a huge RV parking lot. All roads were very narrow and winding. We did fine with the pup, but can’t imagine trying to navigate a large motorhome through there. Crowding/space issues aside, this is a really nice (albeit expensive) campground. Almost everything, from the grounds, to rec halls, to pool and laundry, was sparkling clean and beautifully maintained. Bathrooms were reasonably clean as well, although they could certainly use some TLC and updating (most MD state park bathhouses are nicer).Staff was very friendly, as well. Tons of stuff to do here, especially for families: arts & crafts, indoor movie theatre, games, civil war reenactments, wine tastings, etc. We were certainly never bored, and the kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. Our site was extremely close to our neighbor's site, but still surprisingly roomy and decently shaded. We were right next to the pancake hut (free daily pancake breakfast included during the on-season) and playground, and very close to other activities. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is just a stone's throw away, with great hiking, sight-seeing, and cute little shops.

Overall, this is a really nice place, but much more of a resort than a campground in my opinion. The kids loved it, but I’ll always prefer the wooded seclusion of a state or national park. However, if I was looking for a more action-packed, activities-filled “glamping” experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to return.

We have camped here several times and love the waterfront sites and the yurts.

If tenting, be sure to check tent on reservation request. Some spots are too narrow for tenting. Cabins are mainly across lake from campground. Only 2 yurts. Two day use areas. Two swimming areas- one for day use, one just for campers!

Overall: 3.5

Bathrooms: 1

This state park offered campsites with full amenities (water, electric, sewer), water & electric, water, or primitive. Also had designated areas for camping with or without pets. We had a water site that was an end spot with the lake directly behind us- #316. We have a teardrop trailer (T@G XL). Spot was a quick walk to the bathrooms. 

Campground offers hiking trails, kayaking, boat launches, playground, cabins, and yurts. Lake was beautiful and grounds offered many trails of different distances for both hiking and biking. 

Bathrooms: Had automatic lights that went on at dark. Problem is that it was dark in the bathrooms and there was no way to turn the lights on. Bathrooms were extremely run down. Paint peeling off the ceiling, showers so stained - not sure if dirt or permanent mold. Showers were scary - I am no princess but did not take a shower in there. They received a 1 because it was a flushable toilet. 

Would go back to enjoy the campground but would bring the solar shower. beautiful birds were everywhere and if it wasn’t so cold when we were there (38’ in evening) I am sure we would have seen more wildlife.

We stayed in July on site 235. When we arrived, our first thought was “Wow, these sites are narrow!” Fortunately, backing in was fairly easy. Some sites would’ve been more difficult. Site pads are 25’-55’. Most sites had room for just one vehicle. Overflow parking was in the front of the campground. We had an electric site. The entire campground has non-electric, electric, and full hookup mixed throughout the campground. There are ADA sites in B loop that were a bit close to neighbors and directly across from bathhouse but in direct sunshine. There are designated dog sites in B loop/area. Some sites do have a lake view and possible access, it was hard to tell. The non electric sites had a parking pad and then for many you walked into the woods to the tent and fire pit area. There were cabins and yurts available too. The dump station had 2 dumps and was wide open when we left on a Sunday at 12:00. Surprisingly! Check out time is 3:00pm. Bathhouses had 3-4 shower stalls and 2-3 stalls. Good water pressure and temperature and clean. There are several spread around the loops. There was a Sunday service that was packed full. Check in was easy, there was none. Just drive to your site. Swimming was prohibited due to low water level but kayaks and canoes were allowed. No fishing also due to low water level in the lake. The beach area was very nice with a concession building and large bathhouse. It wasn’t open due to no swimming right now. There was another beach area at a boat launch in one of the loops. There are a lot of boat launches around the lake, which is large. There are several hiking trails; Lakeside, Oak, and Old Farm Trails go through the camp area. They are multi-use (ski, hike, & bike). There is a playground and volleyball pit area. You can also find group camping areas. This campground is open mid-April to late October. We had a great short trip here but are planning to return in the fall months.

Nice little spot near Thurmont Maryland. Good playground for the kids.

Site Details: We stayed in the Dragonfly camping cottage (quick weekend trip without the husband, and I’m not quite up for towing and setting up the popup by myself with 3 kids!). It was a standard rustic-type state park cabin, with one double bed, one single twin bunk, and one regular set of bunk beds, so it sleeps 5-6 comfortably. There was also a sturdy dining room table with chairs and an oscillating fan inside. Electricity/lights and heat, but no AC. Very clean inside. The cabin also had a really nice front porch, picnic table, and fire ring, and was situated with a beautiful lake view. The area we were in contained both rustic cabins and yurts (which looked really neat).

Facilities/Overall Park: Multiple bath houses were scattered among various loops, and each one we visited was very old, dim and drab, but they were also spacious and reasonably clean. Showers all had old rust and water stains. However, it was nice that there were so many of them, because this is a very large state park with multiple camping loops. Most tent and basic RV sites were shaded and private, while the newer FHU sites were more open (but still nicely spaced). Hosts and rangers were nice, but not very helpful or proactive when they needed to correct a reservation mistake they made (but it worked out in the end). There is a beautiful lake with a really nice day area in the center of the park, with a great playground and concession stand. The lake is popular for fishing and swimming, although there is oddly no sand beach; swimmers just entered the water straight from the grass.

Surrounding Area/Attractions: Not much going on in the immediate vicinity, but Harrisburg, Amish country, and Hershey are all doable day trips from the park. We were here just for the Hershey RV show, and it was an easy 40-minute drive.

Overall, this was a very pretty park with site options for every type of camper, but certain elements are in need of updating. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to make this park a destination, but it’s a nice option as a base camp for visiting the RV show or other attractions (with a much cheaper price tag than the private CGs closer to the action).

We recent went camping for the first time at Jellystone in Maryland. 5 of our 6 kids came with us, so we knew we needed to find a camping ground more geared kids. Jellystone was amazing in every way possible.  The kids were never bored and had so much fun.  Us, as adults, were also never bored. We are definitely going back. Camping ground was clean, staff was nice and tons of fun activities.

I booked last minute and got the last paved, pull-through spot for the weekend prior to Halloween. Every weekend in October there are family-friendly festivities, and the guests and staff got really into it. It’s very close to Harper’s Ferry (almost worth the hike into town rather than the difficulty finding parking in a town with one parking lot). Took the dogs to the frequented Maryland Heights Trail, and that was a great 4-5 mile uphill jaunt that overlooks the town. Stunning in autumn. The site was clean, offered recycling, and the on-site store was convenient. For how close it is to Washington DC and Frederick MD, this is an easy getaway.

Gifford Pinchot is one of the largest state park campgrounds (339 campsites) in PA with a lot of different types of camping available: tent sites, RV sites, group camping, yurts / camping cottages / cabins, and everything in between. We had site 108 which is an electric site along the shore and close to the beach, and it was perfect for our needs. It has a small beach area within the campground loop that we camped in, but the main beach is on the other side of the large Pinchot Lake. The bathhouses / restrooms are clean (about average for PA state park system) and the campground has a very friendly atmosphere - we really enjoyed our stay.

The state park itself has a LOT to offer, especially in the two main day use areas: the Conewago day use area on the south side of the lake and the Quaker Race day use area on the north side of the lake. Both areas have great access for fishing (bring your license! the rangers in this park check), and we caught a handful of bass and an absurd amount of bluegill from shore. Both areas also have their own 18 hole disc golf course, but I will say: BEWARE of poison ivy!! We played the first 10 holes around the Conewago day use area and I was shocked at how much poison ivy we had to dodge all over the prime walking areas through the course. The course in the Conewago area is relatively flat, whereas the Quaker Race course is built into the side of the hill leading into the QR day use area, so it is a lot more wooded and hillier. I took an early morning hike on the 8.5 mile Lakeside Trail that goes around the lake and it was really awesome to see the lake from all different angles. I also hiked / jogged the Quaker Race Trail and that was nice, too, but obviously much less maintained - it was a little confusing at times as it actually crossed the disc golf course in that area multiple times and it was not well blazed. The LARGE beach area in the QR day use area is one of the nicest I've ever seen at a PA state park, with tons of picnic tables with grills, a playground, a volleyball court, and a special fence solution to keep the stupid geese out of the water in the swimming area. There is also a nice concession area to grab some food, ice cream, and drinks that the kids appreciated.

We also did some hiking and fishing nearby in the Boiling Springs / Dillsburg area, and I would recommend checking that area out if you like either. Yellow Breeches is well known among flyfisherman (bring your waders), and TCO Outdoors on the main drag in Boiling Springs has all the fly patterns and knowledge you could want for the area. Before fishing, we hiked the White Rocks Trail a few miles outside of town, and it was a ton of fun with some cool rock scrambles. It hooks up with the AT going through the area if you want to extend the hike. This area (central PA in general) tends to have a lot of rattlesnakes, and we spotted one about 20 feet off the trail in a downed wood pile - cool, but a little terrifying!

Overall, we really loved the campground and this area and will definitely be back.

We recently stayed the weekend here in loop A. 

There are several good things that can be said about this campground. 

Restricted- only people camping and visitors are allowed to use the facilities. Keeps things from being too crowded. 

Good sized sites- My family of 4 was able to stretch out 2 tents, our 4 camping chairs, the provided picnic table, our car, and have plenty of room left over. 

Limited activities on weekends- jumping pad/pillow, pedal carts, laser tag ($), ceramics ($), t-shirts ($), hikes, and more. Changes weekly. Details sent out at the beginning of the week. 

Decent stocked camp store with reasonable prices. $10 for wood, 3.50 for 7 lbs of ice, $5 shakes, and lots more. 

There are some clear downsides, too. 

Only 1 bathhouse per loop. Pay attention to where your site is located. You might be in for quite a hike to go to the bathroom, which is inconvenient in the early morning hours. Loop E doesn't have a bathhouse (mostly reserved for RVs). The bathhouses have showers and somewhat warm water. 

The tent pad is gravel. While this might help with drainage (I don't know), it makes it incredibly difficult to walk on and stake down your tent. 

The camp store/activities are quite a good distance from some of the loops. It took me about 10 minutes to walk at a decent pace from the start of loop A to the camp store. From our site which was only not even close to the halfway point it would have added another 5 minutes. The spots really deep in would have easily been a 30 minute walk each way. So driving, especially with little kids, is unfortunately necessary in some instances, especially if you want to visit the playground/basketball/volleyball courts which are WAY down past loop E. 

Activities are limited to certain times. When we arrived Friday the jumping pad was only open for an hour from 4 30 to 5 30. We arrived just before 4 30, so we unpacked a few things and took the kids to the jumping pad area (right next to loop A). It wasn't open and inflated until almost 4 50. You'd think because it was opened late they would keep it open later. Nope! Right at 5 30 a worker pulled up and shut things down much to the chagrin of the kids. Why they can't have it running more often is beyond me. 1 hour on Friday was clearly not enough, especially when opened late. Maybe 2-3 hours on Friday and 5-6 on Saturday. 

They should consider having time for younger kids on the jumping pad, who are bounced off by the older kids. On Saturday there were at least 40 kids, some pre-teens/teenagers from girl scouts. My 4 year old was having trouble staying on the pad because "it is too bouncy". Kids come and go as it stays open longer, but little kids have trouble keeping up. 

The pedal carts were a good idea in practice, but have 2 faults. 1. They are EXTREMELY hard to pedal. I tried two carts, one was totally stuck on an incline and the second barely made it around the track. I have no idea why they are so difficult to use. 2. There are no tandem carts. The only ones using the carts while I was there were little kids who couldn't use the jumping pad. I had my daughter on my lap while on the cart, but it was awkward to use this way. Either having a two seater or side car would have worked out better. Based on the condition of the other carts in the shed, only a few appeared usable. 

Clear signs are needed. Lots of cars were going the wrong way down loop A. The road is barely big enough for 1 car, so having to accommodate 2 is even more problematic, especially with kids walking around. There were at least 10 cars going the wrong way in the loop. 

The limit of 2 cars per site isn't enforced. A few sites had 3 cars, which fit ok. A pack of cub scouts were hiking a few of the trials, so a few sites had 4 or 5 cars. The sites were not big enough to fit that many cars plus camping equipment, so they started taking up the road. This made it hard to maneuver, especially with little kids running about in the road unsupervised. 

All in all it was a great campground and I truly do appreciate the staff trying to provide a few things for families to do. With a few considerations and improvements, this campground could easily be a 5-star location.

Only came through for a weekend but the sites were well maintained, and felt separated enough to have some privacy. Staff were amazing about maintaining safe conditions for campers. All possible precautions seemed to be taken.

This is a good regional campground with activities for kids on special days. Took our grand daughter there for her first camping trip and she loved the bouncing strawberry and the hikes. She was 3 or 4 at the time. Family stays there when coming into town as it’s convenient (but, also one one in the area). We also regularly hike with a group in and around this park as the trails are good and well maintained.

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.