Best Equestrian Camping near Denton, MD

Tuckahoe is a hidden gem on Maryland’s mid-Eastern Shore region. With many of your standard amenities and a quiet atmosphere, it was a great spot for my first time camping with my kids.

Our campsite was on the non-electric loop. We had a small creek and trail back up to our campsite. We only had a handful of neighbors and foot traffic at the time was almost nonexistent, so we practically had the park to ourselves.

There is an electric loop with electric hookup, but no water or sewer. Those can be found at the campground entrance. Each loop has a wood shed and clean, well-appointed bathhouse. There are water pumps along the road for refills.

There are 4 basic cabins on each loop and most sites are designed for RV and/or tent use. There are 3 sites that are tent-only on the non-electric loop.

Multiple trails in the area are widespread. Wear comfortable hiking shoes and bring a map! They also have equestrian trails with an equestrian center nearby. The lakefront boasts a picnic area with individual tables and grills, recycled tire playground, and kayak rentals (for a fee). Fishing is allowed, but no swimming (which was a bummer for us, but exploring some of the local creeks helped provide some relief from the summer heat).

Nearby is Atkins Arboretum. Their 5 mile trail system covers around 400 acres. There are woods, “grasslands,” and “wetlands” to explore the various ecosystems of the Eastern Shore. They also had a goat area and garden play area for children. There is a fee through the Visitor’s Center which supports the center, but some of the trails can be accessed via other Tuckahoe trails.

Centrally located, you’re still within easy access to a local town center (Denton), supplies, and dining. I can’t recommend Tuckahoe enough if you just want a quiet spot or you’re new to camping!

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!

This is a small state park with two loops, one with and one without electric hookups. Sites have fire rings and picnic tables. There is a dump station available. Sites are level, in a loop around the bath house. There are also a few cabins available to rent. There's a small $1 surcharge for out of state campers.

For kids, there’s a simple swingset in the loop and a larger, newer playground. Firewood available.

Martinak and Tuckahoe are sister parks, about 20 minutes apart. Tuckahoe offers a number of additional activities, including disc golf, mountain biking, fishing, swimming, and boating(canoe/kayak rentals available). If you’re looking to learn and explore with your kids, there is an extensive junior ranger program.

August 1, 2021, the boat ramp will close for a year; that will likely diminish the appeal of this park for those who want to get out on the river for fishing or boating. When open, there is a network of river trails accessible from the park. There’s a boat launch in nearby West Denton or also at Tuckahoe and a few other nearby spots.

Denton is also your destination if you've forgotten anything.

Site Details: We stayed on site#19 in Loop B(the electric loop). Our site was large, very level, and surrounded by pine and hardwood trees. All sites in this loop were fairly spread out, with ample tree separation between each one. I don’t think there was a bad site in the loop. 

Facilities/Overall Park: The loop had a wonderful, heated bath house which was centrally located and a very short walk from our site. It looked to be recently built(or renovated), and was impeccably clean with very nice-looking showers(which we didn’t use this time). However, there were only 3 stalls and 2 showers, so I imagine the lines could get pretty long during peak season. There was also a nice outdoor dishwashing sink on the exterior of the bath house. 

The park itself is rather small, but very pretty and(mostly) peaceful. It’s set on the Choptank River and Watts Creek, with a great amphitheatre and walking trails with beautiful water views. There is also a nature center(which was closed for the season), as well as several pavilions and playgrounds scattered throughout the park. The pavilions were in definite need of a facelift, and the playgrounds were older but decent. 

While the park was very quiet and enjoyable during the day, unfortunately I couldn’t say the same for nighttime and early morning. The first night, we were awoken several times by the very loud firehouse siren from the neighboring town of Denton. It sounded like one of those older air raid-type sirens, with a really loud, jarring windup. My husband looked it up the next day, and discovered that Denton does in fact use that old fashioned alarm system to signal any type of emergency. In addition, we heard very loud gunshots from nearby goose hunters right at sunrise. So, you may luck out if you camp outside of hunting season and there are no overnight emergencies during your stay.:) 

Martinak is a sister park to the larger Tuckahoe State Park(about 10-15 minutes down the road), and the two parks share and co-host many events between both facilities, mostly during peak season. Upon check-in, the(extremely friendly) rangers handed us a map and calendar of events for both parks. 

Surrounding Area/Attractions: The small town of Denton is about 5 minutes outside the park, with a Walmart, a few chain and standalone restaurants, plenty of gas stations, and most modern conveniences. St. Michael’s, a very quaint and popular tourist destination, is about 45 minutes away. 

Overall, while this a very pretty park with nicely wooded and spaced-out sites, we prefer the neighboring Tuckahoe SP for its slightly better trails, nicer day-use area with newer playground, and(most importantly) lack of midnight sirens.

What I like about Tuckahoe St. Park is that the Electric loop has larger back in sites on both sides ot the drive loop. The bath house is located in the center of the loop. A separate adjoining loop has a small playground. Sites are 30 amp only (no sewer, no water at each site). Water stations are located around the drive loop. Most sites are shady. Recommend checking the reservation system first.

The park is located on Lake Tuckahoe, but camping area is not adjacent to the lake. he lake is great for fishing, canoeing and kayaking.

Grocery/shopping and other amenities are 4 mi. to Ridgley, MD or 9 mi. to Denton, MD.

Reviewed

Small state park with few amenities but so quiet and peaceful for those needed weekends away! Sites are level and nice. Walking trails are level, flat, and some are paved. We stayed in the electric loop. Plenty of great playground sets and a beautiful amphitheater right in the park. We were there in the “off “ season so nothing was going on. Note that there is a rebuilding of the boat ramp area which is closed off during construction and the dump station is closed. You’ll have to dump your tanks at nearby Tuckahoe State Park, about 10 min drive away. Nearby is an aviary with was cool! The town of Denton is small but there were two art museums with local art for sale by high schoolers and locals and a textile or quilt center wit beautiful quilts and very friendly staff.