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Best Tent Camping near Indian Head, MD

535 Reviews

Tent campsites near Indian Head, Maryland include established campgrounds with varying amenities and access options. Leesylvania State Park Campground in Woodbridge, Virginia offers tent camping with amenities like potable water, fire rings, and showers. Additional options include Marsden Tract Group Campsite along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which provides primitive tent camping with limited facilities for those seeking a more rustic experience.

Walk-in tent sites predominate at many of these campgrounds, with most requiring short hikes from parking areas to reach the campsites. Endeavor Point in Maryland features tent camping on maintained grounds with access to fishing and crabbing opportunities. At Caledon State Park Campground, tent campers must hike approximately 3 miles on groomed gravel trails to reach primitive sites, and no water is available on site. Campers should pack in all necessary water and supplies. Most tent locations provide basic amenities like fire rings and pit toilets, though facilities vary significantly between locations.

The tent camping experience in this region offers opportunities for solitude and direct access to natural areas. Prince William Forest Park provides backcountry tent camping options at Chopawamsic, accessible via a 2.5-mile hiking trail from the parking area. These backcountry tent sites offer a more secluded camping experience with minimal amenities. Visitors might hear activity from neighboring Marine Corps Base Quantico during daytime hours. Caledon State Park's walk-in tent sites are situated along the Potomac River, providing scenic views and beach access. According to one visitor, "It's a nice 3-mile hike to the campsite which is right by the Potomac river. The beach is beautiful and we saw the most gorgeous sunset."

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Best Tent Sites Near Indian Head, Maryland (22)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Indian Head, MD

37 Photos of 22 Indian Head Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Indian Head, MD

535 Reviews of 22 Indian Head 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.

  • Napunani
    Jun. 24, 2022

    Little Bennett Campground

    Nice County Park

    PROS 

    Very nice small Montgomery County Park 

    No reservation fee to make on-line reservations 

    Reserved 137 days prior to arriving 

    Entrance gate required entry code Instructed by staff via gate phone to proceed to campsite as check-in at camp store is at dead end with insufficient turning space for pickup towing 28ft bumper pull; complete check-in after camper was unhooked at site

     Great night sky viewing as no lights what so ever in camping loops except for toilet/shower buildings 

    Lots of vegetation between sites providing privacy from neighbors 

    Site#D69 shady 

    Very quiet campground 

    Site#D69 level side-to-side but we were forced to greatly elevate front of trailer to level front-to-back 

    Site#D69 gravel parking pad 

    Wooden/metal picnic table that was moveable 

    Metal fire pit with cooking grate 

    Toilet/shower facility very clean 

    3 washers and 3 dryers, along with folding tables in the basement of the check-in building. Accepted credit card for $1.75/load 

    Harper’s Ferry National Historical park 35 miles from Park 

    Walmart and Wegman’s 5 miles from Park 

    CONS 

    Out-of-state campers pay higher camping fee than Maryland residents,$66/night 

    No senior or veteran discount 

    Trees falling on Park power lines caused power outage for hours 

    No toilet/shower facility in FHU loop so had to hike to facilities in Loops B & E

    No camp host 

    No ranger patrolling thru campsite 

    No WIFI 

    1 bar Verizon

  • D
    May. 22, 2023

    Little Bennett Campground

    Quiet sites with some activities

    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.

  • C
    Aug. 26, 2019

    Little Bennett Campground

    Lovely campground, nice hiking with kids

    We spent several nights here with kids aged 5-12 and will definitely come back. We live in Montgomery County and this is a nice camping get away close to home. We stayed in Loop E, where the majority of the campsites were set back a bit off the road, well spaced, and nicely shaded. We took a couple of walks through Loop A, and this seemed to be the case for those sites as well. We were a group of 5 and used 2 4-person tents. The tent sites all have a tent pad (great drainage during a downpour!) but the tent pad isn’t big enough for two tents. So beware if you intend to use two tents that most, but not all, of the tent sites seem to have a patch of level ground where a 2nd tent can be pitched. On Saturday there were fun activities for the kids all day (pedal cars, crafts, water balloon baseball, laser tag, to name a few from memory), with some activities also on Friday evening and Sunday morning. A fee is charged for some of these (laser tag and craft supplies) but most are free. There is a small arcade-style game room (with free wifi in the building) where we passed a rainy morning. Air hockey, table soccer, and a small basketball game could be played for free, but pool and the video games required $.25-1.00 per game. We used perhaps 5 miles in total of the hiking trails, doing loops down to the creek and back. They were all manageable for a 5-year old and the kids enjoyed playing in the stream in warm weather. We did see poison ivy at the edges of some trails. There is some distant ambient noise from 270 and overhead air traffic, but nothing too bad. If coming with kids, I would recommend bringing a playground ball and/or basketball so you can use the gaga pit or basketball courts even when no games are organized by camp staff. Also note that there was no ice in the camp store for the duration of our stay, but ice can be bought at the Liberty gas station and the small Clarksburg Grocery, both about a mile from the campground.

    Update after also staying in Loop A several times: I might just be imagining it, but the tent pads seem bigger in Loop A. We we able to jigsaw our two 4-person tents and a single on the pad in site 6. Poison ivy noticed in the site, camp staff brought us gloves to take care of it and a free bundle of firewood by way of apology.

  • 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.

  • Margaret D.
    May. 3, 2023

    Lake Fairfax Campground

    Comfortable sites

    Campground has mostly level gravel lots with fire rings, picnic tables. No water at site. Bath house is reasonably clean. Dump station is adequate.

  • 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!

  • 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.

Guide to Indian Head

Tent camping near Indian Head, Maryland offers a mix of primitive and established sites across southern Maryland and northern Virginia. The region sits at the confluence of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay waterways, with most campgrounds positioned along river access points at elevations under 200 feet. Summer humidity levels regularly exceed 80% with temperatures averaging 85°F, while spring and fall camping provide more moderate conditions.

What to do

Fishing and crabbing opportunities: Endeavor Point in Maryland provides direct water access for fishing enthusiasts. According to one visitor, "the pier was perfect to fish or crab off of and the beach had great views of the sunrise." The campground offers maintained grounds with beach areas for these activities.

Hiking trails: Lake Anna State Park Campground features multiple trail systems suitable for day hikes. A camper noted, "It has great hiking trails and if your looking for a relaxing fishing afternoon, they have some of the nicest fishing piers with ample sitting area." The park includes ADA-accessible trails with fishing platforms.

Water activities: Swimming and boating options exist at several locations. At Lake Anna State Park, "There are opportunities for motor boating, kayaking, swimming, hiking, fishing, etc." The swimming area remains "clean and very family oriented" according to regular visitors.

What campers like

Waterfront camping: Caledon State Park Campground offers sites directly on the Potomac River accessed via hiking trails. A camper shared, "We hiked for a few hours and finally got to our site which was right on the Potomac River. Gorgeous view and I was glad to be there after the long haul." Sites feature tent pads with an honor system for firewood purchases.

Group camping facilities: Marsden Tract Group Campsite along the George Washington Memorial Parkway provides secluded group camping options. One reviewer described it as "beautiful secluded quiet wonderful if you're looking for that extreme outdoors a no civilization." Sites require advance reservations and accommodate larger groups.

Accessibility to DC area: Leesylvania State Park Campground provides camping options within commuting distance of Washington DC. A camper remarked, "This campground was so pretty. It is small, but the price and location near DC cannot be beat. It is directly on Potomac River." The proximity allows for day trips to urban areas.

What you should know

Limited facilities: Many tent sites offer minimal amenities. At Caledon State Park, "No water on site and no reasonable source to filter water from so be prepared." Sites typically include basic features like tent pads and sometimes portable toilets.

Hiking required for primitive sites: Accessing some campsites requires significant hiking. One camper at Caledon State Park Campground described "7 or 8 tent pads. Wood for sale at the site for $4 honor system. Porta pottie right next to wood pile... Over all easy 2.5 mile hike on groomed gravel trails."

Management variations: Campground management styles differ significantly. Endeavor Point has experienced ownership changes affecting use policies. According to a recent visitor, "Much hasn't changed here, except the owner... The past owner allowed his paying customers/guest(s) to fish and crab at will, (of course all within legal limits). The present owners try to restrict and intimated their customers."

Tips for camping with families

Choose sites with playgrounds: Lake Anna State Park Campground provides family-friendly facilities. A regular visitor mentioned, "It has great hiking trails, a small 'beach', a lake to fish in, & multiple really nice playgrounds for kids. Tons of amenities." The park balances natural features with comfort facilities.

Consider holiday weekend crowds: Popular holidays increase campground usage. One visitor noted, "We absolutely love this camp ground. It has spacious camp sites with a great amount of natural shade. The swimming area is clean and very family oriented." Another camper mentioned, "Always come here for fourth of July and it is quite a show there are a bunch of activities to do."

Be prepared for noise: Proximity to other campers can affect tent experiences. A Lake Anna visitor reported, "We weren't excited about being so close to so many people & the bathroom door needs to be fixed because every time some went to the bathroom we would hear the door SLAM shut all hours of the night." Consider campsite location relative to facilities.

Tips from RVers

Limited electrical hookups: Most tent-focused campgrounds near Indian Head provide minimal RV services. While Lichtman Camp 1 at Prince William Forest Park does offer electrical hookups alongside tent camping, facilities remain basic compared to dedicated RV parks.

Site selection considerations: Lake Anna State Park accommodates RVs alongside tent camping. According to one reviewer, "Although we only tent camped, I noticed a lot of things about the campground that would welcome RVs as well. There were large back-in sites as well as pull-through sites. There was also a dump station."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Indian Head, MD?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Indian Head, MD is Leesylvania State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 6 reviews.

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TheDyrt.com has all 22 tent camping locations near Indian Head, MD, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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