Savage River State Forest

There are no amenities here besides a picnic table and a fire ring, but the sites are so spread out that it’s basically like dispersed camping but on a paved road. Which is like the magic ticket to enjoyable camping!

I reserved site 125 which was right across from the creek. The creek had some pools deep enough to sit in and get fairly wet.

It was very quiet other than fireworks a couple times. We saw no wildlife until we left the site in the morning and saw some deer on the road. Though we did have a spectacular firefly display at night.

A lot of litter left behind by previous campers. No cell service. Beautiful forest. Be prepared for mosquitoes and gnats.

Not paY for map i can get free

Loved staying here, so peaceful.. definitely for adults since your allowed alcohol, no children running around being loud, no crying etc! Hunting, fishing and fires all within 3 mins from eachother not to mention the views!

Our campsite was very clean and easily accessible. Lots of stuff to do and a beautiful river to walk or drive to!

The camp site was amazing with the girl and a fire pit by the water

I had a great time. I loved the view at my site. The lake was beautiful too.

Vibe: deep woods, privacy, great stream

Spots: spaced way out, nice spots, many back up to the creek, thick vegetation between sites

Cell service: no service on Verizon

My favorite kind of camping because it feels like you are all alone

It’s the biggest State Forest in Maryland, and there is plenty of room. Sites are either secluded car camping that is first come-first served (pay at honor box) or wilderness dispersed camping. Make sure to know where you can and cannot pitch a tent. Other than that there isn’t much other than seclusion that is hard to come by on this state. It is popular because alcohol is allowed in state forests, but not in state parks.

Very remote western Maryland Appalachia. Sites are right off park road, are huge, rustic, and spaced very far apart from other sites. River runs along the sites.

This is a no frill camp area that actually feels like a campground instead of a resort.  Not great swim areas, but one can jump in the river to cool off.  Lots of bugs...but thats the Mid Atlantic.  It was a good time away from the city.

I was camping at site 109; a seemingly very small clearing, feet from the road. At one corner of this clearing is a 5 foot wide trail which leads to a larger clearing, with a large fire pit. I figured this was part of the campsite, pitched my tent there and left my car in the small initial clearing. Woke up to a police officer telling me that although he knew very well the site delineation was very ambiguous, he had no choice but to give me a citation for camping in violation of my permit, which is no less than a criminal offense in MD. Officer admitted regularly ticketing campers this way, and that his superiors didn't care to remedy.

3 stars because the rest was fantastic!

If you want a good primitive camping experience this place is great. Only $10 a night and you’re supposed to only have 2 cars and 6 people at a single site but the rangers don’t really care much as long as you’re not causing trouble. There’s multiple boat ramps, and from one end of the reservoir to the other on a kayak is about 2 hours. Hiking options are endless although some are hard to spot. There are some shallow swimming holes that are nice when it’s hot. It’s a beautiful location.

The campgrounds were full but the sites are spaced far enough apart that we didn’t see or hear anyone else. The closest restrooms are at the end of the road near the lake and were well taken care of. Overall the kids and I had a great time.

The sites are very spread out, and not very consistent in size/quality. We were able to nab site 112 and it was fantastic: lots of space, and privacy too. It was next to a road, but one with very little traffic. However, we drove past some sites that looked sad and offering no seclusion.

Personally I think the seclusion is well worth the price, but it's worth mentioning that to get potable water we had to drive ~20 minutes. Same deal as far as the for-better-or-worse, but we had no cell service at all for most of the area.

Finally, the Cornucopia Café just outside the park is A MUST VISIT. Inventive menu, friendly staff, outdoor seating, we were pleasantly surprised and will return.

I went camping the last week of August and it was beautiful. If you’re from the area you know how hot it can be at this time of year but it’s at least 10 degrees cooler out here. I stayed at a primitive campsite with my dog and we found a site right on a beautiful stream. It was a good sized site with a nice fire circle. my favorite part was how private it was, each campsite was 50-100ft away from each other at least. Mine was probably 100yrds. There’s also plenty of hiking in the park and in the adjacent parks like New Germany state park. There’s also places to swim nearby so all in all this park gives a lot.

beautiful location and landscapes, great hiking