and your companions.
Evaluating campgrounds requires some finesse, and in the end it is more of an art than a science. For a quick summary of what qualities make these campgrounds worth visiting, each is rated on six attributes: beauty, privacy, spaciousness, quiet, security, and cleanliness. A five-star scale is used. Not every campground in this book can pull a high score in every category. Sometimes a very worthwhile campground is located on terrain that makes it difficult to provide a lot of space, for example. In these cases, look for high marks in beauty or quiet to trump room to stretch out. In every case, the star rating system is a handy tool to help you pinpoint the campground that will fit your personal requirements.
| The site is ideal in that category. | ||
| The site is exemplary in that category. | ||
| The site is very good in that category. | ||
| The site is above average in that category. | ||
| The site is acceptable in that category. |
Beauty
This category includes the area that extends beyond the campground itself. Easy access to thick forest, clear streams, or stupendous views gives a campground a high ranking, regardless of whether the specific sites themselves are apt to awe you.
Privacy
This category refers to the ease with which campers in the next site can hear you and vice versa. Few campgrounds in this book don’t offer at least a small green buffer between sites, but the ranking in this category will give you a good idea of how much.
Spaciousness
Spaciousness refers to the physical dimensions of the campsites. If you are in a group, for example, this may be a top concern.
Quiet
This is a difficult category to measure because different times of the year, times of the week, and luck of the neighborly draw will determine your experience. However, every effort was made to talk with other campers, rangers, and park employees at each campground to try to get a fair sense of what visitors can expect any time of the year.
Security
DNR-run campgrounds are invariably safe. Almost all have a camp host and easy access to ranger offices. Park police regularly patrol state campgrounds as well. Some of the more remote campgrounds received a lower rating for safety simply because there might be no one around to deter crime, so you might be more vulnerable. Of course, this isolation is what attracts many people to these places. In general, Maryland campgrounds are very safe and secure.
Cleanliness
This is self-explanatory but refers to the amount of litter you might find at the campground. Overflowing trash cans and restrooms that didn’t look well maintained were cause for knocking off a few stars in this category.
:: THE CAMPGROUND PROFILE
Each profile contains a concise but informative narrative of the campground and individual sites. Not only is the property described, but readers can also get a general idea of the recreational opportunities available in the area and perhaps suggestions for touristy activities. This descriptive text is enhanced with three helpful sidebars: Ratings, Key Information, and Getting There (accurate driving directions that lead you to the campground from the nearest major roadway, along with GPS coordinates).
:: THE OVERVIEW MAP, MAP KEY, AND LEGEND
Use the overview map on the inside front cover to assess the exact location of each campground. The campground’s number appears not only on the overview map but also on the map key facing the overview map, in the table of contents, and on the profile’s first page. This book is organized by region, as indicated in the table of contents.
A map legend that details the symbols found on the campground-layout maps appears on the inside back cover.
:: CAMPGROUND-LAYOUT MAPS
Each profile includes a detailed map of campground sites, internal roads, facilities, and other key items.
:: GPS CAMPGROUND-ENTRANCE COORDINATES
Readers can easily access all campgrounds in this book by using the directions given and the overview map, which shows at least one major road leading into the area. But for those who enjoy using GPS technology to navigate, the book includes coordinates for each campground’s entrance in latitude and longitude, expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds. For more on GPS technology, visit usgs.gov.
A note of caution: Actual GPS devices will easily guide you to any of these campgrounds, but users of smartphone mapping apps will find that cell phone service is often unavailable in the hills and hollows where many of these hideaways are located.
About This Book
Many Marylanders like to boast about the state’s unofficial nickname, “America in Miniature.” Bestowed on the state by National Geographic founding editor Gilbert Grosvenor, it’s not a hyperbolic moniker. For a relatively small state—the country’s ninth smallest in area (with number ten almost twice the size)—Maryland packs in a tremendous amount of physical diversity. Having both mountains and ocean shoreline in the same state is a real plus; however, many states on the East Coast can make the same claim. What sets Maryland apart from these is the presence of Chesapeake Bay, the country’s largest estuary. The Bay’s central and massive presence in Maryland means its effects are far-reaching; in addition to being a major source of recreation, the Bay’s bounty formed a major part of the state’s economy from Maryland’s founding in the 17th century through the next three centuries.
Generally, the state is carved by three distinct fault lines, which run geographically as well as politically and culturally. Western Maryland is mountainous and retains some vestiges of its status as part of America’s first frontier—the Alleghany range of the Appalachians, the first natural barrier to European immigrants heading west. Central Maryland is urban and suburban, anchored by Baltimore in the north and Washington, D.C., in the south. The corridor between these two major cities is home to high-end service industries and a plethora of research institutions, as well as pleasant residential zones. Large swaths of the natural world are surprisingly abundant and—not surprisingly—cherished. Then there is southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore, both dominated by water. Mostly this means the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, but there’s also the Atlantic Ocean, forming Maryland’s eastern boundary.
Accordingly, I’ve separated the camping locations in this book by these distinct zones listed above. Virtually any Maryland resident can reach at least a few of the camping destinations in this book in a quick trip, certainly in less than an hour. Most of the state’s population is clustered in the central, urban zone. We can reach all of the book’s destinations in less than four hours, and many, if not most, in less than three or even two.
In choosing which campgrounds to include, I tried hard to keep in mind the “typical” camper, meaning in this case an amalgam of all the campers I met while doing research for the two editions of this book. My personal preference is for out-of-the-way spots where one has to be fully self-sufficient, places where you can blissfully lose all
