Public land camping
Camping in Maryland
17 federal places to camp in Maryland, from National Park Service and Army Corps of Engineers, on the land they sit on.
- 17
- federal places to camp
- 14 National Park Service, 1 Army Corps of Engineers
- 515
- campsites you can book ahead
- At the 15 places that take reservations on Recreation.gov. 1 more are first come, first served
- 1,442 ft
- the highest you can drive to
- Mill Run Recreation Area
- 7
- counties with federal camping
- 11 gateway towns, each with three or more within 30 miles
The Maryland campground map
Select a pin for its elevation, its sites and its page. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see how you get there, and use the finder for a campground, a town or a peak.
Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.
Map layers
Legend
Federal land, by managing agency
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Federal campgrounds, by agency
- Forest Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Park Service
- Army Corps of Engineers
- Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others
State and local land (USGS PAD-US)
- State land
- County and city land
- Regional agency or district
- Land trust or conservancy
BLM roads and trails
Roads Managed for Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Roads Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Trails Managed for Public Motorized Use
Trail
Trails Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
- Trail
Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map
Roads
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal- Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
BLM Wilderness
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
BLM recreation sites
- Camping
- OHV area
- Trailhead
Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.
Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.
Select any point to see who manages the land.
The map could not start in this browser.
It needs WebGL, which is turned off or unavailable here. You can still browse public land by state, or use the BLM’s own maps.
Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.
Camping near a town
- Berwyn Heights
- Cumberland
- Glen Echo
- Greenbelt
- Hancock
- Keedysville
- Midland
- Sharpsburg
- Smithsburg
- Somerset
- Thurmont
No town by that name has three federal campgrounds within 30 miles. Try the county list below.
Every federal campground in Maryland
17 places
- Antietam Creek Campsite Park Service · Chesapeake · Washington County 302 ftelevation 20sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Assateague Island National Seashore Campground Park Service · Assateague Island National Seashore n/aelevation 159sites 66 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Camp Greentop Park Service · Catoctin Mountain Park · Frederick County n/aelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comepay on arrival
- Camp Misty Mount cabin or lookout Park Service · Catoctin Mountain Park · Frederick County 1,128 ftelevation 29sites 20 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Camp Round Meadow group campground Park Service · Catoctin Mountain Park · Frederick County 1,128 ftelevation 1site n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Fifteen Mile Creek Campsite Park Service · Chesapeake · Allegany County 434 ftelevation 10sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Greenbelt Campground Park Service · Greenbelt Park · Prince George's County 91 ftelevation 157sites 45 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Greenbelt Park Ranger Station cabin or lookout Park Service · Greenbelt Park · Prince George's County 172 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comeor not listed
- Marsden Tract Group Campsite group campground Park Service · Chesapeake · Montgomery County 152 ftelevation 6sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Mill Run Recreation Area Army Corps · Youghiogheny River Lake · Garrett County 1,442 ftelevation 30sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Owens Creek Campground Park Service · Catoctin Mountain Park · Frederick County 1,214 ftelevation 50sites 22 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Paw Paw Tunnel Campsite Park Service · Chesapeake · Allegany County 534 ftelevation 10sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Pax River Hog Point Campgrounds Other · Naval Airstation (NAS) Patuxent River · St. Mary's County 19 ftelevation 4sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Pax River Paradise Grove Campgrounds Other · Naval Airstation (NAS) Patuxent River · St. Mary's County 19 ftelevation 12sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Poplar Grove Youth Group Campground group campground Park Service · Catoctin Mountain Park · Frederick County 1,787 ftelevation 3sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Rohrbach Group Campground group campground Park Service · Antietam National Battlefield · Washington County 520 ftelevation 10sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Spring Gap Campground Park Service · Chesapeake · Allegany County 564 ftelevation 14sites 20 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
Nothing matches those filters. Clear one and try again.
Camping rules worth knowing in Maryland
- State park camping is capped at 14 nights in 21 days
- Registered campers, their party and their camping units are limited to 14 cumulative nights in Maryland state park campgrounds during any 21-day period. From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day a two-night minimum applies and must be Thursday and Friday, Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday; holiday weekends require three nights including Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Reservations open 365 days ahead and new inventory is released at 9am each day the call centre is open. Base rates run from ten dollars for a primitive site at Big Run to 38.50 for an electric site at Assateague. Source 30
- State forest camping is a kiosk envelope, not a booking
- Green Ridge holds 100 primitive designated campsites spread through the forest, each with a picnic table and a fire ring, registered at forest headquarters before you occupy one and taken first come. Groups of 20 or more can reserve a group site by calling the forest. Backcountry backpack camping is permitted with a permit and fee. Savage River works the same way with 70 primitive sites first come, plus the Bear Pen group site by reservation, and its sites carry a table and a fire ring and nothing else, with no plumbing. Both forests are trash free: pack out what you pack in. Source 21
- Open fires run 4pm to midnight, and the Director can stop them
- Maryland’s open air burning rule covers activity in woodland and within 200 feet of woodland, or anywhere flammable material could carry fire into woodland. Burning happens between 4pm and midnight, except when the ground is covered with snow, when it may happen at any time provided everything else is met, and at least one responsible person must stay at the fire until the last spark is out. Permits come from the local Forest Service office. Under prolonged or unusual conditions the Director may declare a complete ban on all open air burning in woodland. Maryland publishes no numbered restriction stages; this is the mechanism. At Assateague, fires go in a park ring or a self-contained grill, with only wood bought within 50 miles or down and dead wood, and Catoctin Mountain Park bans bringing firewood in at all. Source 33
- What fits on an Assateague campsite
- A drive-in site takes six people or one immediate family, three tents, and two registered motor vehicles or one vehicle and a trailer. A walk-in site takes six people, three tents and one vehicle. Group sites run 7 to 25 people, book year round up to six months ahead and allow ten vehicles. The horse camp allows six horses and up to six vehicles or trailers. Quiet hours are 10pm to 6am, generators are banned during them and must not exceed 60 decibels at 50 feet at any time, and dogs stay on a lead no longer than six feet. Source 9
- Catoctin Mountain Park takes no firewood from outside
- The park prohibits bringing firewood in at all, and supplies it instead at Owens Creek Campground, Poplar Grove Youth Campground and Misty Mount Cabin Camp. That is stricter than the 50-mile rule at Assateague and stricter than the general state forest position, and it is the kind of rule that is enforced at the gate rather than argued afterwards. Owens Creek is tent camping in woodland; Misty Mount rents cabins. The park publishes no site count, fee, season or trailer length on its campgrounds page, so none is given here. Source 14
Campground records: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), read September 19, 2026. Elevations: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Fees, seasons and limits change; confirm with the managing office before you go.