MD State Park Greenbrier State Park

I just came back from a weekend at Greenbrier State Park which is about midway between Frederick and Hagerstown just south of Interstate 70. It's not quite far enough at about .4 miles southwest to be completely quiet in terms of traffic sounds from I 70 and Route 40.

I chose this as a convenient base camp for a day hike on the Appalachian trail which runs adjacent to the park. Our goal is to cover the Maryland Portion of the AT over several weekends - not an ambitious goal but one that is achievable.

As to the park itself, there are 4 loops 2 of which are pet friendly and one with electrical hook-ups but no water. There are spigots though around the loop. We stayed in the C loop with an electrical hook-up. The bathroom facilities were dated but clean - only 2 shower stalls on the men's side for the whole loop which is probably not enough. I showered mid-afternoon after our hike without a wait.

Within the park there are multiple other shorter hikes and a smallish lake with a beach for swimming. It was my first time to visit but understand that the lake is very popular in the summer and the park fills to capacity frequently. Unfortunately, heavy rains came early Sunday morning and flushed us out earlier than we would have liked.

 

There are several nice state parks within a relatively small area around here. I also like Cunningham Falls State park which is at Catoctin Mountain (Camp David) and Gambrill State Park which is south of Cunningham Falls and east of Greenbrier. All 3 are fairly close to Frederick which is a really nice town to come visit for a meal. It has a vibrant downtown with really nice restaurants and shops.

Ironically, the camping in the national parks in Maryland are not nearly as nice as the adjacent state parks - we have Catoctin National Park with Owens camp ground which is small with very tightly clustered sites that are really hard to maneuver. I don't think I saw a single RV when we drove through last fall. Assateague National Seashore is beautiful but the camping at the state park is way better in terms of the facilities (hot showers in new bathrooms versus cold). Do come visit Maryland! I'm starting to explore some of your PA parks as well - Pine Grove Furnace was nice last Fall.

 

As a kid, I lived in Ellicott City MD and we would spend multiple weekends a summer going to either Cunningham State Falls or Eagles Nest Campground out on the coast. Great memories at both.

Loved hiking out to the falls at Cunningham and playing in the water pools. It was always a good time!

Eagles Nest was a short drive from Assateague/ Ocean City. They had a bunch of kids amenities there for when we were in camp like mini golf and a pool table. Most days were on the beach though.

As a scout, we camped on Assateague. I remember have to use aluminum pie plates and bury them in place of tent stakes due to the wind. Seeing the wild horses out there was always a treat.

 

Assateague is my wife's favorite camping spot. Unfortunately storms kept us away earlier this month. I bring along a little shovel bury a piece of firewood to use to hold our shade tarp in place on the beach. This works a lot better than even the long orange stakes from home depot.