MD State Park Pocomoke River State Park

Recently I headed down to the Eastern Shore of Maryland with a buddy of mine to camp at Pocomoke River State Park. Checking the weather, it was forecast to be quite warm (high 80s in the day and lows at night in the low 70s). This is unseasonably warm for early October in Maryland and prompted me to get a site with electric hookup to run the AC. I'll say that it's really nice to have AC when it's hot and humid!

About the park, as you'd guess by the name it is located on the Pocomoke River which originates in Delaware in the Great Cypress Swamp and runs out to the Chesapeake Bay. It's a slow moving meandering river like most of the rivers on the eastern shore which is very flat compared to central and western Maryland. There are 2 separate campgrounds in the park and the more extensively used side is Shad Landing which is where we stayed. Milburn Landing is smaller and is on the northwest side which is more rural. I didn't visit this area this trip.

As far as Shad Landing goes, there are 5 loops without hookups that are suitable for tents or our camp-inns and only one loop with electricity which has around 30 sites. The sites are a bit closer to one another than I'd prefer but still not bad. This loop was mixed between about half being big rigs and the other half smaller units like mine or tents.

There is a trail through some low areas (cypress swamp) which is really nice (but lots of mosquitos during my hike). Speaking of mosquitos - this was a battle for much of the weekend - we used lots of deet and burnt coils, citronella and a fire. A smoldering fire will ward off the little buggers but there's only so much smoke one person can take.

If you plan to spend considerable time here, a boat of some sort will really enhance your time here (kayaks up to large boats can run in the river). It's also about 15 minutes over to the E.A. Vaughan Wildlife Management Area which has a boat launch into the Chincoteague Bay. This is bigger water which requires keeping an eye on the winds.

Leaving Pocomoke, it's about 40 minutes away from the Maryland entrance of Assateague and slightly close to the Virginia portion of Assateague (adjacent to Chincoteague). This could be a decent back up place if you can't find camping in Assateague (which is most weekends if you don't plan months in advance).

The unique thing about the park is that it is the only public park open year round with electric hook ups (at least that I'm aware of - PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong here).