Campsites near headquarters
32 of the 99 campsites with a page qualify.
You register at headquarters and then you drive to the site, and on a first visit in failing light that second drive is the part nobody budgets for. The forest is 49,000 acres and the longest run to a pitch is 53 minutes; the median is 19. These are the ones close to the door.
The app carries the drive from headquarters on every site, so you can see what the next ten minutes would buy you.
Independent, free, and built by campers. Not a DNR service.
- Booking
- None. Sites are first come, first served.
- Fee
- $10 a night for a standard site, $20 for a group site, paid at headquarters. Maryland DNR.
- Check in
- Sign the sheet at headquarters when you arrive, then go to the site.
- Is it free tonight?
- This page cannot know. The app shows what the sign-up sheet last showed, with the photo's age.
Fifteen minutes or less by road from the headquarters at 28700 Headquarters Drive NE, on the routed drive rather than a straight line.
- The test
- 15 minutes or less driving from headquarters. Across the forest that drive runs to 53 minutes, median 19.
- Where it comes from
- Routed along the forest roads from OpenStreetMap, at the speeds those roads carry, from the headquarters building — not measured as the crow flies, which on this terrain would be a different forest.
- What it does not mean
- Close is not quick in the dark on gravel, and it is not quiet — several of these sit near the main entrance. Headquarters is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; outside those hours you self-register at the kiosk and the drive is the same either way.
The first 12, shortest drive first
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Campsite 77
Hollow, by a creek, easy in, quiet.
- 8 min from headquarters
- Gravel road, 2.0 mi unpaved, 8 min from HQ, 12% grade on the way.
- 713 ft, east-facing hollow.
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Campsite 78
Hillside, by a creek, rough in, quiet.
- 8 min from headquarters
- Rough road, 1.9 mi unpaved, 8 min from HQ, 17% grade on the way. The pitch sits 135 ft from the road.
- 689 ft, southeast-facing hillside.
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Campsite 79
Bench, by a creek, rough in, some noise.
- 8 min from headquarters
- Rough road, 1.9 mi unpaved, 8 min from HQ, 17% grade on the way.
- 976 ft, northwest-facing bench.
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Campsite 1
Valley-floor, by a creek, easy in, some noise.
- 9 min from headquarters
- Gravel road, 0.2 mi unpaved, 9 min from HQ. The pitch sits 210 ft from the road.
- 738 ft, west-facing valley floor.
-
Campsite 56
Bench, by a creek, easy in, some noise.
- 10 min from headquarters
- Gravel road, 2.6 mi unpaved, 10 min from HQ, 13% grade on the way.
- 994 ft, north-facing bench.
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Campsite 76
Bench, by a creek, rough in, quiet.
- 10 min from headquarters
- Rough road, 2.5 mi unpaved, 10 min from HQ, 17% grade on the way.
- 973 ft, bench.
-
Campsite 19
Ridge-top, by a creek, easy in, some noise.
- 11 min from headquarters
- Gravel road, 0.5 mi unpaved, 11 min from HQ, 15% grade on the way.
- 938 ft, ridge crest.
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Campsite 75
Bench, by a creek, rough in, quiet.
- 11 min from headquarters
- Rough road, 2.8 mi unpaved, 11 min from HQ, 17% grade on the way.
- 1,085 ft, bench.
-
Campsite 80
Valley-floor, by a creek, rough in, quiet.
- 11 min from headquarters
- Rough road, 1.5 mi unpaved, 11 min from HQ, 16% grade on the way.
- 535 ft, south-facing valley floor.
-
Campsite 81
Hillside, by a creek, rough in, quiet.
- 11 min from headquarters
- Rough road, 1.4 mi unpaved, 11 min from HQ, 16% grade on the way.
- 532 ft, southwest-facing hillside.
-
Campsite 2
Hollow, by a creek, easy in, some noise.
- 12 min from headquarters
- Gravel road, 1.2 mi unpaved, 12 min from HQ.
- 777 ft, east-facing hollow.
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Campsite 11
Hillside, by a creek, rough in, some noise.
- 12 min from headquarters
- Rough road, 1.0 mi unpaved, 12 min from HQ.
- 828 ft, north-facing hillside.
The other 20 that qualify
Same test, same order. Each number opens that site’s page.
The other shortlists
- Easy-access campsites 12
- Campsites for a low car 12
- River campsites 9
- Quiet campsites 69
- Campsites for a camper van or a trailer 14
- Campsites with the most open sky 22
- Sunny campsites 49
- Shaded campsites 17
- Campsites beside running water 27
- Campsites with a phone signal 7
- Secluded campsites 10
- Campsites near a trail 25
Every list is built from the same data, and a site can appear on several of them.
Provenance
This list is generated from open data at build time, not compiled by hand. Nothing on it is a recommendation: it is a test, run over every campsite, with the test written at the top of the page so you can disagree with it.
- Elevation, landform, slope, the horizon profile, sun times and the steepest grade on the approach come from the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP).
- Roads, surfaces and watercourses come from OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed ODbL.
- Campsite coordinates and sections come from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources campsite layer.
- Pitch tags — room for a trailer, secluded, a view — come from campers, and are the only thing here that is a judgement rather than a measurement.
- Availability comes from nowhere, because there is no source for it. See above.
Independent, free, and built by campers. Not a DNR service. Greenridge is not affiliated with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources or any government agency, and the forest’s own rules always win.