Shortlist · Green Ridge State Forest, Maryland

Secluded campsites

10 of the 99 campsites with a page qualify.

Every site here is primitive and none is in a campground, so seclusion is a matter of degree rather than kind. What campers mean by it is specific: you cannot see the road from the pitch, and you cannot see whoever took the next one.

Open the secluded sites in the app All 99 campsite pages

The app carries the same tag, alongside the measured distance from the road for each one.

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.
What put a site on this list

Campers described the pitch as secluded or private. Reported, not measured.

The test
A secluded or private tag from campers who have been there. Screening is trees and terrain, which no elevation model measures.
Where it comes from
Campers, through the app. The measured distance from the road is on every site page and is a different thing — a pitch 200 ft from a road can be in full view of it, and one 40 ft away can be invisible behind a rise.
What it does not mean
Not solitude and not a guarantee. These are first-come sites in a public forest in hunting country; seclusion on a Tuesday in March is not seclusion on the Saturday of a holiday weekend.
The sites

All 10, site number

  • Campsite 14

    Upper slope, by a creek, rough in, some noise, secluded.

    • 973 ft, upper slope.
    • Room for a trailer, room for a pop-up, secluded.
    • Rough road, 1.6 mi unpaved, 16 min from HQ, 16% grade on the way.
    Everything about site 14 →

  • Campsite 29

    Rough in, quiet, secluded.

    • Room for a trailer, room for a pop-up, secluded.
    • Rough road, 1.6 mi unpaved, 19 min from HQ, 16% grade on the way. The pitch sits 400 ft from the road.
    Everything about site 29 →

  • Campsite 36

    Upper slope, four-wheel drive only, quiet, secluded.

    • 1,000 ft, north-facing upper slope.
    • Secluded, right by the road.
    • High-clearance track, 4.0 mi unpaved, 28 min from HQ, 26% grade on the way. The pitch sits 85 ft from the road.
    Everything about site 36 →

  • Campsite 37

    Ridge-top, four-wheel drive only, quiet, secluded.

    • 974 ft, east-facing ridge crest.
    • Room for a pop-up, secluded.
    • High-clearance track, 3.6 mi unpaved, 30 min from HQ, 26% grade on the way. The pitch sits 141 ft from the road.
    Everything about site 37 →

  • Campsite 38

    Upper slope, easy in, quiet, secluded.

    • 1,007 ft, upper slope.
    • Room for a pop-up, private, level ground, a big pad.
    • Gravel road, 4.1 mi unpaved, 27 min from HQ. The pitch sits 190 ft from the road.
    Everything about site 38 →

  • Campsite 50

    Hillside, easy in, quiet, secluded.

    • 862 ft, south-facing hillside.
    • Room for a pop-up, secluded, right by the road, a view.
    • Gravel road, 5.8 mi unpaved, 34 min from HQ, 13% grade on the way. The pitch sits 3022 ft from the road.
    Everything about site 50 →

  • Campsite 51

    Upper slope, easy in, quiet, secluded.

    • 984 ft, southwest-facing upper slope.
    • Room for a pop-up, private, a view.
    • Gravel road, 6.1 mi unpaved, 34 min from HQ. The pitch sits 135 ft from the road.
    Everything about site 51 →

  • Campsite 52

    Bench, easy in, quiet, secluded.

    • 1,114 ft, bench.
    • Secluded.
    • Gravel road, 5.3 mi unpaved, 31 min from HQ.
    Everything about site 52 →

  • Campsite 67

    Bench, easy in, quiet, secluded.

    • 1,101 ft, bench.
    • Room for a trailer, secluded.
    • Gravel road, 3.4 mi unpaved, 20 min from HQ. The pitch sits 328 ft from the road.
    Everything about site 67 →

  • Campsite 73

    Bench, by a creek, easy in, quiet, secluded.

    • 1,129 ft, southeast-facing bench.
    • Secluded, right by the road, a view.
    • Gravel road, 3.1 mi unpaved, 12 min from HQ.
    Everything about site 73 →
Other ways in

The other shortlists

Every list is built from the same data, and a site can appear on several of them.

Where these numbers come from

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.