Best Tent Camping: Maryland. Evan L. Balkan

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      :: Key Information

      ADDRESS: Brunswick Family Campground, 100 S. Maple Avenue Brunswick, MD 21716

      CONTACT: 301-695-5177; potomacrivercampground.com

      OPERATED BY: Privately operated

      OPEN: End of March–mid-November; weekends only April–Memorial Day

      SITES: 100+

      EACH SITE: Fire ring, picnic table

      ASSIGNMENT: 301-834-9950 or check in at campground until 9 p.m. After 9 p.m., set up and pay in the morning.

      REGISTRATION: Reserve by phone or just show up (see “Assignment” above).

      FACILITIES: Ball fields, bathhouse, boat ramp, dumping station, playground, vending

      PARKING: In designated areas

      FEE: $9.52 plus 5% amusement fee; $4.76 plus 5% amusement fee/ages 12 and under; $2 off for handicapped, military, and seniors age 60 and older

      RESTRICTIONS

      ■ Pets: On a leash

      ■ Quiet Hours: 10 p.m.–7 a.m.

      ■ Visitors: Requested to stop by office and sign in

      ■ Fires: In fire pits

      ■ Alcohol: Permitted only inside cabins and at shelters with valid permit

      ■ Stay Limit: 2-week limit/month but must wait at least 7 days between each 14-day stay

      ■ Other: Check-in 3 p.m.; checkout 11 a.m. Campground is close to the CSX rail tracks and trains do come through.

      Brunswick is a small city (population 5,000) in southwestern Frederick County, near the Washington County border. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places because of its importance in the early to mid-1900s as a railroading town. The city also bumps up against the C&O Canal and the Potomac River. This wonderful location is what makes Brunswick Family Campground worth a visit. The campground itself used to be an airfield, so there’s lots of space.

      I must acknowledge, however, that I really debated whether or not I should include Brunswick Family Campground in the first edition of this book, and I debated again whether to include it in the second edition. Of the 50 campgrounds I’ve described here, I would rank it near the bottom. For one thing, it’s primarily an RV campground. Additionally, in the first edition, I wrote the following: “. . . while the grounds are well maintained, the basketball court and, more important, the bathhouse (only one on site), are not.” The good news: These facilities have been updated rather nicely, probably as a result of being under new management since 2012. But why did I ultimately decide to include it, yet again? Location, location, location.

      Brunswick Family Campground possesses some prime real estate, astride a particularly beautiful stretch of the Potomac River. The same can be said of several other campsites in this book, most notably the C&O Canal drive-in and hiker-biker sites. However, the advantage that Brunswick Family Campground has over those is that you won’t have to haul your gear to get there, and you’re generally assured of getting a spot. Plus, the campground is less than a mile down a dirt road from the center of town and its most notable attraction, the Brunswick Railroad Museum, which also houses the C&O Canal National Historic Park Visitor Center for nearby Canal Lock 30. Furthermore, the campground enjoys proximity to state parks (Gathland and Gambrills); Civil War battlefields (Monocacy and the can’t-miss Antietam, site of the largest battle of the war); and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. As a result, it could provide for a nice family outing. There is often musical entertainment on weekends (the campground has played host to the annual Shenandoah Riverside Festival in June, for example) when the campground is full. Most of the campers are locals, and Brunswick enjoys a reputation for friendliness.

      My recommendation is to use the campground as a midweek destination for boating or fishing. I initially visited on a gorgeous Tuesday in June, and the place was virtually empty. There’s a convenient boat ramp just beyond the entrance road.

      Tent-only sites are spread throughout the campground, both left and right of the entrance. There is one tent site that is absolutely fantastic, and if you can get it, your experience should be quite special. All the way to the left when you enter, beyond sites 1–20 in RV Sections A and D, sit the Riverside tent sites in a little copse right in front of the river, with a small path heading off to the woods on the left. It’s very private and spacious. It’s one of the nicest spots you’ll get anywhere, not just in this campground. There are other tent sites that aren’t bad, though they are across the campground from the river, just to the left of the basketball court when you enter, toward the tree line.

      The other tent-only sites sit to the right of the entrance on Airport Drive, just beyond RV Section C. The farther you head to the right, the farther you get from the RVs. However, moving farther to the right also brings you closer to the waste-treatment plant that looms just over the campground boundary. If you get too close, you will most likely smell it. Try to get a site closer to Section C so you won’t see or smell the plant. Plus, this area is actually pretty nice and thickly wooded (though not very private).

      :: Getting There

      From Frederick, take I-70 to US 340 West to Exit 2, MD 17 South. Take A Street over the railroad tracks and then head left on the dirt road.

      GPS COORDINATES N39°18'25.8" W77°36'55.8"

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      Catoctin Mountain Park

      Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to use Catoctin as a presidential getaway, naming it Shangri-La.

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      :: Key Information

      ADDRESS: Catoctin Mountain Park 6602 Foxville Road Thurmont, MD 21788-1598

      CONTACT: 301-663-9330; nps.gov/cato

      OPERATED BY: National Park Service

      OPEN: May–November

      SITES: 50

      EACH SITE: Picnic table, grill, lantern post, tent pad

      ASSIGNMENT: