Smallwood State Park

Camping Regulations

  • Camping Loop Road is ONE WAY ONLY.​
  • Campers must register at the Headquarter office during the season. A Ranger will register you to the site when the Headquarter office is closed. You must check with a Ranger prior to setting up in any of the sites.
  • In case of an emergency, please call 1-800-825-7275...24 hours a day.
  • There is a bathhouse for your convenience, with hot showers and bathroom facilities.
  • There is also a cold water faucet outside the bathhouse for your convenience.
  • Do not wash dishes or clothes in restroom sinks.
  • There are only six people allowed per campsite (including visiting guests). Families with more than six people on one site need to be approved by a park ranger.
  • The person registering for the campsite must be at least 18 years of age and must stay overnight.
  • Campers must check in by sunset. If you are arriving after sunset, you must have a confirmed reservation and then contact the park for after-hours access combinations and set-up instructions prior to your arrival date.
  • Campers must check out or renew by 12 p.m. (Without a confirmed reservation, walk-ins are not guaranteed renewal for additional nights.)
  • Quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. All radios must be off and voices must not disturb your neighbors.
  • Playgrounds close at sunset.
  • All service charges paid to the Maryland Park Service are non-refundable.
  • No standing trees may be cut for firewood.
  • Generators are allowed to be in operation between the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. only and must be attached to the camping unit.
  • Do not hang lanterns on or put nails in trees.
  • Alcohol is not permitted.
  • The park closes at sunset. Park day-use hours are 5 a.m. to sunset during the camping season.
  • Please park your vehicle on the gravel driveway which is part of your site or the nearest marked parking lot. In cases requiring overflow parking, please check with our rangers and consult your campground map. Do not park along side your campsite or on the roadways. (Overflow parking areas within the campground can be identified by the presence of concrete parking bumpers.)
  • All equipment, including camping units, boats, trailers, vehicles, etc. must be set up on the camping pad. (This includes the driveway in front of your pad). A pad is the timber framed graveled area. Two vehciles per site, boat or trailer, are counted as one vehicle.
  • Visitors must check in with a park ranger. All visitors must exit the park by sunset.
  • Trash must be deposited in the dumpster provided. Do not leave trash at your site. Do not burn trash in your fire ring on site.
  • All state laws and regulations are enforced. Obey all posted signs and speed limits. (Speed limits are enforced by radar.) General park regulations are posted on bulletin boards.
  • Campers with boats -- The camping service charge only covers the launching of one boat per site. The camping receipt is to be placed on the front dashboard of the vehicle when launching and/or parking in the boaters parking lot.
  • Children under 16 years of age must wear helmets when operating bicycles, in-line skates, scooters and skate boards.

We hope your camping experience at Smallwood is a joyful one. Staff are available to help ensure your stay is as pleasant as possible. Have fun!