Campgrounds and RV parks near Braddock Heights, MD

The Catoctin and South Mountain ridges carry most of the region's hiking and biking. The Catoctin Trail runs 27 miles from Gambrill State Park through Cunningham Falls State Park and into Catoctin Mountain Park, with nine of those miles inside Cunningham Falls. Cunningham Falls itself, where Hunting Creek cascades 78 feet down a face of bare rock, is the tallest waterfall in Maryland. Water recreation centers on lakes and the Potomac. Greenbrier's freshwater lake offers swimming, sunbathing, boating and fishing. At Brunswick Family Campground there is a boat ramp and river access for tubing, kayaking, canoeing, and fishing, and the site works as a base for biking the C&O Canal or paddling the lower Potomac. Families often pair a campground stay with the Scales and Tales Aviary and the historic Catoctin Iron Furnace in the Manor Area, plus the shops and restaurants in downtown Frederick.

Most public campgrounds in this area run a spring-to-fall season. Gambrill's Rock Run Area Campground opens the first weekend in April and closes the last weekend in October, offering nine tent-only sites, six sites with electrical hookups suitable for RVs or trailers, and four camper cabins. The William Houck Area Campground at Cunningham Falls also runs early April through late October, and at Greenbrier the beach is open May through September while camping runs from early April into October. Shoulder-season campers have options. The smaller Manor Area Campground at Cunningham Falls stays open into early December, though bathhouses and dump stations close for the off-season and portable restrooms are provided instead. Brunswick Family Campground offers cabin rentals, tent camping, and RV sites from early spring through late fall. Summer weekends draw crowds. Cunningham Falls fills quickly on summer weekends, and the park can reach day-use capacity and close its gates on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and other holidays. Greenbrier likewise reaches capacity on summer weekends and holidays, and the Maryland Park Service now requires advance day-use reservations there on weekends and holidays between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Sites in the state parks are wooded and generally basic for RV travelers. Amenities at Gambrill's Rock Run Campground include flush toilets, hot showers, potable water, picnic tables, fire rings, a dump station, and a limited number of sites with 30-amp electric, with no full hookups. Narrow interior roads within the Manor Area at Cunningham Falls can be tight for larger rigs, and the Manor loop does not have its own dump station, so campers use the Houck campground for that. Cell coverage is uneven in the Catoctins. Service is patchy throughout Cunningham Falls, and many carriers have no signal in the Catoctin Mountains. Black bears are present at these parks, so food and garbage need to be kept secure in camping and day-use areas. Brunswick sits between the river and an active rail line, so campers sensitive to noise are advised to bring earplugs. The campground has 55 RV sites with 30 or 50 amp electric service, plus four full-hookup sites, a bathhouse, camp store, and playground.