Point Lookout State Park

Very nice state park. We launched our kayaks at the boat launch, very nice and easy and paddled around the inner bay. We then drove to the beach and picnic area which was very nice and went swimming, beautiful day and beautiful park

My wife has limited mobility, so we always look for a park where you can see a lot from the car or an easy, short walk. This is such a park. We are not Maryland residents, so the entrance fee was $17. The lighthouse building is beautiful inside, and we were able to purchase bottles of water there. We walked to the beach, and it was easy to access. There were many folks out swimming, and there was a lifeguard patrolling the beach. Overall, this was a nice place to visit. We highly recommend it.

The best small Beach and State Park at Maryland.You can enjoy Beach fishing and exploring the view . I highly recommend to see the sunset 🌇 .

This is a great place for outing, great options for picnic, lot of BBQ tables. Beach with tap for washout / bath. But this time water quality was not looking good, lots of jellyfish, water with algae..

My kids and I took a day trip here, and I am still in awe of the beauty within this park! Clean, well maintained and so much wildlife to watch. There are a TON of jellyfish, so swim at your own risk-- but we enjoyed watching them swim from the fishing pier. We also saw many fish, birds, and dolphins on the bay side. We appreciated the outdoor showers and the bathroom facilities. We will definitely return.

It's very pretty and relaxing. No need for you to bring your own grill since they do offer them. The restroom floors are always wet because of showers and people going in and out of the water and sand, so be careful. The trees offer great shade.

Very nice, clean beach. Family-friendly with the best park rangers 💙.

Off season, $3.00 What a beautiful area here. Walked along the beach and checked out fort Lincoln. Beautiful views here.

Loved this state park--such an unexpected surprise! Unfortunately, no ghost sightings inside the park, but plenty of eerie vibes and fascinating history to make up for it. From the Civil War hospital grounds to the old lighthouse, the stories practically come alive as you explore. The views of the Chesapeake Bay are stunning, and the trails are peaceful, with just enough of a spooky undertone to keep things interesting. Lots of historical plaques to spark your curiosity, SOOO - If you're into history, lore, and maybe catching a glimpse of the paranormal (or just a beautiful sunset), Point Lookout should definitely be on your list!

As much as I like Southern Maryland, realistically, if you drive down from DC or Baltimore or thereabouts thinking that the very last tip of land reaching out into the Chesapeake is going to be a great place to visit, you're likely to be disappointed. The site has a lighthouse in classic Maryland style, but it's rarely open. There are some places where you can get in the water, but many where you cannot. The conditions out here can be a little rough, either from too much wind or, immediately inland, fetid swampiness. The history of the place as a Civil War penal colony is interesting. There's some placards and such, but not an enormous amount of actual stuff to do when I've visited. It should be noted that while these are not part of the park, visitors will see a memorial to the site's many lost inhabitants and a separate Confederate memorial as they drive up. For locals, getting a pass may be worthwhile. For those visiting the area, there are a lot of prettier and more interesting sites you'd be passing on the way here.

Always enjoy visiting parks on travels & as a lighthouse buff I made it a point of visiting this one. Park appears well-maintained (including the restrooms near the lighthouse). Enjoyed walking around the lighthouse & paths. Great views of the River & Bay. Looking forward to the completion of exhibits and opening of the lighthouse to visitors!

This park was amazing. Very well maintained just like Katie said. We camped over night on a windy day and they were able to move us from a water front to a spot that was a bit more protected by trees. We were very appreciative and the rangers there are super kind. We went to the beach area (by bike from the camp site) and enjoyed the quiet beach area. Beautiful views and we enjoyed the fact that there is plenty to explore. From a camping point of view I was so happy that the restrooms were so clean as well as the showers. I will definitely go back as soon as this quarantine lifts. Some of the camp grounds were closed because we went so late in the season, but they definitely have something for everyone in a relaxed and beautiful location.

I love point lookout, I went fishing here since I was in elementary school, now I'm 21. The water is starting to look cleaner, more like Florida coastline water, shallow-clear water. That's a good sign, that means there's a lot of shellfish in the area filtering the water!!! But this location has been over fished, the fishing experience isn't the same anymore!!!! On top of that the park isn't open day & night anymore. Why I put four out of five stars? Simply because I don't why one day I go to the gate & pay 5$ then the next I pay 17$. Is this normal? One gate worker says out of state pays 5$ then the other says 17$? Is this normal? Other than that, this park is perfect for vacation goers.

This is a great state park if you just wanna get out for some new scenery. There isn't much to do with this park and it's not very large so less than an hour you could have walked the entire park. There is a small pier however, it was close on my last visit, so it may be open only during the warmer months.

Very relaxing. Just enough crowded. Not too empty, not overly crowded. The beaches are clean. The staff is friendly, courteous and efficient. There were parking available everytime we visited. The entry fee is $5 per person.

This is a lovely state park with a potentially beautiful beach. When we visited the water was jellyfish laden and not safe. Of course this is a natural phenomenon and there is little that can be done. However, it would have helped to know this before we drove an hour to reach the beach. Please note, there are no jellyfish nets on this beach - there have not been any for years despite the information presented on several websites.

Beautiful state park love the view to the ocean, BBQ grill available and/mini store as well, table area close to the beach, life guards on duty all time, and walkway. Also, spacious bathroom showers and bathrooms. 3 hours from Pennsylvania but worthy Don't forget to bring trash bags and to take you trash out at your way back to the car trash containers available by the parking lot.

Once again, Maryland doesn't disappoint with their state park! I went on a Saturday afternoon with my yearly pass I bought so as to avoid paying the daily parking rate of $5-$7. I would recommend you follow the Maryland state park department on Twitter or check their website for real time updates because they'll close parking/entrance if and when they reach capacity, which happened today. Once you get in, there's plenty of parking spots for the beach and this state park also has pet friendly beaches nearby along with various fishing/boating spots. There were a lot of families out there and grilling which brought a smile to my face after the year of COVID-19 that forced everyone into lockdown. The area was well kept and clean with volunteers working throughout the day and at closing time to cleanup and organize the area. While I spent my time at the beach this time around, I will be back to explore the various other aspects of this awesome state park.

Best dog friendly beach on the Western Shore. It never disappoints. $5 admission for out of state. Military get in free when they have a guard at the gate.

Great place to bring pets. Look for shark teeth while the dogs run on the beach. Nice to have the museum and the Lighthouse all in one place.

Nice park that was clean and not too crowded. Showers and bathhouse were clean. Accepted dogs and that was a major plus. Wished that there were cabins, as stated on web. Beautiful area, but lacked trails or at least we did not find them. Enjoyed the piers in the loops and the beach areas. It was difficult to check in online and we did have to pay twice to enter, as we left to get some needed supplies. Overall glad that we went and got to experience the pretty scenery.

worst camping experience ever. I can't fit it all here nor do I wish too. in short we had a park service member search our camping site in the middle of the night with his flashlight(or so i hope he worked there), no trails or anything fun in the area, the camp site where you're "supposed" sleep on is a slab of concrete, and don't get caught walking around after dark

This state park is gorgeous. I would have given 5 stars but dogs are only allowed in a certain area of the park. There was a lot more we could have done if our dog would have been allowed.

Great place for families who like to camp with amenities - and with campsites starting at $20/night, it's a steal. The camp sites are very well maintained (be sure to bring a tarp and broom/dustpan for the tent - it's pretty dusty). The bathrooms are pristine! I didn't spot a single bad odor, cobweb or bug during our stay. The camp store is very well stocked. We bought everything from duct tape to lighter fluid to ice and firewood. We camped 2 nights in the Hoffmans loop on site 118. It was a nice location - away from the bathroom but close enough you could get there quickly. The loop itself is wooded but open unlike the Malone or Lanier loops. These are very private, but are surrounding by tall grasses. If you're camping with a group or with children, the Hoffmans or Greenspoint loops are probably the best bet. There is a nice and large playset in the Hoffman loop and you have access to a nice pier to fish or crab in Lake Conoy. While we didn't take advantage of it, the park had several activities planned for children and families. Even with 2 days, we didn't have enough time to enjoy those. We were busy with digging for shells on the Chesapeake side near the lighthouse, walking around Fort Lincoln and playing/swimming on the beach. I can't wait to go back and try one of the mini-cabins in the fall and one of the waterfront camping sites in the spring (it seemed spots 98 and 99 were right on the water and were relatively private).

My husband and I have visited PLOSP dozens of times as students at St. Mary's College, but for the first time this weekend, we decided to use their camp ground. The new website for selecting a camp site is very convenient and user-friendly, and we were able to select a site based on our needs. We were also able to make a decision based on what other sites were already booked -- we were then able to pick a more secluded site. Check in was very easy, and firewood was only $5 (you are not allowed to bring your own). They were open until 10 pm in case we needed anything from the store. You do not need to check out -- just leave! The sites are also very affordable as well-- ours was $25/night (not including online processing fee of $6). The site in Lanier loop was exactly what we were looking for in some regards: it was wide enough for our car and our tent, and had a campfire ring with a grill and a picnic bench. Everything is in walking distance (the camp office, water source, bathrooms/showers). There was some grass for our tent, but not as much as we would have wanted. If we didn't have a small backpacking tent, we would have ended up on gravel. The only downside was unfortunately a real big downside: the camp site included stagnant water. We prepared for this and brought strong bug spray, but nothing, as someone who has camped her whole life, could have prepared us for what we experienced. As soon as we stepped out of the car, an army/wall of mosquitoes descended upon us. I have never experienced bugs this high in quantity or aggressiveness. They flew up and into our pants and shirts: my husband has bites on his face, stomach, and knees. I wore jeans and sneakers, and the only place I did not spray was my ankles-- I had on the right clothing and have never had to before. The next morning, I had 27 bites on ONE ankle and 16 on the other (yes, you read that right; that is not a typo). It seems to me that having stagnant water one in the actual camp sites is extremely unsafe, unsanitary, and uncomfortable. I realize this is on the water, but there should be some sort of control of the population and what is on the sites. I have camped in the woods and beach my whole life, and have never experienced anything like this. We loved our trip, but unfortunately would never go back because of this issue.

A great place to go visit if you are thinking about a Sunday drive or, a place to take the whole family to enjoy; camping, fishing, boating, hunting, swimming, causeway, etc. Stunning views of the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River. See their website for more information.

Water looked like shit floats in it. We came here to relax, trash in the sand, dumpsters full to capacity plus the crown jewel all bathrooms were closed including outside showers, WTF?!? Drove down road wet stopped by corner store got piss poor excuse with zero results will not return again!

On a spit of land far on the tip of St. Mary's county where the Chesapeake and the Potomac literally collide, sits the small, weather worn and reportedly very haunted Point Lookout Lighthouse. A group of us took a long motorcycle ride down Rt. 5 south, through the old First Landing of St. Mary's City and onto Point Lookout State Park in order to visit the Lighthouse for it's last open house of 2007. Because of it's location, history and proximity to Ft. Lincoln and a former Civil War hospital and POW camp, the Point Lookout Lighthouse has garnered itself quite a reputation as a great location to see apparitions and possibly recorded paranormal data. So much so, that the College of Southern Maryland actually features it for field research in a class on paranormal studies (I swear, I'm not making that up!). It's almost impossible to get tickets to the "Spirits of Point Lookout" tours held in late October, but a visit without all the pomp of Halloween still isn't disappointing. The lighthouse itself is more of a plain, 1920's farmhouse with a light situated at the top. It's last resident, Laura Berg, was on hand to provide some insight to her experiences in the building while she resided there from 1979 to 1981. Although the Lighthouse, built in 1830, has had it's outer structure restored to it's 1927 appearance, the inside has been left untouched since the 80's, and even through all those years, little had been done to modify the house. Peeling paint, rust stained bathroom fixtures, crooked iron heaters, creaky floors and molded, rotting wallpaper all work in harmony to create an atmosphere of abandon and gloom. This isn't pristine, restored colonial Williamsburg, this is what nature and age, wind and weather and a helpful vandal or two can do. It isn't hard to imagine ghosts at every corner with such an eerie pall cast by all the decay and the dark history surrounding the treacherous point and the nearby fort. And those tiny, curving stairs that lead to the porthole entry into the equally tiny light are just one more thrill. Getting up and down those ladder stairs without busting your skull is a minor miracle, made even more exhilarating by the lack of safety equipment ( I love an "enter at your own risk" site!), is quickly rewarded by the panoramic view of the Bay, the Point, the park and the river, from that claustrophobically encased light. The drive from DC to St. Mary's County is a history buff's weekend well spent and if you're a Civil War enthusiast, Point Lookout should be a "must see" on your list of blue and grey stuff to do. And if ghosts are your thing, well...even if you don't see one, I'm pretty sure you'll still enjoy the atmosphere provided by the old Light and the stories it's Docents enjoy sharing.

I came exclusively to watch the sunset, so cannot speak for the entire park. Admission as MD resident was $5 on a weekend. On a summer Saturday the park was busy, especially with many, many people fishing. I even had a bit of a difficult time taking pictures, as so many people and poles were hanging out on the rocks. But the sunset was nice, and I spotted a monarch butterfly, too, plus a faint rainbow over the water.

Only one person to collect money on a busy Saturday 6/29/2019 (waited over an hour from 0900 am-1015 am). They have several employees driving their trucks back and forth and not one willing to help by opening another booth to collect money. When it was finally our turn, I asked the employee why they cannot open a second booth to collect money and his reply was "we are short staffed." Dude, I am looking at another employee seating behind you, not doing anything and looking at his mobile phone. I asked what about him (lazy dude on the phone), why can't he help and his reply was "oh he's helping me." They charge $7 for non Maryland residents and $5 for Maryland residents, I am sure they can provide better customer service. Unfortunately they don't give a crap about you, only your money. Worst park and will never return! Pure incompetence and laziness!!! This place is filthy, trash everywhere & their bathrooms are disgusting!!!

So much history. Kind of eerie knowing what went down here. This is where the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac meet.

I've never seen such horrible service at any park before. They have a self paying station, so we've paid. Then, only to have a park member to tell us "get the hell out, night fishing is over." That's no way to talk to a customer. Try to explain first, you should know people come from other states, not everyone live close by. I also heard her waking up other people and yell at them to get out. Rude much???!!! Maybe train your employee again? Alright, so we "get out" to pay for our tickets AGAIN. The line is outrageous! Are they not prepared??? There's exactly one booth and at least 100 cars. Wait for it, they did not even bother to let anyone in??? No service???!!! And with all that money they're trying to scam outta you, you would've thought that they would've at least clean the park? But it was filled with trash. Honestly, I thought parks' purpose it to help people get more of an experience with nature, not detest it.

Beautiful and very well maintained park. Lots of parking but it gets full very fast, is the main downfall. The kayaking was excellent and really well priced. $10 per hour, w $100 incidental hold per kayak, however they don't authorize your card or anything. Would def come back to kayak or boat - there is a once daily boat that goes to smith island. Very crowded in the summer though. We drove down last time (3 hours) and couldn't get in, so come early (well before 10am). But again - really nice park.

I hope I can give 0. We were charged $20 for entry fee for 4. Lighthouse building closed. Restrooms closed. Parking full as people are taking 2 parking spaces for 1 vehicle. Nothing to do. Just a complete waste of money and time.

A little bit of something for everyone! Scenic drive, historical place, crabbing, fishing , photography , nature! Just a remote place off the Chesapeake well worth the time & drive!

Great end of the world location, and you can brag you're going camping at a POW camp. The water at the supervised beach area, just above the mouth of the Potomac, seems very clear and clean. However...what do you say when your child is beach combing and comes up to you carrying a tampon, a rusty battery, and a hunk of colored glass from some rabble beer? The campground has pretty spacious sites, that are pancake flat. Bathrooms and showers are usable, but don't seem to get much attention from staff. Oddly, the ranger at the camp ground registration office wanted to see the drivers license of all adults in our group. That was the moment when we realized my wife just drove 100 miles without her's. The pier in the campground seemed to be a hot spot for catching blue crabs. Kids were tying string to chicken necks and pulling up some nice sized seafood. I imagine the bugs would be brutal in the summer months, but in mid May all we needed was a little DEET and a citronella candle to stay pretty bite free. I plan to go back in the fall when the likelihood of being eaten alive is low.

I love this place. We had a nice secluded Campground. The bathrooms were very clean, the shower areas were very nice, the family bathroom was the nicest of all and you can lock the door. Lots of things to see and do there. You can fish from one of the many piers, you can crab, you can ride a bike, you can launch your boat from the boat launch, you can swim on one of their many beaches, you can take a civil war tour, you can check out a really old Lighthouse, checkout the cemetery for the Lost men, women and children due to the Civil War, there's even place for boat rentals, canoes, kayaks, wakeboards and small boats fishing or whatever. Pretty much all Sites have electricity, which is nice because we brought our fans, which kept us very cool while sleeping at night.

What a beautiful drive to the southern most tip of Maryland...bring a picnic...or settle for what they are selling at the visitor center...there are no restaraunts in the area. The park staff are very helpful and answered all of our questions. The only disappointment was the amount of trash that people leave behind...I didn't notice trash bins, but that's no reason to just leave your trash behind, park staff said this happens on a daily basis :(

If you live nearby...maybe it merits four stars. If, like me, and you drove 90+ minutes to get here, it's squarely in the "not worth it" category. The admission fee is reasonable, but a couple of the sites (the concrete fishing pier, the fenced off lighthouse) imply you need to pay an additional fee. The "pet beach south" on the Chesapeake side is the nicer of the two. It's small, but nice for sunbathing and toe-dipping. The main beach, on the Potomac side (which seems backwards...wouldn't it be better to have the main beach on the bay?) is narrow and crowded, and the view is marred by manmade barriers. (I assume these were erected for bird nesting.) The lighthouse is fenced off and, judging from other older reviews here, under a perpetual state of renovation. Despite being surrounded by water on both sides, it's not a particularly picturesque park -- though, I can imagine sunsets are probably nice. For my mid-August visit, the biting flies were terrible, and were not deterred by bug spray. The small museum was closed when I was there. Which means, I'll never see it, because I can't imagine a scenario where I will make the three-hour trip down here again.

We visited Point Lookout State park on the first 'leg' of our vacation. This is our first visit to a Maryland State park as we are from Virginia. We camped at Point Lookout for five nights. Originally we were booked for a full hookup site. Upon check in we were told that the full hookup sites did not have access to a bath house. No problem, we thought and changed our site to electric only. We were also told that we would not have been "allowed" to check in had we arrived after 10pm. I'm not sure how that would have worked with 2 dogs and a tired 3 year old. Thank god we didn't have to deal with that! The campsites were fairly level, and we had a site that was fairly private surrounded by tall reeds. We visited the "dog beach" as we have 2 dogs that like to visit the beach. It's a good thing we chose the dog beach as the public access beach was filled to capacity (closed actually on Saturday) on the weekend (our first two days there). No priority is given to campers for beach access. In addition, the public visitors completely trashed the area in and around the beach. Since we are talking about trash, the dumpsters at the campsite were full by early on Saturday. There were 4 or 5 dumpsters overflowing with garbage leaving no space to put your trash. Disgusting and smelly and bugs everywhere. On the up side, by Monday most of the weekend traffic was gone and we enjoyed the quiet, beautiful campground. We walked the dogs regularly and our 3 year old enjoyed riding his bike around our 'loop'. The bath house was clean and the showers were too. Overall our stay was just okay. We have certainly been spoiled by Virginia state parks.

Amazing camping, and sweet people. Bathrooms are clean. Scope out spots with shade. The dog beach is the best and some camp grounds are pet friendly

CAMPING In early June we tent camped for one night, but paid for two ($50+ total). It's summer season, so you must pay for a minimum of two nights. We stayed in the Lanier loop (Loop D) hoping it would be quieter as no pets were allowed; however, instead our neighbor was a screaming baby. We drove around the park the next morning and wished we stayed in the RV loop along the water. Loop B (Green's) was wide open, so no visual privacy but the plus side was that it had a gorgeous view and seemed to have a good breeze so perhaps fewer mosquitoes. We would also opt for the RV loop next time as then screaming babies would then be inside an RV while we were in our tent. (+) renovated and clean bathrooms (+) level campsites (+) visual privacy as tall grass more than 6' high was between the tents (+) kind interactions with entrance station ranger and camp office ranger (-) mosquitoes so bad that we just hung out in our tent (bug spray was not effective) BEACH We arrived at the beach parking around 10:30am and it was full -- there were a handful of spaces in the lighthouse parking lot which was a 0.25 mile walk to the beach. From the parking lot we walked along the rocks/sand to the beach and found lots of trash, fishing line, and fishing hooks. We opted for the longer but cleaner road route on the way back. We splashed around in the water for about 30min and then decided to just leave. (-) incredibly crowded, mostly families with tents and bbqs planning to spend the entire day (-) noisy as the families brought their own music/speakers, so it wasn't a chill / tranquil vibe at all (-) bathrooms -- Although they looked recently renovated, they were dirty because of the clientele -- moms were discarding diapers in the stalls, etc. I didn't notice if there was no trash can in the bathroom, perhaps it's a pack in / pack out park?

We went tent camping here for 2 nights. The site was clean and as expected. Malone loop, so pets (which we didn't have) were allowed. Lots of Park personnel presence. Although there were loads of kids, the camp quieted down by 10 pm and didn't bounce back to life until about 8 am. Bathrooms were very clean, showers decent, and there was a small room for washing dishes. Washer and dryer there were marked out of order. Loads of mosquitoes -- a moderate amount of Deet kept them under control. There are ticks and we spent time checking scalps before leaving -- pulled out 2 of them. There are 3 planned activities daily on the weekends for children. Usually some sort of nature center experience and a campfire something around 6 pm. The park gets very crowded and one of the days we couldn't get to the beach because too many people were already there. Not many amenities beyond a child's play area. No food and the 2 vending machines for drinks were out of order. We don't fish but a lot of folks were fishing. We did crabbing and found enough for dinner for the 4 of us. It's a beautiful state park with views of water from both sides: the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.

This was our first experience with Maryland State Parks. We did have to travel a bit further than we normally would off the beaten path to get here. I would like to also add that my review might be just a wee bit colored by the fact that our a/c was out for the entire drive, with temperatures reaching 95 degrees in the interior. I know, I'm a big baby. The roads leading into the campground were well marked, with a few overhanging branches. "Tulip" Loop has full hookups, but no bath house. Sites were tamped gravel and fairly level. If you are looking for a water view, book early and remember that there is no full h/u on water view sites. I'm not sure if you can get a 5th wheel or larger back there. We saw mostly tents,pop-ups and Class C's. This state park and the surrounding area gives the visitor many,many options. We chose to spend the morning at St. Mary's City, which deserves a yelp all of it's own. As historians, we are very critical of the sites we go to and St. Mary's was probably one of THE best we have ever been to, in terms of the staff. The plantation tour and the tour of "The Dove" are highlights. Thumbs up to the docents, who were wonderful! We also ate at Sheible's Restaurant, on the river, which was very good. Stock up well before you camp, because there was not much in terms of dining or shopping nearby. A short drive on park property brings you to the Point, which has a fairly well stocked camp store. Here you can get bait, fishing licenses, rent a boat or buy propane. Keep on driving an you will see the lighthouse and beach area, as well as the fishing area.The lighthouse is only open on a limited basis. It's a really beautiful vista from the causeway: Chesapeake Bay on one side and Lake Conoy on the other. There is also a for-fee fishing pier on the Bay side. Fort Lincoln is also on this side of the park. Spent the evening dousing ourselves with DEET and listening to the thunderstorms roll in.Sweet. (On a side note: if you are using DishNetwork, your chances of getting signal are haphazard at best. Just sayin'.) The next day we decided to forgo the $75 deposit on canoes at the camp store and went canoeing with the Park Rangers instead. The rangers at the museum and Nature Center were really friendly and informative. This is just the right size for young naturalists and historians (learn about the Civil War prison camp located here). Even better for campground visitors, because it is located in one of the loops. For $3 per person we set out with Curtis (who was great, by the way) for more than an hour. I think we could have stayed out longer, if we hadn't been so worn out! Great guided tour of Lake Conoy. We saw many osprey. It was just beautiful. I would like to come back, perhaps in the fall. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel. Bring plenty of bug spray and sunscreen!

We had a nice night of camping here in (loop A, Hoffman's) late April. The campsites are well spaced and are quite private on the outer ring. But avoid sites 128 and 130 as they are beside the playground which can be busy. The bathroom facilities were really clean and there was even a handy room with a sink for washing up dishes. The Rangers check in / office was well stocked with the usual firewood but also lots of camping gear and some food basics. The campground is in a pretty spot with lots of nice views at the pier across the lake. You can go for nice walks in the area but it's not a prime hiking spot if that's what you are looking for.

SUMMATION: Often overcrowded and unpleasant with biting flies [A], houseflies, mosquitos, and Poison Ivy. The "Nature-War" center is interesting, if a strange juxtaposition. The "Lookout" has a nice, but without elevation, rather ordinary, view. Historic features are inconvenient and minimal. The park is largely of local recreational interest. NAME: Point Lookout State Park ETYMOLOGY: The name "Point Lookout" is from the War of 1812, when this area was used to follow the movements of British ships. DESCRIPTION: On a peninsula between Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River mouth on the extreme southern end of western Maryland. MY RATING: Poor (1.9/5) SIZE: 1078 acres TITLE: "Aquatic Country Disney" [Yelp, Parguera Pirate review #446, 10 November 2015] CHESAPEAKE BAY TRIP REVIEW NUMBER: 15 TELEPHONE: (301) 872-5688 WEB PAGE: http://dnr2.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/southern/pointlookout.aspx LOCALITY: 11175 Point Lookout Road,Scotland, Maryland 20687. A park map is available at the park headquarters and on their web page. LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 38°3'30"N, 76°19'54"W RESERVATIONS: http://reservations.dnr.state.md.us for cabins and camping, but not general park use. Park may fill to capacity, especially on summer holidays and weekends, and may not permit anyone else to enter. Call ahead about availability. HOURS OF OPERATION: 6 am-dusk in general, dusk-6 am (night fishing) FEES: see web page STAFF: The Park appears to be understaffed. Some do a good job and are friendly, while others do not/are not. Their rather strict rules are sometimes followed to-the-letter, sometimes just ignored, and unequally enforced. VIEW: Chesapeake Bay, forest AMENITIES: Camp Store, 143 camp sites, Six 4-person cabins; Civil War Museum/Marshland Nature Center, swimming beach (small), Pet Beach, Ft. Lincoln, Periwinkle Point Trail, water trails, Point Lookout Lighthouse, fishing pier. See their video of their amenities and features on their web page. ANIMALS: Pet trail and Pet Beach [1] see detailed and restrictive pet policy on their web page. NOISE LEVEL: camping areas usually quite, beach and public areas can be very noisy CLEANINESS: Liter everywhere and some worse things. HEALTH: (I) This is a wetland area; therefore, it is very buggy with biting flies [A], Houseflies, and mosquitos. (II) Beach and water often dirty and polluted (III) Lots of Poison Ivy (IV) Many ticks [B] (beware Lime Disease) CONFUSIONS: This is not "St. Mary's State Park" as confused by TripAdvisor AWARDS: Maryland Green Travel Partner REVIEWS: rated Good, 3.65/5, 83 reviews (TripAdvisor); Very Good, 3.96/5, 50 reviews (Google); Very Good, 4.08/5, 12 reviews (Yelp) HISTORY: See detailed history on their web page. Captain John Smith explored the Point in 1608. In 1632, it was included in King Charles I's grant to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore. Calvert's younger son, Leonard, Maryland's first governor, claimed the Point for his personal manor in 1634. During the American Revolution, and again in the War of 1812, it was the subject of British raids, and served as an American lookout point. In 1830, the federal government erected the lighthouse [2]. In 1857, William Cost Johnson bought the Point to develop as a resort. In 1862, the federal government erected Hammond Hospital at the tip of the Point. This location was a prison camp (1863-1865) for as many as 52,264 Confederate soldiers during the War of Yankee Aggression. A park museum recounts this history. FOOTNOTES: [1] Really a dog beach. I have only seen one Domestic Cat routinely swim [long, unrelated story]. [2] The lighthouse ceased operating in 1965. A tall, surrounding fence ruins photographs. Tours are only available on a very restrictive and changing schedule. Check on this in advance. SPECIES: [A] Horse Flies are larger and darker than Deer Flies. There are a multitude of species. Both cause painful bites and are not deterred by insect repellant. [B] American Dog Tick, Dermacentor variabilis, also called wood tick; Lone star tick, Amblyoma americanum, and Black-legged Tick, Ixodes scapularis, also called deer tick, transmit several diseases including Lime Disease.

If you're in Southern MD and looking for a great beach for you & your pooch, Point Lookout's dog beach is the place to go. Yes, it's a bit out of the way, but it's a great day trip. The beach itself is wide and about a football field long. The water was clean and the beach was clean. Great for the kids and the puppy. Wear water shoes since it's the MD shore, so there are some rocks at the shoreline. Also, there's not much shade, so bring an umbrella. It might be a bit pricey for some -- $5 per person. Sadie, the cavalier, got in free! : )

The historical stuff is amazing and the camp store is well stocked. The staff is super friendly and the views are really pretty! Totally go for a bike ride or a historical visit, it's worth the money and there are so many great spots to have picnics. If you want to swim here be warned! There are jellyfish everywhere and they sting! My husband and two friends were pulling barbs out of their legs. We should have known as no one was going in past their knees. People were picking jellyfish out of the water and throwing them on the beach. We were so disappointed, we drove two hours to swim and it was awful.

Do not go camping here unless you like to be up all hours of the night with yelling from the drunken college party. There was a wild party with people throwing up in bathrooms and hanging out throughout the campsite and lots of yelling. Someone blasted music at 3am. At 4am I had enough and decided to pack everything up in the dark and leave. I drove here 3 hours with my 2 year old son and family. We had all been looking forward to this camping trip. I knew I couldn't enjoy myself with no sleep and couldn't go through another night of chaos. I tried calling a number they gave with the map with no answer. I am not sure if I called the right number. They do not make it clear on which number to call if there is an issue at the campsite.

Slovenly visitors have ruined an otherwise scenic place by leaving litter everywhere. The biting flies made it intolerable. The lighthouse is inaccessible -- it is surrounded by a barbed wire fence with very limited visitation days. Also, the water is not for for swimming; trash is visible along most of the shoreline. Not worth the drive.

A very nice park. Each campsite has a very nice pad for tents, a fire ring, and a picnic table. The rest rooms are very nice and very clean. I loved the showers. It's a very quiet campground. My only complaint, while I realize that bugs are to be expected we were mobbed because right next to our site was a gulley of water.

Went to wedding at this park on the beach near the pavillion. It is a beautiful site. The nearby Ridge Fire Department also catered the wedding nicely. Great economical way to hold a wedding.

I really enjoyed coming here! This has been on of my favorite trips. I brought the RV here to go fishing and crabbing. The crabs were good! There was plenty of space to go fishing on multiple piers. The park is very large with a beach and at night there are people fishing all over the place. Very nice park with an amazing view.

Beautiful Area. We loved checking out the sights & even ran into some deer. SO relaxing

Let me start out by saying my husband and I used to spend a lot of time wilderness camping. I personally have spent a large portion of my childhood and young adult life in state parks, national parks, regional parks, in general the great out doors. As a BSA camp councilor, previous venture scout (Boy Scout, co-ed), and outdoors woman I have had many positive encounters with various federal/state/local park rangers and police. That said. Maryland State Parks have rubbed me entirely the wrong way. MOST campsites across the country require that someone register a campsite, the vehicles, etc...Once SOMEONE has does this necessary task, people who were perhaps working late on a Friday night may venture to the site later, so long as SOMONE has checked in and registered the site. This is apparently NOT something you may do at Point Lookout State park....My friend and I who carpooled up to meet friends, who had previously arrive, registered, and set up camp earlier that day, were turned around at the camp entrance by a INCREDIBLY rude park police officer (Officer Brown I believe-who apparently has a reputation for being rude to park visitors). He treated my friend and I like ignorant girls who didn't understand how parks worked...apparently no one is allowed to enter a campsite after 10 at MD State parks...I later found out this is NOT the case, if only our friends had simply asked for an orange window tag to place on our car mirror....then we would have been allowed to enter...or if our friends had met us somewhere off camp, that would have been allowable as well. This was all done for the "Safety" of those people camping at this location. More to follow regarding campsite "safety" later. My friend and I slept in a walmart parking lot until the park opened at 0800. where we received our all important orange window hang (NO ID required...simply a LP#) Again for security. We were pointed toward our campsite and sent on our way. We arrived at the site which our friends had all ready occupied for one evening to find the site was essentially a crushed rock and (what I can only assume is campfire ash raked into the rock) pad with a fire pit and picnic table. The grey dust quickly covered everything. It was quite disgusting. Our site was surrounded by scattered pine trees and we had a wonderful view of the rest of the campsites populated by various large families and vehicles. NOT a pretty view. NOT quiet or serene. Our friends had pitched a tent in the grass adjacent to our rock/ash pad. We also had a backpacking hammock that did not use any sort of screw to attach to the tree, as we practice "leave no trace" unlike the rest of the camp apparently....as there was a fair amount of trash scattered around the sites. We were told by yet another VERY unfriendly and rude park "person" that we were not allowed to have either the hammock (as it put undue stress on these massive pine trees), nor pitch a tent in the grass, as it was the rock pad we had paid for...not the grass. For anyone who enjoys a little Vino whilst camping, or a nice cold beer....FORGET it at this park. It is apparently illegal in ALL MD state parks to have any sort of alcohol even IN YOUR CAMPSITE. This was strictly enforced as through out the two days we stayed in this hell hole we saw park police slowly drive by our site approximately 6-10 times per day. Often they would park and enter your campsite for no apparent reason other than to look over your picnic table or scowl at you, your family, and friends. To say I felt like a naughty school child under the scornful watchful eyes of an angry nun with a oversized ruler would be putting it lightly. As I had mentioned previously regarding campsite "safety", the camp had a key code entry gate. It was not monitored. Nor were noise complaints as we listened to dogs bark for about 2 hours in the middle of the night. OUR dogs were polite for the most park (less one chewing through the leash incident, as puppies will do). This park was not however very dog friendly, only one beach to take your dogs to. The maximum amount of leash your dog is allotted is 6' according to their dog handout. NOT a lot of room for fido to roam. FINALLY my biggest pet peeve of all- for all the "safety talk" our campsite had not one but TWO 50' or higher DEAD PINE TREES on both sides of our camp. THIS is a HUGE Safety concern considering the proximity to the campsite. It is a lawsuit waiting to happen. (No we didn't hang our hammock on these dead trees :) This trip put such a sour taste in my mouth I will NEVER return to a MD State Park again. I will take the extra time to travel to Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, or Pennsylvania to camp before giving this horrible park system money. I am still so angry I may write a senator... *side note bathrooms were nice the first night, but they were not cleaned well over the weekend, and besides your camping....who is worried about the bathroom? **there was also POISON IVY EVERYWHERE!!

It's a pretty park. You have to pay a nominal fee to enter (honor system... there was no attendant when I drove up, so I grabbed an envelope and put my fee in the drop box). You can see the eastern shore of Maryland off to one side and Virginia on the other... Norfolk is too far south to see. At least it was the day I went. Saw men and families fishing off at different spots along the way to the point. It was hot, lots of flying bugs, and no breeze. So bring some refreshments and bug repellant.

I soft crab for relaxation, though that may sound funny. I've found no better soft crabbing than Lake Conoy. It's true if there's no breeze it can get hot and sticky there, but that's the exception not the norm. I camp on the water front sites, I have a boat and like to keep an eye on it, nothing has ever happened to it in the 40+ years I've been going there. And to tell the truth nothing beats watching the sun go down on the Potomac and rise on the Chesapeake. Or the smells of dinners being made, crabs being steamed when the breeze brings it your way. And in the morning when someone in your circle gets up earlier than you and you awake to the smell of coffee and bacon cooking. There isn't as many trees in these circles but the sites are far enough away from each other for privacy but close enough for a feeling of community. Safer place for kids than other places, providing they like the outdoors, fishing, crabbing, swimming, biking, boating........ Bathrooms are pretty clean considering how many people are in the circles. Cleaned once a day. There are 2 piers, an older stationary style and a newer floating one, in the camping grounds. And there is a fishing pier up by the point on the Chesapeake side. The camp also has an educational side to it due to the rich history of the civil war and the environment you are experiencing first hand, The Fort gives you an insight to the civil war side and the Nature center brings in the environmental part. Fishing goes on continuously, day and night, on the point, causeway, by boat, surf. The swimming/picnic area is kept nice also. If you are a camper, truly a camper, Maryland state parks have alot to offer you.