Janes Island State Park

I visited Jane's Island many times in my youth with my grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins. We spent many days crabbing and just enjoying each other's company. I brought my wife this year in August for our anniversary. Things have changed in 40 years for sure!
The campground is clean. The camper sites look to be a bit small. We stayed in Cabin 3. The cabins are due to be renovated in 2024. As far as cabins go it was actually nicer than I anticipated it was going to be. They do need upgrades. The hot water faucet in the bathroom sink did not function properly when we arrived and by the time we left it did not work at all. The staff was more than helpful with this issue and that was great! The horse flies and deer flies were relentless when we tried to get to the semi private dock. Even loaded with bug spray, they would still go after us. As long as there was a nice breeze blowing the bugs weren't unbearable, but with no wind we didn't want to venture too far. Same with the nearby Whitetail trail. We went about 50 yards before we were going insane from the flies and turned back!
I was looking forward to catching a bunch of blue crab and eating them all week. That didn't work out too well. We caught one legal crab all week! We ended up buying some at a local seafood place.
I know this is long winded but ultimately we enjoyed our stay and would do it again.
Thanks for sticking with me and my story. 😀

After a week at Assateague National Seashore I was looking for a spot relatively close but distinctly different. Janes Island popped up in my search and ended up being a surprisingly lovely destination along the Chespeake Bay, just about an hour from the National Seashore.

Janes Island itself is an uninhabited salt marsh that is separated from the campground by Daugherty Canal. If you luck out and get a waterfront site, you'll not only have incredible sunsets over Janes Island, but also get to see small fishing boats cruise by in the early morning and late evening. For those not lucky enough to get a waterfront site, there is a 20-30 foot section of grass that runs all along the canal that is perfect for walking, picnicking, and playing games. The canal is full of jellyfish, as is Chesapeake Bay. I wouldn't swim here, but hey, you do you.

When the wind isn't blowing, the paddling is incredible. There are 30 miles of water trails through and around Janes Island, which is rimmed on the bay side by pretty and empty white sand beaches - reachable only by boat. When the wind is blowing, hold onto your hats.

Campsites are big, well-spaced, level, and well-kept. Bathrooms are clean and the showers are warm (and free). Check in is at the camp store, which keeps a decent stock of camping necessities, including firewood and ice. Dogs on leash are welcome pretty much everywhere, including on the Janes Island beaches if you can convince them to ride in your boat with you.

This is a buggy place, even in early April. The rangers said that once summer hits, it's overwhelming. Be prepared for biting flies, ticks, and mosquitos. A screen house would be a good idea.

While I was at Janes Island there were two severe storms, one with a tornado watch. If there are big storms in the midwest, they run themselves out through here.

Rangers are through multiple times a day, either checking campsites or doing maintenance. The price of the sites varies by their amenities and there is a small surcharge for out-of-staters. No full hookup sites, but there is a dump station conveniently located near the entrance. The campground is in a stand of tall loblolly pine trees, so you won't be getting any solar here. If you need power, book an electric site. No alcohol in the park, which is just as well, because it's nearly impossible to buy alcohol in Maryland, especially in small towns.

AT&T and Verizon have 1-2 bars each and are either decently fast (20 mbps down) or mind-numbingly slow. They oscillate between the two.

The town of Crisfield is a mile or two down the road and has a good-sized grocery store, some touristy shops and seafood restaurants, and a harbor. It's the blue crab capital of the world, and you'll know it. If you're looking for a day trip a little further afield, head up to Cambridge to check out the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Site and the nearby Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.

This campground is absolutely gorgeous. Sites are very clean and level, but not huge. We had to maneuver through two pine trees to back in. The pines...they're the predominant tree, and the forest floor is a carpet of pine needles. Stunning. There's a nice marina, a camp store and a nature center, all within walking distance of any loop. Loop B is the only one with electric. The cabins look beautiful. Very good vibes here. Visited Crisfield, 5 min away, and unless you're taking a boat tour to Smith or Tangier (which seemed to us a huge tourist trap), there is absolutely nothing to do there. Junky stores and ho hum food. Best bet is to just take a leisurely drive through the marsh roads and Google the history of Crisfield. Its quite interesting. Will return to this gem!

While the setting and layout of this state park are amazing the staff really put it over the top for us. We rolled into the campground and went straight to our site. Within minutes a ranger rolled by to welcome us and provide our car pass and information. We did not get the usual long list of rules recited to us, which was really refreshing. The campground is adjacent to Daughterty Creek (which flows the Chesapeake Bay) and separates the campground on the mainland with Jane's Island.

Pets are welcome in all loops in the park. A camp store, nature center and visitor lounge is near the marina area of the state park and very close to the campground loops. The town of Crisfield, MD is just minutes from the state park, with good selection of stores. Boat tours of Smith Island leave from the town's harbor.

A rails to trail path runs from Marion to Crisfield beside the Crisfield Highway and was convienant to the state park via county roads.

Our four day stay here was interrupted by an unprecedented nor'easter combined with king tides that caused tidal flooding throughout the Chesapeake Bay tidal basin. Our site (8) in Loop B was one of the highest in the campground, but many other campsites were completely under water during this event. The park manager, Christina, informed us she was closing the park as even higher tides were expected. When we left at low tide we drove through water completely covering the park road and the county road serving the park. The rangers had waded through the flood waters to flag to the road for those of us evacuating and to safely direct us out to higher ground.

Good:
Loved the cleanliness of the campground and their facilities.
We were there on a Thursday and had the place to ourselves!
Showers in the bathrooms near the store were new with individual stalls.
Store had an air conditioned room with wifi, so I was able to work remotely while looking at the water.
Boat launch at campground. Nice to sit and watch the boats go by.
Beautiful sunsets from the campground!

Bad:
Aggressive Bugs. Will fly in your face, and buzz around you constantly. So walking or enjoying the campsite was difficult even with bug spray.
Kayak use - We were not permitted to rent kayaks from the campground during our visit. Park rangers will not rent out kayaks if there is any chance of storms in 24 hours or a small wind advisory. We talked to people who brought their own kayaks and went out both days who said the water was fine, smooth like glass!
You can rent from in town and they will bring to you. They don't open until 10am.

Janes Island State Park Campground is very much as described by other members. The place is peaceful, it has a lovely view of the water and sunsets, it is very well maintained, and the staff is friendly.

The firewood cost $5 a bundle and it is dry. The wood is available all day. You use the little brown envelopes they leave by the main door of the general store to place your payment and put it through a mail slot. There are fire rings with a cooking grill at every site.

There are fresh water stations in every loop. I suggest you fill your tank when you pull into a loop and are next to one before you back into your site. The campground map provided shows the locations.

Loops B and C have a lot of trees and are spread out. Loop A is more open but it is closer to the WiFi at the general store. The roads in the loops are narrow and 5th Wheels should use the corner sites for straight backing in.

I camped the first week of July and the Horseflies are aggressive. They are only active during the day. I was at site B20 along the water channel and there were only a few at the site but there are many along the service road to the loops because of water ditches that run along the road. They are particularly attracted to sweat so if you are sweating a lot, they will be all over you.

The website for the campground provides a picture of each site available before booking. I would definitely camp there again during non summer months.

We are new to RVing and wanted to place within a few hours of home to try it out. Janes Island SP was perfect. The location is beautiful right on the Chesapeake Bay but with a very remote feeling. The sites were very clean and ours we perfectly level. We were a few sites off of the water front which turned out to be a good choice when the wind picked up and we were well sheltered. We will come back with our Kayaks as the water trails look amazing. We opted for riding bikes instead and the local trails made that a good choice. Dawna in the store and Jamie and Raphael were really helpful and all the staff deserves kudos for maintaining Janes Island campground so well.
We arrived on a Thursday and stayed until Monday, so we watched the weekend crowd come & go. The noise level was noticeably higher on Friday & Saturday nights, but not so bad as to be annoying or distracting.

First time at Janes Island for our initial "shake-down" for the upcoming camping season. Check-in was contactless and easy withgreat value using the MD Senior Pass. Our campsite was a pull-through in the B Loop (only loop with all electric sites) facing the canal and Janes's Island. No water, but easy fill up spigot on the way in, no sewer but one dump station on the way out. Easy to maneuver our 25' travel trailer through the park roads. Site was a gravel pad, very level and had a large picnic table and campfire pit with attached grilling plate. Nice walking trail around the campground. We were there during the off season, so the marina was closed. In season it would be filled with kayak and canoe rentals to explore the water trails of Janes Island. Park store was closed while we were there mid-week, but they had ice and firewood available on the honor system. Park was very well-maintained and clean. Bath houses seemed relatively new and very clean. Extra cleaning several times a day even! Ladies room had two spacious showers (pressure and temperature were good). Bath house also had a Family Room as well as a dish cleaning sink on the back side of the building. Storage was available for campers, boat launch available, pavilions available and the park even had a volleyball court & baseball field. Food Lion for groceries was nearby. Off season visit doesn't have much to do in town, but much different during the summer months. All in all, we had a fantastic experience and will most definitely return in the near future.

Waterfront tents and cabins. Incredible value! Book far in advance! Quiet with plenty of trails both walking and water. Just did a week of remote work in the full service cabin #3 with a Verizon jet pack. Contactless check-in. Amazing sunsets. Cozy cabin with fireplace. Bring knives. Wish there was recycling. Cabin 4 is biggest and most isolated. Tent sites 81 and 19 are most waterfront! Our 2nd visit and have already booked our next!