Shad Landing Campground

update: i camped here again in early October 2023 and was surprised at the amount of road noise I heard. I was at a site just a couple over from my last stay and did not recall it being so noisy. Otherwise, all was good.

I stayed mid-week in late April and had no neighbors for the duration (always a plus). The campground was quiet and had lots of trees and my site was almost level. The camp host (Chris) is super nice and quite interesting (artist/writer out of New Orleans - stop by and say Hi). For my stay it was very quiet but then again it was less than half full. They were expecting to be full over the weekend. You might hear some sounds of hunting from the forest next door. There are many trails one can take directly from the campground though the signage could be better. For boaters there is access to the water which I wish I had been able to enjoy. Maybe next time... The bathroom was always clean and the water in the shower was hot and the handle was the kind you find in a home (as opposed to the kind I hate where you have to press it every 30 seconds to keep the flow going). One more thing about signage... the loops all have signs at their entrances but there is no general sign to tell you which way on the loop to go. My Verizon signal was weak but my AT&T was strong. My nightly rate includes my grandpa discount.

Located on Maryland 113 the state park is convenient to many great locations you will be sure to want to visit. In 35 minutes or less you can get to Ocean City, both the north and south ends of Assteague Island and Crisfield, MD.

The price we paid was with the Maryland Golden Age Pass (pass is free to those 65 and older). We arrived earlier than the 3 pm checkin on a Sunday and the office staff asked us to wait. There was adequate parking and near the camp office store to accommodate early arrivals. The store had typical supplies for camping and a helpful staff. During October the store was only open Friday through Sunday. WiFi (satellite fed) was available at the store and outside at some picnic tables.

We were pleasantly surprised to find laundry facilities at Pokemoke. The prices were very reasonable, as well. There is no change machine in the laundry, so make sure you are prepared.

Site 24 was at a sharp corner on the campground road which made backing into the long site very easy. The Loblolly pine trees that are prevalent in the park were shedding needles during our stay. The camp hosts used leaf blowers to clear the campground loops and sites of the thick layer of pine needles that seem to accumulate overnight.

If you are camping with pets, pay careful attention to which loops allow your furry friends. We missed this when we initially made our reservation and were surprised when we received our confirmation email days before our arrival. We were able to cancel and reserve a new site in a pet friendly loop as we were staying mid-week.

The Nature of Change hiking trail takes you into the wilds of Pokemoke River State Park and is well worth the time. There is also a staffed Nature Center at the park.

This review is for the Shad Landing section of the park. We stayed in the Acorn Loop campground. There a several campgrounds within the park of which 2 have 35 amp power hook ups. None have water hookups. The 29.50 rate is for weekends, the weeknight fee is 28.50. All the sites are well shaded and the bathhouses are well maintained. Staff was very helpful. We had an issue where the occupant next to us did not move out on time and it was a site my brother was supposed to occupy (we plan a week long camping trip together every year). The staff did all they could and were very helpful in getting my brother another site as close as possible. I especially like this site due to its location. We camped at Pocomoke River State Park in a Travel Trailer

Shad landing at the Pokomoke River State Park is a very well maintained campground. We spent four nights over Thanksgiving 2018 at Deer Run 106 and couldn’t be more happy with this park. The bathhouse on Deer Run is clean & well lit. The dump & rinse for RV is easily accessible and there is potable water to fill fresh tank at the same location.

The site was level and composed of a sandy gravel that did not easily track into our RV. It rained for several hours one day but 106 is high and drained very well with little ponding.

The entrance gate is automated and closes at 10:00 PM so make sure you arrive before 10:00 PM! You’ll receive a gate code after check-in. We arrived after-hours and got the gate code the next day.

November 2018
Weekday: $28.49
Weekend: $29.49
Fee: $6.25

This is a large park that's broken into several different areas. We were in the Deer run area which was fairly basic with a bit of privacy. This is a nice state park with a boating/kayaking area and other nice amenities.

It's not too far from Ocean City, Maryland where we spent the day. My only complaint is that we had to hurry to get to the park because they close the gates at 9:30PM. Other parks will give you a combination to get in, but not this one.

We originally wanted to stay at Assateague State Park but they were full and the rangers directed us to Shad Landing at Pocomoke River State Park. Oh are we glad they did. It was our first stay in a campground and we asked them to place us in a quiet area. There were only two sites occupied in our area, and we never actually saw people at the sites - only tents. We were conveniently only three sites away from the bath house, which was very clean and well kept. A ranger drove by a few times so we felt like they were keeping a good eye on things. One person rode through on a bike and one drove up to use the bath house. Otherwise, we had that whole corner of the campground to ourselves. Check in was a breeze and the camp store was well stocked with all the amenities you might need. It was very peaceful and absolutely what we needed to recharge and refresh. We were only there one night but we will definitely be back for a weekend and plan to go canoeing next time.

The park is beautiful and has a lot to offer. We will try it again because of the locale and water access. We were in Acorn Loop and the bath house was closed for renovations. The loops are beautiful and quiet. It is an awesome park. I could have gotten along ok but we were having water issues and it was stressful. The loop hasn't been used much yet this season and being spring there were a lot of ticks which made me unsettled due to lack of close bathhouse. There were other bath houses to drive to. The website did NOT say the bathhouse was out of order. All in all I am looking forward to one day going and loving it.

If you want to be driving distance to Assateague or Ocean City, but don't want to camp in the open sun, this is a great option. The spots are shaded, space between varies, but plenty for us. We also stayed in the pet loop (Acorn). Nice kayaking on the creek and river. The bath houses are OK, but we are used to better kept ones (many Virginia sites). Since we only had electric hookups we did use them. Thank goodness for electric, because it was a heat wave with high humidity when we stayed, and we needed our air conditioning, which we rarely use. If you have children, there is a pool with an odd schedule, not open daily. Small camp store with minimal snack bar, but nice room for a place to hang out and play cards, etc on a rainy or hot day. We were surprised how uncrowded it was for being near the beach in the summer. In general, a nice alternative to the unshaded Assateague Island camping, 30 minutes away, and a nice kayaking experience.

Shad Landing is one of two campgrounds within Pocomoke River State Park, and it is absolutely lovely. We booked in the Pet/Electric loop called the Acorn Trail.

All of the sites are on the outside perimeter of a large circle, and each was spacious offering great site separation and privacy. We somehow scored with our site, as we think it was the most private of all.

There are several loops in the campground, some that don't allow pets and some that don't have electric - so be careful booking the right site for you.

There are hiking trails that meander through the park, canoeing/kayaking and a nature center.

Cellular service was decent enough to stream video on Verizon and T-Mobile, shopping is only about 10 minutes away. The only ding is that the only dumpsters are at the front of the park, which is easily a .5 or more miles away from any of the camping loops.

All and all, a great stay in a very quiet & relaxing park. We easily could have convinced ourselves to extend our stay, if it weren't for a booked up weekend ahead.