Hollofield Area Campground

****NOTE the name of this place is Hollofield Campground at Patapsco Valley State Park NOT Hollofield State Park. There are 2 camping areas within this State Park-cabins are in the Hilton area (and they do not allow pets in that area.) Hollofield is for tents and RVs and this review is for that area.

****MD no longer uses Reserve America but its own state site: https://parkreservations.maryland.gov

***PAY ATTENTION to directions if your rig is over 11' high

We stayed 5 days at this lovely campground and wish we'd had more time since we didn't get all that we wanted to do done.

Access: I cannot stress enough the need to follow the directions to the campground if you are above 11'. You MUST use Rte 40 EAST/Baltimore National Pike. There is a stone underpass after you leave 40E that is only 11'1". That said, if you follow the directions it is very easy to get there. The entrance to the campground/park is well marked. But the entry process is a bit of a ding. They advise you to call ahead if you will arrive after 4pm to have a ranger meet you but from the (futile) attempts my husband made to get a trail map from the ranger at the front gate it might make sense to call at any time. We arrived 2 hours earlier than check i time and were told we had to wait in the parking lot until 3pm as the "computer would not allow check in) Aside from the fact that this is a pretty small window it was OK. We met fellow "early birds" while waiting and once the computer allowed it we were handed all our papers including the gate code. But, at none of the other 3 times hubby went to get a map did he find the booth occupied. So, call ahead. One other thing, you will need the gate code to access the road to the campground which goes down a very steep hill and then back up one before getting to the actual campground.

We had made our reservations on Reserve America before MD created their own state reservation site but had no problem with that.

There are two loops in the CG-the inner loop has the electric only sites the outer loop has no services. They are quite shaded so solar would not work. Generators are allowed. The tents and RVs are interspersed with each other though mostly RVs in the electric sites. We were the at the beginning of Easter w/e and it began to fill up on Fri night but it was quiet. Sites 400-405 back up to a wooded area that is just in front of a suburban development and we were afraid it might be noisy. It wasn't at all. There is a huge power line running above those sites if that kind of thing concerns you. The site sizes, degree of slope and privacy differed but virtually all were fine. The non-electric sites on the outer side of the outer loop tended to looked the best. There is a train that runs by but the sound is very distant. Our site was quite sloped and we had to use 3 blocks in the rear. There was a picnic table and fire ring at the site, the surface is dirt/gravel. There is no water at the sites so if you need to fill up, proceed FIRST to the inner loop and the west side of the bathhouse where the drinking water spigot is located (back side of the bathhouse) (the dump station is at the front, east side and across from the camp host, who also sells firewood.)

The bathhouse is clean with 2 showers with excellent pressure and a shared changing area. Also, on busy weekends, the showers may run out of hot water pretty early in the morning. It was chilly during the time we were there and the camp host had sealed the vents as well as put in a nice electric radiator so the entire room was toasty. Nice detail. There is no laundry in site but within 3 miles in Catonsville or Ellicott City.

We had decent (2-3 bars) ATT boosted so I didn't think to test our Verizon. Trash is at the dump station but there was no recycle bin.

There are two hiking trails in the park. One goes down to the river and laong the train tracks for awhile. Families with kids as well as many others were hiking every day.

This is a great location for doing a variety of day trips. Washington DC is about 1.5 hours. Drive to the Glenmont Metro Station in Silver Spring. Parking, in one of the garages at the station, is $3 for the day and may be paid with your metro card (when you leave) which you can get in the station. It is then 1/2 hour to Metro Center on the Red Line.
Baltimore is 1/2 hour away.
Ellicott City has a historical area and there is all sorts of shopping on the Baltimore Pike minutes east or west, including H-Town a HUGE Korean/Asian market that also has supermarket foods. It's a great visit even if you don't buy anything and they have at least a dozen tasting stations.

All in all, except for the issue with checking in, this CG held everything we look for. Things to do on-site, close enough to laundry and shopping that it isn't a trek, close to sites to visit and quiet.

The goods: the park has great trails and is close to Ellicott City (a historic area, also plenty of nearby shops and restaurants, particularly Korean). The river is rocky and you can easily wade into it to cool off. Fishing is allowed in the park. The hosts (sites 422 & 423) are very friendly, firewood is $5 a bundle. The dump station is near the hosts, fresh water is near the bathhouse in the middle of the inner loop, trash dumpster is at the entrance side (low number) of the inner loop.

The others: Campsites are close together so you will see your neighbors (though it was very quiet). Some sites have 30A/20A service only (inner loop). The road from the park entrance is long and steep, so it is a long hike (but the campground loop and ridge trails are worth it). If you don't need electric, site 430 is the nicest trailer site.

This campground was very easy to find and had plenty to do in the campground and surrounding area. Pulling into the campground was pretty tight as was leaving. Be sure to follow instructions on arriving into the park because if you come the wrong way you will encounter a low overpass. I would definitely not recommend site 400. This is the first site of the campground and was incredibly hard to get our 35 ft 5th wheel into it. Leaving the site was also very difficult. The sites only have electric, but there is a place to fill your fresh water tank if need be. However, when we arrived the attendant was not knowledgable on if or where you could fill up your fresh water. During our stay here the campground experienced trouble with the pipes and was forced to shut down the bath houses and dump station. This was very inconvenient, but the staff was very pleasant and brought in porta potties for those without their own bathrooms. The campground does have plenty of walking/hiking trails which were great to walk the dog and get in some exercise. There are also plenty of delicious restaurants not far from the campground and it's also located right outside of Baltimore.

Site Details: We stayed in site #418 in the Hollofield campground. The site was nice and level, but a bit small, with a short driveway. We actually brought 2 vehicles this time, and it was really tight. Fair amount of trees surrounding our site, but since there are still very few leaves, it felt way closer and less private. This campground is very popular, and set up as two loops; an inner loop with electric sites, and a more spread-out outer loop with non-electric, tent-only sites. The inner loop was completely full, and the sites were just too closely spaced for my preferences. There were a few sites with a little extra room and privacy (419 and 420 caught my eye), but for the most part they were packed in pretty tightly. If you’re a tent camper and don’t need electric, the sites on the outer loop were quite nice and private.

Facilities/Overall Park: Bath house was old, small, and not exceptionally clean, but adequate for our needs. Did not use the showers this time. However, there are only 4 restroom stalls and 2 showers on the ladies side, so I can imagine the lines would be pretty crazy during the summer time. I expected lines this weekend, considering the campground was full, but we lucked out. There is also a dishwashing room with a deep double sink, but this was old and dingy as well. I’m really surprised that the bath house hasn’t been renovated yet, considering the size and popularity of the park. I’m also amazed that there is only one bath house and a single water spigot to service both loops; normally in MD State Parks, there is a water pump every few sites.

Outside of camping, Patapsco Valley offers tons of activities for all outdoor lovers. This is the largest state park in MD, and is very spread out, with several distinct areas. While only the Hollofield and Hilton areas have campgrounds, almost every area has a really nice day use section, with tons of pavilions in all sizes, and great playgrounds. There is a nature center with lots of ranger programs in the Hilton area, along with a huge playground, and another camping loop with tent sites and mini cabins. Though I didn’t try any of them this time, there are apparently some great hiking trails in all areas of the park. I also hear wading and tubing in the river is very popular during the summer.

Surrounding Area/Attractions: This park is very convenient to Baltimore, Ellicott City, and Catonsville, all with their unique attractions and cute historic districts. Both Baltimore and Ellicott City have some great dining options, and Catonsville offers all the major stores and conveniences within a mile or two of the park. If you need anything, whether it be food, gas, or any type of service, it will be very quick and easy to find. Since you’re so close to civilization, there is great cell service pretty much everywhere in the park.

Overall, while this is a great park for day-tripping with a very convenient location, we just didn’t care for the campground. If you don’t mind the proximity to other campers and multiple scouting groups, or if you can make use of the more private tent sites, this might be a good option. We were hoping to count on this park for quick weekend getaways, since it’s only about 15 miles from us, but we may be willing to drive a bit further to get the more peaceful, woodsy experience we prefer.

Beautiful campground!

A nice little park around the Baltimore area of Maryland. Ellicott City is quiet little town, then you have every store you'd need in very close Columbia, MD.

My spot was adjacent to the 1 bathhouse I saw in the entire camping area. For women there were 2 showers and 4 stalls, cleaned daily but still moist and had moth/spider issues. I used the bathhouse shower once and the water pressure and temp were great. The spaces are in the woods and need to be severely cut back. I spent 10-15 minutes using an axe to chop the greenery back on the ground and the bushes just to be able to get around my rig. I can't use my awning because there's a branch in the way; luckily I'm in a very shady spot and can manage. One camper saw a small copperhead snake on the concrete by the bath house, I guess I wouldn't go walking off the path very much.

The campground offer mostly dry camping, there are 30 electric-only sites (spots 400-429). Clean water and a dump area are right behind the bathhouse and easy to get setup. I filled the water tank when I arrived, before I got to my spot, and then setup. Used a portable tank for dumping without any issues. Since there's only 1 of each, water and dump sites, avoid busy times as there's not really any space for a queue.

The price per night is different on weekends and there's a $6.25 reservation fee on the website. I paid about $32.74 per night on the weekends (for electric only) plus the fee. That seems a little high for a state park but Maryland has about 3 public RV parks in the whole state so the state parks are the best bet. Plus, if you're 62 or older you can apply for a Senior discount card; it costs $10 but you'll cut your fees in half. Plan ahead though, I made reservations, got the card mailed to me and called to get the discount applied, and they gave it to me. I don't think the discount card expires so that's a benefit if you plan to return.

This was our first state park and really enjoyed the experience. When entering the park the rangers provided good directions to the camping area. The drive to the camping areas has some curves and hills so caution is needed when driving. Our site was easy to back into and had level dirt pad with plenty of room. There was a nice fire pit, picnic table. Site has good 30 amp electric and directly across from the site was fresh drinking water. Hiking trails all around the campsite area. The bathrooms are clean and the park staff cleans them throughout the day. There were a lot of families with young kids, and the noise level was very low even with kids on scooters and having fun. Dump station was convenient and easy to access when leaving the camp area. Overall a very nice parka and will return for another stay.

We have stayed here a few times because it’s very close to where we live and we always enjoy our time. The electric loop is a bit close together but not as bad as some parks. Some good hiking nearby but be mindful that is gets very crowded on weekends.
Campground hosts were very friendly and bathhouses are clean if you need to use them.
The biggest negative for us was a very large group with several sites that played loud music, yelled and got in loud arguments for most of our stay. Eventually (after more than 24 hours and at least 1 very loud altercation) rangers and park police came and got them quiet but it made for an unpleasant experience.
Aside from that we will visit again, hopefully the other campers will be more respectful in the future.

We stayed here with our van to enjoy being stationary for a few days. It’s a good campground. Site was clean and pretty level. We only used one block to level the van. There’s fire wood available to purchase at the camp host for $5 for what you can fit in a milk crate. They even have a cart you can borrow to take the wood to your campsite. The bathroom was alright. There’s a sign in there saying to bear with them that they have a scheduled bathroom makeover in the works. (I assume that’ll happen when they close for the season.) There’s two showers which isn’t enough when it’s busy. We took showers after 9pm each night to avoid people. The bathroom toilets take some patience to flush. They have four porta potties outside to help with that and the quantity of people. There’s a utility room where you can wash dishes.

Edit: I docked a star from 4 to 3 because of the dump station. The dump station is a pipe attached to a man hole cover. There isn’t a bowl around the sewer hole. We watched the rig in front of us empty their black tank and poo water emptied out into the road around the hole. There’s a hose to rinse but the sewage wasn’t contained. We ended up emptying our cassette toilet tank into the porta potty instead because we would have dumped sewage on the road too upon the initial tilt of the tank. If you are tent camping, still consider the campground a 4 star. If you have a rig, then it’s a 3-star.

Internet. Verizon via iPhone 12: 37 mbps down and 4 mbps up with 37 ms ping; T-Mobile via Nighthawk MR1100: 15 mbps down and 1 mbps up with 36 ms ping.

This park is quite close to Baltimore. A ranger checked me in and there was a gate code to the campground.
The entrance road made me feel I was in the mountains because it was quite steep. The campground was very wooded and will be colorful in a few weeks. I went in early September. I have a van and had to use a couple of leveling blocks under front tires (backed in). The space between sites was very spatious and private. The dump station is on a one way drive in the loop on the left side. You can use it and take the loop back to your site. As a previous review stated, it is a man-hole cover but there is a pvc threaded sewer pipe in it with a pvc threaded sewer plug. I didn't have any issues using it with my sewer hose and attachments. I use a small plastic tub under the sewer outlet to catch any drippings when I open the cap. The previous review also covered the bath house well. I was there mid-week so the bath house wasn't crowded for me. There were no hooks inside the curtain from which to hang anything. There was a single bench shared by the two shower enclosures. I did notice the sign about the future remodel. There were two regular toilet enclusures and one larger one. I walked down the long, steep drive and found a trail down to the river. The trail, River Ridge Trial, was listed as .1 mi to the river but it was quite steep and rocky. The river was beautiful and there were other trails around but this was the closest I found. There was a potable water station on the other side of the loop from the sewer. They also have trash and recycle dumpsters. The RV loop has 30/20 amp only, I believe. Picnic tables, fire pit and a pole with a high table area and hooks. Gravel site with 4x4 wood edging. There were big rigs in here but not all sites will accommodate. A big rig drove by and it seemed it clipped some trees as it went by in the loop. There were two camphosts present as both those sites were occupied. I saw a ranger drive by at least once. I felt very safe here and enjoyed my visit. I use Sprint/T-Mobile and had 2-3 bars. I was able to text, make phone calls and stream a move on YouTube using data. I have a MD State Golden Pass for lower rates. Regular rate is 24.50. I paid 12.25