Houck Area Campground

Camped in a 15' Teardrop trailer in Site #7 Addison - only electric loop and also allows pets. Very level, heavily wooded, private and plenty of shade. Various water locations through out the loop to fill up a water container. Very spacious site as most are in the Maryland State Parks. Electric worked well and good location. Restrooms and showers were great. Will definitely book this site again. When we were tent campers we always booked #105 in the Deer Spring Branch loop. Very private and huge site with lots of shade. We've also switched to a small one room cabins when the weather was going to be rainy and didn't want to set up camp in the rain. With the beauty of the cabin you can stay dry and still have a small front porch with overhang. Roomy outside to do cooking, campfire and eating at the picnic table. Cunningham, Houck area is centrally located for good antique shopping in Emmitsburg, Md and on Rt 40 in Hagerstown. Stop at Rocky's Pizza on Tippin Dr for great subs, pizza and italian food. In season stop by Pryor Orchard for great produce.

I loved my time here! It was very quiet during the week and filled to capacity on the weekend. I stayed in the Addison loop. This loop has 30amp electric and allows dogs. No water hookups but the spigot was right next to site 10. Amazing location to great hikes right off the campground. Also very close to Catoctin Mountain Park which has phenomenal views and strenuous trails. The camp host, Jim, helped direct me at backing in since I travel solo. Checked on me and he pups once a day too! Had ZERO AT&T service unless I walked up the hill to the other camp loops, but definitely nothing in this loop, although I didn’t try my booster because I had great service on my Verizon hot spot. Bath house has two shower stalls and lots of resident stink bugs and roaches :( Showers were HOT though. Dump station at the exit.
Also, experienced a tornado warning one day and the ranger came around announcing that to those that might not know (I got the alert on my phone), so I thought that was great. No recycling bins that I saw so that was disappointing for a state park. Don’t listen to your GPS if it tells you to do anything other than to come in off 15 to MD 77. I used my RV gps and it took me on Catoctin Mtn Rd off of 15, the long way and it was so narrow and winding I wanted to cry! Would definitely come back!

Cunningham Falls State Park is a gem. Addison loop has good elevation, nice trees sites, clean bathroom, nice camp hosts.

We went for a 4 mile and a 10 mile hike and really enjoyed both. The cliff trail to the falls is rocky and steep but doable. We were able to access the hikes in Catoctin National Park from our site.

We would definitely return. We were on site 15 which is very nice. Also like sites 16 and 17.

Great hiking!

Join us on a video tour of Houck Campground at Cunningham Falls State Park in MD; video uploaded here on Campendium for your immediate reference. The Houck Campground at Cunningham Falls State Park has multiple loops with many big rig friendly dry camping sites. Cunningham Falls day use area is located a short drive from the campground. A dump station and potable water fill are available at the Houck Campground. There is an abundance of things to do in the local area, hiking trails, Catoctin Mountain Park, and Gettysburg National Military Park is an easy 25 minute drive north on US Route 15. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 45.8 Mbps download speed and 2.66 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 35.3 Mbps download speed and 2.48 Mbps upload speed.

I’ve visited this park in numerous times for day hiking, but this was my first time as a camper. The Houck Campground is a short drive from I-15. The Bear Branch, Deer Spring, Elderberry and Catoctin Creek loops are “primitive;” the Addison Run Loop is the only area that has electric hookups (but not water). Each loop has a bathhouse with toilets, running water and hot showers. Yup, love me a hot shower after a long hike! The bathhouse is cleaned regularly, but still hosts the odd bug or spider. Don’t be alarmed by the cicadas this year, they look like huge, googly-eyed extras from The Fly, but they’re harmless. There’s a dishwashing sink on the side of the bathhouse and potable water spigot nearby.
I stayed in the Elderberry Loop. The sites are level, unpaved but nicely covered with gravel, and very roomy. Backing in was a breeze. There also a nice separation from your neighbor (hello privacy!). The campground is forested, which is nice for shade, but not so great for solar collection systems.
Another nice option are the four small cabins on both the Elderberry and Deer Spring Loops, which can be reserved through the same Maryland DNR website. Take a break from your tent for a night!
Wood and ice are available for purchase at the campground. The park is great for hiking, kayaking and there’s even a beach area at the lake. Catoctin Mountain Park is next door, with even more hiking trails! Check out Wolf Rock. Camp David is also nearby, but take my advice and don’t even try to approach the gate. Lotta military guards over there…especially when the Camp is occupied.
The small town of Thurmont is 10 minutes away (gas, basic supplies, restaurants) and the larger city of Frederick is 30 minutes away. There’s even a reputable RV dealer with a good selection of accessories and replacement parts about 20 minutes south.
It’s the mid-Atlantic, so expect hot and humid conditions in the summer. In my opinion, this park is at its best in spring and fall. Just lovely!

Spent the fourth of July weekend here. Very clean park, well maintained and the camp hosts were friendly. We stayed in the Catoctin Creek Loop. Many sites in both the Catoctin Creek Loop and the Addison Run Loop have electric. Sites are spacious and level. There is a lake with free beach access for campers, as well as boat rentals. There is also a waterfall a short hike from the beach area or a bit longer of a hike from the campground.

First the hosts were very nice. There are two cgs with Houck being the biggest with the Addison loop the only with electric. There are 5 loops with dispersed water only. The Addison sites with best access to the water spigot are 4,10,13,19,20,25. Each loop has a bathhouse with two showers. There is an outside dishwash station. There is a dump station that is really two far to use your caddies. Lots of trails. A lake to swim and fish. This is a great Maryland state park.

Beautiful campground, we really enjoyed our stay! Fall colors were popping mid October! Showers were clean with hot water. Cell signal about 2 bars with Verizon. Water available around the campground but not at actual site and dump station is up by the office. Not sure if it’s always like this, but everyone around was pretty noisy… dogs constantly barking, kids screaming and playing and people shouting across the campground. I didn’t mark any stars off because I don’t know if this is the norm, but if you’re looking for peace and quiet, you may not find it here. If you have a family, this may be the best spot for you! Happy trails :)

We stayed for three nights to visit Frederick it was a bit far to travel but worked. The campsites are on a steep hill area of park and a bit far from the hiking trails. had to drive to everything due to the steep hills. The sites were too close together with no privacy. The Furnace area was very interesting to historic area to see. Ok for a stop but not a week long destination.