Mapped · not agency-listedPublic land · dispersedFree
Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD
Hike-in · public land · Frederick County, MD · 39.49623, -77.61661
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →A mapped lead, not an agency listing. Somebody marked this as a campsite; we could not match it to a land-manager record. Worth checking rather than counting on. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
What the record says about the site — Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD · public land · MD
- First come, first served
- Tent camping
- No trailers or RVs
- Listed as a backcountry site
- Informal, undeveloped site
From the OpenStreetMap contributors listing for this site — their words, not our visit. Records go stale; treat it as a starting point and confirm anything your trip depends on.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,317 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MDNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD · public land · MD
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- WWater0 mi
- @Mail2 mi
- HHardware2 mi
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery2 mi
- LLaundry2 mi
- DDump2 mi
- EVEV fast charger3 mi
- MMechanic3 mi
- +Urgent care5 mi
- RxPharmacy6 mi
- PPropane10 mi
- AAir-up10 mi
- OOutfitter13 mi
- ShShower15 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 2 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD
Access
Hike-in
Land
public land · dispersed
Elevation
1,317 ft
Ground slope
11.3% · noticeable
Nearest rail line
~7.5 mi · other track
Nearest highway
~1.6 mi · Interstate 70
County
Frederick County, MD
Coordinates
39.49623, -77.61661
Cost
Free · OpenStreetMap fee tag: no
Getting in
Park at nearest parking · ~0.25 mi in a straight line (trail will be longer)
Nearby & resupply — around Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD · public land · MD (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureGrindstone Run · ~0.1 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Nearest townZittlestown · ~0.8 mi
- Nearest rail line~7.5 mi · other track
- Nearest highway~1.6 mi · Interstate 70
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.4 mi
- FuelExxon · ~2.6 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~11.2 mi
- Dump station~2.4 mi
- GroceriesWeis Markets · ~2.7 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~9.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicRobinwood Professional Center · ~9.3 mi
- HardwareBoonsboro Ace Hardware · ~1.6 mi
EV charging — from Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD · public land · MD — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger2.7 mi straight-line E — POTOMAC EDISON MYERSVILLE DC 2 · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach36 within 25 mi · 219 within 50 · 579 within 100 · 1043 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)6.2 mi — Middletown, MD Rechargery Relay - Middletown Pkwy, Middletown
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)2.0 mi — POTOMAC EDISON BOONSBORO · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 235961 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD · public land · MD — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 8 · ~2.2 mi N
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 9 · ~2.3 mi N
- RestroomVisitor Center · ~7.0 mi W · NPS
- RestroomTaylors Landing Boat Ramp (080.90) · ~8.0 mi W · NPS
Coming out here — Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD · public land · MD
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Grindstone Run as an intermittent stream, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as intermittent — expect it dry for part of the year. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 11.3% — noticeable. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (3 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~7.5 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as other track. The nearest track the atlas classes as a main line is ~7.7 mi from the pin. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Interstate 70 is mapped ~1.6 mi from the pin. Straight-line, from the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025) — the divided, limited-access highways, which is why a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not appear here.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD elsewhere
Other camps near Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Dahlgren Backpackers Campground (Appalachian Trail, South Mountain, MD)~1.1 mi
- Rocky Run Shelter (Appalachian Trail, South Mountain, MD)~2.5 mi
- Pine Knob Shelter (Appalachian Trail, South Mountain, MD)~3.3 mi
- Annapolis Rock Campground (Appalachian Trail, South Mountain, MD)~4.4 mi
Who holds the land at Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD
USGS’s Protected Areas Database (PAD-US 4.1, queried 2026-09-23) lists the ground at this pin as Appalachian National Scenic Trail, manager on record: National Park Service (federal). That names who holds the land — it is not a statement that camping is permitted here.
How we know this — Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
auto: hike (road/trail right there)
Site details
The OpenStreetMap contributors listing's own fields for this site (site type, whether tents or trailers fit, capacity, toilet, water, campfires, reservations). Printed as the record states them, unchecked by us, and never used to make a cost claim -- the cost verdict above is decided separately and audited before every deploy.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
Contributed, not agency-listed. A mapper marked this as a campsite. We have not matched it to a land-manager record, so it stays at Likely.
What we don’t know about Dispersed camp — Frederick County, MD
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it