Agency-listedMD DNRUnpriced · confirm

Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

Drive-up · Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources · MD · 38.12423, -75.46539

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Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

USGS topographic map of Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Aerial image of Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

Weather outlook — at Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

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Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)NIFC · 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 Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest) · Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources · MD

▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.

Nearest of each

DDump2 mi
LLaundry2 mi
@Mail4 mi
FFuel5 mi
GGrocery6 mi
HHardware6 mi
RxPharmacy6 mi
MMechanic6 mi
+Urgent care6 mi
WWater6 mi
OOutfitter15 mi
ShShower16 mi
AAir-up17 mi
PPropane25 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 5 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 — Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

Access

Drive-up

Land

Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources

Elevation

5 ft

State

Coordinates

38.12423, -75.46539

Cost

Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go

Nearby & resupply — around Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest) · Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources · MD (OpenStreetMap)

Nearest townGirdletree · ~3.9 mi
Drinking waterWater · ~6.5 mi
FuelKaddy Mart · ~4.7 mi
Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~25.1 mi
Dump station~1.6 mi
GroceriesFood Rite · ~5.7 mi
PharmacyRite Aid · ~6.1 mi
Hospital / clinicDoctor's office · ~6.3 mi
HardwareB & N Sales · ~5.8 mi

Nearby restrooms — around Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest) · Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources · MD — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 6 · ~9.3 mi SW
RestroomFederal restroom · ~15.9 mi SE · FWS
RestroomFederal restroom · ~15.9 mi SE · FWS
RestroomFederal restroom · ~16.0 mi S · FWS

Coming out here — Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest) · Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources · MD

No surface water within about a mile and a half in our records — which is not proof there is none, only that we found none. Plan to carry washing water as well as drinking water.
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 Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest) elsewhere

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Other camps near Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

Saxis WMA~18.9 mi
Somerset County~24.5 mi
Deal Island Wildlife Management Area - primitive camping area~24.5 mi

How we know this — Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

Permit

Reserve at the Pocomoke River State Park Camp Store, Shad Landing

Source

public land records

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

MD DNR Pocomoke State Forest camping page (dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/publiclands/Pocomoke/Camping.aspx, live 200 on 2026-09-27; text read via the Wayback capture of 2026-03-11): 'Camping is allowed only in the Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area on Blades Road in the Pocomoke State Forest.' 'For camping reservations at the Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area, please visit the Pocomoke River State Park Camp Store at Shad Landing.' Park office 410-632-2566. DNR camping-area map (dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Documents/pocomoke/PSF_Mattaponi-Ponds-Camping-Map.pdf) shows three numbered camp sites (1-3) plus one group site (G1) off Blades Rd, Worcester County. NOT STATED by DNR: the fee, a stay limit, or any water source. The fee is UNKNOWN -- do not publish this as free. Coordinate = centre of OSM way/938570652 'Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area' (tourism=camp_site, operator='Pocomoke River State Park', website tag = the DNR Pocomoke camping page). It lies 33 m from the OSM Blades trail, consistent with DNR's map, which puts the camping area on the Blades Loop trail off Blades Rd. Point-in-polygon: inside MD DNR MD_ProtectedLands 'POCOMOKE RIVER SF' (DNR Owned Property). County per FCC: Worcester County, MD. Confidence 'medium' because the fee is unknown. Access: the point is 112 m from 'Blades' OSM highway=service (way/941122537). NOT VERIFIED: whether that road is gated, seasonal, or passable by a passenger car. Nearest town: Girdletree ~4.2 mi. 'Nearest town' is straight-line distance to the nearest OSM place=city/town/village, NOT a driving distance; in the Potomac valley the nearest named place is often across the river in WV or PA. Ingest 2026-09-27. | REVIEW 2026-09-27 (nightshift-verified, fire 2660): Pocomoke camping page dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/publiclands/Pocomoke/Camping.aspx is live (200 today) and its camping text is identical to the Wayback copy the ingest fire quoted: 'Camping is allowed only in the Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area on Blades Road in the Pocomoke State Forest.' and reservations at 'the Pocomoke River State Park Camp Store at Shad Landing'. The Mattaponi map PDF (re-fetched, 200) still shows campsites 1-3 plus group site G1 off Blades Rd beside the Blades Loop Trail. OSM way/938570652 is still live (v3, 2025-09-18), tourism=camp_site, same name. The FEE IS STILL UNKNOWN: neither that page nor the Pocomoke River State Park page (dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/eastern/pocomokeriver.aspx, 200) mentions Mattaponi or a price. Approved as UNPRICED: build_map.py renders fee_verdict='unpriced' as unpriced and only fee_verdict='free' may say free, so this cannot publish as free. Point-in-polygon re-run today: MD_ProtectedLands 'POCOMOKE RIVER SF' (Maryland Forest Service). Duplicate check on COORDINATES: nearest approved/published camp is row 19257 'Saxis WMA' at 30370 m -- not a duplicate. DECISION: approved.

Field check

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.

What we don’t know about Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

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

Before you go — Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)

Camping near a reservoir →Fire rules & restrictions →How to read this page →Reading the aerial →All field notes →

Is this page wrong about Mattaponi Ponds Camping Area (Pocomoke State Forest)?

This page was built from a public land record, not from a visit. If you have actually pulled in here and it does not match, that is worth more than anything we can read off a map. Tell Dave what is off — it goes to him, not onto the page.

Anything else, in your own words (optional)Your email — optional, and only so Dave can ask you a follow-up. It does not go on a list, and nobody is promising you a reply.

A reader report is not a fact, and this one will not change a word of this page by itself. Dave reads it and checks it against the agency’s own record, because that record is what this site says. If reader reports are ever shown here they are labelled “reader report, unverified” with the date, and they are never merged into the agency fields.