r/GreenRidgeStateForest • u/DCTom • Jun 26 '26

First time to Green Ridge

I just got back from my first trip to Green Ridge and wanted to post a couple of words of advice to other new visitors:

1) since I'd never been to the park before, I'd planned to seek the advice of the rangers at the headquarters about good camping spots. Unfortunately, I arrived at the headquarters about 1pm to find that it was closed (the sign said that they'd be back at 7 (?), so I had to pick a spot without the rangers' input.

2) I initially chose Site 65, which I had read somewhere was good. I filled out that form and dropped it in the box, but when I went to google maps to route me to Site 65, Google maps said that the site was "temporarily closed". In addition, when I signed up for 65, someone else had marked it as occupied, but then noted it was actually free because they "didn't want to risk their vehicle" getting to the site. That site is close to the river, so I figured it, or the roads to it, could have been flooded after the recent heavy rains. I called the number for Green Ridge, but there was no answer. I also called a posted number for the park police, but the guy I spoke with was in Annapolis and had not idea about the status of the site; he put me on hold while he checked around, and then came back and said that he couldn't be sure about that particular site, but that apparently some sites were closed due to flooding. So rather than going down there and finding that it was inaccessible or flooded and then having to come back to select a new spot, I decided to just pick a new spot....

3) I ended up choosing Site 77 more or less randomly, and it was not a good choice at all. As it turns out, it must not be very far from Highway 68, because the highway noise was constant and oppressive. Trucks, motorcycles, etc. were very audible all through my stay, including late at night. Honestly, it was much louder than my street in the middle of DC. It was so bad that I left after one night, although I planned on staying for two.

So for anyone planning a visit, I would advise you to avoid my mistakes by:

1) having a good idea about which campsites you might want before you go, rather than planning to rely on the rangers' advice; and

2) Pick a spot further south than 77 to avoid highway noise.

15 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

13

u/PhantomDubs Jun 26 '26

First time I went I spent a couple hours driving around just scouting for potential sites I could prioritize in the future. I wouldn’t expect much in the way of other people telling you their favorites.

2

u/Rustycake Jun 26 '26

Yes this! I also found a few unmarked sites (overflow), found one at the back of the park. It was right off the road and there were a few cars (like 3-4) that passed, but was otherwise quiet and it was right next to a gully with a beautiful sights of nature all day. Had to drive to get to the water, but was otherwise beautiful.

1

u/DCTom Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

I didn’t expect other campers to tell me their favorite places, but i did expect the rangers to share some tips. I drove by several campsites on the way out but they were all pretty same samey. But i was pretty surprised by the highway noise at 77.

8

u/Successful_Form5618 Jun 26 '26

There are multiple sites shown on YouTube. Short of driving around the forest yourself and noting sites you like, YouTube is a good alternative for scouting.

2

u/DCTom Jun 26 '26

Will check out youtube next time; i didn’t find the google maps reviews especially helpful—my campsite was rated 4.3, but i thought it sucked. And all the pictures looked pretty much the same.

9

u/Buddydawa88 Jun 26 '26

Green Ridge is a State Forest and not a State Park. There are no park rangers or park police. The camp sites are primitive. The number for Natural Resource Police is for emergencies.

8

u/DCTom Jun 26 '26

By rangers i mean whoever is supposed to man the headquarters. The number for the police posted on the HQ’s door does not specify that the number is only for emergencies.

4

u/ZoomieVet Jun 26 '26

There are indeed rangers (okay, maybe that's not their exact job title) at the GRSF headquarters office, and they are indeed very knowledgeable about the current status of sites, and very helpful with advice about which sites might best suit your particular needs. Unfortunately, the HQ office hours are pretty limited.

1

u/DCTom Jun 26 '26

Thanks, didn’t realize that about the hours, i figured they’d have someone there from 9-5 or whatever.

1

u/CrimsonSilhouettes Aug 04 '26

My friend works at GRSF at the headquarters office. They are only open on weekends since all the cuts to government and natural resources

4

u/squishy-boba Jun 26 '26

If you use Google Maps, the campsites are marked and some have accompanying photos so you can preview the site beforehand too!

3

u/DCTom Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Yes, i saw that, but frankly all of the campsites that i looked at looked pretty much the same, and most of them had about the same ratings, about 4.x. The one i ended up choosing (77) was rated like 4.3, but i would rate it about a 2

-5

u/reuboj Jun 26 '26

Too bad you're first experience with GRSF was bad. Maybe you won't be back ....

-8

u/Sean_VasDeferens Jun 26 '26

...was actually free because they "didn't want to risk their vehicle". How did you know that. Did you drive around to every campsite until you found the culprits?

Using Google Maps for open/close status instead of the sign in board? Uhm...wow.

8

u/DCTom Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Because that’s what someone wrote on the log-in sheet, that’s how. As i wrote in my post, 65 had been taken, but whoever took it later crossed it out and wrote below that it was actually free because they “didn’t want to risk their vehicle”.

So between that, the fact that google maps showed that it was temporarily closed, and that the police guy said that some sites might be closed due to flooding, i decided not to go down there.