Good walk on a cool day in early March. A little mud but mostly an easy walk along the riverside trail and the former railroad. Some leftover snow from the 26 January storm and residual ice on the canal. No leaves but a good view through the woods. Liked the fast-flowing river and the textures of the dormant woods. Colorful lichen and fungi read more

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A quiet path along the river, providing beautiful ambiance-strolling through the elegant woods while also offering scenic water views, I really enjoyed the old train tracks throughout- the trail was flat path, very walkable, no nearby traffic noises or heavy crowds- The only woe keeping from 5stars was the lack of signage to pinpoint the trails throughout- overall the park offers 3-4 varying looping & out/back trails, we attempted to stay on the blue trail, but missed an unmarked turn somewhere- while the view of our water edge walk was delightful, we wish we found the intended path- would return again; easy to walk if we brought the kids- lots of fun down to the water drop offs- easy enough parking read more

Susquehanna State Park - Hiking Near Me - Havre de Grace, Maryland

Extensive nature trails, historic buildings, and wonderful river vistas. A wonderful place to spend a weekend afternoon.

This is my second time at this park with 10 years in between. Nothing much has changed. The paths are so narrow and the vegetation overgrowth causes the path to be even slimmer. It's really hard for two people to walk next to one another, much less let someone pass you on the path. Otherwise, it's a pretty park just wish it was maintained better. read more

[Coronavirus review] Anyone seeking a place for "approved recreational activities" during the stay at home order could do a lot worse than Susquehanna. It's got miles of trails, outdoor picnic tables, and frankly there isn't enough parking to support the kind of crowds that we're all trying to avoid; most of it is fairly spread out with a few spaces here and there off the side of the road. The roads leading into this park were not wide enough for my liking, but perhaps that was just a preview of the dramatic changes in elevation to come. The place seems to be Baltimore's answer to the C&O Canal and great falls; it has that same mix of faded industry and natural majesty, albeit on a smaller scale. There were, however, plenty of Virginia bluebells in season (including some non-blue variants). Many people were fishing, and a few running or biking. The trail that runs closest to the river is in part an old railway line, which looks unlikely to support trains at this point (signs at the entrance note that trail is unmaintained). One could walk all the way to the dam upriver, but I chose not to, and circled back on an inland route. I skipped the "difficult" trail, but even the non-difficult Susquehanna Ridge was enough to work up a sweat through significant changes in elevation. Wildlife, including woodpeckers and what I think was a bald eagle, was prevalent. I spent a couple of hours there and could certainly have spent more on a better weather day. There was an inland creek that one crosses over multiple times, while the river was quite powerful, with an audible current on the shore. It isn't hard to see why the dam upriver was built. There was an entrance fee (currently on an honor system of self-pay envelopes) only for the picnic pavilion, which frankly is the one place I didn't see any reason to go. The view wasn't that impressive and congregating at a picnic site is not an "approved recreation activity" anyway (I ate on a bench next to a defunct watermill). The rest of the park will I hope remain a viable hiking site for the foreseeable future. read more

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Really enjoyed my weekend camping here. There is plenty to do and I already want to come back. We camped in the acorn loop which was dog friendly and really nice. The firewood here was $5 a crate (which is very generous compared to some other parks). The bath house was clean and always had soap and tp. There are some interesting trails around here. We started with the green deer trail that starts right at the acorn loop. There are two champion trees on this loop which are amazing to look at. The oak is definitely more interesting and worth going to check out (it's a little detour off the loop but easy to get to). The sign said that the green loop was extremely difficult but I found it to be moderate. Just a lot of hill climbs with no stream crossings or anything crazy. We also tried the historic loop which was short but I liked that there was information on all the buildings. Since it's so short you can do it after a longer hike or do it on the last day before leaving. This is a great park/camping spot. I will definitely be back and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in these activites. read more

Love this park! So many great trails...easy and hard. We love camping here too and brought our dogs...stayed on the Beechnut loop site #18. There is firewood and ice available at the entrance of the campground at the ranger's station...need to bring cash. At our campsite we enjoyed the beautiful surroundings, appreciated the sweet smells of honeysuckle and campfire, the singing of the variety of birds and star gazing. The bathrooms are clean and nice hot showers too and are a short trail from each campsite. We hiked along the Deer Creek Trail Loop, which is right off of the Acorn Loop of the campground. The trail is fairly easy and ends up at the picnic area if you're in need of a little break and can enjoy your packed lunch and use restroom, if open. I highly recommend visiting this park! read more

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The park is beautiful & quiet in most sections. Nice park to hike/ walk or bike or picnic. Lots of wildlife, especially eagles, which people go to see. They really take care of the park to keep it as natural as possible. If you have a sunroof or moonroof, l would advise covering it because the vultures like to eat the rubber seal , at least near the dam. read more

This was the place we camped for a night on our return from camping outside DC. We regretted that we didn't spend more time, and made it this year's spring break destination, coming back a year later. It was gorgeous as we remembered, and relatively quiet, in our return trip. The woods are lovely here, with eagles, hawks, and heron along Deer Creek. The trails were well-blazed, and the campground was tidy overall. Our site was wooded and surrounded by songbirds--cardinals, sparrows, and woodpecand roomy with a clean bathhouse (and bonus, hot showers!). Firewood and bagged ice were available at the ranger station, and we were glad to find trash and recycling bins, and though we didn't find washers or dryers in the laundry room, there was a deep sink for dish washing or in a pinch, hand washing. For our little one the playground in the campground and picnic areas were also nice. The trails along the Susquehanna were rugged but bike-able, with wildflowers throughout (and the campground is a couple miles from the ECG). In all, a beautiful place to camp. read more

We stayed at site 42 on the Acorn loop. The site was very small, full of large gravel rocks and roots, it was so uneven it was very hard to get the camper level. To us the whole park seemed neglected. The trails were overgrown, poison ivy everywhere, but the worst part were the flies, so many flies we couldn't sit outside. There was a trash dumpster about 20 feet from our site, that could be why there were so many flies. I'm not sure why there was a dumpster right in the camping area, we have never seen that in any parks we have stayed in before. We left a day early because of the flies (they were that bad). The bath house was clean and well kept and the rangers were very nice and helpful. We won't be going back there again. read more

Warning: This review is coming from a very "indoor girl" My boyfriend rented this cabin in his excitement about the 'supermoon.' For $55, we rented "The Oriole" which he chose based solely on the name. If you have children, this cabin could be a good choice for you because it turned out to be back-to-back with the playground. You could easily keep an eye on them from your camp site (it's that close). If you'd rather be away from kiddies, opt for another cabin. Check-in was easy- you just pull up to the ranger station and give your name. They give you a little map and the key is already in your cabin. I liked that we could pull the car right up to the campsite. It is a little weird that you are camping right on the road (the loop around the cabins and campsites) but there weren't too many cars driving by (just other people staying on the loop). My boyfriend, who is more outdoorsy, would have preferred to be more in the deep woods. I did notice that The Oriole was one of the few cabins facing the road, where our neighboring cabins, like the Blue Jay, faced sideways. I will admit that I was terrified of what the cabin would be like. It was definitely small and bare bones, but it was very clean, which is what was important to me. It has electricity so you can charge your phones, cameras, whatever. Here's what's in the cabin: (see pictures) -A double bed -A set of twin bunk beds -A ceiling fan/light combo -A broom That's it folks! But it was good. These beds do not come with sheets, so you should either bring your own or just do what we did and use your sleeping bag on top of the mattress (they were clean). Since it was just the two of us and we had no one to occupy the twin bunks, we put those mattresses under our double for extra cushion (they are only a few inches thick). There were no bugs in the cabin throughout the night and although it was a bit stuffy, the fan definitely helped. I agree with Mitch R; Lynn E is definitely tripping. There are no trains nearby and there is nothing but dead silence at night (minus a few hoots from owls). It was so hot in our cabin that at one point we decided to set up the tent in case we wanted to sleep in there instead of the cabin, to get more air. Oops- not allowed. The ranger came around and yelled at us that we were not allowed to set up a tent. The "grill" is really more like a fire pit with a grill grate. It was clean when we got there and it worked fine; we used it to make kabobs, corn, and late-night grilled cheeses. You have to bring your own wood (we bought it at the Weis in town) because you are not allowed to take from the park. The trails were nice (we went on the easiest one). Then we had an adventure. We took the green trail from our cabin, walked through the picnic area and out of the park onto the road which went along the creek. When we saw a way down to the creek, we cut through the woods and jumped in our tube and floated down Deer Creek. This is the best way to see wildlife, in my opinion, and we saw a lot of it. My favorite was two baby deer drinking with their heads all the way under water. We were able to get really close because we were floating so slowly and quietly towards them. The next day, we decided to start our tubing adventure at the pump-cleaning station. We made our way into the woods (no real trail- just a tiny path with lots of thorns) and we walked about a mile upstream. Once again, when we saw a way down to the creek that seemed not too dangerous, we made our way down the hill and floated back down. There were more frequent stronger currents at this section of the creek (I like to call them rapids, though they were far from it) and it was really fun (but still relaxing at some points) to tube down. Note: There is no place to rent tubes before hand and no 'guide' to help you. This is no "official" tubing place. We just hiked up the trail and jumped in. Got the tubes at Wal Mart the day before for $19 each. Overall- mission accomplished. We had a great view of the Supermoon- I can't believe how bright the sky was when it was rising. I would call these cabins the perfect 'compromise' camping trip if traveling with someone who is not very outdoorsy. My boyfriend praised me for not complaining at all, I didn't get any bug bites, and it was actually really nice. I would have liked it to be a bit more private, and you can't drink alcohol on site (what's a camp out without a beer?!), but I guess it's a tradeoff for the nicer amenities. I definitely recommend picking up a few tubes and checking out Deer Creek-- that was the best part for me. Hiking is more fun when you know you get to float back. read more

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We rented cabins Oriole and Goldfinch this past weekend - very basic and comfortable with a set of bunk beds, a double bed and 2 electrical outlets. Because of the cold weather, I was glad we brought an extension cord that allowed us to use a small portable electric heater and an electric blanket - there is no heat or air conditioning in the cabins although there is an overhead fan and light. These two cabins were also just in front of the playground so it would be ideal for families with smaller kids who need some supervision. The only downside to the cabins are the proximity to the road which meant easy loading but also at night car headlights shone directly onto us while we sat by the firepit, just a few feet away. I did hear an occasional train going by - maybe 2-3 times but distant enough that I fell right back to sleep. Bathrooms were in good condition and kept up nicely. Rangers were visible and did their rounds making sure everyone was checked in. The ranger's building had some bare necessities like ice, firewood and sunscreen which loaded up daily around 5 pm. I would definitely pick the campsites with electricity next time if cabins were not available - most of them looked pretty private. The park had really nice trails and easy access to the Susquehanna River. Our families enjoyed ourselves and will definitely return. read more

I love walking throughout these trails. If you're new to the area it can get a bit difficult to try and find the parking lots at first but an short exploration around and you'll find one. The issue I was having was that it's fairly small in comparison to most places I've been to. It's a nice easy area for hiking and runs right along the Susquehanna River. You'll find other hikers and people fishing the banks. I did find some farm animals at the top around the museum. You'll find a few events that happen in that area on occasion which is easy to pass through. It's a nice place to visit. read more

Great place for an easy hike! The trail we were on was by the water so it was flat but very scenic! read more

Susquehanna State Park - Hiking Near Me - Havre de Grace, Maryland

If you are a nature lover this spot is for you. Whether it's fishing or birdwatching! I enjoyed talking to the very friendly and talented photographers out there and they even took pictures of me and my friend, son and Foxy! Check out Willspics to see what type of quality wildlife there is right here on the beautiful Susquehanna River. I used to live in the quaint little town across the river of Port Deposit as I am quite familiar. While there I saw at least 30 eagles along with the immature ones playing on the tree branches. No.. they are just called that because their heads are dark until they reach the mature age of 5 years old and then the head feathers turn white. It's also a pretty drive no matter what area you are coming from. Enjoy the great outdoors! read more

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Cool place to go tent camping. Nice chill campground. Good playground. 30 minutes from our house. Close to conowingo dam pool if it's hot outside. We will be back again. read more

Susquehanna State Park - Hiking Near Me - Havre de Grace, Maryland

Our family loves it here! There is so much to see and it is so peaceful and beautiful.

It's a well maintained park to hike through but the camping spots are very small and you don't have any privacy. The bathrooms were very clean and easily accessible to all spots because of how close together they are. Do not choose site #19 or #21 on beechnut Loop. #19 is all gravel and roots and there is not a good place to put your tent. 21 has a platform, but it's right next to the road. Both sites are very small and exposed. read more

Hands down one of my favorite parks in Maryland. First off: I honestly I have no idea what the hell Lynn E. is talking about about trains. THE NEAREST TRACKS ARE OVER FOUR MILES AWAY as the crow flies, I measured it out. I've camped here dozens of times (literally) and I've camped all over both of the two loops. I've never heard the train unless it is a DEAD silent night with no wind and it is so distant you can BARELY even make out the sound of a train horn. Ridiculous complaint and reason for a one star review. Maybe she is the owner of a competing campground or something??? Okay, now with that out of the way: This is where I start my camping season off, and end it every year. This park has BEAUTIFUL camp sites with brand spankin' new bathhouses. The bathrooms are always clean and well taken care of, and the showers are very nice with shower heads that belong in a 5 star hotel, and no I am not kidding around. The park rangers are very friendly and give great advice of trails to hike or things to see. Havre de Grace is a beautiful little town right on the water which is about 10 minutes awy. In HdG there is a ton of stuff to do, places to eat, things to see, and a boardwalk to parade down. Around the fourth of July, HdGs fireworks display is one of the best I've ever seen in this country aside from the one on The Mall in DC, I am not exaggerating. Do yourself a favor and check this park out. read more

Gosh, I really love Susquehanna. We have gone here to hike and just grill some lunch and hang out with family. The trails are pretty flat, perfect for an easy hike or bike ride. There is a beautiful picnic area that has a playground, some grills, and a pond with quite a few Geese. We often come just to grill and picnic here. read more

Rented mini-cabin No.4 Oriole for 3 nights on 21st August 2014. Checked in late around 9:30 PM. Cabin was clean and key was already in there. 4 Adults (wife and inlaws) were camping for the weekend. Twin bed is good/spacious. Bunk beds seem small for a medium size adult. It was oddly warm for late August night and fan in the cabin provided little help.(looks like the fan is overdue for maintenance; hardly moves). NO TABLE IN THE CABIN (** So get one of your own**) Noticed a weird dead animal smell in the night, but ignored thinking could be skunk spraying around. The smell just worsened during the day and we called the ranger( super friendly guy). After little excavation with flashlights he spotted what looked like a disintegrated carcass of a little red fox. Ranger dragged the carcass out from the rear end of the cabin and took it away in trash bag ( I helped a little bit in this ordeal) and sprayed the whole place with some disinfectant. We did hear train sounds but didnt bother or disturb the sleep. The shared bath house facilities are outstandingly clean and free hot water... wow! Play area is just behind the the cabin, visible from the cabin window. We took the green trail(A.K.A Deer creek trail) through the woods which was lovely. The giant tree midway the trail and creek were picturesque. The picnic table outside and fire ring was great. Picnic area was neat and decently occupied with birthday party groups. Stepping stone museum was a pleasant surprise and worth discovering. Overall beautiful state park with nice people and awesome showers! read more

We just spent a night there Saturday and it was wonderful! So clean, so friendly and our campsite was perfect! My boyfriend and I just spent one night tent camping, site #59. It was perfect, off the road and perfect for us city folk. A short walk from the car and close to the bath houses but still felt "woodsy." We were right near the trail head (green, the easy one). Everything was lush, trails are well maintained, and it's only 15 min from Conowingo Dam, perfect for bald eagle watching!! Bring your binoculars though. Staff were helpful and website it easy to use and we made a reservation in advance. Firewood is $5 a bundle. We can't wait to go back! read more

I passed by the exit to Susquehanna State Park so many times and I'm glad that after of 20+ years of ignoring this place, I finally got a chance to hike it. My family's summer activity is to follow the Maryland Ice Cream and to offset the calories, we would hike at nearby hiking trails before getting the yummy treat. Susquehanna State Park happens to be nearby one of dairy farms on the Ice Cream Trail so we picked this place. I printed out the trails map from their web site which helped tremendously as I didn't see any map available. The trails are clearly marked as well as the information about the trails themselves. Even though it was a hot day, the breeze from the river and the shade from the trees kept us cool. There are historic building throughout the park. We went into the mill, but didn't go into others. I thought the park was well maintain, but there is no trash cans for you to dump your trash so you must take your trash out with you. They have plastic bags and places to dump your dogs poop though. Since they allow horses on the trails, be careful where you step as there are piles of horses' manure on the trail. read more

The park is beautiful, with diverse trails, and the mini-cabins are clean and neat (the bath house facilities are - wow - deluxe! No joke.). The park rangers are on the job and everything seems well organized. Having just slept in a cabin, I do want to chime in on the train issue since the person who mentioned it was pounced on: there ARE train sounds 3-4 times through the night - at least on Tuesday nights! But it's a nice sound for this city-dweller - just part mod the experience. Edit/Update: Oh, and I wanted to add that there IS a 2-bar strong 3G service at the cabins. AND the trains run on other nights, not just Tuesdays :-). read more

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Very nice trail, starting from either end. Distance markers every 1/4 mile, shady, flat. Nice easy walk. The GPS address will take you to the end where the Conowingo dam is, which is noted for its fishing, and eagles. read more

So how do I usually end the last weekend of summer? By either going to the beach or camping; chose the latter as you can tell. The drive to this campsite is extremely peaceful, the campgrounds not so much. My group was situated at Site 35 (Beechnut Loop) right by the playground so we heard kids running around at the crack of dawn. Also, my campsite was located on a hill (seriously who thought situating a campsite on a hill!) Even more frustrating was that the firewood we bought at the entrance was wet because it would not burn! (although we could have snuck in our own firewoods, we decided to follow the rules and not bring our own). Maryland was too far of a drive anyway, I think I'll stick with going to the Poconos or state parks in upstate NY. read more

Every time I crossed the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge on my way to DC, I always wondered what the woods I saw all around me were like. I wanted to be able to cross the bridge and think, "I walked that river; I know what it looks like down there." So when I later discovered this was a state park, I really wanted to see it. On our next trip to Baltimore, we planned to stop with our dog. The directions require you to pass the landing side of the bridge for quite a distance before you can turn off for the park, and our directions wound us up and around a number of residential / ruralish roads before they brought us back down and around to the park. This is the case because the park is pretty big, and expands out away from the shore of the river for a ways. So it was a distance to drive back to the river, to get to the trails by the shore, where we wanted to hike. Once we finally got there, we found parking somewhat easily. For the river tails, there were a lot of fishermen who park on the dirt just off of the street. Signage was unclear about whether this was allowed or not, so we ultimately just did what the locals did. The trails were beautiful in spring, with a lot of wildflowers like bluebells, Mayapples, honeysuckle, etc. Also a lot of skunk cabbage, which loves wet areas. I think I saw a few tiny wild orchids too. I had a bee follow me a bit which was not fun, but otherwise pleasant flora. We didn't see much wildlife aside from maybe a crane at the shore or a squirrel or chipmunk, but there were a lot of fishermen out. The locals along the trail kind of gave annoyed looks and stares. We were the only people hiking the trail instead of using it to fish. It was the middle of the day on a weekday, so maybe the fishermen are used to having it to themselves, and were wary that we might make noise and send our dog into the water to swim, which would scare the fish? We had no plans to let our dog in the water (they can get Giardia or other parasites that way). But nonetheless, the locals were not particularly friendly. We actually would have wanted to stay longer if not for the attitude every 0.10 mile. There are a few historic old buildings, which looked nicely kept (Rock Run Grist Mill, the Carter-Archer mansion, the Jersey Toll House, and ruins of the Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal). Didn't have enough time to do everything and my camera/phone was on the fritz, so we need to go back to explore more and get good pics! Will return! read more

I recently went here to walk the trail and see the historic buildings. Beautiful park. read more

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Rented a cabin there last fall and must say it was a peaceful and relaxing weekend. The cabin was roomy enough for 4 though it was a little stuffy but not a big deal since it was humid. Don't know what to do around there for kids besides the trail but I know I go to Conowingo Dam often. It's a few miles upstream and if your into wildlife photography like eagles there's not to many places east of the Mississippi that are better than there. read more

Something about big parks with tall stately trees stirs a primal note of longing in me and makes me want to yelp to the whole world..visit and go touch a tree. Susquehanna State parks merits five stars for its multiple trails, gorgeous Grist Mill, friendly female ranger in the historic tour house(Sorry I never came back to get that keychain..thank you for the map xerox...we went the opposite way), beautiful views of the Suquehanna and of course, those magnificent trees you have in your vast woods. We drove through part of the park(be careful as roads are very narrow in some parts..go SLOW) and walked a bit, climbed a bit(that restroom by the Grist Mill is up, up the hill), saw butterflies, wildflowers, the boat launch area, the river, and just enjoyed nature. And I will be delighted to say, granted it was the afternoon but I didn't get bitten by any bug! I regretted not having time or the clothing(a black halter dress does not a hiking girl make) to do a full hike and do more exploration, but hot it was and hungry we were. This is a park to hike in and remember your relationship to earth and nature. Slow down your life and come here for the good chi. This should be on your to do list if you are visiting Havre de Grace. The town itself is only 16 minutes away if you decide you have had too much of the rustic charm of the park. read more

Easy to get around, good place for a hiking. Located conveniently in between of I 95 and RT 1 so getting there would not be a problem. Very peaceful with beautiful views. Can't wait to go back in the fall. read more

Susquehanna State Park - Hiking Near Me - Havre de Grace, Maryland

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I came here for a day trip just riding through and they have a really nice area where you can load boats onto the river and they have campgroynds and a really nice picnic area ! The trails are very nice but some parts are overgrown so beware of poison ivy and ticks of course but other than that i had a great time! And the have cabins that you can camp out in read more

I haven't camped or fished here (yet) but the area is peaceful to walk along the old abandoned train tracks trails, and to have a picnic also. Great scenery of the water. Great to mountain bike at. read more

I loved the location, and the young man who greeted us was quite friendly! However, the firewood that we had to buy for $5.30 a bundle (because there was no wood around to gather) must have been wet because it would not burn! Quite frustrating trying to cook food with only the fire-starter actually catching. Needless to say, we spent the night trying to stay warm in the tent instead of gathering around a nice campfire. Felt like a rip off. Also bring a nice thick pad to sleep on. I could feel the big pieces of gravel underneath two sleeping bags...not nice to sleep on! read more

Very low maintained and dirty park and address direction from the Maryland.gov website is so misguiding and stop you at the no where in the jungle where all the office and registration office for camping are closed long ago and you dont see any staff anywhere in the park and very dirty and bad smell river trail..only good thing about park is it has a small picnic area park with sitting arrangements,restrooms,parking and ground to play which is clean and we can spend 2-3 hours family time if you go for picnic otherwise whole park is so big,nasty,scary,low maintained...overall I would say don't waste your time and regret after by visiting this place read more

The park is a great morning or afternoon outing. You can walk along the Susquehanna River, fish, camp, etc.

Camped here recently. Beautiful place, but nothing in their info mentions the constant trains that roar by all night! Hardly a peaceful place to commune with nature :( read more

The trails were great. The river and historic areas are beautiful. The campground was a nightmare. I read a lot of reviews before selecting our "private" site. We stayed at 68 Acorn Loop which was completely surrounded by other campers. Not sure how that is considered private at all. While the site itself is very nice and large, don't plan on any privacy. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence or just our luck but the other campers partied the entire night. Not just sitting around having a good time, but yelling and screaming partying until well into the morning hours. One camper decided to start his car 75 times throughout the night and instead of getting out to get his spouse, he just sat and blew the horn. When I thought I was finally going to be able to fall asleep, that's when the trains started roaring through. Not sure if they have to, but they too blew their horn the entire way through. I would recommend the park if you go for the day just to experience the river or trails. I would never return to the campground. We actually left a day early. read more