Well, I told you that we were going to move on down the road and today we’re going about as far down it as you can go – to Point Lookout.
At the Huey Lewis concert last Sunday night we sat next to a lady who had recently camped at Pt. Lookout State Park and did not have a good experience. She said that she was so upset about it that she went on Yelp and posted a review.
I am not sure if this is her or not but I did manage to locate a Yelp review of Pt. Lookout dated 7/18/14. Excerpt follows:
“Maryland State Parks have rubbed me entirely the wrong way. MOST campsites across the country require that someone register a campsite, the vehicles, etc…Once SOMEONE has done this necessary task, people who were perhaps working late on a Friday night may venture to the site later, so long as SOMONE has checked in and registered the site. This is apparently NOT something you may do at Point Lookout State park….My friend and I who carpooled up to meet friends, who had previously arrived, registered, and set up camp earlier that day, were turned around at the camp entrance by a INCREDIBLY rude park police officer (Officer Brown I believe-who apparently has a reputation for being rude to park visitors). He treated my friend and I like ignorant girls who didn’t understand how parks worked…apparently no one is allowed to enter a campsite after 10 at MD State parks…I later found out this is NOT the case, if only our friends had simply asked for an orange window tag to place on our car mirror….then we would have been allowed to enter…or if our friends had met us somewhere off camp, that would have been allowable as well. This was all done for the “Safety” of those people camping at this location. More to follow regarding campsite “safety” later. My friend and I slept in a walmart parking lot until the park opened at 0800 where we received our all important orange window hang (NO ID required…simply a LP#) Again for security. We were pointed toward our campsite and sent on our way. We arrived at the site which our friends had all ready occupied for one evening to find the site was essentially a crushed rock and (what I can only assume is campfire ash raked into the rock) pad with a fire pit and picnic table. The grey dust quickly covered everything. It was quite disgusting. Our site was surrounded by scattered pine trees and we had a wonderful view of the rest of the campsites populated by various large families and vehicles. NOT a pretty view. NOT quiet or serene. Our friends had pitched a tent in the grass adjacent to our rock/ash pad. We also had a backpacking hammock that did not use any sort of screw to attach to the tree, as we practice “leave no trace” unlike the rest of the camp apparently….as there was a fair amount of trash scattered around the sites. We were told by yet another VERY unfriendly and rude park “person” that we were not allowed to have either the hammock (as it put undue stress on these massive pine trees), nor pitch a tent in the grass, as it was the rock pad we had paid for…not the grass. For anyone who enjoys a little Vino whilst camping, or a nice cold beer….FORGET it at this park. It is apparently illegal in ALL MD state parks to have any sort of alcohol even IN YOUR CAMPSITE. This was strictly enforced as through out the two days we stayed in this hell hole we saw park police slowly drive by our site approximately 6-10 times per day. Often they would park and enter your campsite for no apparent reason other than to look over your picnic table or scowl at you, your family, and friends. To say I felt like a naughty school child under the scornful watchful eyes of an angry nun with a oversized ruler would be putting it lightly. As I had mentioned previously regarding campsite “safety”, the camp had a key code entry gate. It was not monitored. Nor were noise complaints as we listened to dogs bark for about 2 hours in the middle of the night. OUR dogs were polite for the most park (less one chewing through the leash incident, as puppies will do). This park was not however very dog friendly, only one beach to take your dogs to. The maximum amount of leash your dog is allotted is 6′ according to their dog handout. NOT a lot of room for fido to roam. FINALLY my biggest pet peeve of all- for all the “safety talk” our campsite had not one but TWO 50′ or higher DEAD PINE TREES on both sides of our camp. THIS is a HUGE Safety concern considering the proximity to the campsite. It is a lawsuit waiting to happen. (No we didn’t hang our hammock on these dead trees 🙂 This trip put such a sour taste in my mouth I will NEVER return to a MD State Park again. I will take the extra time to travel to Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, or Pennsylvania to camp before giving this horrible park system money. I am still so angry I may write a senator…” http://www.yelp.com/biz/point-lookout-state-park-scotland.
My only comment – she should have stopped in Buzzy’s Country Store and chilled!