Paw Paw Tunnel Campsite Campground, Oldtown, MD

Paw Paw Tunnel Campsite Campground in Allegany county is located 35 min east of Cumberland, MD with an elevation of 529 feet. There are a total of 10 campsites which are all tent-only sites. The campground is open all year. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Each site includes a picnic table and fire ring. There is a fee of $10.00 per night. Activities include biking, fishing, hiking trails.

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Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)

Campsite Reviews (33)

3.9 out of 5

5 star		39%
4 star		27%
3 star		15%
2 star		6%
1 star		9%

@ScottC8975217 · Camped on Jul 7, 2024 at Campsite #10

Wonderful campground along the Potomac. Beautiful black walnut trees provide ample shade.

@JillP7409688 · Camped on Sep 18, 2023 at Campsite #5

When we arrived, someone else had already set up a large camp on our reserved campsite.

@PaulS74A53D790 · Camped on Sep 15, 2023 at Campsite #4

I gave it two stars. The campsite was adequate, however, the description stated amenities that included a water pump. This is a reservation site. When I arrived, the pump had no handle. I sent a maintenance request to alert them. I received a reply stating that the fine print (not in the description. I had to hunt for it) said a pump handle may not be attached and I am to bring my own water. THIS IS A PAID SITE. I would think that the money I paid would be used for site maintenance. Apparently I thought wrong. Im dealing with bureaucracy so this a battle nobody will win.

@IanRA6AB737AB8 · Camped on Aug 31, 2023 at Campsite #7

This spot is located near the Paw Paw Tunnel of the C&O canal. We were there on a Thursday night before Labor Day and we were the only people there. Driving, we visited nearby Town Creek Aqueduct, Potomac Forks hiker/biker location, Cumberland, and Oldtown Maryland. The campground is primitive, with pump water and portapotties. We carried our own water supply in our car. The spot was relatively peaceful though there was some nearby traffic and a train. The campground needed a little maintenance but was very clean.

@KevinB3052996 · Camped on Jun 27, 2023 at Campsite #7

Campsite is a nice, large flat grassy area for tents with firepits at marked sites. Portable toilets are provided but they were in desperate need of servicing, last service date posted on the door was multiple months ago and they were very dirty and full. Site is close to a road that will occasionally have loud vehicles driving by during the night. Not a bad site, but not great.

@KyleW8796375 · Camped on Jan 27, 2023 at Campsite #4

A little noisy all night with the busy road and train tracks a few hundred yards away. Overall, not a bad spot to go glamping.

@BillN9632337 · Camped on Oct 23, 2022 at Campsite #10

Stayed during a canoe trip on the Potomac. Sites convenient to river access and stone beach.

@JordanT7350849 · Camped on Jun 18, 2022 at Campsite #5

This is basically a gully or field. Not well marked. Someone was already in our campsite we reserved and would not move.

@MichaelD829846 · Camped on May 29, 2022 at Campsite #3

Great little park on the way back to Cincinnati from DC.

@derekn6490188 · Camped on Apr 26, 2022 at Campsite #4

Nice campsite for $20 a night. Pump well with iodinated water, fire rings, picnic tables. A bit noisy now with construction ongoing.

@CaitlinK160792 · Camped on Mar 4, 2022 at Campsite #10

This is a small campground, right on the river. We got in late at night, and in the morning were so surprised and happy to see that the River was feet away. Lots of wildlife - deer, turkeys, woodpeckers, geese, rabbits. The tunnel trail is under construction (you can’t come out of the end of the tunnel but you can go all the way through), but it was still wonderful. The trail overtop has amazing views. We were very close to town and stopped at Amanda’s restaurant, which was great. The only thing I would point out is that there isn’t a full bath house, just port-a-potty’s, so plan accordingly. I’d love to come back.

@MikeT3189940 · Camped on Nov 16, 2021 at Campsite #8

well maintained sites. portable toilets were clean! easy access to C&O towpath for a hike in the morning.

@MikeT387 · Camped on Nov 16, 2021 at Campsite #8

well maintained sites. portable toilets were clean! easy access to C&O towpath for a hike in the morning.

@SOPHIET371 · Camped on Oct 22, 2021 at Campsite #3

The campground was clean, including the portable toilets. Only drawback was that the water pump was not working.

@SophieT3746215 · Camped on Oct 22, 2021 at Campsite #3

The campground was clean, including the portable toilets. Only drawback was that the water pump was not working.

@CharlesK231291 · Camped on Sep 18, 2021 at Campsite #4

Only stayed one night but we enjoyed it very much.

@CharlesK943 · Camped on Sep 18, 2021 at Campsite #4

Only stayed one night but we enjoyed it very much.

@RyszardS203 · Camped on Sep 12, 2021 at Campsite #7

Nice grassy open campground, right next to the C&O Canal Trail. However, I consider a camping fee of $20.00 excessive for a campground that does NOT even have a working water pump. While the pump is there, the handle has been removed.

@RyszardS191343 · Camped on Sep 12, 2021 at Campsite #7

@DavidY407 · Camped on Aug 27, 2021 at Campsite #10

This was a paid site for which we had an advanced reservation. We were shocked to find that the water pump handle had been removed, even though no indication of such status had been provided when making the reservation and paying in advance. The status of the water supply should be indicated to those making reservations. We would have been better off staying at the hiker/biker site 0.9 mile away for free!

@RashidA818 · Camped on Jun 19, 2021 at Campsite #8

Paw Paw Tunnel Campground is very well maintained and excellent for large groups. Our group consisted of 12 adults and 17 kids. We reserved four campsites. Some of the activities we were able to do were fishing, hike the tunnel, hike the mountain for the amazing view, wade the water down by the river, and bbq. This campground is the area's worst kept secret as it is available on short notice. The port-a-potties were very well maintained. Great job to the parks and rec dept and the caretakers.

@MatthewS496 · Camped on May 18, 2021 at Campsite #9

I was the only camper this night. Nice location close to Trail and Potomac River.

@LyrikD437 · Camped on Apr 12, 2021 at Campsite #2

My family and I had a really great time at the Paw Paw Tunnel Campsite. The site is just a short 10 minute or so walk from the tunnel. Each of the 10 sites had their own picnic table, grill, and campfire w/ fliptop grill. We were the only ones in the campground (probably because of the intermittent rain). Our site #2 was large enough to fit a 6 person, 2 person, and 1 person tent, as well as all our supplies very comfortably. The campground also has 3 porta-pottys, one of which is very large. There was a log on the door that showed that they are regularly cleaned every 3-4 days. There also is an additional porta-potty right outside of the tunnel. There were a few reasons I had to take one star off this review. Firstly, the sites are very close together, although we were alone, it probably would've been a bit worse of a trip had the sites on either side of us been occupied. Second, Our site was pretty gross when we got there. There were multiple boiled eggs smashed all around the site, there was what looked like half of a birthday cake left around the base of a tree, and in the fire pit had tons of cigarettes, trash, and entire burger patties, so it was pretty bad. I did check all the other sites however and non of them had this issue, so it seems like we just got super unlucky with having trashy people before us. We cleaned up the best we could before leaving. Lastly, someone had pulled into the parking lot at around 10pm and left their headlights on until past 1am, completely illuminating our spot. With all that being said, these last two issues were probably just our bad luck and I'm sure you will have a much better experience than us.

@KarenM656 · Camped on Apr 10, 2021 at Campsite #10

We had a quiet two nights of camping (Saturday/Sunday) because the Boy Scouts camped next to us had just finished a 20 mile hike! Good to note that you have to walk a short distance to the camp site from the parking lot—these are not pull up your car to unload your gear sites. The hiking trail up and around then through the tunnel has very scenic views of the river, and is well worth it—have a light with you as the tunnel is long and dark.

@JamesS374 · Camped on Mar 19, 2021 at Campsite #1

We had a great experience. The tunnel is about a half mile away.

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