Point Lookout Report

[zamira]

Went to Point Lookout camping 07/17-07/21. The weather was hot! Took a boat on the trip, launched from the park's boat ramp, made a right from the launch site and crabbed along the shore line in 12-15 feet of water. Crabs were mixed, lots of little ones, every pool resulted in at least one crab. Most keepers were mature females, so after tossing them back a few dozen times finally kept them (male-keepers were rare!) The water was really warm and clear. 82-84 degrees! Lots of snapping turtles around floating piers but still managed to pool a dozen of crabs on high tide from the floating pier next to the boat ramp. There was a lot of fish popping on the fishfinder screen. The park was really deserted, 3 camping spots occupied, the rest all empty. Must be scared of ghost rumours. Well, did not see no ghosts...but lots of flyes that bit worse than mosquitoes. Fortunately, we had a screen room to enjoy evenings in. Good news, crabbing population is doing well around that area, so future catch is growing up!

[tattoo]

nice picture, did you have snapper soup ?

[zamira]

lol..how do you cook a turtle?! 

[tattoo]

Not sure , but I know it can be done , I love snapper soup.

[GV]

zamira - could you tell me where you went camping specifically?  Perhaps a phone number, link or a street address?  Would you recall what it cost?

My wife has expressed interest in going camping and taking the boat w/ us.....I want to jump on this before she changes her mind.

[GV]

Anybody else that has any info on camping in the MD area would be great.  I did a search and found mainly threads about crabbing off a pier.

Ideally the campground would be w/in a couple hours from Howard county MD...so if it does not go well - we could come back fairly easily.   There would be a decent place to set up a tent.  We could take our own boat and launch from their place.  Would be great if we could crab from our boat there.

Thanks,
GV

[DOMNIKDYL]

Hey GV, check this place out, never been there, but seems to have what your looking for.

http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/Tourism/tourismtemplate.asp?content=campingcontent.asp

I have another site saved on my laptop, but the a/c adapter took a [curd], and the batt. is dead, so when I get a replacement, I'll post it.
Dan

[DOMNIKDYL]

Here's another my brother in law sent me, I've never been here either, but a quick glance at their site looks like they have a marina w/ramp, and dockage upto 21' at the campground.  Good luck
Dan

[DOMNIKDYL]

Last couple in Calvert County, if I don't get to work soon, I'll wind up not going

Breezy Point Beach & Campground
Breezy Point Rd, Chesapeake Beach 20732
410-535-0259 • Fax 410-535-2233
Bayfront park featuring: swimming, fishing, picnicking, and camping. 80 waterfront and waterview campsites with electric and water hook-ups for tents, trailers & RVs.  Beach wheelchair available with prior notice.  Open daily May 1- October 31.   

Patuxent Camp Sites
4774 Williams Wharf Rd, St. Leonard 20685
410-586-9880
75 spacious sites, some waterfront, with water and electricity. Full bath facilities. Boat ramp, 100' pier, picnic tables, fire rims, dumping stations and storage area. Open year-round. Waterfront is open from May 1 - October 1. Crabbing & fishing. Limited wheelchair access.

[GV]

Thank you very much Mr. 411  ---

I don't see one in your second post.....unless maybe you included it in your third as you reference two.

I'll do some surfing around later today and see what I can find about those.....looks like just the ticket.

I've seen some people say they have caught crabs at Point Lookout....so - can't be any worse than what I've been doing lately.

Thanks again for your effort.

GV

[DOMNIKDYL]

[dang], sorry, had copied the link , but forgot to paste it .  I'll get him to resend it.

[DOMNIKDYL]

Here it is
http://www.dennispointmarina.com/campground.html
GLTU
dan

[zamira]

zamira - could you tell me where you went camping specifically?  Perhaps a phone number, link or a street address?  Would you recall what it cost?

My wife has expressed interest in going camping and taking the boat w/ us.....I want to jump on this before she changes her mind.

Hi GV

Here is a link to Point Lookput State Park http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/pointlookout.html   you can make a reservation online or by calling 1-888-432-2267. If you want other camp grounds here is another link for all MD sites http://www.dnr.state.md.us/outdoors/camping.html  Last year we camped at Assateque Island after labor day and it was great. Very few people, great weather, and even crabbing! Both parks have ramps to launch the boat from and for campers boat launch is free. Also, both camp sites have piers you can crab from. In point lookout there are several piers next to launch site that produced pretty good crabs (and turles). At Assateque there is a boat launch right before the bridge and you can crab from the pier there too.

They have really nice campgrounds. Here is a pic of ours at Assateque  (with pony) and Point lookout (with grass surrounding the site). The beauty of camping late is no mosquitos but take OFF anyway just in case. All public campsites from the MD DNR site are pretty well maintained and have clean bathrooms and showers, they are not always brand new fixtures but they are clean. Assateque was particularly excellent!

Oh, yeah if you cannot reserve online just call the park. Sometimes their Internet reservation system does not respond properly and shows no availability while the campground is pretty much empty.

[tattoo]

nice pictures thanks.

[GV]

Yes - real nice pics.

Thanks a bunch for the info.  I really appreciate it.  My daughter and I went out today and bought a tent and three sleeping bags.  Not sure if I bought junk - but I guess I'll see.

It has been years since I've camped - but I was in Scouts as a kid for several years and used to camp a bit afterwards w/ some friends.  The camping thing might just be part of the solution on how to bring the wife and child in to the fold w/ the boat and crabbing.  

I think we'd probably start at Point Lookout first.  Not sure if we'd give the camping a shot first....then try and take the boat / dog....or if we just give her [Sam Hill] and jump in w/ both feet.  Point Lookout is about 2.5 hours from our house....if it all goes to crappola - we can pack up and head home or a hotel.....

I'm excited.  I think we are going to try and put the tent up in the back yard tomorrow and see if we know what we are doing.

[zamira]

You are on the right start, GV. If your wife and kid never camped before I suggest you buy an air bed with a manual pump/or pump that works through your car lighter. Walmart has them for under $25. Makes camping a lot more pleasant as you do not wake up in the morning with a back ache. Sleeping bags won't be necessary if you buy an air mattress, just bring some blankets. Plus, with Walmart if the airbed has a hole or whatever problem just put it back in a box and exchange. Their brand is Ozark Trail and after 2 seasons of camping our mattress had a hole, so we just exchanged it no questions/receipt asked. There is also a Walmart close to point lookout camp, you won't miss it.

Depending whether you camp for a few days or a week you might need the following:

1. Tarp (put it under the tent so the stones and staff do not poke through the tent's bottom)
2. Flashlights and lights (they now have lanterns with LED light and batteries that last forever)
3. Table cloth (the camps have a table and benches but you might want to cover them up)
4. Charcoal and firewood and foil! (the campgrounds have fire-rings but they are dirty, just line the foil over them)
5. Kitchen things, utensils, etc and do not forget your grilling tools!
6. If you want a really comfortable morning buy a camp stove and extra fuel (they are within $20 range but on on a chilly morning it is always nice to make coffee/tea fast)
7. Trash bags (but not too large as it is always better to take the trash to a dumster in the evening or you will be waken up by racoons or ponys gooing through your trash, we learned that lesson after a sleepless night of fighting racoons)
8. Large cooler (always put all your food in the car overnight or the smell will attracts animals)
9. Screen room (if you are planning to camp for more than 2-3 days as it makes a shelter over the picnic table and protects from bugs)
10. Big pot to steam your crabs and pot holders (we just started the firewood and then sat the pot right on top...25 mins and the crabs were done!)
11. Sleeping bags/air mattress, blankets
12. Drinking water and food supplies

If you need gas, ice, etc. there is a small gas station with a convenience store about 5 miles from the campground and a grocery store closeby (you won't miss it, as you drive towards the campground it will be on your left). Point Lookput is on a peninsula, so it is one road in/out.

If you want to take a boat, I think you will have no problem launching, the ramps are good and not populated. The launch is not inside the camp, you have to drive south of the camp for a 2-3 minutes. If you decide just to crab and fish, drive to the same area as where the boat launch is, there are 3 floating piers on the right to the launch. Crabbing there is pretty good. There is a small pier right inside the Tulip loop on the campground, but there we caught only little ones.

[GV]

Holy crapmonkies......I didn't expect Point Lookout to be so far down there.....I looked on a map and it was way down there.....

I'll look into a 'Mart air mattress - thanks for the tips.........I bought two big [arse] 20 degree sleeping bags today.....If I can find 2 queen air mattresses - we'll be golden.......

I'm used to living off the land when we went camping....so I'll have to get some firewood and charcoal.  My mother has a Coleman Road Trip grill we could borrow for camping. 

We'll hold off on the screen room as we'll just be out a day or two. 

Excellent - excellent info on what to bring.....I think the first time out (after speaking w/ Mrs.) we will stay a bit closer to home and not bring the boat so we can give camping a shot......

Thanks a bunch for taking all the time to reply...I'll use it.

[zamira]

no problem, glad to help it is our 3d season camping and we learnt little by little what to bring and what not to bring. think i can write a book now! by the way, if you won't have a screen room, bring a camp fogger. Walmart has it in the camping aisle. It is a spray can, and worked pretty good for us. Usually it is right next to the OFF spray and made by the same company, just called Camp fog.

Bring your traps anyway, I think you will catch enough crabs from the pier to steam. we caught about 13 between 7-9am from the floating piers next to the launch site.

and definately take our your trash in the evening to the dumster. Racoons come out of nowhere and they easily climb the pole that's supposed to keep the trash away from them.