A couple weeks back I wrote about some modifications I was making to our little NuCamp T@G teardrop camper. This weekend, we took it out to spend some time with some good friends and fellow empty-nester couples. Our destination was new to us, but it came recommended as a place requiring a reasonably short drive, but still offering a secluded outdoor getaway. We chose Little Bennett Regional Park, a property along I-270 between Gaithersburg and Frederick, MD. The park is managed by Montgomery County, and it has all the amenities of a comparably-sized State Park.

Little Bennett is geologically in Maryland’s piedmont, the stretch of land between mountain ridges and flat tidal areas marked by rolling hills and generally mature hardwood forests. The park is extremely wooded, with large campsites in open forests, each with a picnic table and fire ring. We stayed on the D-Loop, the designated RV loop with power and water hookups. Our little trailer accommodates both, though we were by far the smallest vehicle onsite. Still, the sites are large enough and far enough apart that we didn’t really have to interact with our neighbors if we didn’t want to.

There are also cabins on D-Loop, yurts and large canvas tents on C-Loop, group sites accommodating up to 60 campers on E-Loop, and tent sites everywhere but D. The camp store is well stocked, and the park is always doing special events – laser tag, pedal karts, movies in the amphitheater, and more. It’s a great family destination.

As I say, we were here with two other couples in nearby sites. The forecast called for off and on rain with several thunderstorms, and it was fairly warm (high 80’s during the day) and humid. It was the type of weather where you welcomed the cooling downdrafts in advance of a storm, but otherwise happy to have access to air conditioning overnight. One group of friends brought a large hexagonal pop-up bug tent which served as a great gathering spot for happy hour, and then we’d all disperse to our own sites to cook meals and get cleaned up before the next round of storms.

During the day on Saturday, we spent a little time in downtown Frederick, MD (about 25 minutes away) with lunch at one of the many local brew pubs, before returning to Little Bennett and doing some hiking on Little Bennett’s more than 25 miles of trail.

Possibly my only criticism is that our camping area, D-Loop, does NOT have its own bath house. From our site it was quite a walk to the nearest shower on C-Loop. It was a very short walk through the woods to the bathroom in the camp store (when it was open), but timing the walk between rain storms took some planning. I would guess that it is assumed that all the campers in RVs have their own amenities (bathroom and shower), but our little TAG has neither, so we felt a little left out. A minor inconvenience, but nothing we couldn’t overcome.

Yes, it was rainy. It was also hot, and humid. But we had a great time with a quick getaway that led to two nights out and had us back home before lunch on Sunday.

Get Out There