Pokemoke State Park, MD

November 7-11, 2024

We wanted to take one last camping trip before winterizing Maude so we headed south to Pocomoke River State Park. The park has two campgrounds, one at Shad Landing, which we stayed at last year on our way back from the Outer Banks. The other, Milburn Landing is where we decided to stay so we could try a new campground and because there is hiking and kayaking directly from the campground. We selected site M17 hoping to be a bit away from other campers. The site turned out to be closer to other sites. However, because of the time of year, very few other campers showed up, despite many sites being reserved but not occupied. And we were surrounded by huge loblolly pines that rustled in the wind and sprinkled pine needles 

We arrived later in the afternoon, set up camp, walked around, and then sat by the Pocomoke River, drinks in hand, enjoying the sunset. The weather on the first day was very warm for November, so we were in shorts and tank tops. The weather cooled dramatically over the course of the weekend, with temperatures down in the low 40s. 

The next morning, we hiked the Millburn Landing Trail in Pocomoke State Forest, a short walk from our campground. After the chaotic election season of 2024, we took solace in the quiet of the woods, walking through bald cedar forests with the tree’s “knees” peeking out of the ground. We also walked through wonderful forests of loblolly pines and deciduous trees with the oranges, reds, and browns of the fall foliage. After returning to the van for lunch, we headed out for a second walk along the river and through a connector trail to the Bald Cyprus Nature Trail. The walk was shorter than the morning hike, but the nature trail wound through forests and near small streams that were enchanting. In the evening, we relaxed in the van. Because of a burn ban due to excessively dry weather over the past few months, we were unable to make a fire. 

On Saturday, we were hoping to kayak, so we took out our blowup kayak that we brought and starting setting it up. Unfortunately, because we left part of the pump at home, we could not inflate the boat. After asking around the campground and conducting an online search or local stores that might have the part we needed, we gave up and decided to drive the 45 minutes to Assateague National Seashore instead. 

The day was bright, sunny, and a bit windy, and Assateague was beautiful. We saw lots of horses along the road, walked on all of the small trails, and went down to the beach to view the ocean. After spending about three hours there, we drove to see Ocean City, MD which we had heard about but had never visited. Ocean City is a busy shore town, not particularly interesting to us coming from the Jersey shore. We then drove back to the campground, brought our drinks down to the river again, and enjoyed the sunset as the temperature started to drop. 

On the cold Sunday morning, we decided to head home early as we had hiked the nearby hikes and wanted to get back to walk our dog during daylight hours. Pack up was easy, as was the drive home. A well-needed relaxing and nature-filled trip!