Matoaka Beach Cabins (Potomac, Solomons: renters, campgrounds, gardens)

[joe123]

Has anyone been here. It is on Calvert Cliffs in southern Maryland. Is it a nice clean family friendly place?

Thanks!

[daveswife]

I think you might do better on RV forums
I'm not getting answers about campgrounds either

[miznova]

To answer the question regarding Matoaka Beach Cabins:

I've been taking daytrips to that property for decades, but only rented a cabin once. They are primitive, but they do have running water, toilet, shower, and electricity. You'll need to bring your own linens. The beach is lovely, but is a typical bay beach, and not like an ocean beach. I go there mainly to fossil hunt, and do a little bird watching. You can also fish, crab, sunbathe, swim, etc. The summer months do bring the jellyfish into the bay, so don't plan to do a lot of swimming during July and August.

The bay is a good place to let the kids play; the water is shallow, and there is little in the way of current.

Calvert County is still very rural, but is growing fast. Other neat places to visit are the Battle Creek Cypress Swamp nature center and park, the Solomon's Island Marine Museum, the Annamarie Gardens just outside of Solomons, and Flag Pond Park. There are other parks in the area, but I am not familiar with them.

[Gabrielle]

Thanks for the information about this place. I've never heard of it before, but checked the website, and it looks like a real possibility for a vacation next year. I love this forum!

[midgetsmurf411]

I went there when I was a small child (probably around 5 or 6) and I still remember it. It's a great place for families.Planning to take my own family this summer now that I've found out where it is again.

[Gettingouttahere]

Just got back from four scorching days at Matoaka (103+ every day, our car gauge told us). Really a nice, peaceful place, and the beach is indeed great for kids. A bit of a climb from the beach to the cabins -- about 75 feet up sandy concrete steps. The jellies were in full force in the bay, though, so after the first day we went elsewhere (the Potomac in St. Mary's County) to swim.

One great thing was using the beach at night, when it cooled off. Cabin renters are allowed to gather firewood, go down and have bonfires. We roasted marshmallows and the kids had a great time. We were there over July 4th and it was a wonderful place to watch distant fireworks all along the bayshore.

There's no A/C in the cabins, but a couple of brawny fans are supplied in the cabin, so it wasn't really a problem. Any kind of cold weather would be hard to deal with, as these cabins are little more than plywood with huge screen openings for windows. All are shaded in the woods/bamboo forest. They are quite rustic, to put it diplomatically. The beds are kids summer camp fare - in our cabin, only two out of five beds had a real mattress; the others were more like camp cots. The bathroom was servicable, with a shower stall. The kitchen stove was new about 30 years ago; fridge was fine; sink was battered and the hot water tap appeared to have been deliberately disabled. A coffee pot was supplied. There's a big table in the kitchen with some old games and puzzles and magazines scattered about on shelves; nice big porch had another table, plastic chairs and a throw-covered sofa. Bring flip-flops to protect your feet from the old floorboards and peeling lino.

We liked Solomons for ice cream and key lime pie and the museum. Spent an afternoon at Point Lookout in St. Mary's and that was a very nice state park.

We'd do it again - just earlier, when the jellies aren't around. HTH