Patapsco Valley State Park - Hilton Area — Attraction in Catonsville

RACIST PARK!!

Quick question? Is this a “Whites Only” park? I took my twins here today and first of all, I LOVE THIS PARK. It’s beautiful and the park staff do an amazing job of maintaining the park. I’ve been coming here for about 2 years now and the ONLY time my family and I enjoy this park is when there’s no one there. People are rude, weird and racist here. I kid you not, every time I come here all of the white people leave. Today, two little girls told my son that that couldn’t play on the equipment with them. My husband and I also heard them speak about only playing with “their people”. My twins are only 4 years old, so they didn’t understand what was happening. I felt as though the little girl wanted to push my son off the ladder at the park so I ran over to check on him and she ran off as if she was guilty. I didn’t say anything to her and wanted to approach her father about her behavior. Her father even yelled at her and told them to stay away from “those people”. I felt very unsafe because of the way I was being watched and my kids were being followed by the other kids parents. Once I realized what was going on we just peacefully left. I realized theres no point in speaking sense into someone ignorant, seeing that this man is raising his daughters to be racist. I’m honestly very sad and hurt from this because all I wanted to do was take my kids to the playground to enjoy this beautiful day. I’m tired of the treatment from the parents and other kids. I think its the people that live in the area. As a black mother and black family, we will not be returning here ever again....

My fiance and I invited another couple to go camping with us for a weekend. We found Patapsco and decided to go there since it was so close to Baltimore. We really liked the park. It was well maintained and clean! The only down part was how dirty the river was. There were tires and bricks in the water. We didn't even have to think twice before needing to wear shoes. I wouldn't recommend going in that water barefoot! Otherwise, the rest of the park was great! The hiking trails were awesome and the swinging bridge was really neat. We stayed in the Hilton area on a tent site next to the dumpster, which wasn't even close to the site so there were no problems. The bath house was really clean and nice. The Camp Host was great as well! Firewood is $5 a milk crate and she stuffs that crate full! We even had left over firewood! Definitely going back to Patapsco to explore more...

We have been camping at different state parks in Maryland and Delaware all summer and this is hands down, the best!! I never expected to see such a clean campsite, but this place is super clean. Bathrooms are spotless, & accessability to bathrooms from all sites is also great, it's in a central location with lots of paths leading there. We stayed in a mini cabin that looked professionally cleaned. Didn't even have any bugs! The tent pads are well maintained and it's an overall great place for families. They playgrounds are fun (there are more than one!) Everyone there was super friendly! Hiking trails are well marked, it would be difficult to get lost! Overall, I highly recommend! This will not be our last stay at Patapsco Valley State...