Elk Neck State Forest — Attraction in Elkton

One of my go to spots for their shooting range. Friendly atmosphere and just nice place to get away enjoy nature and let off some rounds with your rifle, pistol, or shotgun. They have a shotgun area with 2 places to shoot from. A pistol range with several stalls. The rifle range is the same. Usually can get crowded on the weekends so a range officer is present. You can only shoot one round per second. It costs $10 to obtain a range permit. You must fill out a waiver with your info and detach their portion from yours and place it in the envelope with your money insert that into the slot and you're good to head back. I love the scenery and well kept maintenance of the place. I hope everyone else works hard to clean up trash and spent casings so that we can all enjoy it. They have bathrooms but no running water so might want to think about that. No vending machines and no trash cans anywhere either it's a park keep that in mind too. If you don't have 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive in the winter or rain it can be slippery or difficult to make it back. Targets must me at least 54 inches to center off the ground you must bring your own premade Target or you will not be able to shoot. Safety glasses and Hearing protection are recommended. No smoking. Great place to take the family for some outdoor shooting fun....

Elk Neck State Forrest Firing Range is well laid out, and recently renovated. It lacks dedicated full time range safety officers; those it does have are usually present on weekends, but not even all day on the weekends. The access roads are crude, but well-maintained. There is a public restroom available which is usually clean and in good order.

The range itself is in an awkward location, fairly remote from local population centers. The range fee station is quite separate from the range itself, and not entirely obvious - you could easily miss it. There are dedicated rifle, shotgun, pistol, and archery ranges. The rifle and pistol ranges are the most well-designed, the shotgun area is quite basic, and the archery range is almost impossible to notice unless you look closely for the signs.

Over all, the Elk Neck range is a mix of good, awkward, and not-so-good. This is not a place novices should shoot without a more experienced shooter accompanying them. I personally prefer shooting here, but I've also been coming to this range for...

The forest is large and offers some user specific features. There's a rifle range for target practice, a park with a trail for hiking on Old Elk Neck Road and the forest extends into Elk Neck State Park where there are beautiful views of the bay below the cliff and a walking trail to Turkey Point Lighthouse at the southernmost point of Elk Neck Peninsula. The park includes a campground and swimming area. Seasonal hunting in designated areas is available. A hike to the lighthouse should be a bucket list item for everyone. There are vehicle trips for special events that may be suited to...