Redden State Forest

This is no longer a first come, first served campground. Reservations must be made in advance at bookyoursite.com, only 3 days consecutive allowed. I paid $28 per night. Travel trailers, pull behinds, motorhomes are not allowed. Tents, cars, Overlander SUVs, minivans and small Class B camper vans are allowed. Nothing over 25 ft allowed. There is firewood, but it is not free. You pay for it on the “honors system”. Bring cash. There is no water, no electric, no bathroom. This is primitive camping/boondocking. This is a “leave no trace, carry in/carry out” facility. The campsites are well maintained, clean and for the most part, it’s quiet, some highway noise and noise from other campers, but still very nice. There is a ranger on duty who stopped by to say hello, a quick visit. Drive to your site, no check in. Redden State Forest is very beautiful and although you’re in the woods, still very close to shopping and gas stations in Georgetown. Beaches are about 30-40 minutes away, leave early to avoid traffic.

There are 5 designated camping spaces, most are full or mostly shaded, all are dry camping. The spots are mostly flat and long enough to get a 35' RV into with space for a toad. The entrance is a dead end at space #5 with no large turnaround so plan to disconnect any toad if you explore all the sites. When you arrive to the address follow the entrance road until it ends, to the left is the LODGE, don't go there, turn right, you'll see a yellow gate at the entrance. Gate is unlocked, close it once you've gotten through. The entrance road, past the gate, is well maintained with gravel but there are many low tree branches. Select any available site.

This location is extremely handy for those people who are taking the Lewes-Cape May ferry from Delaware to New Jersey and because of that those in the know will stay here without reservations; this makes it difficult for those of us to do. PLEASE reserve a spot and don't make it awkward for those of us who follow in the rules.

The information I was given when I called to reserve was the following:
Camping is free-of-charge, year round, restricted to designated campsites. A forest use permit is required on all State Forest Lands. To check on availability and to reserve a campsite, you must call (302) 856-2893 during office hours, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. or email Gerald.Webb@delaware.gov https://agriculture.delaware.gov/forest-service/camping/

Campsites are to be of primitive type, and are to be used only for tent, van or pickup campers, unless given permission by a Forest Officer.

Be sure to call for a permit before coming here. We did not have a permit and just pulled in and set up, then later that night the ranger pulled in and yelled at us. He did get my 2 messages I left on the phone about camping there, but never called me back. Might be his way of deterring campers. After his dramatic scolding he did give us a permit, all 5 sites were totally empty. Site 2 was big enough for our RV, and you can get a little sun. Some of the other sites cant really fit a RV. It was pretty quiet while we were there. 2 other campsites did become occupied on our second day. And there is free firewood.

There are a lot of buildings as you pull into the park, not sure if there was a bathroom or water available anywhere. Everything was pretty closed up. There are some trails in the area too. The day we left it was really busy with some kind of horseback riding meet.

We just needed a quick overnight spot after visiting Dogfish Head Brewing in Milton. Redding is about a 15 minute drive. Well maintained roads and sites. Might be a little right for most class As and bigger trailers. We were fine in our 24-foot class C. I’d guess that once you get over about 32-feet it would be pretty cumbersome to negotiate. The road is rock covered dirt which is fairly smooth and no pot holes when we were there on Sept 22. Coming in at night is a little confusing as there is no attendant at night and we did not have a reservation. There were still 2 or 3 spots open on a Saturday. But if you drive into the Redding Forest Headquarters, drive past the headquarters building to where you have to turn and then turn to the right. You will come up to a yellow gate. It isn’t locked, but has a pin in it you have to lift out to open. There is a sign that says permit only, but we talked to other campers that were there for multiple days and they said no one had a permit there. Drive thru the gate and you’ll see to the right that there are 5 or 6 spots with picnic tables, fire rings, grills, etc. There is also free firewood under a shelter across the road from the campsites. Sites looked fairly level and ours, No 3, was level enough we didn’t need any blocks. We only used AT&T here, as the signal was really good. Phone said 2-3 bars, but testing the speed with an app showed 35-50mbps download and 4-5mbps upload.

5 FREE campsites w/ fire pit, picnic table, potable water and porti-potty at the office. Plus, free firewood. We showed up without a reservation (midweek, in March) and had no problem getting a spot but the lady in the office recommended making a reservation. Quiet w/ only a bit of road noise in the distance. Great stop on the way from DC to the coast.

The Redden State Forest has well maintained road, trails and campsites that include a metal fire pit and picnic table.
The sites are spacious and firewood is available at no cost directly across from the camp sites.
"Junior" Webb is the on site host and forest manager. Terrific guy.
There's a spigot and port a jon, it's primitive. It's a perfect spot to stay and enjoy nearby beaches and shopping.
I'll be back.