Pocomoke River State Park

About this park

Pocomoke River State Park lies on both banks of the Pocomoke River between the towns of Snow Hill and Pocomoke City on Maryland's lower Eastern Shore, entirely within the larger Pocomoke State Forest. The park is split into two distinct sections roughly 25 minutes apart by car: Shad Landing on the river's south bank and the smaller, quieter Milburn Landing on the north bank. The Pocomoke River itself gets its name from an Algonquian word meaning "black water," a fitting description for a river that originates in Delaware's Great Cypress Swamp and flows 45 miles southwest to the Chesapeake Bay through dense stands of bald cypress, one of the northernmost such swamp ecosystems on the East Coast. That swamp-and-upland mix supports a remarkably diverse range of wildlife, including river otters, bald eagles, and more than 50 recorded species of fish, alongside seasonal blooms of white dogwood and pink mountain laurel each spring. Both sections offer camping, mini cabins, boat launches, and picnic pavilions, and the park's position within the 17,000-plus-acre Pocomoke State Forest gives hikers, bikers, and equestrians access to a genuinely extensive regional trail network well beyond the park's own developed areas. A swimming pool at Shad Landing adds a family-friendly option distinct from the tannin-dark, swamp-fed river itself, and canoeing and kayaking through the cypress-lined waters remain the park's signature activity.