Jay --
My understanding is that the only camping at Gunpowder Falls State Park is for groups and must be reserved in advance. More information about the park and where to fish is available here:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/gunpowder.html
I've looked around for camping and affordable accomodations in close proximity to the stream, and it isn't easy. The guys at Back Water Angler are extremely helpful (www.backwaterangler.com) . Their site has a bunch of good info regarding flies, stream conditions, etc. On a recent trip, some buddies from D.C. wanted to come up and meet me, and were willing to camp or stay in a motel. The guys at Backwater Angler told them that the cheapest place to stay would be in Timonium which is about 10 miles south of the Gunpowder exit (Exit 27) on I-83 and has multiple inexpensive options like Red Roof Inn and the like. The good thing is, all of the good fishing options on the Gunpowder are less than 10 minutes from I-83, so even if you stay in Timonium, you can be on the water in less than 20 minutes.
As far as stream access, I found Google Maps to be extremely helpful. Using Google Maps and the advice of the guys at Backwater Angler, we left a car at the dam on Prettyjohn Reservoir, and then drove down to the access at Falls Road. You can fish your way up from Falls Rd. to your car at the dam and then drive back down and pick your other car up. It's a good mile plus between those two points and pretty challenging hiking with briars, etc., but the fishing is worth it. There are tens of thousands of fish in there, but they are spookyThe last few times I've been there, hoppers and beetles have been the ticket. There are some beautiful bolder pools in that stretch, too, where you can do some damage with copper john nymphs, etc.
Two other places I have fished are Masemore Rd. and Bunker Hill Rd. (which is a right turn off of Masemore). Both have beautiful stretches of water, but seemed to be more heavily fished.
I love that stream and would love to fish it this weekend, but I'm housebound with my kids. Good luck and have a great time!
