Are you an equestrian lover who prefers a more rustic experience when you visit Leonardtown? Whether you own a horse or are joining a tour group, equestrian camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the city. Search nearby equestrian campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Choose your next adventure at Pohick Bay Campground in Lorton, Virginia. Bring the kids for a day of splashing and sliding at Pirate’s Cove Waterpark, spend a day on the bay with our canoe, paddleboard, stand up paddleboard and kayak rentals; or bring your own boat to our public boat launch ramp. Make a day of it by renting a picnic shelter or stay a little longer and reserve one of our cabins or campsites.
$30 - $60 / night
The lat/long on The Dyrt were updated 5/5/2022 to reflect what the State Forest site says is the CORRECT way to get into this campground.
Equestrian Camping
Campsites are primitive and a bathhouse is located in the center of the equestrian/special events camping loop. Equestrian Camping is roughly $30.00 per night per campsite. Make a reservation by calling 1-888-432-2267 (M-F 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) or online during the camping season (April through October). A horse is required to stay in this campground. Youth Group Camping
Youth group passes are honored. Youth group camping reservations can only be made by calling the Maryland Park Service Reservation Service at 1-888-432-2267 Make future reservations by calling 1-888-432-2267 or online. The Maryland Park Service reserves the right to restrict the maximum and minimum number of vehicles and individuals admitted under one youth group pass per visit.
Check out a map of the youth group and special event loops.Family Camping
Family camping is available from April to October. Walk-ins are not permitted in office; same day reservations are made by calling 1-888-432-2267 (M-F 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) or online (24/7).
Check out a map of the Family Camping Area.$30 / night
Eligible users of the Force Support Squadron activities are active duty military, military retirees, reservists, Department of Defense civilian employees and family members of military identification card holders.
$18 - $30 / night
Scout
Pohick Bay Campground in Virginia offers a peaceful escape with beautiful views and a variety of outdoor activities like hiking and fishing. It's an ideal spot for families and nature lovers. Don’t forget to register dito sim to stay connected during your visit!
ScoutWe loved staying at Pohick. We were here to visit DC and it was an excellent spot to stay. It was extremely hot as it was July but the sites had a lot of shade. Site 46 where we stayed was close to the bathrooms and nice and flat. The bathrooms were cleaner than any other campground we have stayed in and they have laundry and a nice stainless sink and counter for washing dishes if needed. About a 40 minute drive into DC and definitely worth it. Also, campers get a discount at the water park which was a very reasonable 5 dollars per person. The weekend tends to be a bit louder but during the week was very quiet.
ScoutWe have been camping here for nearly 20 years. Each military tour brought us back to this area so Pohick became our second home. Our kids kayak now older but used to walk the trails as little kids. The waterpark is new and loud so we avoid but nice if you have young kids. Careful low bridge on Route 1 exit ramp little warning when taking ramp off I95. Go around to next exit. The check in at the cap store is crowded and narrow even with renovations but our 34 ft makes it okay. Bring bikes. Long bike trail along road. Farmers markets in Lorton and things to do in DC. Park at Huntington or Springfield metro. Short boat ride straight across from Ft Belvoir new family campground. Ice cream shop in season by water docks. Bathrooms clean always hot water three stalls each. Sink outside for dishes. Playground buts up against inner circle which are the only sewer sites. Others are electric water. Careful some near steep drop off. Stick to main road or inner circle or first circle if in big unit. Must go round circle to get to those spots which can be annoying. Two speed bumps. Camp store sells smores ingredients, limited candy, no eggs or bacon get those off Rte 1. Past entrance on Rte 1 is a Food Lion, McDonalds. Gas stations along Rte one are tight so fill up before exiting to campground. If you are desperate there is gas 7/11 at corner of Pohick and Rte 1 but its sketchy. Up the road off Rte 1 is Fort Belvoir Access w a drivers license however cant shop without military sponsored ID. Great bbq at Telegraph Rd and greek at Olympians family restaurant. Movie theater on Telegraph is nice. Springfield Mall close. Take Onville Rd which is a backroad by Pohick Church to shortcut to Rte 1. Pohick Rd past camping turn deadends into private neighborhood. Do not pass camp entrance. Hard to turn around if you do. Near End of Pohick is a small walk with overlook. See birds at point. Drive a car not RV. Park at lot on right before road split deadend. Gunston Hall on left can see from campground and water. Tours are nice.
ScoutThis place is so noisy with these helicopters that fly 24/7. Another absolutely insane noisy campground run by nova. Absolutely a rip off because of the noise just like all nova parks seem to be. Insane
ScoutWe were traveling with our daughter and have had a long day. Pohick bay was on our list and Owen at the camping office did such a great job making sure that everything goes well for us. The bathrooms are clean and very well kept. We will definitely stay here again!
ScoutWorkers are nice, campground is decent. After hours ranger was really helpful and sweet helping spot me backing in. The trails to the bay are fun. Whoever designed the comfort station in the front needs to refund the park. You have to be on the toilet to close the door, there isn't an inch of extra space in the stalls. The laundry machines are positioned as inefficiently as possible. The second comfort station smells badly of sewage and the grate in the showers is painful on my feet, and I'm a barefoot gravel walker. Try to get a spot with full hookups to avoid the bathrooms.Other than the bathrooms, it's okay.
ScoutMy partner and I camped here in the middle of February '23. Great campground, clean comfort stations. Comfort station 1 is newer and more renovated that comfort station 2 but both were clean and well kept! it was very warm in the comfort station ( a plus in the winter) with hot water. There are a few trails here, a marina, waterpark & mini golf when in season. great for families. The staff at the camp store were nice and very accommodating. This was our first trip so when we booked our site we had no idea how close the RV sites were. I mean, zero privacy, barely any trees in between. So the camp store clerk allowed us to change our site to a more private one. Site 11 seemed very private for anyone looking to book.
also, just to mention, all sites that back up to the playground have no buffer or trees. You will be exposed to the playground but that may be what you're looking for.
All in all, a great stay!
Scout
Forested campground with fairly lengthy but level (and thus beginner friendly) hiking just a short distance away from Washington, DC.
If you’ve forgotten anything you can pop on by the Target or Costco right outside the forest.
Also, you can purchase wood while checking in and the Rangers don’t mind if you take a bit extra. Just bring your own starters and kindling (or a small hatchet/saw).
Planes do occasionally fly over the area so consider bringing earplugs if you are a sensitive sleeper. The noise wasn’t really noticeable when I went on a Saturday (the neighboring campsite’s dogs were louder).
TravelerWe stayed here in the family campground for 3 nights in mid-October. The sites are very small and you sit very close to the camp loop road. Our site was #16 and it was very flat and easy to back a 30’ RV into. Most of the sites have very little distance between them. You’re really on top of your neighbors at this place! We didn’t see a camp host until we left on Monday. The bath house was pretty clean but out of TP frequently (both mens and womens rooms.) There is no camp sink, which was a bummer. There are lots of water spigots around the loop, however. Plenty of firewood when we arrived Friday night, but was totally gone by Saturday morning when we took the dog out at 7am. It was mostly replenished by Saturday night. No kindling, however, just the logs. $5 per crate (honor box, cash only of course.) The ranger station was closed when we arrived and when we left so we couldn’t check out the nature center. There are some really nice trails accessible from the loop. Dog friendly! We’ll stay here again if nowhere else is available, but it’s just too tight of a campground for our taste.
TravelerWe had spot 84 which was great for privacy and location to the laundry! The staff was nice. It was a bummer to have no water hook-up (we did know this before booking) but that would have made it perfect. WATCH OUT for poison oak - our electrical cord must have come in contact with it as we did not hike through the woods yet we both got poison oak on the inside of our arms (from holding the cord) and it has spread down both our arms. The laundry facility was clean and it’s $2 to wash and $2 to dry. Easy 45 minute drive to DC. Overall, would stay again if passing through.
GuideSuch a great campsite. So many things to do. There was a waterpark, mini golf, marina, lots of trails and playground. Our stay was awesome. The staff were so nice and helpful. Pretty Quiet at night.
Some bugs but not too bad. Didn’t have to use too much bug spray. Our site was spacious. Peaceful, water spigot across the road. Close to comfort station.
Great for families, groups, single, anyone. Noticed different size sites. Great stay definitely planning to stay again.
GuideWe arrived on a Sunday. Very quiet, many open RV spots around us. We had site 18. Which is next to one of the water spigots. The idea is to use it to fill up tanks. Ranger let us know not to stay hooked up to it. 30 amp electric. No issues there. Lots of trails but in June at least the ticks were waaaay too plentiful.
GuideHad a bunch of candy
ScoutThis review is specific to the non-electric tent sites.
From a services available view, their staff is visible and around to help. Bathrooms, "Comfort Stations", could use some cleaning more frequently but I've seen a lot worse. Big trash bin near the comfort stations, convenient. Definitely a well stocked camp store, its obvious they cater to beginner and family camping. You are NOT permitted to use deadfall at this park, must bring locally purchased USDA wood yourself or buy from camp store.
There are comfort stations and trash bins close to every non-electric camp site, an easy sub-200 yard walk for me, but that fact is also where my disappointment starts. The non-electric camp sites in some cases, appear to share a single area, fire pits 10 feet apart from each other, one flat area, barely a full length truck can fit in the parking available at each site they are so close to the road. If you whisper, your neighbors will easily hear close. A big part of camping for me is the peace and quiet of nature. THIS IS NOT THAT CAMPSITE. It is extremely compact and close to each other. Snoring of your neighbor is definitely an issue no matter which site you choose, except for maybe 138 as was said in another review.
The gravel road into the campsites, is a RESIDENTIAL road. Yes, there are houses at the end of the road these campsites are ON. Not off of, on. Now mostly that wasn't a big deal, cars moving through during the day, early evening. But that one guy that sat with his high beams on pointed directly into my tent late night for a solid minute or two before loudly accelerating through was a bit irritating.
This was a weeknight trip, there was only one other camper in this small campground with me so all in all, not a terrible trip but definitely not worth the cost and will not be visiting here again.
TravelerWeekend trip with our Aliner went well. Site was clean and electric worked. Nice gravel paths leading to the bath house.
Pros-Hiking trails are beautiful. We will return with our MTB. Pretty quiet campground. We had tent and trailer neighbors (Inner loop is electric hook ups, outer is tent camping). Sites are spaced well.
Cons- No ranger to be found. If you had an issue this could be a problem. Bath House showers went from hot to freezing randomly. After our second ice cold shower we gave up. Finally, there is no dish cleaning station. Plenty of water spouts but no hot water for cleaning. Maybe we couldn’t find it but other campers didn’t find it either.
Over all it was a nice campground for a quick visit. Definitely worth checking out.
GuideVery convenient spot near the DC area. You wouldn’t know it, but there’s literally a massive junkyard and industrial areas about 2 miles from the park. I’d rate it a 3.5 if given the option
It’s a nice wooded area. Some of the campsites are close together, others are spaced better. All sites are covered in varying levels of gravel. The campground ring road is narrow, not much room to navigate when backing a camper into sites. The sites inside the loop have electric hookups. I did not notice pull through sites, did not see a camp store. Firewood is self serve, honor system.
As others noted, due to it’s proximity to Andrews AFB you are going to get lots of helicopters, jets and transport planes flying around day and into the night.
When they are not buzzing around in flying contraptions it can be peaceful and quiet.
Bathhouse is small but clean, there is hot water. No dishwashing station. Seemed like they had just added some new H2O pumps around the camping area. The pavilions have new picnic tables.
Some good hiking trails in the park, you might come across people on horseback. I saw birds, frogs, deer, a rabbit and too many snakes while hiking. Looks like they have archery practice ranges, not sure how that works if people are hiking. I could hear a fair amount of gunfire while hiking. Guessing there’s a target practice area as it’s not hunting season.
Did not see a camp host. The rangers cruise around a few times a day.
TravelerThis was a great place to stay. Very quiet and with some amazing trails within walking distance. Very well laid out and excellent signage.
GuideNeed military id and reservations to go
TravelerGreat camp sites each with a picnic table and fire pit. There are a ton of things to do at this park, boat ramps, water park, mini golf, disc golf, kayak rental, and hiking trails. The camp store is open from 8a-8p. My only complaint is that our site was a bit too close to the “main road” of the park. Also, comfort station 3 was out of service so we had to drive to the other stations when we needed to use the facilities. Other than that, very much recommended and we will be back.
ScoutI stayed for three night, lost of open camp sites as it is late in the season. Nice trails, good facilities and friendly staff
Very secure, recomemded
GuideWe picked up the camping registration outside the office at the entrance, no need to speak with anyone. Then we just drove down to our campsite in the family camping loop. We could hear and smell horses when we got to our campsite, but it didn't last forever.
The site was mostly clean, had a few pieces of small trash scattered around when we arrived. The sites were decently spaced out from one another, it didn't feel like we were right on top of the people across and next to us. Our site was close to the restroom, it had a little path leading to the restroom, and it looked like there was little trail paths all around leading to the restrooms from the different parts of the loop. The path leading to the restroom from our site was gravel and easy to walk on. The restrooms were clean, but the floor was wet almost the entire time we were there (likely due to the showers).
If you need to buy wood it is $5 for 8 pieces and you call a number given to you in your registration packet. The ranger will then drive by and drop off the wood at your campsite. The inner ring of this loop has electricity, and the electric box was just on the far side of the picnic table in the corner.
ScoutNice park. Shower room was very nicely kept, nice paths from each campsite to restrooms. Nice quiet place close enough to everything you would need.
RangerThis campground has 5-star service, which is good to know before you pay the premium price for the sites which really are standard 4-star campsites. Our mode of camping: a campervan. Reason for staying: to be stationary for a few days.
[Internet. Verizon via iPhone 12: 9 mbps down and 1.4 mbps up with 49 ms ping.]
We had a few interactions with the rangers and staff that really impressed us.
(1) The first night there we went to take a shower at Comfort Station 1 and there was a snake in a shower that had snuck in. We showered at Comfort Station 2 on the other side of the campground. The next morning we reported to the camp store about the snake and that we hadn't gone back to check if it was still there. Not even 5 minutes later, two park rangers pull up to the bathroom to check out the bathroom. The snake had left. I was impressed with their response time.
(2) I had a package mailed to the campground and asked about it at the camp store. They said the ranger receives packages and that she'd call to check if any packages had arrived. I kid you not, maybe ten minutes later a ranger drives up to our campsite and delivers the package.
(3) The Comfort Stations are so clean. They might have some of the cleanest bathrooms I've come across. Comfort Station 1 was within visual distance of our campsite. I swear that one person spent almost two hours cleaning that one building. This Comfort Station has an extra restroom that's handicap accessible too. The laundry room was so clean. As I do in all laundromats, I swipe the folding table with my finger to see if it needs dusting. This table did not need dusting. The women's restroom (and handicap bathroom) were so clean. The toilets, showers, sinks—everything.
Other pros include:
There's two laundry facilities. The washer and dryer each cost $2. (I highly recommend drying on medium since the dryer runs forever.) You can exchange for quarters at the camp store. The camp store sells firewood. Oh, the camp store itself is a perk. During our stay it was open 8am to 8pm. They sell ice cream! It was hot during our stay, so I bought some ice cream sandwiches.
My cons:
My first con is that the fresh water fill stations aren't marked on their campground map. They actually have two fill stations on either side of the camp store. Ask the camp store where they are.
My big con largely concerns "the nature" which I won't hold against the campground. Since it's summer, the spiders were out in full force. Comfort Station 1 didn't show signs of any spiders who set up home (because they clean like crazy and they're amazing). However, outside is a whole different story. There was a fat, monstrous spider with a big web right above the dish washing station. It nearly gave me a heart attack (and I'm 36). I brought my bug spray over and doused the hell out of it and the underside of the roofing above the sink so I could wash dishes. That first night with the snake in the bathroom—there was also a sand dollar sized spider running across the floor. It clearly had ALSO snuck in. Our campsite had a fair amount of spiders running around on the ground. I highly recommend NOT wearing sandals during the warm season. At night during our first campfire while it was dark, a spider slunk down from a tree just above our picnic table. WHOLE LOTS OF NOPE ON THAT. We turned our outdoor side lights on to keep the spiders up in the damn trees. Thankfully this side was facing the woods so our lights weren't in anyone's eyes. I dread being one of "those" campers.
GuideReally enjoyed this park especially since it is so close to Washington DC. The sites were fairly level and shaded with a fire ring and picnic table. Verizon cell coverage was good. The comfort house with showers and flush toilets was clean. My only minor complaint would be during the weekend there are a lot of children making noise at the water park. It wasn’t bad but if you want peace and quiet, keep that in mind.
GuideI found it expensive for a tent site. No electric or water and was over $40. Out of area fee and a transaction fee (I even paid cash) If your traveling looking for a cheaper place to park for the night, this is not it.
TravelerInitially disappointed by the tiny spot we got, but we were able to move. Majority of the spots are extremely close to the next and doesn't allow much privacy. Very few trees in between. We chose another spot that was available, however, we found out the first night that there is a boat area and bright light all night right behind us and the light came through the tent. Another dissapointment. We camped in a tent and did 3 nights, 4 days. (4th of July weekend) We loved the family friendliness that allowed us to walk right down the street/trail to take our kids to the water park. They give you a discounted price if you are camping. They also have mini golf and disc golf near by as well. If we come again, we will definitely be more particular about our spot. They also had bathrooms and showers not to far from our spot that were actually clean.
LegendCedarville State Forest is located in Charles Co., MD. It's near Waldorf which offers amenities that you might need. The campground is one loop with 27 mostly spacious sites. Some of the sites were not well tended and had tall grasses while others seemed better groomed. Most were level but some were more steep front to back. Each site had a pretty good gravel area, picnic tables and firepits. Cedarville State Forest offers lots of outdoor activities, none of which we tried, but we saw archery and rifle ranges, lots of hiking trails as well. Some of the roads around the state forest were in very bad repair. There were pot holes inside of potholes which made the drive around the area very uncomfortable. Overall, it's a nice campground that had availability just a few weeks out which is hard to come by these days!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Leonardtown, MD?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Leonardtown, MD is Pohick Bay Campground with a 4.2-star rating from 39 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Leonardtown, MD?
TheDyrt.com has all 4 equestrian camping locations near Leonardtown, MD, with real photos and reviews from campers.