Best Campgrounds near Mechanicsville, MD

This was a great stop to take the kids to visit the city. Easy access and well laid out sites. They have a bus stop for metro service to the city, but we took the 20 minute drive. They have a nice looking pool area, but it was too cold. The shop was cute and staff nice. Sites were pretty level. Be weary of decent highway noise, but easily drowned out with the AC.

We are at site 18, one of the ones with power. Check out your site before booking, some sites are steep but spacious. Close to town but far enough to enjoy yourself. Bathrooms are clean and have decent showers.

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!

Pros - Clean Bathrooms, Camp store open 8am - 8pm, Sites 62 - 92 (except #74 and 88) are all pretty  good.  Security was great, patrol throughout the night.  Quiet hours are enforced and campers are polite.  Lots of activities, and nice hiking trails. Fabulous historical attractions, great visitor center. 

Cons - Campground is in the flight path of Dulles Airport, so planes are flying over head at all hours of the day and sometimes late at night/morning.  There is a shooting range nearby. Some noise during range hours. (Not late at night!)  Because there had been so little rain, there was not great fishing in the park.  (I went to Silver Lake, that was great!)

Traffic! Lots of local traffic on the main roads. (to be fair, it IS a suburb of DC ). Stores are all approx. 20 mins away. (Head towards Haymarket)

If you are a nature lover, a person who loves peace, serenity, and, tranquility, or just need some respite, Lacy Oasis is the place to be. Whether you are an adult or a child, this place will have a positive effect on you. The owners are involved and designed this space with the visitors pleasure in mind. This space is about healing and being grounded with yourself. My agency took about 25 children there last week and they did not want to leave, neither did I. The rates are very economical for what is being provided on the space. There is not enough I can say about this place. It was definitely more than I expected. But my agency has worked with the owner in the past on other community support initiatives and she has always been an overachiever. Please come and enjoy this space. You will not be disappointed. I cannot wait to return.

We 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.

We stayed a week at Cherry Hill and it had everything we needed for visiting DC. Staff very helpful and really explained the Metro system very well. We didn't drive to DC at all - just used public transit We also did 2 tours with Cherry Hill, which were good overviews of the featured sites. Nicely stocked store, great cafe onsite, and clean bathrooms and showers were great features. Swimming pools pretty crowded so we didn't use. Still, very happy with site, partial shade too. Would return to Cherry Hill.

Great bathrooms all singles w showers. Lots of fun things to do. Pretty peaceful despite being crowded and not overly scenic campsites. A bit on top of each other. Site 43 had good location, electric and trees. But was a very pokey gravel pad, a bit uncomfortable if you don’t have good mattress. Interior sites, less scenic but some have more grass. But also more slope. 43 was pretty flat.

We 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.

Took my family of 7 to the Bull Run regional park for our first camping trip and the experience was great! Didn’t want to stray too far from the house in the event that it was a nightmare, thankfully this local spot offered a soft opening to our family over the two days we spent there and all was good. The site was clean and well kept, bathhouse was close to the tent site and in ok shape (wasn’t expecting anything spectacular so wasn’t disappointed. Playground and trails were nice, kids really enjoyed the chance to take in nature. This experience was good and would recommend a visit for anyone looking for a soft intro to camping for their family!