The best EQUESTRIAN camping near
West Laurel , MARYLAND

We stayed at Bull Run Regional Campground on our visit to Washington DC. It was fall and the colors were gorgeous. The sites are all pull-through off the roads through the campground. So your camper faces the woods and you feel like you're all alone. Bath houses are clean and well maintained. Our site was very level, but I could see that some others were not so much, so you might want to ask about that. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

They have a handful of sites that are more secluded and not right on the driveway loop. I've only camped in loop C and find it more quiet and less crowded than loop B. Probably because this loop only has toilets in the restroom. Showers are in loop B, which is a 5-7 minute walk. During holiday weekends the sites closest to the shower facilities are fully booked and have less privacy. They are usually reserved by larger groups. Plenty of beautiful walking and hiking trails in the park to enjoy. This campground is well maintained and routinely monitored by park rangers. There's a $20 National Park entrance fee that's in addition to the site reservation.

I was excited to go to this campground based on reviews and it’s location. Unfortunately it was so noisy with the sounds of guns from 9am-to 8pm daily. The highway is close so we could hear cars while sleeping and planes flying over head constantly. I’d give it zero stars, but the park itself is very clean and the site was big.

The park is a beautiful one to visit and the sites are huge. It’s super close to breweries, winery’s, and historical battlegrounds. It’s dog and kid friendly with clean facilities. Unfortunately, gun fire from the shooting range can be heard 9 hours a day from any point in the camping area. The highway is close and airplanes can be heard so there is never a moment of quiet. We had a great time no matter what, but would have loved to know ahead of time. If you want to just get out of the city and be at a campsite within an hour this is your place, but if you want peace and quiet in nature look elsewhere.

We chose this campground based on proximity to work. This campground was priced fairly, however, it does come with its downfalls.

PROS

Let me start with the positive, we were 1 of 3 campers in this loop during our week-long stay. This made it peaceful and quiet. 

CONS

It's close to a Naval base, and therefore you constantly hear airplanes, and helicopters at all times. 

Other than the daily bathroom cleaning, this campground lacks maintenance on sites and walkways. They are both overgrown. 

Playground, fishing, archery all seem blocked off at this time. 

Trails seem open but are across and through hunting areas. They are also muddy from the rain. There is even standing water around our site which brings us to…the MOSQUITOS! We tried fans, tiki torches, and many deet free or light deet products before having to buy 100% deet so we could be outside. These things are awful!

Prince William Forest has been a destination for my family for over 35 years. Staff is friendly and helpful.

RV’s are allowed, but not all RV’s fit. Their website states that “Trailers and fifth wheels are limited to up to 26 feet in length and 12 feet in height and motor homes up to 32 feet in length and 12 feet in height.”

No hookups, but a fantastic destination!

Nice campground, very spread out sites not close to neighbor, clean bathrooms, close to DC metro area for good getaway, nice trails to hiking/ running/ biking.

Its pretty nice and has a water park as well. It has a lot of open space and also a river and hiking. Not a ton of other activities, but a great getaway. Its a but expensive in my opinion

Lots of trees to protect from hot Virginia sun

Woke up to sounds from gun range.

If this campground is convenient - and given that it's open through October and <60 minutes from DC it might well be - this campground is good to go. But without that convenience factor I would not rate this site as worth visiting.

The loop is very small, with all the sites pretty close together. The forest behind the site was sparse, enough so that it was hard to find fuel for the fire and we were basically part of the youth group activities happening. From 8am to 4pm I learned A LOT about what number to dial in case of emergency.

The site itself was very small - difficult to get 2 cars and two tents in - and the fire ring was smaller as well. Though it was cleaner than the average state park site.

We stayed in site 21, which was fine enough except for its proximity to the nearest pavilion and all the small children screaming "stop drop and roll" at the top of their lungs.

But at the end of the day it was $20 (with a $6 booking fee) and for better or worse we never interacted with a single park ranger or camp host. The upside is we could do what we wanted, the downside is there wasn't a sense of community, or regulation.

I'll say I have never been to a site where the firewood is padlocked, and you have to call someone to come unlock it so you can buy firewood. In fact I'm downgrading the review from 3 stars to 2 as I write this - there really weren't many positives about this campground other than that camping is a terrific hobby.