Best Campgrounds near Arlington, VA

We have found municipal campgrounds in Northern Virginia are a bit spendy for being government sponsored.  Not as bad as South Carolina, but way more than Florida.  Fine.  Comes with the territory.  But Bull Run manages to goose you even more.  There are occupancy AND transaction fees that really add up if you're only there a few nights.  But the real kicker is a 2-night minimum stay.  Even mid-week.  In APRIL for gosh sakes!

While we were here, there was a fairly heavy day of rain.  Couple inches, I suppose, but nothing Biblical.  The mouths of the metal culverts in our loop were bent downward from campers driving over them, which obstructed the flow.  Result was lots of standing water at our campsite.

We're done with NOVA Parks campgrounds.  Better cost options exist with Fairfax County Parks.

Super simple and the best price... easy to find and very clean

We came into the park at 2:00 on 3/9/25 our site had a broken power circuit breaker. There is no way to contact a person. So we moved to a site #1 so we could call someone, maybe see a ranger drive by. Had to move out as the site was occupied by someone who had arrived so we moved to another empty site for the night . Tried contacting anyone to help us out but no answers at the phone numbers. When we did get in contact with a lady , she was only a phone answer person with no information or help.

Easy entry after dark. Sites were mostly level.

This is an urban oasis.  Traffic can be heard but not seen.  Weekdays are pretty quiet in this campground. Living nearby but storing my popup camper elsewhere, I often park my camper here for a few days while I pack it for a trip.  It's also just nice to experience that "getaway" feeling without being too far from home.  Rangers keep a close eye on things, and there are monthly programs at the campfire circle that I sometimes attend even when not camping here.  No electric or hook ups.  There is a dump station and water available at spickets throughout the campground.  Showers and bathrooms are basic and clean.   Oh, and bonus, the American Discovery Trail (ADT) passes through the park.  https://discoverytrail.org/

Sites were well-maintained, including lavatories. Plenty of tree cover. NOTE: park service forbade tying lines or straps to the trees at the time of our visit (Autumn 2024), so if you favor hammock camping or deploying tarps/ridgelines, plan accordingly.

I was only stopping for single night. I could not access water as the spigot was broken. Was not informed next door there was a outdoor concert that went until 10pm extremely loud

They have renovated the beach and per my friends, the fencing protecting the area is new, but needed. The sites are too close to each to each other and people were blaring their music. The bathhouse needs updating. Not enough fire rings and if you don’t have one and the campground is full, you’re out of luck. Saw an otter one night!

And the host are very kind and very friendly, event near Rt. 95, not very loud noise with big tall trees, happy stay!

Did stay here after visting Vicksburg. Nice clean restrooms and showers. Friendly hostess and we had a nice shady spot, what was great with a heat of 94F.

Reservations are made through the National parks service "recreation.gov" website. Arrived for tent camping for 1 nights, park ranger met me at the entrance to ensure i could find my site. My stay was quiet and the bathrooms were clean and well stocked with HOT water in the private showers. This is a great base camp for getting out to hike the various trails in Prince William Forrest. Firewood is gather your own from fallen limbs in the park.

Busiest train corridor I’ve ever experienced, with several every hour all night. To add to the noise, there is a one-way tunnel a few feet from the campground. The practice is for cars to stop, blow their horn to announce their presence, then proceed into the tunnel.

I have a 14’ trailer, and it wouldn’t fit into my site perpendicular to the road. I had to pull past then back in so that I was parallel to the road. Ordinarily no big deal, except that the road isn’t a loop. It’s a single lane straight road in. No place to turn around, no way out except to back all the way out.

I stayed here with my family this summer and the park itself is a perfect spot for nature near DC. My son loved the giant playground and full water park at the campground, they even had discounted entry to the water park for campers. We stayed in site 20 which is an easy pull through and had a direct trail to the water park and the full network of trails in the park.

About 5 minutes off the highway, we stopped here for a night on our trip home. Close to plenty of amenities. Sites are paved and mostly level and pull through. HOWEVER, the sites are very small (short, so you will have to unhook)