Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Prince William Forest Park

The Oak Ridge campgrounds at Prince William Forest Park are a lovely little campground just outside Washington DC. The sites were large, the facilities are clean and the staff friendly and helpful.

We stayed the last weekend in September for a quick one night stay. We needed to get out of DC and found this spot to be the perfect ticket. There were heavy rains the whole week prior to our stay and when we got to our site (it is one of the lowest spots of B loop) was a little too wet for us (our three kids would have love it, just not us). The campground host was very accommodating and told us to pick any spot on the first come/first serve A loop. We were able to find a very nice spot and the host came to us to change the forms around.

The free firewood is nice but be sure to pick is up (next to the water tower by the entrance to the campground) when you check in so you don’t have to carry it, or make a separate trip. The wood was sitting out, so it was a little wet, but all fresh, no rot. I would recommend having a hatchet or camp knife to split the corded wood to account for the wetness.

The A loop bathroom facility was clean with a nice service sink, but no showers. The B loop facility does have showers and is also very nice (we didn’t swing through C loop so we can’t speak to those facilities).

We went cycling as a family and though did not go too far (young kids) the park is a fantastic place to ride bicycles. There is only one short hiking loop from the campground, but other trails which will take you on a longer loop. All the hiking loops are accessible via car or our choice (once the kids are old enough) bicycle.

We enjoyed our stay and will be coming back, even for a quick one night stay to break up the busy city life.

Oak Ridge NP unit in Prince Williams Forest Park: what a beautiful place to spend the fall day. It’s quiet, not very busy at all, and nice sites. This is a pretty good place to be if you’re going to visit DC. This is our second time and that’s what we did on our last stay here. However, Greenbelt common north east of DC, is a much better place for DC visit. There, you can take the train shuttle into the city was a short drive from the campground. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer). I rate based on desire for at least a moderate wilderness type experience w at least some camp site privacy. Overall Rating: 4.5 Price 2023: $10 w interagency pass Usage during visit: very low Site Privacy: sites are in an open Oak Forest Site Spacing: Great. Very large sites Site surface: blacktop. Reservations: Required Campground Noise: Very quiet, both of our stays. Road Noise: none. This campground is far into the forest off, away from public road. Through Traffic in campground: no reason for through traffic. Electric Hookup: no. Sewer Hookup: no. Dump Station: no. Potable Water Available: Yes. There is a water Spicket at the bathrooms. There is also a wash station room attached to the bathrooms. Generators: allowed. Bathroom: clean. Showers: not in all bathrooms. Ever, there is a very clean shower/bathroom facility near the handicap spot, A25. Pull Throughs: Not sure. Did not see any. Cell Service (AT&T): 1 to 2 bars. Setting: deep into a beautiful Oak Forest. Weather: a very nice fall day. Highs in the 70s lows in the 50s Bugs: no mosquitoes. Too cold. Solar: doesn’t look like there will be enough sunshine through the trees for a good, fixed, solar panel, solar absorption. Host: not sure if one is present. Rig size: large rigs are OK. Nice deep sites. Just be careful what you say you choose Sites: I have pictures of very nice sites located near our campsite. Looks to me almost all sites are large and spacious. Some sites do not have picnic tables placed as well as they could be. Other than that the sites are fantastic.

If you, like me, hate making reservations over the phone, it was worth it! Quick, simple, painless process. 

Restrooms/showers: very clean, spacious, centrally located. My spot was in the back row and I didn't mind the walk 

Lots: lots are really staggered/ set back from each other so feels like you have more space. Average lot size in general, but the set back feels like you have more space. It wasn't crowded either way, especially given on a weekend 

Small pool 

Wifi: don't plan on being able to have work zoom calls or really much on it for that matter 

Cell service: I can confirm Verizon and Google fi have great service. I would imagine any other carrier would work just as well. 

Area: the surrounding area is really bikeable 

Hookups: I had a 30amp hookup with no issues. They also have up to 50amp full hookups. All of them looked well maintained. 

Staff: super friendly; great check in experience They have a dog park but didn't get a chance to check it out. 

Overall: great experience, would recommend