The best camping near
Prince William Forest Park, VIRGINIA

There is no overnight camping in this small city park. There is a small dog park, a small pond, and an unimproved trail around the pond.

The main attraction for this campground is, obviously, the lake. It is a place where people can fish, boat, canoe/kayak, etc. My favorite thing to do is put my kayak in the water and paddle around no matter what season it is. I have stayed at this campground numerous times with my son, grandson, and/or his family. The sites are fairly level, although some do have a slight slope. There is no water or electricity at any of the sites, but there are fire rings. Some of the sites have a standing grill and a picnic table. There is plenty of shade, and many of the trees are close enough that I can stretch out my hammock for an afternoon siesta. The sites are grassy, and the road is gravel. Depending on where you choose your site, the bath house is a short distance away. My grandson loves camping there because of the playground, and for dog lovers, there is a fenced dog walk. Sometimes, you can find wood where the local residents cut their trees and shrubbery and drop it off adjacent to the campground. Otherwise, you need to take your own wood for a fire. However, every time I have been there, including this time, we were able to find plenty of wood for a campfire. Since the campground closes during the winter, the bath house is not heated, but the showers do have hot water. There are electrical outlets as well in case you need to plug in a blow dryer or electric razor. The last time we stayed here, only my son and grandson were with me, and we sat around the campfire just enjoying the occasional sounds of geese and the regular sounds of tree frogs and crickets. The only other distractions are a few cars passing by along the road, but that diminishes significantly after about ten or eleven o’clock. For children, another fun thing to do is to play in the spillway, which is also part of the road. The embankment dam and spillway are only a few steps from the campground, and there is a place to launch your canoe or kayak. The boat ramp is farther away into the neighborhood. This campground has ten sites and is by reservation only for its over 4,200 residents and their friends and family. Overall, I enjoy staying at this campground because it is a quiet setting when you just want to get outdoors.

Fort Washington is a massive brick and stone fortress majestically guarding the Potomac River approach to the nation's capital. It was constructed in 1809 and saw service from the War of 1812 until WWII. Now a National Park Service (NPS) site, the park is expansive, with trails and day use areas to complement the fortress grounds. As an NPS facility, it offers a welcome center and small museum, and a place to get your National Park passport stamped. Fort Washinton is only about five miles south of the DC Beltway, so it makes for a nice afternoon or day trip for your individual or family outing for getting the kids outside. Parking is plentiful. Most of the fortress grounds are handicapped accessible, as are the pathways around the park.

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.

This campground is great! Primitive camping at its best. Very friendly staff. We stayed here and went tubing on the Rappahannock River one day. The tubing trip was organized by the same people that run the campground so that was very convenient!

Area is well maintained. Bathrooms are close. Affordable but I would bring your own wood. It isn’t that cheap. Great to bring little kids. Camp store is open until 9. The staff is super nice and are easy to get a hold of. Only reason I don’t give it 5 starts is the campsites are a bit close together and I don’t really feel like I’m out in nature but it’s nice to use to get away and hang out with friends.

The best park in the DC area! Very nice grounds, clean, and amenities galore! The staff are nice here. They have so much going on! Plan and reserve you DC tours right at the campground. No need to drive anywhere, the tour buses pick you up at the park! Pool, playgrounds, game room, camp store, pavilions, everything!

My husband loves to go DC and we recently purchased a travel trailer. This campground was the best of both worlds. It was close to a metro stop, so we were able to hope on there and head into DC. Since we stayed in October and temperatures were getting cooler, we only played putt-putt and it was very well kept and the tiny cost ($1.00) to play goes to a great cause. The shower houses were clean and the other facilities were in great condition, with what we saw when we walked around. We had an enjoyable stay and would consider coming back when it’s a bit warmer and when we have more time to experience more at the campground itself.

Lots af amenities, and very clean. A lady with the staff, gives visitors a lengthy orientation to Washington, tours, restaurants, Metrorail, parking, museums, and monuments. Metrorail is about 6 miles from campground, near University of Maryland.

Very nice camping areas. Nice trails, water sports available, and historic landmarks