Best Tent Camping near Prince William Forest Park

Tent Camping Reviews near Prince William Forest Park

529 Reviews of 21 Prince William Forest Park Campgrounds

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  RL

  Legend

  Apr. 13, 2021

  Sky Meadows State Park Campground

  Great views, primitive camping

  We hiked the one mile into the campground and stayed for a night. It was a pretty flat walk from the overnight parking area to the campground. In the campground there is one bathroom facility with two vault toilets (although one of the doors was locked while we were there, which was unpleasant with a full campground). No running water or showers in the bathhouses. Non-potable water pump is near the restroom. Boil water at least three minutes before consuming. There are two areas with firewood (purchase when you check in or pay $6 cash at the kiosk - honor system). Each site has a bear box, fire ring, picnic table, tent pad with pea gravel, and a lantern pole. Definitely will be back!

  The park has wide open rolling hills and mountain views. Lots of families picnicking and flying kites 🪁💙

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• 

  Lucas B.

  Scout

  Jul. 2, 2017

  Sky Meadows State Park Campground

  Awesome foray into backpacking

  Came here for the first time in February 2017 to do a shakedown on some new backpacking and camping gear. Super friendly staff and easy check in process. Parking is in a locked lot steps away from trail head which leads to campsites about a mile away. Campsites are in a wooded area of park well away from other park attractions so it's very quiet. Sites are spaced far apart and come with tent pad, picnic table, fire pit and lantern pole. Non potable water is available via hand pump near rest rooms. Rest rooms are very nice and clean. No showers. This was one of my favorite camping experiences ever and I will definitely be back!

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• 

  Roger W.

  Legend

  Nov. 8, 2023

  Oak Ridge Campground — Prince William Forest Park

  Spacious Sites

  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.

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• 

  Reba H.

  Traveler

  May. 2, 2023

  Sky Meadows State Park Campground

  Please don't treat this like car camping

  I understand why people are lugging wheeled carts a mile into this campground, but it is technically not allowed. This is a backcountry/backpacking experience. Most of the hike-in is on Hadow Trail, which is dirt, not gravel. It is technically an equestrian trail too, but there's no way a horse could make it without breaking an ankle right now; the trail is so worn down by wheeled cart usage that the park has created a service project on the American Hiking Society's website calling for volunteers to do restoration work on Hadow Trail on this year's upcoming National Trails Day.

  I hiked in while it was raining, and the mud wasn't as bad as I'd feared. However, the worn down parts of the trail attracted rainwater drainage, and the runoff narrowed the trail significantly. When I got to Boston Mill Rd Trail, which is gravel, the hike was easy, until the spur turning into the campground, when the trek goes uphill. If your site is further back, you will be hiking up and down many hills throughout the campground. The hills are fantastic for helping each site feel like a little private oasis. Even if the campground is full, I think most of the sites would still feel shaded and private because of how they're dispersed throughout the hills. 

  My site bordered the buddy site and scout group sites at the beginning of the campground, so there was noise from loud kids but not as bad as I thought it might be. I was still able to enjoy peace and quiet, as the group respected quiet hours and was busy hiking the rest of the state park during the daytime, so don't shy away from this site if it's the only one available. The group sites also have their own latrine at the beginning of the campground, which pleasantly surprised me because this meant there were two latrines fairly close to each other, just to accommodate projected usage. There are many thoughtful details like this throughout the design of the campground facilities. 

  For a backcountry campground, I was SO impressed with how stocked and clean everything was. Firewood is $8 (honor system), but there was some leftover at my site already. My firepit had a quality grill gate too. There are LOTS of bear trash cans available, and having a bear box at my campsite to store my food/trash/toiletries was so much easier than hanging a bear bag. If it hadn't rained, I also would've been able to use the hammock posts at my site (you could use these to hang a clothesline too if you wanted). When I talked over the phone with a ranger, she told me that only a few campsites didn't have hammock stands. If you think a lantern is worth its weight to carry in, there's a lantern post on the tent pad. I loved how level the tent pad was even on a hill. I couldn't figure out how to use the potable water pump, but there are plentiful creeks you can filter water from.

  Overall, this is a fantastic campground for a beginner backpacking experience in the real backcountry. Use the Avenza Maps app that the park has its map uploaded into, and you won't get lost finding the overnight parking/self check-in station like I did. Know the gate code of this area before you go. The gate takes a hard push and pull. If you're prepared for all this, you'll arrive at camp before dusk when the wild animals come out. At night I saw white-tailed deer and heard owls and cattle! During the day I saw/heard SOOO many birds on the South Ridge Trail and found a bear track after the Cpt. Morgan Trail on the creek side of Hadow Trail!! If all this sounds awful rather than exciting to you, just drive in for the day and stick to the historic areas rather than venture into the park's backcountry areas.

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• 

  Dan N.

  Ranger

  Oct. 1, 2016

  Caledon State Park Campground

  No camping, day use only

  This is a wonderful Potomac Riverfront day-use park with a wildlife refuge and old-grown forests. You can not camp here but you can rent a picnic pavilion for day use. They have excellent nature-centered events and a nature center, plus free picnic areas. Great bird watching and bald eagles. I think the nearest camping is Prince William Forest Park, north on 95.

• 

  Amy S.

  Traveler

  Jul. 17, 2018

  Sky Meadows State Park Campground

  Great hike in campground

  It's about a mile hike in to the campground, which sits in the woods in the park. Firewood is available for sale and there are fire rings with grates and a picnic table. Sites are large enough for three one person tents. Pit toilets, no showers, cell service. Make sure you bring a bear bag or box with you.

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  Nov. 11, 2023

  Greenbelt Park Campground — Greenbelt Park

  Beautiful campground, and great for visiting DC

  Beautiful campground, fairly large with 4 separate loops. Loop A is for organized groups/youth/scouts, Loop B is for tents and RVs under 30 ft, Loop C is for tents, and Loop D is for tents and RVs under 35 ft. No hookups at any of the sites.

  There’s a dump station and drinking water fill in loop C (sorry tenters who wanted to avoid RVs). The water fill was a little annoying in that there’s a handle you have to hold down the whole time, but we used a rock to prop the handle down. 

  The bathhouses are ok, happy to have free showers with hot running water. Faucets allow you to control the temperature and there’s continuous running water (no button to push). There’s only one large shower per bath house, and you only have a curtain (no door and no lock). Sites vary in levelness, some are fairly level and some are on a mini hill. Driveways are all very narrow. Most have too much tree cover for solar or starlink, but some sites are more open and you might be able to make it work. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Cost is $20/night, must reserve on recreation.gov, and you can do that when you arrive and pick a site (no service fee for this site)

  Cell service is pretty good for Verizon and ATT. 

  No alcohol allowed in the park. 

  GETTING TO DC: There’s normally a walking path from the campground to the metro station that takes you into DC (the green line takes you to the National Mall), but as of Oct 2023 the bridge is out due to a storm, and by the looks of it it’s been out a while and it doesn’t appear that it will be fixed soon. So what we did, since we don’t have a tow car, and just have our 26ft motorhome, is we packed up and drove to the Greenbelt station about 5 miles away, parked there for the day, and took the green line into town. The lot there is huge and open and free on weekends. Weekdays it’s about $5/day if you take the metro, and about $9 if you’re just parking there. The College Park station is closer but is apparently a parking garage (can’t confirm because we didn’t go to that station). This worked very well for us. You can pay for the metro with an app or get a card, either way it costs you $2 to buy the card, and then $2 each way on the train. Everyone over age 5 needs their own card, no sharing one card. The train ride from the Greenbelt station to the national mall is about 30 min. Get off at the Archives station to be in the center of all the sites.

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• J

  Jason S.

  Scout

  Oct. 6, 2018

  Oak Ridge Campground — Prince William Forest Park

  A Quiet Corner in a Busy Metro Area

  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.

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• D

  David

  Scout

  May. 22, 2023

  Little Bennett Campground

  Quiet sites with some activities

  We recently stayed the weekend here in loop A. 

  There are several good things that can be said about this campground. 

  Restricted- only people camping and visitors are allowed to use the facilities. Keeps things from being too crowded. 

  Good sized sites- My family of 4 was able to stretch out 2 tents, our 4 camping chairs, the provided picnic table, our car, and have plenty of room left over. 

  Limited activities on weekends- jumping pad/pillow, pedal carts, laser tag ($), ceramics ($), t-shirts ($), hikes, and more. Changes weekly. Details sent out at the beginning of the week. 

  Decent stocked camp store with reasonable prices. $10 for wood, 3.50 for 7 lbs of ice, $5 shakes, and lots more. 

  There are some clear downsides, too. 

  Only 1 bathhouse per loop. Pay attention to where your site is located. You might be in for quite a hike to go to the bathroom, which is inconvenient in the early morning hours. Loop E doesn't have a bathhouse (mostly reserved for RVs). The bathhouses have showers and somewhat warm water. 

  The tent pad is gravel. While this might help with drainage (I don't know), it makes it incredibly difficult to walk on and stake down your tent. 

  The camp store/activities are quite a good distance from some of the loops. It took me about 10 minutes to walk at a decent pace from the start of loop A to the camp store. From our site which was only not even close to the halfway point it would have added another 5 minutes. The spots really deep in would have easily been a 30 minute walk each way. So driving, especially with little kids, is unfortunately necessary in some instances, especially if you want to visit the playground/basketball/volleyball courts which are WAY down past loop E. 

  Activities are limited to certain times. When we arrived Friday the jumping pad was only open for an hour from 4 30 to 5 30. We arrived just before 4 30, so we unpacked a few things and took the kids to the jumping pad area (right next to loop A). It wasn't open and inflated until almost 4 50. You'd think because it was opened late they would keep it open later. Nope! Right at 5 30 a worker pulled up and shut things down much to the chagrin of the kids. Why they can't have it running more often is beyond me. 1 hour on Friday was clearly not enough, especially when opened late. Maybe 2-3 hours on Friday and 5-6 on Saturday. 

  They should consider having time for younger kids on the jumping pad, who are bounced off by the older kids. On Saturday there were at least 40 kids, some pre-teens/teenagers from girl scouts. My 4 year old was having trouble staying on the pad because "it is too bouncy". Kids come and go as it stays open longer, but little kids have trouble keeping up. 

  The pedal carts were a good idea in practice, but have 2 faults. 1. They are EXTREMELY hard to pedal. I tried two carts, one was totally stuck on an incline and the second barely made it around the track. I have no idea why they are so difficult to use. 2. There are no tandem carts. The only ones using the carts while I was there were little kids who couldn't use the jumping pad. I had my daughter on my lap while on the cart, but it was awkward to use this way. Either having a two seater or side car would have worked out better. Based on the condition of the other carts in the shed, only a few appeared usable. 

  Clear signs are needed. Lots of cars were going the wrong way down loop A. The road is barely big enough for 1 car, so having to accommodate 2 is even more problematic, especially with kids walking around. There were at least 10 cars going the wrong way in the loop. 

  The limit of 2 cars per site isn't enforced. A few sites had 3 cars, which fit ok. A pack of cub scouts were hiking a few of the trials, so a few sites had 4 or 5 cars. The sites were not big enough to fit that many cars plus camping equipment, so they started taking up the road. This made it hard to maneuver, especially with little kids running about in the road unsupervised. 

  All in all it was a great campground and I truly do appreciate the staff trying to provide a few things for families to do. With a few considerations and improvements, this campground could easily be a 5-star location.

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