Best Tent Camping near Quantico, VA

Tent Camping Reviews near Quantico, VA

536 Reviews of 20 Quantico Campgrounds

• 

  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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• 

  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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• 

  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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• 

  Roger W.

  Legend

  Nov. 17, 2021

  Oak Ridge Campground — Prince William Forest Park

  Quiet Fall Weekday Experience

  Some beautiful lingering fall color. There are not many other campers. Best spacious sites are those on the outside loops.(outside sites that are NOT as spacious are A 1 - 11, 15,17,21,23. C8, 11). Bathrooms/Showers are clean, new, and with hot water - in B loop. (Some firearms noise from Quantico).

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  Kristy R.

  Guide

  Nov. 13, 2020

  Cherry Hill Park

  Great Family Fun

  Great camping amenities, soft cushioned sites, with power and water close by. DO NOT GET BASIC TENT SITES AS THEY ARE NEXT TO HIGHWAYS AND VERY NOISY!!! Premium tent sites would be a better choice. My grandchildren live it there. We will return to a premium tent site soon.

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  Margaret D.

  Scout

  May. 3, 2023

  Lake Fairfax Campground

  Comfortable sites

  Campground has mostly level gravel lots with fire rings, picnic tables. No water at site. Bath house is reasonably clean. Dump station is adequate.

• 

  Justin G.

  Guide

  Sep. 14, 2016

  Cedarville State Forest

  Cedarville State Forest (Tornado)

  I took my girlfriend car camping in Cedarville State Forest. The camping trip turned more into a stay in the tent the whole trip. We set up camp and ate dinner only to be hit by a tornado watch in the area. I spent most of the trip adjusting the water proofing so we stayed dry. When the rain did calm down Cedarville state forest offered some very serene and peaceful views. Which is surprising due to the forests location.