Fun weekend trip very close to DC. Well kept park with lots of activities for kids - jumping pillow, laser tag, pedal carts, arts and crafts. Nice little game room and some outdoor games at the activity center as well. Full hookup spots in the D loop were pretty nice. The spots in the first half of the loop felt a little close together for my taste, but our spot (D61) was nice as we didn’t have any neighbors on one side. Only complaint is that it’s pricey and has a two night minimum on weekends, but felt worth it with all the activities that were available.

We had a great stay at Cowans Gap. Very pretty park in a scenic valley between two mountain ranges. Very easy drive from DC. The sites around us were nicely spaced apart (we were in Loop A, site 142) but some other areas did loop more crowded. Nice hike up the Tuscarora trail - pretty steep with a few rock scrambles that made for a challenging but fun hike with our six-year-old.

Nice little state park close to Richmond and not too far from DC. We had a non-reservable site in the Black Oak loop—sites were tiny and very close together, but it was still pretty quiet even on a full weekend. The lakeside spots on the Acorn loop looked really nice and much more spacious. Kids enjoyed the little sandy beach, paddle boats, and easy, flat hike in the pretty forest around the lake.

Sites were right on top of one another and extremely crowded—felt like a tailgating party in a parking lot. We ended up leaving when we found someone’s car parked in our spot, and a group of 30-40 people congregated at the site next to us. Kids were running all over the playground, no one observing social distancing. Looked like a nice park, but not recommended for anyone looking for a quiet camping experience in nature.