Need campground DC and then Williamsberg VA

[outdoors5]

Looking to visit Washington DC and then Williamsberg VA.  Interested in recommendations for family friendly campgrounds in each location.

[fritz_monroe]

I was looking into going to Williamsburg.  I found lots of recommendations for Newport News Park.

[Tim5055]

Looking to visit Washington DC and then Williamsberg VA.  Interested in recommendations for family friendly campgrounds in each location.

Can't help with Williamsburg, but check out my Camping in the Washington DC Area Web Page

[badabing67]

if you are going to williamsburg there are two KOAs together they are owned by the same people,  the first one has a colonial theme to it and conects to the second one through trails we did not go to the second one, but friends did and said the first had larger, nicer spots. we enjoyed it. do not go to anvil campground they are right next to the train tracks, the train runs at all hours of the night. there is also an outdoor world that looks nice. when you lookin at comming this way ? if you're lookin at a holiday weekend you might want to get reservations soon. the williamsburg koas are colonial KOA and williamsburg KOA
hope this helps

[Cheryl]

We had a very bad experience at Williamsburg KOA so we would NOT reccommend staying there. We camped there a few years ago in July and granted it was very warm even in the shade but they had not treated the pool correctly and my daughter got double ear infections. We had to cut a two week vacation short after only three days and take her home to a specialist to clear the infections. Sites were small and the bath houses were not very clean. Hopefully these problems have been corrected but the memory lingers. Just my two cents worth.
Cheryl

[HouseInABox]

we have family in va and for the past 2 years have spent 2 weeks each summer doing williamsburg, jamestown and yorktowne, virginia beach, bush gardens and their water world.

we stayed at outdoor world since we are members it's clean and decent - we were informed by regulars to stay to the front of the office as down in the back when it rains some areas flood out and we saw this first hand it's very quiet which is surprising since a main road surrounds it all the trees makes it feel you are out in the country.

if you are a AAA member i recommend you get your passes for williamsburg from them they are much cheaper than on the spot --- would also recommend going into williamsburg the day you arrive or evening and get your pass pictures taken and pick up the maps and scheduled events for the week so you can plan.  also you can book a carriage ride and ghost tours before going into town usually assuring you a spot.  there are two ghost tour companies 1 you don't go into the houses which was much better for our youngest last year we went inside where actors delievered stories in costumes my youngest was very frightened and wouldn't stay my dh took her outside.

virginia beach is a nice day trip.

we have done both the historical and reenactmet jamestown and yorktown all are nice and the historical sites passes are good for so many days...the kids enjoyed seeing the archeological site at jamestown historical --- however they are still in their celebration mode and new musuems are open at both reenactment jamestown and yorktown...

just a hint if you do go to bush gardens...and it would rain after admittance heavily and you hang around for a period of time or a power outage which happened to us you must go to the welcome center at the front and they will give you a raincheck for another day..... AAA for passes here also than you don't have to stay in line you can go right around to the entrance.

[GeneF]

Have to second the no vote on Anvil Campground.

DW and I stayed there in October.

Railroad tracks are right behind the cg and a main road is in front.  Some campers were less than 50 feet from the tracks.  Site size does not allow for much playing room for kids.

Sites were on the narrow side.  They advertise clean showers but we found there to be a lot of water around in the bathhrooms.  We did not use them at all.

Main thing going for it is that it isn't that far to Colonial Williamsberg.

I would highly recommend the Mongolian BBQ in the corner of the KMart plaza.  It is a very large and excellent Chinese buffet.  Very reasonably priced and an excellent variety of food.  I believe the cost is around $10 with a soft drink but don't quote me.  I know it was inexpensive for what you get.

We have eaten there two or three times and dw use to take her students there when they visited Williamsberg.

I don't know how much progress they have made but many of the rest areas along Route 81 were closed except for portipotties.  They were doing a lot of renovatons for the bicentennial.

[ntxgrandma]

We stayed at Cherry Hill campground  http://cherryhillpark.com/ in College Park MD last summer.  It is a very nice campground with LOTS of amenities.  One of the best was a bus to the train/subway station.  Huge laundry room, internet access, movies at night - very nice RV park.  Due to weather conditions, they lost power for a couple of days, but refunded us a percentage of our fee to compensate.  We were not in our pup on that trip, but in our travel trailer.  
 
In Williamsburg, we stayed at a KOA that was also nice, but the weather was so bad that we opted out of Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens.  We wound up leaving the area early.  I really don't remember too much about the campground.  
 
Sherri
north Texas
 

Looking to visit Washington DC and then Williamsberg VA. Interested in recommendations for family friendly campgrounds in each location.

[CampNfan]

Don't have any idea on what direction you are coming from for to camp in DC area. But right off route 66 in Centreville, Va. there is Bull Run campground easy access to and from DC from Rt. 66. I believe it is a state ran CG. Not a whole lot going on there but a good spot to call home for sight seeing DC and Manassas Battlefields.

http://www.nvrpa.org/bullruncamp.html

[outdoors5]

We stayed at Cherry Hill campground  http://cherryhillpark.com/ in College Park MD last summer.  It is a very nice campground with LOTS of amenities.  One of the best was a bus to the train/subway station.  Huge laundry room, internet access, movies at night - very nice RV park.  Due to weather conditions, they lost power for a couple of days, but refunded us a percentage of our fee to compensate.  We were not in our pup on that trip, but in our travel trailer.  
 
Sherri
north Texas

We are leaning towards staying at the Cherry Hill campground due to it's location near DC.  Just wondering if anyone experinced loud noise from the nearby highway and if so are there certain locations in the campground that experience less noise?  This issue was mentioned on another web page.

Once again I want to thank everyone for all of the helpfull information .

[wynot]

Another alternative for somebody wanting to stay nearish DC yet be in the country is to use Little Bennett Regional Park in Clarksburg, MD. (Exit 18 off of I-270). You're probably 15 miles from the Beltway, BUT you are only about 5-7 miles from the DC Metro at Shady Grove.

Little Bennett is a County campground run by Montgomery County.  W/E/S sites.  I think it was $22/night last year.
 
Do NOT expect much at Little Bennett for amusement.  It's clean, well run, maintained well, and large sites but doesn't have much else going for it.  I guess for the people who live in Mont Cty, they feel like they are a hundred miles from civilization.  But you are within 5 miles of all the restaurants anyone could ever want!!  If you need specifics, let me know, I've stayed there and I work about 5 miles from it.
 
We've never looked at Cherry Hill, but just its location would keep me from going there.
 
Newport News City Campground is a great campground in a great location.  We love it.  Not the greatest location if your desire is to go to VA beach or Norfolk frequently, but should work out well for Williamsburg.

[Cheryl]

We drive past Cherry Hill CG everytime we go to my Mom's and I am soooooooooo glad we have no need to camp there. It is between two major Highways out in the open with very little shade and parking lot style sites. If you only want to use it for it's convenience near the DC area it's a fine campground but don't expect much.
Cheryl

[fleabags3]

have you looked into "lake fairfax"...we've stayed there several times  
Lake Fairfax also has a nearby water park called The Water Mine--which is very cool. you might want to look them up online...
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/lakefairfax/



(fyi if you read my orignal post....i just edited my second paragraph out  because i was thinking "Candy Hill in Winchester" not Cherry Hill that's mentioned in this thread... i've been to candy hill and didn't care for it...it's too far to DC anyway)

[dthurk]

Pohick Bay State Park, south of DC.