Lepke
It seems like a number of websites and guides are aimed at RVs. Does anyone know of any guides or websites that rate campgrounds (state parks AND privately owned) from the perspective of a tent camper. I don't know if it makes any difference but I am especially interested in the Eastern United States. Thanks.
Answer
"The Best in Tent Camping: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos" series has editions for several Eastern regions.
Smokies: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Tent-Camping-Appalachian-Mountains/dp/0897329600/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2
Virginia: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Tent-Camping-Virginia-Concrete/dp/089732563X/ref=pd_sim_b_title_3
The Carolina's: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Tent-Camping-Carolinas-Menasha/dp/0897329694/ref=sr_1_1?
New England: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Tent-Camping-Concrete-Portable/dp/0897326229/ref=sr_1_5?
"The Best in Tent Camping: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos" series has editions for several Eastern regions.
Smokies: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Tent-Camping-Appalachian-Mountains/dp/0897329600/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2
Virginia: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Tent-Camping-Virginia-Concrete/dp/089732563X/ref=pd_sim_b_title_3
The Carolina's: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Tent-Camping-Carolinas-Menasha/dp/0897329694/ref=sr_1_1?
New England: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Tent-Camping-Concrete-Portable/dp/0897326229/ref=sr_1_5?
Any suggestions on camping sites (not RV but tents) in/near DC area (Virginia, Maryland)?
AtypicalHa
Any suggestions/recommendations on sites where one could set up a tent for a weekend. Somewhere with nice scenery and a little bit of history but not too far from the city center. I took a look at some websites but there's just too much to choose from. I'm hoping for some suggestions to narrow down my choices.
Thanx
Answer
I would be happy to give you some suggestions. My family and I just went this summer for a two-week trip to Washington DC, and we stayed at two campgrounds during our visit.
Before we went I did some pretty extensive research to try and find us the closest campground to the city as we planned on going back and forth daily.
The three campgrounds that are closest to DC are all in Maryland and are:
Cherry Hill Park: http://www.cherryhillpark.com/
This one is supposed to be the closest one to DC, and very nice as well, but we did not stay at it so I can't tell you exactly how long it takes or what it is like. The only reason we did not stay there was because they did not have enough room for us for the entire two+ weeks we were going to be there.
Capitol KOA: http://www.capitolkoa.com/
We stayed here the last ten days of our trip. Typical of a KOA, it was very busy, but the tent sites were set back towards the woods. You didn't say if you are bringing kids, our kids loved the activities there, and Jennifer, the activities director, is a down-to-earth nature-lover so all of the activities had a nature theme to them, such as leave no trace, nature hikes, leaf identification, etc. There is a nature trail on the premises. It was about 35-40 minutes for the commute between here and DC, although they do provide transportion either into DC or to the metrostation if you prefer.
This campground was closer to Baltimore for us, than to DC.
The third campground, which is where we spent our first week of vacation is Duncan's Family Campground.
http://www.duncansfamilycampground.com/
This is a former KOA so the layout is similar, but far quieter, homier and more rustic. There were also many activities here and the staff was very warm and friendly.
This campground was much closer to DC for us than the Capitol KOA was, taking us 20-35 minutes, depending on traffic, to get there.
It was repeatedly recommended to us to not drive in DC and take the Metro. Based on our experience, especially on the weekends, we were able to drive in and get free parking right on the Mall. If you end up having to pay for parking, it will probably cost you close to what you would have spent for a family to go down on the Metro anyway.
In addition, all three of the campgrounds I mentioned provide some form of transportation to DC and to the Metrostations. The only disadvantage of that, however, is that you are on their schedule for your sightseeing hours.
There are also some state parks in the area, but again, my understanding was that they were much farther out of the area then the campgrounds I mentioned, so your daily commute into the city and back might be a little longer.
If you are interested, I blogged about our entire DC trip, which includes the historic sites we saw, our commutes back and forth, and about the campgrounds and what we did while we were there. You can find that at:
http://www.your-camping-guidebook.com/Camping-Tips-blog.html
If you have any other questions about camping in the area, feel free to let me know. Otherwise, have a great time!
I would be happy to give you some suggestions. My family and I just went this summer for a two-week trip to Washington DC, and we stayed at two campgrounds during our visit.
Before we went I did some pretty extensive research to try and find us the closest campground to the city as we planned on going back and forth daily.
The three campgrounds that are closest to DC are all in Maryland and are:
Cherry Hill Park: http://www.cherryhillpark.com/
This one is supposed to be the closest one to DC, and very nice as well, but we did not stay at it so I can't tell you exactly how long it takes or what it is like. The only reason we did not stay there was because they did not have enough room for us for the entire two+ weeks we were going to be there.
Capitol KOA: http://www.capitolkoa.com/
We stayed here the last ten days of our trip. Typical of a KOA, it was very busy, but the tent sites were set back towards the woods. You didn't say if you are bringing kids, our kids loved the activities there, and Jennifer, the activities director, is a down-to-earth nature-lover so all of the activities had a nature theme to them, such as leave no trace, nature hikes, leaf identification, etc. There is a nature trail on the premises. It was about 35-40 minutes for the commute between here and DC, although they do provide transportion either into DC or to the metrostation if you prefer.
This campground was closer to Baltimore for us, than to DC.
The third campground, which is where we spent our first week of vacation is Duncan's Family Campground.
http://www.duncansfamilycampground.com/
This is a former KOA so the layout is similar, but far quieter, homier and more rustic. There were also many activities here and the staff was very warm and friendly.
This campground was much closer to DC for us than the Capitol KOA was, taking us 20-35 minutes, depending on traffic, to get there.
It was repeatedly recommended to us to not drive in DC and take the Metro. Based on our experience, especially on the weekends, we were able to drive in and get free parking right on the Mall. If you end up having to pay for parking, it will probably cost you close to what you would have spent for a family to go down on the Metro anyway.
In addition, all three of the campgrounds I mentioned provide some form of transportation to DC and to the Metrostations. The only disadvantage of that, however, is that you are on their schedule for your sightseeing hours.
There are also some state parks in the area, but again, my understanding was that they were much farther out of the area then the campgrounds I mentioned, so your daily commute into the city and back might be a little longer.
If you are interested, I blogged about our entire DC trip, which includes the historic sites we saw, our commutes back and forth, and about the campgrounds and what we did while we were there. You can find that at:
http://www.your-camping-guidebook.com/Camping-Tips-blog.html
If you have any other questions about camping in the area, feel free to let me know. Otherwise, have a great time!
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
No comments:
Post a Comment