The DW and I are planning a trip to Washington, DC and NYC for next summer. I'm looking for the best parks located nearby. We'll be arriving mid-July. Thanks!

The standard answer for NYC is usually Liberty RV park in NJ. It is really just parking with hookups but it is VERY convenient to Manhattan. There are some RV parks north of NYC in Westchester, Orange, and Ulster counties but they are quite a hike into the city. For DC I like the Washington, D.C. KOA in Millersville, MD. It has your choice of small wooded sites up to open pull-thru sites. The staff is very friendly and helpful. They also have a shuttle into D.C.

Cherrystone near DC gets a lot of fans, and Pohick Bay County Park is also nice. Both will require reservations for July.

For d.c. i would use Cherry Hill in college park,md. Easy access to the metro. The bus line goes into the park, you take to the college station metro stop. You can even get to the greenbelt metro station pretty easy.

As mentioned, the spots at Liberty Harbor RV Park are nothing more than an area the property owner fenced off from a huge communter parking spot in Jersey City, NJ and put in water and 30 amp electric. No sewer site, but there is a dump station. And there is a bath house that is shared with the marina folks. (My rigs in the background)It's all about location. There is a water taxi that picks up commuters heading for Wall street. Nothing like coming back from shelping around NYC and being 100 yards from your RV. There is a PATH train (subway) station about 5 blocks away that takes you to the World Trade Center, or to 34th street where you pick up the NYC subway. There are some nice restaurants in Jersey City. Staying at the outlying CGs will eat up an hour or two of visiting time each way. For your first trip to DC, your best bet is Cherry Hill Park in College Park.,MD. It is very popular with the pilgrims. It is located near the WMATA Metro (subway) system. A city bus that can take you to the Metro station has a stop right at the front gate, or you can drive and park in the surface lots or parking garages. t There are several restaurants in the area. There is a grocery store right up the street. The staff is very knowledgeable about DC and where to go and how to get there. It has a well stocked store.Here is a list of other CGs in the area. (clicky)

there is a small campground on the Chesapeake bay just North of Baltimore off I-95. bumpy

Best RV parks near Washington, D.C. and New York City?

VE3ESN
Explorer
Oct 04, 2014
Several years ago, we stayed at Cherry Hill in DC. My wife and I were fine in the Roadtrek, but two kids we had with us who slept in a tent had a really tough time sleeping because the CG is really close to the Beltway. The noise from the 18-wheelers was intense. Having said that, Cherry Hill was convenient from a public transportation point of view. However, the next time we go to DC, we're going to try Greenbelt Park (for the price, and the ability to walk about a mile and a half or so to the Metro Station).

In August this year, we visited NYC and were pleasantly surprised with Liberty Harbor. It's not cheap ($80 for water and electricity), but it was convenient and safe to walk about five blocks to the Grove Street PATH station, and take the PATH train into Manhattan. Here's a photo of our last night, just before moving the Roadtrek to dump the tanks.
Merrykalia
Explorer
Oct 03, 2014
Heavy Metal Doctor wrote:
My suggestion for DC would be to camp up around Gettysburg (multiple nice CG's to choose from) and then just do a day trip down to to the city. If you want to do mass transit in close, just park at the Shady Grove station and take the Metro on in from there.

If you plan to do this, and commute, check out Point Lookout State Park south of Annapolis. We drove in from there this summer and caught the METRO at Suitland. It was about 1:30 drive to the station, then about 20 minutes to the Mall.

Point Lookout is on the spit of land where the Potomac River runs into the Chesapeake Bay. It is on the site of a Confederate War POW Camp/Prison and has lots of history along with 6 different campground loops that offer an assortment of facilities. Some have no services, a few have water/electric, and some are FHU. Some are on the water, some are in the woods, etc.
mosseater
Explorer II
Oct 03, 2014
Bumpyroad wrote:
mosseater wrote:
, a spot of woodsy solitude in an otherwise metropolitan cesspool of concrete and asphalt.

and I was accused of being rude.
:)
bumpy

What? Again? LOL!
mosseater
Explorer II
Oct 03, 2014
D & M wrote:
mosseater wrote:
Yeah, a spot of woodsy solitude in an otherwise metropolitan cesspool of concrete and asphalt.

Don't be hating on my hood and I won't mention Harrisburg.

:B LOL

LOL! Yeah, maybe a little overboard, but I call'em like I see em. Where I come from, cows and silos are landmarks. My perception always gets skewed when I'm not allowed to possess my Constitutional protection. BTW, you can bang on Harrisburg all you like. I don't go there either. Drive past it every day, just don't go in unless I absolutely have to. They're in a race with York for most homicides this year.
Heavy_Metal_Doc
Explorer
Oct 03, 2014
My suggestion for DC would be to camp up around Gettysburg (multiple nice CG's to choose from) and then just do a day trip down to to the city. If you want to do mass transit in close, just park at the Shady Grove station and take the Metro on in from there.
Merrykalia
Explorer
Oct 03, 2014
Retired andLoveIt wrote:
We must have looked lost as we were asked if we needed help several times.

We were in DC this summer, went to Suitland and caught the METRO to the Mall and Smithsonian. As soon as we came down the escalator, a METRO person asked if he could help us. (I guess we looked like tourists, too). He wasn't the only one. We were in the mall trying to decide which direction to head and we had two different people ask if they could help us with directions.

Yeah, the majority of the people that WORK in DC are very nice and helpful. If it would only spill over to some of the others that are supposed to work there!!
Retired_andLove
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
We just spent a week in the D.C. area. We stayed in a hotel though. Just a few blocks from the metro. My first experience with the metro. We paid $2 for a senor card and round trip from Balston to Federal Triangle cost about $2.50. Just put credit on the card. We would leave about 8:30 A.M. and miss the biggest rush. As far as I'm concerned it's the best way to travel there.
Something I noticed and was amazed by was the friendliness of the local people. We must have looked lost as we were asked if we needed help several times.
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
mosseater wrote:
, a spot of woodsy solitude in an otherwise metropolitan cesspool of concrete and asphalt.

and I was accused of being rude.
:)
bumpy
D___M
Explorer
Oct 02, 2014
mosseater wrote:
Yeah, a spot of woodsy solitude in an otherwise metropolitan cesspool of concrete and asphalt.

Don't be hating on my hood and I won't mention Harrisburg.

:B LOL
mosseater
Explorer II
Oct 02, 2014
We stayed at Greenbelt Park and had no issues. Not a full hookup, but close to the Metro station and very scenic. Did I mention cheap? Yeah, a spot of woodsy solitude in an otherwise metropolitan cesspool of concrete and asphalt. You'll never know you're that close to DC.

I hate cities, and this was as good as it gets for me. Riding the Metro was uncomfortable for me, but it's the only choice if you're visiting the city. The system seems to work well, just don't care for the helpless feeling of being unprotected. Not how I live my daily life, but we had a great weekend and the kids enjoyed everything we saw. There's a lot to see and do in DC!