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VE3ESN's avatar
VE3ESN
Explorer
Mar 01, 2016

Boondocking in the suburbs of Washington, DC

We're planning a trip to the DC area and want to try "true boondocking" in the DC suburbs with fairly easy access to the DC Metro. The purpose of our trip is to see the sites in DC (museums, etc.),and not for "camping" as such. I've compiled a list of Walmart, KMart, Cracker Barrels, Costco, Lowes, and Target stores. We travel in a Roadtrek class B van which is fairly inconspicuous.

Are there any suburban locations that we shouldn't go near, due to safety concerns? We're also aware that some Walmarts don't allow overnight RV parking, and have the list.

We know about Greenbelt National Park which has a reasonable fee, but we've heard that their tick situation is quite bad. My wife was bitten by a tick here in Ontario in the summer of 2014, and she was very sick for some time before the right antibiotic was prescribed. So, no to Greenbelt. We also know about Cherry Hill and were there a decade ago, but frankly it's too expensive, especially with our weak Canadian dollar (about 72 cents U.S.).

We would consider Louise F. Cosca Regional Park in Clinton, MD as the price seems right, but have heard that it's quite woodsy and perhaps there are ticks (?).

Any advice and recommendations would be really appreciated, especially the "non-campground" options. Thanks in advance.
  • Lantley wrote:
    qtla9111 wrote:
    There are quite a few within a 20 mile range. Check out FreeCampsites.net Some have a small fee.


    After reviewing the list nothing appealed to me more than a tent site at a public park


    Sorry, I didn't know you were looking for something, it was the OP. They are options. He asked, I offered.
  • qtla9111 wrote:
    Lantley wrote:
    qtla9111 wrote:
    There are quite a few within a 20 mile range. Check out FreeCampsites.net Some have a small fee.


    After reviewing the list nothing appealed to me more than a tent site at a public park


    Sorry, I didn't know you were looking for something, it was the OP. They are options. He asked, I offered.


    I am from the area. The options listed are not very good for touring DC.
    If I were unfamiliar with the area I would not have commented.
    As you stated the OP is free to do as they please with the info posted.
  • Having been to DC once and used the metro, I would definitely pick a location out a ways but close to a metro station.

    My last business trip, we stayed in a hotel out in Waldorf, MD. We stayed an extra day and took the kids in to spend a day on the Mall. We went in about 9am and the traffic was extremely light making for a quick ride in. So you may want to look out that way.

    In a large town I stayed in a vacant building's parking lot that backed up to a well established hotel. So basically I had the roving security of the hotel keeping the not so nice ones at bay.

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