Where except Cherry Hill,MD for DC?

mileshuff wrote:
Similar question. We'll be staying outside DC and will have car. How do we tour DC area? I've been told parking downtown near the national mall area etc. is impossible. Also been told parking after 8am at almost all Metro stations is very difficult. So what options does one have with a car?

The Maryland stations aren't bad for parking. I can pretty well assume I'll always have a spot at Greenbelt or New Carrollton at any time of day.

As for DC area campgrounds, I did a DC Area Roundup that I discuss each and talk the pros/cons of them.

Pohick Bay is very nice, but farther out than Cherry Hill. It might be closer to the Huntington Metro Station than Springfield, although parking is pretty tight there. It's a good location for visiting Mt. Vernon or the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, but you're adding travel time to get to the Mall compared to Cherry Hill.

We used Pohick Bay regional park in Lorton,Va as our base to tour the DC attractions. We drove to the Springfield metro station each morning without issues..We loved it and never had any parking or traffic issues for our F150 tow vehicle.

We did our own touring research so we didn't need or want to pay a premium for a campground with amenities we were not going to use.

This location may not work for you but it was a great alternative to Cherry Hill. It was quiet with private sites, not all packed together in a parking lot.

Similar question. We'll be staying outside DC and will have car. How do we tour DC area? I've been told parking downtown near the national mall area etc. is impossible. Also been told parking after 8am at almost all Metro stations is very difficult. So what options does one have with a car?

The problem with Leesburg is getting into the city. The Potomac river separates DC and Maryland from Virginia and you either have to take a limited number of bridges to get across. They are almost ALWAYS backed up and a pain in the neck to get across.

I would suggest staying in Maryland to avoid the bridges.

Greenbelt state park is reasonably close.
Patapsco State Park is about 20 miles north of DC (straight drive up Rt 29 from DC).
Rambling Pines is about 20 or 30 miles north and slightly west of DC.
Duncans Family Campground is east of DC and I think they offer a shuttle from the campground to the Metro.

Using the Metro will likely be the easiest method for seeing DC. The Metro isn't like the NYC subway though. The Metro stops can be spaced rather far apart, as opposed to the Subway having stops every couple of blocks.

Greenbelt National Park has a campground, for NP prices, and is VERY close to the metro. I highly recommend taking the metro in, regardless of where you stay.

If you prefer to drive yourself and don;t care for public transportation, then I'd suggest going north / west away form the DC metro area altogether.
You could try Little Bennet regional park in Clarksburg MD. I didn't know it was more than just tent camping 'till a day I visited a nearby RV dealer and overheard the service guy being sent to repair someones slides that quit while camped there.
Father out, you could go up to Hagerstown MD area or Gettysburg PA and still be withing a reasonable distance of Leesburg - right down 15. Just don't attempt that little trip during peak rush hour.

This link will take you to a blog site that gives information about all of the options around the DC area.

I am not an advocate for any one of them in particular, but I think Cherry Hill is the best selection for a first time pilgrim. It gives you the most efficient access to the WMATA Metro (subway). Driving into DC is a pain.

Cherry Hill is the holy grail to most on this site but there are others which are quite nice & far less expensive.

We did the county park in Reston, Lake Fairfax County Prk, last fall for a few days. Busy on the weekend but near deserted otherwise.

We have also done Bull Run Regional Park, Manasses. Another one, cheap & quite nice with most sites well spaced.

Cherry Hill's big advantage is access to METRO (subway). There is a bus that takes you right to the station. Fairfax County in Virginia has some nice parks with campgrounds, but I think you have to drive to METRO and that means fighting the commuters for the limited parking at the stations Mon-Fri, so you'd need to start early. Lake Fairfax Park reportedly has a trail that leads to the Wiehle-Reston stop on METRO's new Silver Line, but it involves a bit of a walk through the neighborhood. Haven't been there myself. You might want to check with them, perhaps there are bus options, too, although I haven't seen that mentioned.

Getting to Cherry Hill from Leesburg isn't too difficult, assuming you don't mind the Beltway. Might not want to shuttle back and forth a lot, especially if making the trip during rush hour.