Where to stay

Coming through Omaha you might want to stop at the Henry Doorly Zoo. It's one of the top 3 in the country..

You need to be contacting your congressional representatives early to get tours of both houses of Congress and the White House.

After checking this forum for input on the best DC area campground, we stayed at Cherry Hill for a week right after the 4th and couldn't have been more pleased with the location and outstanding facilities and services. Thanks to all for the great input! One word of advice, be ware of street parking in downtown Washington. The meters are not reliable and instructions poor. A malfunctioning meter may cost me $100 if I lose my appeal. Happy traveling!

Williamsburg/Jamestown

For this area we did Chippokes Plantation State Park across the James River. Sites can be a bit tight for a larger unit in the old loop of the park but the new loop is designed with large rigs in mind. The vehicle ferry across the James is not far costs nothing, if I remember correctly. No reservations. Kids will get a kick out of it. The tour of the mansion in the SP was interesting too.

We also stayed at Cherry Hill Campground and found it easier to drive to the Metro station and park the car then to ride the bus into D.C. Please try to go on the night time Trolly tour of D.C. It leaves from Union Station and is just magic. It makes several stops with plenty of time to tour the sites. Also make time to go to Arlington, Cemetary, awesome. Make sure to see the changing of the guard.

There are lots of 'depends'. Depends how deep your pockets are. Cherry Hill is over $60 a night for a basic sight. Bull Run in Manasses, VA starts at $37.

That $23 difference buys alot of fuel.

Location: Cherry Hill is next to a highway that never gets quiet. Bull Run has a gun range that goes quiet at dusk. Depending on wind direction it is also under the flightpath of aircraft landing at Dulles but that goes quiet at night too.

Cherry Hill has the usual pool etc. Bull Run has a waterpark.

Cherry Hill has typical site separation of a commercial CG, maybe a bit closer. Bull Run has great separation for all sites.

Cherry Hill has a shuttle to the subway station. Bull Run does not but a station with a large carpark is not very far away.

Thanks for all the responses. We plan to visit Williamsburg as well. Any suggestions there. I know I can Google it, but I prefer a real persons perspective. Thanks in advance!

Do a Google search for `______ tourism' and put the State you will be passing thru in the blank and read what the experts recommend for their area.

Stayed at Cherry Hill this past June. Nice park for what it is... close to DC.

We loved staying at Pohick Bay Regional park during our stay in DC. We had our own transportation and didn't need the pricey services of Cherry Hill.. Where you stay depends on your budget and specific needs.