Michigan to Washington D.C. Apr/May 2017

[BillB800si]

Planning about a 3 to 4 week trip starting after Easter (want to avoid Easter school break). Would like to make some stops on the way to and from D.C. Historical sites would be nice. Probably stay in D.C. for 10 days to see everything.
Any suggestions about sites to see and good campgrounds would be appreciated.

Happy trails,

[NCWriter]

DrewE wrote:

NCWriter wrote:

Veebyes wrote:


Our CG of choice for DC is Lake Fairfax (Fairfax County Park), Reston. About half the price & close to the Metro. It is in a big park. Not next to any major 24 hour highways. Well spaced sites with power & water. Plenty of walking trails, if you don't get enough doing the downtown sights.

It is ten miles from any Metro station, though, per the web site, so not really close. Also no public transportation from the campground to the Metro.

Their web site information is outdated. It's about two miles to the Wiehel-Reston East station on the silver line from the campground (by foot or bike, a little longer by car). I assume the web site information comes from before that station was opened.

Thanks for that update - very helpful info.

[DrewE]

NCWriter wrote:

Veebyes wrote:


Our CG of choice for DC is Lake Fairfax (Fairfax County Park), Reston. About half the price & close to the Metro. It is in a big park. Not next to any major 24 hour highways. Well spaced sites with power & water. Plenty of walking trails, if you don't get enough doing the downtown sights.

It is ten miles from any Metro station, though, per the web site, so not really close. Also no public transportation from the campground to the Metro.

Their web site information is outdated. It's about two miles to the Wiehel-Reston East station on the silver line from the campground (by foot or bike, a little longer by car). I assume the web site information comes from before that station was opened.

[NCWriter]

Veebyes wrote:


Our CG of choice for DC is Lake Fairfax (Fairfax County Park), Reston. About half the price & close to the Metro. It is in a big park. Not next to any major 24 hour highways. Well spaced sites with power & water. Plenty of walking trails, if you don't get enough doing the downtown sights.

It is ten miles from any Metro station, though, per the web site, so not really close. Also no public transportation from the campground to the Metro.

[GREGORYJ]

We enjoyed Greenbelt Park for 12 days last October($16/day). The park was quiet and great camping. It was easy to go into DC everyday on the Metro except one day we went to Dulles Airport.

[Veebyes]

If you are an aviation buff X 2 on at least half a day out at the Air & Space Museum at Dulles. Makes the one on the mall look like somebodys garage.

Cherry Hill is the favourite CG, mostly to those who have not stayed at any of the other options. It is also by far the most expensive. Our CG of choice for DC is Lake Fairfax (Fairfax County Park), Reston. About half the price & close to the Metro. It is in a big park. Not next to any major 24 hour highways. Well spaced sites with power & water. Plenty of walking trails, if you don't get enough doing the downtown sights.

[spoon059]

How do you plan to visit DC? How far outside of the city are you willing to stay? What type of campground do you want? What/where are the historical sites that you wish to see (in the city or surrounding the city)?

If you plan to take Metro into the city, Cherry Hill is the easiest and most convenient option. They have a free shuttle to the nearby Metro train station and allow you to be in the city in a short period of time. The park is nice and has amenities, but you are cramped in and pay a premium for the ease.

If you plan to drive or don't mind driving to a Metro station to get to the city, that opens up multiple other options for you. If you don't mind a longer drive, that opens up even more options.

[NCWriter]

md_procouple wrote:
We agree, Cherry Hill CG is the place to stay, we have been there several times. The even have a D/C Bus stop at the park. Also since the new administration is in office things are beginning to re-open to the public. Just heard last week that Tours to the White House have resumed. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!

Agree with Cherry Hill - very comfortable place as a DC base. Rare to find such a safe, nice RV park so close to a major metropolis.

Re the White House tours, website says they resume March 7, which works for the poster's plans. But heading toward Easter, Spring Break season and beyond, it might be tough to get anything requiring reservations in DC, so get in touch with your congressional office now.

[md_procouple]

We agree, Cherry Hill CG is the place to stay, we have been there several times. The even have a D/C Bus stop at the park. Also since the new administration is in office things are beginning to re-open to the public. Just heard last week that Tours to the White House have resumed. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!

[DrewE]

Ten days isn't anywhere near enough to see everything in Washington, DC, not by a long shot. You'll have no trouble filling that amount of time.

The "standard" answer for what campground to stay at when touring Washington is Cherry Hill. I've never stayed there, but I did spend a week at Greenbelt National Park, which worked out very well for me. It's a half hour (reasonably brisk) walk from the closest part of the campground there to the College Park metro station. The campground is quite large and rarely if ever fills up during the low season. It's typical NPS camping: no hookups, but a picnic table, fire ring, dump station, and showerhouse are available, and very reasonably priced ($16 per night undiscounted).

If you're interested in aviation, it's well worth getting out to Dulles airport to see the (big) extension of the Air and Space museum there. The metro doesn't yet go all the way there, so it's necessary to change to a bus (or take a taxi or drive or whatever).