RVing to Washington DC

[rfloyd99]

Need some advice and suggestions, please. We're visiting Washington DC April 6-13. We have a 1/2 ton pickup and 27' TT, nothing out of the ordinary. We're retired but active, no pets or kids, BTW.

We've RV'd to several large, congested cities and with only one exception (Vancouver, BC) found no close-in RV parks. The trick is to find a place outside the city and drive or take public transportation to the museums or other attractions we want to explore. One of the best was a county park on the edge of Chicago. We usually aren't spending much time lounging around the RV when we visit a city. Amenities, shade, quiet, etc, are less important than location. Safety, of course, is still important.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this type of RV park, campground, etc. in the DC area? We realize it could easily be 45 minutes or so into the center of town (we avoid rush hour, of course). We will be coming from the south (via Richmond), and heading west when we leave. We also plan to visit Delaware via Annapolis during the week, so something east of DC could be good.

Also, is that period a decent time to visit DC, re crowds, weather, etc? Ideally we'd have found and booked a place months ago, but couldn't for various reasons. 

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

[Wadcutter]

Since you're coming in from the south. Prince William Forest RV Campground.

[rfloyd99]

JimK-NY, Thanks for the tick info, I definitely plan to take serious precautions.

As to improvements, this is copied from the NPS website:

"The National Park Service is completely replacing roads, parking areas and a bridge in Greenbelt Park. Some roads and the park campground will reopen in late to mid September, and the work is scheduled to be complete in late-September 2021."

Elsewhere on the page it said that the campground would be closed, I believe it was for quite a while, as the work was extensive. The CG reopened Nov 1st, it said.

The reviews, all fairly old, that I found on the various CG review sites (Campendium, etc) mentioned bad roads, problems with the bathrooms, the dump station, untrimmed trees interfering with use of roads and campsites by RVs, and some extremely unlevel sites.

The NPS site did not go into detail about what work was done, except for what I copied above, so I was hoping someone who uses the park regularly or has been there recently could report as to whether any improvements beyond road, parking lot and bridge work were done.

[BCSnob]

And there is the lesser known Alpha-gal syndrome.

If we get some warmer weather mid winter our dogs have picked up ticks in our pastures. A few of our dogs have had Lyme. We are ~50miles NNW of the DC Mall. On my commute towards DC I see license plates from PA, WV, and VA (occasionally DE) heading south on I270 from Frederick MD. Traffic in the region is heavy; “rush hour” from the north has started by 5am.

[JimK-NY]

rfloyd99 wrote:
Thanks for all the tips, I'm still paying attention! We definitely won't be driving into the city, will be taking the time to plan our days and will study the metro system.

Still curious, has anyone been to Greenbelt CG in the last few months? I'm aware of its pluses and minuses, but can't find any recent reviews to see if there've been improvements. Also, many have reported ticks there in the past, any change to that issue? Are they a lesser problem in mid April than in the summer?

I am not sure what improvements you are looking for. I have not been there in several years but the campground was well laid out and maintained.

Yes, for sure ticks are a problem throughout the country but especially in the Eastern US. April is not too early for ticks. In fact they can be a problem year around in relatively warm areas such as the D.C. area. Do not rely on DEET. In fact I don't use it at all. Treat your camping clothes with Permethrin. I spray shoes, socks, pants, shirts/jackets and hats with permethrin. It is relatively safe but avoid getting the spray on you and wait for the clothing to dry. Permethrin bonds to the clothing and will be effective for weeks even if the clothing is washed a few times before re-treating. I would also spray chairs and picnic tables.

Don't take chances with ticks. Lyme is a nasty disease and worse it is often not detected early. There are even worse tick-borne diseases. Babesia is becoming more prevalent. It can be a debilitating disease that is often overlooked and can takes months to treat with a cocktail of drugs. I was recently tested for a battery of tick-borne diseases and turned up positive for a previously rare disease, relapsing fever, B. miyamotoi. The test is not very good and the result could have been a false positive, but I still needed doxy for a month. My wife had a tick bite last month here on Long Island where we have had some nasty winter weather. Anyway, she is just finishing a month of doxy. You don't have to venture into dense woods to be bitten by a tick. It is likely my wife was bitten sitting on the backyard patio, on a 50 degree relatively warm winter day.

[ferndaleflyer]

Agree on traffic--Jan 14 I left Ellicott City at 5am and got to Springfield at 6:30. Traffic at that time was bumper to bumper for 15mi on I-95 north bound. Thats about normal on a week day. I hope you have a good time.

[Lantley]

ferndaleflyer wrote:
I wonder how many of the responders here have actually spent time in the DC area. Helps to know your way around from those that have spent a lot of time or lived there and not just read about it in a brochure. One thing for sure driving any where in that area is awful and parking is worse.....

There are alot of altenative CG's in the DC area . Grenbelt, Little Bennet,Pohick Bay,Prince William,Bull Run. There are a couple of others still. I have actually stayed at most of them

They are all doable, however you need to be a bit familiar with DC to use the altenatives to Cherry Hill. The traffic can be that bad.
DC is not a commuter by car friendly place.
Metro works well but even the metro lot can fill up quick at some stations. Cherry Hill makes it easy for you. Now if being a DC tourist is not your thing some of the alternatives are better.
There is a lot to see in DC. If you want to maximise your time seeing things vs. riding trains, finding parking spots, walking around the Metro station,or circling the belt way stay at Cherry Hill
Seeing the monuments and attractions at night is its own unique thing!

[rfloyd99]

Thanks for all the tips, I'm still paying attention! We definitely won't be driving into the city, will be taking the time to plan our days and will study the metro system.

Still curious, has anyone been to Greenbelt CG in the last few months? I'm aware of its pluses and minuses, but can't find any recent reviews to see if there've been improvements. Also, many have reported ticks there in the past, any change to that issue? Are they a lesser problem in mid April than in the summer?

[JimK-NY]

happynow wrote:
100% Agree with ferndaleflyer & BCSnob. Traffic and parking in DC is difficult.
Most areas are very congested. Rush hour 5:30am-10:30am and 2:00pm-7:00pm.

Look up the Metro map online. Look at the Metro station locations in relation to the places you want to visit. Metro is the way to go. Drive to the Metro station is okay but parking is not cheap.

Parking at the College Park metro station is $5.10 a day.

[pasusan]

rfloyd99 wrote:
Greenbelt Park looks interesting, but reviews are mostly poor, although many of them were old. It recently reopened after road repair/maintenance. Has anyone been there lately? Location and price certainly look good.

Don't know if anyone responded about this since there are a few more pages to go... We went there a few years ago - in April - there was no electric and it was dark, dense, wet. The air smelled moldy - really. Didn't even stay one night.

I agree with Cherry Hill. Spend the money and enjoy your time.

[happynow]

100% Agree with ferndaleflyer & BCSnob. Traffic and parking in DC is difficult.
Most areas are very congested. Rush hour 5:30am-10:30am and 2:00pm-7:00pm.

Look up the Metro map online. Look at the Metro station locations in relation to the places you want to visit. Metro is the way to go. Drive to the Metro station is okay but parking is not cheap.

[JimK-NY]

There is no reason to drive or try to park. The College Park metro station virtually touches the Greenbelt National Park. Trains are frequent with about 30 minutes to the L'Enfant metro station adjacent to the main downtown museums and attractions. It is easy to navigate the downtown tourist attractions either walking or taking buses specifically setup for tourists. There are plenty of information kiosks.

[BCSnob]

ferndaleflyer wrote:
One thing for sure driving any where in that area is awful and parking is worse.....

Agreed. My commute towards DC is ~1hr one way

[ferndaleflyer]

I wonder how many of the responders here have actually spent time in the DC area. Helps to know your way around from those that have spent a lot of time or lived there and not just read about it in a brochure. One thing for sure driving any where in that area is awful and parking is worse.....

[Scottiemom]

BCSnob wrote:
Little Bennett Campground is a regional park in Clarksburg MD along I270 a few miles north of the Shady Grove metro station (Red Line). I don’t know what this park is like; it does have pull through water/electric sites. It puts you on the north side of DC close to I70 for going west and not far from access to the end if a metro line. I think it’ll be a 20min ride on the metro into DC.

Our daughter graduated from American University in D.C. We stayed at Cherry Hill once, but afterwards opted for Little Bennett Campground. It is wooded and once you were back there among the tall trees, there was absolutely no road noise or anything to indicate you were in the midst of a metropolitan area. It was a brief drive to the Shady Grove station, but we often opted to drive. In the four years our daughter was there, we learned our way around the city. We made it a point to do something different with every trip.

At that time, there were no pull throughs or full hookups but that may have changed by now. It was a wonderful respite in the area.

Dale

[JimK-NY]

Lantley wrote:
One of the reasons to stay at Cherry hill is they cater to tourist. They have night tours leaving from the CG. ......

That might appeal to some, but during the ongoing Covid pandemic getting on a crowded bus at $120/couple and touring the monuments in the evening would not appeal to me.

Whether I stayed at Cherry Hill or Greenbelt, I would prefer to stay downtown for dinner, tour the monuments in the evening and return on the Metro which is likely to be virtually empty.

Once you visit, getting tourist information is not an issue. I would suggest doing some advance research to pick attractions that are most interesting and convenient for you.