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RVing to Washington DC

rfloyd99
Explorer
Explorer
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!
64 REPLIES 64

dedmiston
Moderator
Moderator
Ajrider pooped the sheets and got the thread shut down.

Sorry for the collateral damage, but I had to delete the posts that referred to his.

I think the topic had run its course anyway.

Itโ€™s my fault though for taking a travel day. Itโ€™s pretty nice here though.

XOXO,
The so-called commie Moderator.

2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. B&W RVK3600 hitch โ€ข 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") โ€ข <\br >Toys:

  • 18 Can Am Maverick x3
  • 05 Yamaha WR450
  • 07 Honda CRF250X
  • 05 Honda CRF230
  • 06 Honda CRF230

rfloyd99
Explorer
Explorer
Ha! That's a good one - next forum I join I'm gonna call myself NuttyPoster...

dedmiston
Moderator
Moderator
rfloyd99 wrote:
Moderators, thanks for trying to keep politics/conspiracy theories, etc out of this forum.

Ajriding, you are obviously past the point of no return, but do us all a favor and spend your time on forums appropriate for your kind.

Stay out of my thread.


Normally I delete attacks like these, but ajriding brought it on himself.

For those who haven't been keeping score, I've had to delete a bunch of nutty posts today. It's not something I enjoy. I like it better when grown-ups act like grown-ups.

2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. B&W RVK3600 hitch โ€ข 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") โ€ข <\br >Toys:

  • 18 Can Am Maverick x3
  • 05 Yamaha WR450
  • 07 Honda CRF250X
  • 05 Honda CRF230
  • 06 Honda CRF230

dedmiston
Moderator
Moderator
It's the same lame knee-jerk assumption, and it's wrong every time.

When there's a Republican in the White House and I delete political posts complaining about him, then I must be a Trump Guy.

When there's a Democrat in the White House and I delete political posts complaining about him, then I must be a commie lib.

The only thing that's consistent about both of these scenarios is that they're both wrong.

2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. B&W RVK3600 hitch โ€ข 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") โ€ข <\br >Toys:

  • 18 Can Am Maverick x3
  • 05 Yamaha WR450
  • 07 Honda CRF250X
  • 05 Honda CRF230
  • 06 Honda CRF230

rfloyd99
Explorer
Explorer
Moderators, thanks for trying to keep politics/conspiracy theories, etc out of this forum.

Ajriding, you are obviously past the point of no return, but do us all a favor and spend your time on forums appropriate for your kind.

Stay out of my thread.

rfloyd99
Explorer
Explorer
OP here. We're planning to leave Florida April 1. We're snowbirds, and our plan is to spend a month travelling to our home in western Colorado. The itinerary is FL to DC area to KY, to Nashville, and then straight to Colorado, arriving there about May 1st.

Yesterday I calculated the mileage/gasoline cost of three different routes. The one described above would be about 3K miles towing, plus approximately another 650 of driving around without the trailer. The 2nd was FL, Nashville, KY then straight to Colorado. The third (about 2K miles) was straight to Colorado. Nashville is on the way, so one of our favored visits could still happen, and I'm sure we can find a couple of other places that would be nice to visit along the way.

No one can predict the price of gas in April, but I'm sure it won't be low. We have a big decision to make in the next few days. The only silver lining I see is that there may be fewer people on the roads and in the campgrounds, but it's nothing to be glad about.

Thanks, everyone, for the helpful posts. It's always good to see the concern people on this forum show for the well-being of folks who need some advice.

Any input on the above would be welcome, and thanks again.

ferndaleflyer
Explorer III
Explorer III
Did the OP make the trip?

BCSnob
Explorer
Explorer
Yes we vaccinate against Lyme and we have learned to recognize the early symptoms of the infection in our dogs (shortened duration of focus and decreased stamina while working sheep). These symptoms are eliminated after 1 or 2 days on doxycycline.
Mark & Renee
Working Border Collies: Nell (retired), Tally (retired), Grant (semi retired), Lee, Fern & Hattie
Duke & Penny (Anatolians) home guarding the flock
2001 Chevy Express 2500 Cargo (rolling kennel)
2007 Nash 22M

Scottiemom
Nomad
Nomad
BCSnob wrote:
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; โ€œrush hourโ€ from the north has started by 5am.


Do you vaccinate your dogs against Lyme? Just wondered. Since I spend some time in Virginia with our daughter/family camping, I decided to vaccinate Brendon. Daughter lost a dog to Lyme so now she vaccinates as well. The lyme affected his kidney, of which he only had one and killed him rather quickly.

Dale
Dale Pace
Widow of Terry (Teacher's Pet)

Traveling with Brendon, my Scottish Terrier

2022 Honda Odyssey
2011 Mazda Miata MX-5

2021 Coach House Platinum III 250DT
Fulltimed for 15 years, now living in Florida

http://www.skoolzoutforever.blogspot.com/

Wadcutter
Nomad
Nomad
Veebyes wrote:
Wadcutter wrote:
Since you're coming in from the south. Prince William Forest RV Campground.


That is way down in Quantico. The place to stop for the Marine Museum though.

HAHA!!! Way down there? Not like Q is a long way from WDC. And yes I know exactly how far it is. Lived there for a bit.
We've stayed at Prince William a number of times. A lot quieter than Cherry Hills. We'd drive north a short bit and catch the train in to WDC. Pretty painless.
Camped in every state

Veebyes
Explorer II
Explorer II
Wadcutter wrote:
Since you're coming in from the south. Prince William Forest RV Campground.


That is way down in Quantico. The place to stop for the Marine Museum though.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter

2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel

Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995

Wadcutter
Nomad
Nomad
ferndaleflyer wrote:
Where did they say they were coming in from the South? or did I miss that.


Yeah, you missed it. It was in the OP's initial post.
Here's what he wrote: "We will be coming from the south (via Richmond),".

There, you're now up to date.
Camped in every state

ferndaleflyer
Explorer III
Explorer III
Where did they say they were coming in from the South? or did I miss that.

bucky
Explorer II
Explorer II
I'm thinking that booking for that time period is well underway.
If you end up somewhere south of I495 on I95 VA has a light rail system that originates in Fredericksburg and runs into DC and connects with the Metro system. Makes it easy to get around.
Here is the link to the stops. Clicky
Puma 30RKSS