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!

I spent my first 50 years living outside of DC. I grew up in Maryland.You do not want to drive in DC, traffic is pretty bad, parking can be a competitive sport.Cherry Hill Park, in College Park MD is your best bet. Its a great place that will enhance your visit and enjoyment. Transportation options offered by Cherry Hill Park to the Metro trains are your best option for enjoying most of the Downtown area.There are more economical RV Park options farther away (State Parks, private and KOAs) if you prefer to drive into DC from a campground farther away. If you plan to visit a lot of the Northern VA area, you might want to move to an RV Park located in VA partway through you visit.Northern VA traffic is notoriously awful.Be warned, it is an expensive area to explore and so worth it.Pack a lunch and snacks if you want to save money.Free Smithsonian Museums make up for a lot. Take advantage of them, they are outstanding.Highly recommend you research the sites you want to see and make a "plan" of sorts. So much to see and will be much easier if you have an idea of where places are located in relation to Metro Train Stations.

We are based on MD's Eastern Shore. 'Home' CG for us is either Martinak SP, Denton MD or Killens SP, Harrington, DE. Both decent parks.For DC not many choices. The most popular is Cherry Hill, right next to the beltway, big $$$$ but has some amenities. Much less well known is a county CG within a large park in Reston, VA. Very roomy sites, well separated, not near a major highway so little noise & nowhere near $$$$. End of line metro with plenty parking not far away.

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.

I also lived in DC and MD for years. Cherry hill is the best bet. Leave your truck and take the Metro to town. Straight ride to Annapolis out RT 50. Best shot at parking is the city dock.

OP here, these responses are great, keep them coming!Someone said the time we're there could be Cherry Blossom time, so maybe crowded. Any thoughts on that?Also, is it likely to be hot then(April 6-13), as in over 85 degrees?

RVing to Washington DC | Good Sam Community

dedmiston
Moderator
Mar 11, 2022
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.

It’s my fault though for taking a travel day. It’s pretty nice here though.

XOXO,
The so-called commie Moderator.
rfloyd99
Explorer
Mar 09, 2022
Ha! That's a good one - next forum I join I'm gonna call myself NuttyPoster...
dedmiston
Moderator
Mar 09, 2022
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.
dedmiston
Moderator
Mar 09, 2022
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.
rfloyd99
Explorer
Mar 09, 2022
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
Mar 09, 2022
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
Mar 09, 2022
Did the OP make the trip?
BCSnob
Explorer
Mar 09, 2022
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.
Scottiemom
Nomad
Mar 09, 2022
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; “rush hour” 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
Wadcutter
Nomad
Feb 27, 2022
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.

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