Pohick Bay Regional Park Campground

We stayed here in early January 2023 and were able to book a full-hook-up (FHU) site for the entirety of 12 days on short notice. The campground fluctuated from just a few campers to half-full throughout our stay.

Some campsites have water, 30A/50A, & sewer (FHU) while others offer just water/30/50A.

Some of the sites are a bit tricky for larger rigs to back into, but with several swipes and patience I believe a rig of the size marked allowable per site would be fine backing in. Most sites are back in, although there were one or two small pull-throughs.

Sites are fairly close together for a public park, but vegetation creates nice separation for most. Many sites are pretty un-level, so bring extra blocks if you're not sure. Site 60 is level.

The park was very quiet during our stay with plenty of running/walking/biking options. There is a water park open in the summer.

We used Starlink here, which was only an option because there were no leaves on the trees during our stay. We had quick tree-branch based drop-outs every 5 minutes or so which mainly affected video calls, but it was very usable. Starlink would be pretty unusable during the later spring, summer, and fall.

I was so relieved to be able to back in easily after some tough travel days and boondocking nights. Our tanks aren’t working properly so we stayed right next to the bathrooms. There was a wash sink and a family bathroom in addition to the men and women bathrooms! All the bathrooms had wonderful hot showers and were kept very clean! I was so grateful! I’m traveling with five kids, mostly by myself and so the family bathroom was especially nice for showering my kids. The playground was fun, the trails were great. This place was wonderful! The only two reasons I didn’t rate it 5 star is the cell reception was awful and the 14 day stay limit (even in the off season). I was planning on a solid cell reception because other reviews said it was good, but we have T-Mobile and it was terrible reception. Barely one bar, often no service at all. We came to explore the DC area and spend Christmas close to family, I was disappointed to have to cut our stay short because of the 14 day limit.

We used this as a launching point for seeing everything in Washington DC. The park is huge with lots to do (the water park was a hit with our kids) but you need to pick your site very carefully, especially if you have a longer rig. We were near the cabins and most of the sites there had a steep slope. The ones near the playground seemed to be better. The whole park is very shady, which can be a plus, but nothing dried out and some of our things (like a metal table and baseball) started getting mold on them.

Stayed here in our 40ft 5th wheel. The road through camp is a little tight but we stayed in a FHU site #65. Site was plenty wide for us to be able to back in and get set up. Site was pretty level so not much needed in way of blocks needed and the auto level did not have much correction needed. The sewer hookup was the only downside of this site as it was higher than the hookup on the camper. This park does have a limited number of FHU sites and majority are electric only. Site 71 looks to be the best site as the back in angle is easiest, quite level, and the sewer hookup is not too high comparative to the RV pad.

I will say that the park staff were absolutely amazing. There was a rather larger winter storm and we lost power. Through the night the batteries failed (found out mine were no good anymore). The park staff came by to check on us and make sure we were alright and when we told them what was going on they brought us a generator to keep the heat going in the camper. They even came by with a plastic to help make sure we could get out truck out if we needed to. The excellence of the camp staff alone makes me want to come back when the weather is warmer. Will definitely stay here again.

As for cell service we have two bars with our Verizon phones and 2 bars with out t mobile hotspot. Hooked up the WeBoost Destination RV and were able to get 4 bars of fast service. The T mobile tower was at 70 degrees East when we aimed the antenna.

The park was really nice. Well laid out, nice amenities, and close to DC. Our kids loved the playground and the bathrooms were warm and clean. We even enjoyed the trails around the area. For all of that, I would have given it five stars.

The bad? Our site was absolutely horrible. I had read bad reviews on other websites about site 42, but it was the only open site for our dates. Now I know why. It has an odd twisting entry with trees close on either side and no room to work with. Getting our 33 foot Fifth Wheel in there took forever and we only made it because the sites across from us were open. If not for that, it really would have been impossible. When we finally made it in, the neighbors came over and told us we should get an award for fitting our rig into that site! However, we weren’t even close to level once we got in. It’s WAY off level side to side with awkward tree roots all over. Other sites we saw seemed much more open, but site 42 should not be used for RVs.

My only other frustration was that I called a few days before we arrived asking if I could have mail sent ahead. We full-time and getting mail can be tricky. They told me that was fine, just make sure our name was on it. When I arrived and asked about our mail, I was told that they don’t allow mail deliveries. I explained that the mail had already been delivered and that I had called ahead about this. Finally, they found the mail, but proceeded to explain over and over that they don’t allow anyone to have mail delivered.

It really IS close. Maybe 40 minutes to Washington, DC.
Flat site. Full hook-ups. Laundry. Clean bathrooms. Hiking trails. Playground.
And on Halloween they had lots of festivities, including great face painters and trick-or-treating.

For a couple of minutes, one of the nights, water pressure tanked. But it came back within 10 minutes.

This campground has 5-star service, which is good to know before you pay the premium price for the sites which really are standard 4-star campsites. Our mode of camping: a campervan. Reason for staying: to be stationary for a few days.

[Internet. Verizon via iPhone 12: 9 mbps down and 1.4 mbps up with 49 ms ping.]

We had a few interactions with the rangers and staff that really impressed us.

(1) The first night there we went to take a shower at Comfort Station 1 and there was a snake in a shower that had snuck in. We showered at Comfort Station 2 on the other side of the campground. The next morning we reported to the camp store about the snake and that we hadn't gone back to check if it was still there. Not even 5 minutes later, two park rangers pull up to the bathroom to check out the bathroom. The snake had left. I was impressed with their response time.

(2) I had a package mailed to the campground and asked about it at the camp store. They said the ranger receives packages and that she'd call to check if any packages had arrived. I kid you not, maybe ten minutes later a ranger drives up to our campsite and delivers the package.

(3) The Comfort Stations are so clean. They might have some of the cleanest bathrooms I've come across. Comfort Station 1 was within visual distance of our campsite. I swear that one person spent almost two hours cleaning that one building. This Comfort Station has an extra restroom that's handicap accessible too. The laundry room was so clean. As I do in all laundromats, I swipe the folding table with my finger to see if it needs dusting. This table did not need dusting. The women's restroom (and handicap bathroom) were so clean. The toilets, showers, sinks—everything.

Other pros include:

There's two laundry facilities. The washer and dryer each cost $2. (I highly recommend drying on medium since the dryer runs forever.) You can exchange for quarters at the camp store. The camp store sells firewood. Oh, the camp store itself is a perk. During our stay it was open 8am to 8pm. They sell ice cream! It was hot during our stay, so I bought some ice cream sandwiches.

My cons:

My first con is that the fresh water fill stations aren't marked on their campground map. They actually have two fill stations on either side of the camp store. Ask the camp store where they are.

My big con largely concerns "the nature" which I won't hold against the campground. Since it's summer, the spiders were out in full force. Comfort Station 1 didn't show signs of any spiders who set up home (because they clean like crazy and they're amazing). However, outside is a whole different story. There was a fat, monstrous spider with a big web right above the dish washing station. It nearly gave me a heart attack (and I'm 36). I brought my bug spray over and doused the hell out of it and the underside of the roofing above the sink so I could wash dishes. That first night with the snake in the bathroom—there was also a sand dollar sized spider running across the floor. It clearly had ALSO snuck in. Our campsite had a fair amount of spiders running around on the ground. I highly recommend NOT wearing sandals during the warm season. At night during our first campfire while it was dark, a spider slunk down from a tree just above our picnic table. WHOLE LOTS OF NOPE ON THAT. We turned our outdoor side lights on to keep the spiders up in the damn trees. Thankfully this side was facing the woods so our lights weren't in anyone's eyes. I dread being one of "those" campers.

The campground was great... on the weekdays. We enjoyed beautiful trails, easy access to DC and a peaceful wooded setting.

But things turned terrible on Saturday night. Now, we have kids, not very quiet ones so we aren’t usually bothered by noise. But this was BAD. At 10 O’clock there were still 30-40 kids running all through the campground, in and out of every ones sites, screaming! For hours they did this and parents would yell from one site or another to a various kid “Billy, don’t fall over the edge!” “Hey Sammy, where are your shoes?” I thought it must just be right next to us so I got up to check. Nope! It was the whole campground that went crazy!

If you come in the off season or a weekday it is quite lovely!