Tent Camping Near Washington, DC: Public Campgrounds
These 28 public campgrounds within 75 straight-line miles of Washington, DC, accept tents, based on Recreation.gov campsite records and state park listings: 17 in Maryland, 11 in Virginia and 0 in Pennsylvania. 11 are within 50 miles. The closest is Greenbelt Campground, the National Park Service campground 9.4 miles from downtown. By operator: 13 Maryland Park Service, 8 Virginia State Parks, 6 National Park Service and 1 USDA Forest Service. Where we checked the operator's 2026 rate, a standard tent site costs $6 to $32 a night (23 campgrounds). Virginia prices are resident rates. 8 campgrounds list at least part of the campground as open year-round. Private campgrounds are left out because their map listings do not say whether tents are allowed. Group-only and military-patron campgrounds are also left out.
| Miles | Campground | State | Operator | Tent site / night | Reservations | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.4 | Greenbelt Campground | MD | Federal: National Park Service | Not listed | Yes | Not confirmed |
| 17.7 | Mason Neck State Park Campground | VA | State park: Virginia DCR | $16 | Yes | Year-round |
| 21.5 | Cedarville State Forest Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $18.50 | Yes | Seasonal (typically Apr–Oct) |
| 25.3 | Leesylvania State Park Campground | VA | State park: Virginia DCR | $16 | Yes | Year-round |
| 25.6 | Smallwood State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $27.50 | Yes | Not listed |
| 29.3 | Oak Ridge Campground | VA | Federal: National Park Service | Not listed | Yes | Seasonal (approx Mar–Nov) |
| 32.0 | Patapsco Valley State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $18.50 | Yes | Not listed |
| 37.9 | Widewater State Park Campground | VA | State park: Virginia DCR | $16 | Yes | Year-round |
| 39.5 | Caledon State Park Campground | VA | State park: Virginia DCR | $16 | Yes | Year-round |
| 43.1 | Hart-Miller Island State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $6 | Yes | Seasonal (approx May–Sep) |
| 45.2 | Gambrill State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $18.50 | Yes | Not listed |
| 51.9 | Antietam Creek Campsite | MD | Federal: National Park Service | Not listed | Yes | Not listed |
| 51.9 | Cunningham Falls State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $21.50 | Yes | Not listed |
| 52.0 | Sky Meadows State Park Campground | VA | State park: Virginia DCR | $21 | Yes | Year-round |
| 52.4 | Westmoreland State Park Campground | VA | State park: Virginia DCR | $16 | Yes | Seasonal (approx Mar–Dec) |
| 53.3 | Greenbrier State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $21.50 | Yes | Not listed |
| 57.2 | Owens Creek Campground | MD | Federal: National Park Service | Not listed | Yes | Seasonal (approx May–Oct) |
| 59.6 | Tuckahoe State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $21.50 | Yes | Seasonal (approx Mar–Oct) |
| 64.7 | Martinak State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $18.50 | Yes | Seasonal (approx Mar–Oct) |
| 67.5 | Susquehanna State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $21.50 | Yes | Not listed |
| 68.6 | Mathews Arm Campground | VA | Federal: National Park Service | $30 | Yes | Seasonal (approx Apr–Nov) |
| 68.8 | Elk Neck State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $21.50 | Yes | Year-round |
| 69.6 | Elizabeth Furnace | VA | Federal: USDA Forest Service | $20 | Yes | Not listed |
| 69.6 | McCoy's Ferry Campground | MD | Federal: National Park Service | Not listed | Yes | Not listed |
| 69.7 | Lake Anna State Park Campground | VA | State park: Virginia DCR | $32 | Yes | Seasonal (approx Mar–Dec) |
| 69.7 | Shenandoah River State Park Campground | VA | State park: Virginia DCR | $27 | Yes | Year-round |
| 69.9 | Point Lookout State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $21.50 | Yes | Seasonal (opens Apr) |
| 70.8 | Fort Frederick State Park Campground | MD | State park: Maryland Park Service (DNR) | $15 | Yes | Year-round |
How this list was built
Sources: Recreation.gov (RIDB) campsite equipment records, Maryland Park Service and Virginia State Parks listings. OpenStreetMap-only records excluded. Distances are straight-line (great-circle) miles from the city point used across this site. "Not listed" means the source does not publish the field, not that the answer is no.
- OpenStreetMap records excluded entirely: their allows_tent flag defaults to True when the tents tag is missing (all 1,420 OSM records lack it), so it is not evidence.
- Dropped 6 group-only, youth-group or military-patron-only records: Marsden Tract Group Campsite; Turkey Run Ridge Group; Pax River Paradise Grove Campgrounds; Pax River Hog Point Campgrounds; Rohrbach Group Campground; Poplar Grove Youth Group Campground
Related: /near/washington-dc/ · /states/md/tent/ · /states/va/tent/