7 Best Camping Spots Within 90 Minutes of Northern Virginia

Your Summer Staycation Guide – No Flights Required

TL;DR: You don’t need a plane ticket to unplug. Some of the best camping spots in the mid-Atlantic is less than 90 minutes from your front door in Loudoun County – river tubing in Berryville, waterfalls in the Catoctins, Appalachian Trail access in Delaplane, and national park views along Skyline Drive. Here are seven spots worth packing the car for this summer. And when you get home with a car full of dirty everything? Schedule a SmartSpun pickup and let someone else handle it.

There’s a version of summer that involves airports, baggage fees, and the quiet dread of checking your bank account when you land.

Then there’s the version where you throw a tent in the trunk, drive an hour, and spend the weekend floating down a river with a cooler tube and absolutely nowhere to be. No TSA line. No hotel checkout. No itinerary.

If you live in Loudoun County, Clarke County or Frederick County – you’re surrounded by some of the best camping in the eastern United States. Mountain ridgelines, stocked trout streams, river tubing, 78-foot waterfalls, and campsites where the only notification is an owl at 2 AM.

Here are seven spots that’ll make you wonder why you ever booked a flight.

1. Watermelon Park – Berryville, VA

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If you’ve never floated the Shenandoah River on a tube with a cooler bobbing behind you and mountain views in every direction, this is the summer you fix that.

Watermelon Park is a Berryville institution – a sprawling riverside campground that’s been drawing families, friend groups, and “I just need to get out of the suburbs” weekenders for years. The camping includes tent and RV sites right along the river. But the real draw from May through September is the tubing: a calm, winding 2–3 hour float down the Shenandoah with all gear included: tubes, life jackets, and shuttle service back to your car.

The water is shallow enough to stand in most sections (chest-deep at most), making it safe for kids ages 5 and up. They offer bottom-seated tubes for smaller riders, cooler tube rentals ($12.50) so your snacks float with you, and even rope to tie your group together. Pricing is $25/person, with military and first responder discounts at check-in.

💡 Pro tip: Reservations are highly recommended for weekend tubing. Camping is first-come, first-served for many sites but call ahead at peak times. Bring your own firewood. And if you’re in the SmartSpun service area, schedule a pickup before you leave – you’ll thank yourself when you get home.

2. Shenandoah River State Park – Bentonville, VA

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If you want the state park experience done right – and we mean spacious sites, spotless facilities, and a river you can walk to in two minutes – Shenandoah River State Park might be the best-kept camping secret in Virginia.

Spread across 1,600 acres with 5.2 miles of Shenandoah River frontage, this park consistently earns rave reviews. The 32 RV sites feature full water/electric hookups (50A), enormous gravel pads with dedicated sitting areas, fire pits, and some of the best site separation you’ll find at any state park on the East Coast. Walk-in tent sites sit right along the riverbank. And if “roughing it” isn’t your thing, there are cabins, yurts, and even a lodge.

The park offers 24 miles of multi-use trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding – from riverside paths to ridgeline overlooks. Kayakers and anglers get direct river access for smallmouth bass fishing. And here’s the kicker: Shenandoah National Park’s northern entrance is a 10-minute drive, so you can camp here and day-trip Skyline Drive without dealing with national park campground crowds.

💡 Pro tip: Only 32 RV sites … reserve early on ReserveAmerica. Cell service is spotty at best. That’s either a dealbreaker or the whole point! Firewood: $6/bundle, honor system.

3. Sky Meadows State Park – Delaplane, VA

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This one’s for the camper who wants to earn it. Sky Meadows State Park is a 1,862-acre park near the northwestern tip of Fauquier County and its campground is a one-mile hike-in primitive backcountry experience that feels a world away from the suburbs, despite being just 35 minutes from Leesburg.

The 18 campsites are nestled in the hills and along a brook, each with a 16×16 tent pad, fire pit, bear-proof locker, picnic table, and hammock posts. The separation between sites is excellent, the tree cover provides real privacy, and at night you’ll hear owls, coyotes, and absolutely nothing from your phone (no cell service – by design).

The payoff? Direct access to the Appalachian Trail, the stunning 4.6-mile Piedmont Overlook loop with sweeping views of Virginia’s rolling countryside, and a sense of seclusion that’s increasingly rare this close to DC.

💡 Pro tip: $20/night for VA residents. Individual sites available by reservation or walk-in (honor system). Pack light – that one-mile hike with all your gear is a workout. Worth it.

4. Harpers Ferry / Civil War Battlefields KOA – Harpers Ferry, WV

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Not every camping trip needs to be primitive. Sometimes you want a pool, a camp store, and a site with full hookups – and you want it 30 minutes from your house. Harpers Ferry KOA delivers exactly that.

Located right at the entrance to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, this KOA is the most amenity-rich option on our list: 30/50-amp electric, water, sewer, cable, Wi-Fi, a swimming pool, playground, game room, camp store, and deluxe cabins with full baths. It’s camping for people who want the campfire and s’mores experience without giving up a hot shower.

The location is what sets it apart. You’re steps from one of America’s most historically significant towns – the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, John Brown’s Fort, the Appalachian Trail crossing, and world-class whitewater kayaking. Spend the morning paddling, the afternoon exploring the lower town’s restored buildings, and the evening around the fire pit.

💡 Pro tip: Closest campground on the list – genuinely 30 minutes from Leesburg. Summer weekends book up weeks in advance. Reserve online at KOA.com. Check-in 3 PM, checkout 11 AM.

5. Elizabeth Furnace – Fort Valley, VA

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This is the pick for the camper who wants the real thing – no frills, no glamping, just national forest solitude along a mountain creek for the price of a sandwich.

Elizabeth Furnace sits in the George Washington National Forest, tucked into the Shenandoah Valley along Passage Creek. The 35-site family campground is shaded, spacious, and surrounded by Appalachian hardwood forest. There’s a stocked trout stream, the Pig Iron and Charcoal Trail for a history-rich hike, and a swinging bridge leading to a historic cabin.

💡 Pro tip: $10/night off-season, $20/night May–October – best value on this list. Most sites are first-come, first-served. No firewood on-site. Alcohol is prohibited. About 30 minutes from Winchester for supplies.

6. Cunningham Falls State Park – Thurmont, MD

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A 78-foot cascading waterfall, a scenic lake with a sandy beach, and 158 campsites in the Catoctin Mountains – all about an hour north of Loudoun County. Cunningham Falls State Park is the kind of place that makes you forget you’re in Maryland.

The William Houck Area has the lake (swimming, boating, kayak rentals), the waterfall trail, a nature center, and the main campground with 106 basic and 36 electric sites. The Manor Area has additional camping, the Scales and Tales Aviary, and the historic Catoctin Iron Furnace. Amenities include flush toilets, hot showers, a camp store, dump station, and playground.

💡 Pro tip: Houck campground open April–October; Manor Area year-round. Reserve via parkreservations.maryland.gov or call 1-888-432-CAMP. The adjacent Catoctin Mountain Park (NPS) doubles your trail options at no extra cost.

7. Mathews Arm Campground, Shenandoah National Park – Luray, VA

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There’s nothing quite like camping inside a national park – and Mathews Arm is the northernmost campground in Shenandoah National Park, making it the most accessible for Loudoun County residents looking to experience Skyline Drive without driving half the length of the park to find a site.

The campground has 166 sites accommodating tents and RVs (no hookups). Each site has a fire ring, picnic table, and enough tree cover to feel secluded even when the campground is full. It’s rustic – no showers, vault toilets only – but you’re here for the park, not the plumbing.

The trail to Overall Run Falls – at 93 feet, the tallest waterfall in Shenandoah – starts right from camp. Skyline Drive’s overlooks are a short drive in either direction. Deer sightings are practically guaranteed. On a clear night, the stargazing alone is worth the trip.

💡 Pro tip: $30/night. Reserve at Recreation.gov; first-come loops tend to be quieter. Opens late May, closes late October. $30/vehicle park entrance fee – an America the Beautiful pass ($80/year) pays for itself in two visits.

The Part Nobody Talks About: Coming Home

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Here’s the thing about camping: the trip is amazing. The coming home part? Less so.

You pull into the driveway sunburned and happy, and then you open the trunk. Smoke-soaked hoodies. River-damp towels. Sleeping bag liners that smell like a cross between campfire and regret. Sand in everything. Mud on everything else.

The average camping trip generates two to three full loads of laundry – and that’s before you add in the kids’ stuff and whatever the dog rolled in. It can take an entire Sunday just to process it all.

Here’s the move: before you even pack the car, schedule a SmartSpun pickup for the day you get back. When you pull into the driveway, dump everything into a bag, set it on the porch, and go take a nap. We handle the rest.

• You schedule a pickup: pick your day, time, and detergent preference (including fragrance-free for sensitive skin)
• Our driver picks up from your porch: you’ll get a text notification and photo confirmation at pickup
• We wash, dry, and fold everything: your order is kept completely separate from all others, tracked with tags at every step
• We deliver it back fresh: folded, bagged, and photo-confirmed at your door

SmartSpun serves all of Loudoun County – Leesburg, Purcellville, Ashburn, Lovettsville – plus Berryville and Winchester. AutoPilot+ starts at just $2.45/lb.

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