prince william forest park

This large NPS area located in the concrete jungle of NOVA is a hidden gem. The park offers miles of excellent hiking trails, dedicated bike lanes for novice or experienced cyclists, picnic areas and a scenic drive. Explore the Visitors Center to learn the history of the area. And they offer campgrounds for tent and RVs! If you live in the area invest in an annual pass.

Not to rigorous a hike with lots of nice creeks and gentle hills. I've never camped here, but I'd like to some day.

I remarked to my wife, while making our way to the cascades, that I couldn't believe we were still in Prince William County - land of urban developement. (If this area wasn't a National Park it would be long gone.)It had been almost ten years since I last visited PWCNFP. It will not be that long before I return. My wife and I spent a little over four hours hiking the other day and had a blast! Park was clean, not many people when we started (around noon) but oddly enough towards the end of the day, and the impending sunset, more people seemed to be showing up. We made our way from the Laurel Hills Loop up South Valley to North Valley to the cascades. You can hike in via the Quantico Cascades trail but be forwarned that what the park considers the "cascades" are nowhere near as beautiful as the ones which can be located a short walk south on the North Valley trail. We made our way across the Mary Byrd trail down to the Turkey Run Ridge, up South Onega Rd, and back to Laurel Hills Lp to the Visitor's Center. As I said before it took slightly more then four hours with a few stops to enjoy the scenery along the way. Loads of fun, exercise, and history here! I really can't wait to get back to try the camping (back country in PWC??) and hike some more.

Been wanting to hike here for quite sometime. Had a nice time. We went off the trail near the location of the mine, and followed a deer trail; many rubs. Love to come back when the bucks shed their antlers. Lot more hiking to do here.

Lots of hiking trails from easy to more difficult. Perfect for family or just for a leisurely hike in the wilderness. Worth the trip. The cost was $5 a car and was good for several days (7, I think?).

We have never stayed overnight, but have visited many times and hiked many of the trails. On one occasion we saw a beaver. We have hiked here on New Year's Day, and several times from spring to fall. Always very clean. Next to Quantico National Cemetery; easy to find. Great history, so make sure to visit the renovated visitor center. Small fee; sometimes you pay at the gate, sometimes at the visitor center. Bathrooms are flush and clean; always a plus.

We love spending the weekends here. We just got home from a weekend camping in Loop C. The campground hosts were extremely helpful and friendly. They helped us with firewood and allowed us to stay until noon today even though check-out was earlier. The only downside of the weekend was the noise from nearby sites. Now...I'm just being a quiet freak here and I know it. If you are too, then beware. We were surrounded by cub scouts and girl scouts. During the day the kids were running around and being kids :-) I like kids; I'm a teacher. I also like quiet on my weekends: I"m a teacher. It wasn't quiet. That being said though, once 8:00 pm came, the leaders had the kids quiet and sleep wasn't a problem. Looking forward to going back soon.

This a delightful National Forest close to DC and southern suburbs. There is hiking, special lanes for bikes, camping, and plenty of tables for picnics. Although it was a bit cool and damp it was delightful hiking along a gravel path that had once been a park road. The history of the park is very interesting and I am thankful that this large wooded area has been preserved as part of the National Park System

I made reservations for my friend who has a large motor coach. He was very pleased with the park. It was very clean, large parking space and quiet. Had electric and water hookup and a dumping station. It is near the 95 exit, Cracker Barrell, IHOP.

Just off I-95, this is a national park close to DC. Hiking trails, picnics, beaver dams, creeks, all kinds of critters, old mines, camping. This area is mostly grown forest now (increasingly rare around here due to development). From colonial times to now, the land has been used for small farms and industries, subsistence living, a day camp for DC city kids, OSS training during WWII, Marine Corps training, and finally a national park. Few traces of earlier uses remain, however. Now it's mostly quiet woods.

PW Forest park is a great place if you like to hike or bike. With numerous trails, some of which are very easy, some of which are pretty steep, there's something for almost everyone. Also there is a large circular road that has one way automobile traffic, the other side is reserved for bikes. It's got enough hills that it's not an easy ride, but no so many that it's really difficult either. It's one of the most peaceful places to ride in the area. There is also quite a bit of history in the park, including (fools)gold, spy activity and more. And you're very likely to run into interesting wildlife as well.

We camped at the RV Park in a 24 ' travel trailer.First the positives:Located about 16 miles from an easy ride to the metro station. An easy way to travel into DC.Located on busy highway for easy access to resturants, grocery, and not far from Potomic Mills. Nice laundry room and swimming pool.Negatives:On the edge of national forest, but you don't feel you are camping in the forest at all.The first site we were assigned was very muddy and the blacktop pad was chopped up. We were unable to get level in this site because it had such an upgrade on one side. The park is built on a slight hill and there may not be a level site in the whole park. The sites are very short and close together. Not much room left after parking and with picnic table. We were unable to use our awning because it would stick out on the road. The rest rooms appeared clean, but after using them for a week we really noticed cobwebs near the windows and soap scum in showers that had not been cleaned for awhile.The office closes promptly at 5:00 PM, so if you need ice or anything you have to get it outside of park.If we ever visit the area again, we would definately dry camp in the national forest campground and forego hookups.

Less than 45 minutes from DC yet this lovely park is rarely busy. Lots of great hiking trails, a really nice bike path and ranger led things to do. The bike and hiking paths both have flat areas and some decent hills. We rarely see wildlife, though. A few birds and squirrels but that's about it.

Prince William Forest Park is a pretty nice place for getting outdoors, and unlike destinations in George Washington NF, Shenandoah, and W. Virginia, it is not two+ hours away. There are plenty of interesting hiking trails, a wonderful bike path, and ranger-led activities. This is not a dramatically beautiful place, although I'm sure it's a great place to enjoy the leaves in the fall. But it's a great escape from DC.The camping especially is excellent. We stayed as a big group in Oak Ridge campground, and it was an extremely comfortable place to go car camping. The firewood was free, noises from neighbors were low, and we were able to stay up late talking and laughing without having any issues from either management or neighbors. Showers were a bit chilly, but the water was potable and the bathrooms were clean.Watch out for ticks: we saw both deer and wood ticks. I recommend treating your gear with permethrin if you go, or have a good friend or loved one check you over each night.

A friend and I took our bikes to this park on this beautiful day and had a great time riding bikes. There is a designated, mostly flat 3.2 mile bike trail so you can easily put in almost 6.5 miles on that. Continue beyond that area and you'd better be in great shape because there are some really big hills to go up. The roads around the Visitors Center are pretty good if you're okay riding with the park traffic. There are many trails to hike so we'd like to go back and do some of that. All the park employees are super friendly and helpful. $5 gets a carful admitted. Great place for entire families.