Introduction:
We have a love/hate relationship with this park. There is much that they have gotten exactly right and which serves our purposes well, but there are some drawbacks that are really problematic.
Click here to read about our criteria for campground reviews.
The Basics:
Overall Rating: 3.7/5
Price per night / Discounts: $47 / None
Campground website: Bull Run Regional Park
Our Site #: 109, FHU 50 amp
Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):
5/5: The sites here are very large and most run parallel to the roadways, so your view on the patio side will be all trees. We love parks with this kind of layout, and given all the trees, you really feel like you have some space. They get 5 stars for privacy.
Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):
3.5/5: This is a tough one. The park is located about 30 miles from downtown Washington DC and is one of only three options for camping close to DC. It's a reasonable distance, but given the traffic nightmare that is Northern Virginia, everywhere you go, you sit in traffic. So what should be a 30 minute trip will almost always take an hour or more. The campground is located close to everything you could need, but again, every trip takes twice as long as you would expect it to. If you're looking for somewhere to stay while touring DC, you might want to consider Lake Fairfax Park in Reston or Cherry Hill in College Park, Maryland. Both of them have their own drawbacks, but location wise, they are closer than Bull Run. If you do opt for Bull Run, it is convenient to I-66 and there are several points of interest near the park.
Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):
1/5: Our site was reasonably level, but there are several that are less so, and some folks had to run their cords and hoses underneath their rigs in order to reach the utilities. Big rig accessibility is not a problem. So why the low rating on site quality? Because someone in their infinite wisdom decided to put a shooting range right down the way from the campground inside the park. Bull Run Regional Park is huge and they could have placed the shooting range on one side of the park and the campground on the other, but instead, they put them right next to each other. Bam! Bam! Bam! All blessed day. During the spring and summer, the shooting range is supposedly open most weekdays until dark and 9-5 on weekends. But we heard gunfire around 7:00 p.m. one Saturday night and we heard people shooting one day when the range was supposed to be closed. So if you're dreaming of sitting outside and enjoying the great outdoors while relaxing... yeah, that's not gonna happen.
Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, and staff):
5/5: We were able to reserve our own site using the Reserve America system and customer service is always friendly and efficient. There are a ton of staff out and about in the campground and they work hard to keep the place looking nice and operating smoothly.
Internet Availability Rating (Verizon coverage or campground wifi):
4/5: No wifi, but Verizon worked well.
Summary:
If not for the shooting range located just down the path from the campground, this park would be great, but the constant jarring noise really takes away from the place, especially since the hours go so late and sometimes don't seem to be enforced anyway. The other major drawback is the time it takes to get anywhere in Northern Virginia. If you're planning on seeing DC, prepare to sit in a whole lot of traffic if you stay out here. The flip side is, the campground itself is very nice, the sites are large and private, it offers full hook ups, and the larger park is beautiful and well maintained. At $47 per night, it is not cheap, but it's on par with other prices in the area.
Ouch. We enjoy shooting sports, but agree that locating them close to the campground is a big blunder.
Yeah, we were trying to figure out which one was there first, but either way, it’s just a bad idea.
Well, having lived in Centreville for about 5 years and while calling this park, home, you do have a point. The noise from the shooting is quite distracting, but I am a member of GOA and I appreciate the closeness of a Skeet Range near me (at the home, not the campsite).
Let’s please take a minute to think about the Freedom that we do have and the right to Bare Arms (Second Amendment), the horrible and tragic loss of life on both sides, during the Civil War, the proximity of the Manassas Battlefield and the extensive fortifications in and around Centreville during the Civil War. To me, every shotgun report is a salute to everyman that has ever served in the military of this Great Country and a testament to US Constitution and a reminder of the cost of war. Freedom has a price, my Great-uncle has paid for it with his life at the Battle of the Bulge and we are all enjoying it (so RV away).