Campgrounds in DC area?

April 21, 2014 1:52 PM

Are there campgrounds in the DC area (within an hour) that allow alcohol and catering on site? Trying to plan a party for someone where everyone can spend the night and camp out if they have too much to drink.

My only criteria:

- Will allow a catering company to set up
- Allows booze
- Allows a campfire
- Allows camping out
- Less than an hour from DC

It looks like every single campground prohibits alcohol - understandable. Is this one of those things people still do anyway if they're smart about it as long as they aren't obnoxious? Or do private campgrounds exist that allow this sort of thing? I've never planned a camping trip in my life so this is all new to me.

A cabin is officially out - we've been back and forth on it and the idea has been scrapped for logistical and financial reasons (party is too big - about 20 people, too expensive, they are all reserved at this point, etc).

posted by windbox to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

Crozet, VA is a bit more like 2 hours, but the Montfair farm is this exact thing. They've got a venue hall set up for catering, cabins to rent, or just pitch a tent. Nice firepits by a lake. They do a lot of wedding business (we considered, but ultimately passed when planning our wedding.) So they might be booked up for wedding season.
posted by fontophilic at 2:18 PM on April 21, 2014 [1 favorite]

Depends on traffic but Gambrill State Park in MD is an hour from the DC area (way more than an hour if you hit rush hour traffic.) You can buy an alcohol permit for $35 according to the Alcohol FAQ. It's by no means remote (if I remember correctly, you could hear cars from the park) but there are lots of trees and it's super close to DC.
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto at 2:21 PM on April 21, 2014

Response by poster: Ah fontophilic Montfair Farm is PERFECT - literally the most perfect thing I've seen in my search so far, except it's a two night minimum and we only have time for one night. Ugh.

Suggestions along those lines are awesome if anyone knows anything else - doesn't need to be fancy by any means!
posted by windbox at 2:32 PM on April 21, 2014

You could try airbnb. I've seen places where you just set up tent on somebody's farm. Maybe there's something near by.
posted by beccaj at 2:42 PM on April 21, 2014 [1 favorite]

Honestly I would call and see if they'd cut you slack on that rule. It's basically a husband and wife and maybe 2 hired hands running things. Super nice people.
posted by fontophilic at 2:42 PM on April 21, 2014

I was part of a wedding at Montfair Farm, and it is lovely -- but it's a hike from DC, even if they'd let you do one night. On the more rustic end of things, I've stayed at this treehouse place (site autoplays nature sounds) outside of Frederick, Maryland, and it worked well for a group (we stayed in the treehouse bunkhouses). They have a two-night minimum, except for some of their tent sites. I have no idea about their stance on catering.
posted by another zebra at 3:44 PM on April 21, 2014

Here's the group events page for the KOA in Hagerstown MD (a little over an hour, DEPENDING ON TRAFFIC). It sounds like they welcome groups, and as they mention bike rallies I would think they would allow alcohol.
posted by drlith at 3:47 PM on April 21, 2014

Does Cherry Hill in College Park prohibit alcohol? I don't see anything on their site about it, but I'd call to check. It's hardly the most b picturesque camping out there (you can see 495 through the trees from some of the sites), but for this kind of thing it seems reasonable and it's closer than anything else.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 4:30 PM on April 21, 2014 [1 favorite]

There is also a KOA one hour (without traffic) south in Fredericksburg VA. The KOA in Front Royal would be more like 90 minutes, however to get up into the mountains I'd personally consider it worth it.
posted by COD at 5:14 PM on April 21, 2014