Campground Review: Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, Virginia

Introduction:

While this campground is reasonably close to Washington, it is overpriced for what it is.

The Basics:

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Price per night / Discounts: $45 / 50 amp sites are $45 per night on weekdays and $50 per night on weekends. There are no discounts offered.

Campground website: Lake Fairfax Park

Our Site #: 72

Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):

3.5/5: Site spacing is decent here. Most of the sites are lined up next to one another in a large open area. While there are some trees throughout, there are not enough to provide any real sense of privacy. There are a couple sites along the outer perimeter that have more trees, but these usually work best for smaller RVs. It's not the worst we've seen, but it's also not the best.

Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):

4/5: The campground is located in Reston, Virginia which is generally about a 30 minute drive from downtown D.C. Alternatively, the park is just a few miles from the Reston Metro station which makes it easy for visitors to take the train into the city. Reston itself is very built up which means you can find any of your necessities nearby. The entire Northern Virginia area is a traffic nightmare so pack your patience no matter when you visit.

Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):

2/5: Site quality was just not great. Our site - and many others - was very sloped, so we pulled all the way back to get onto the flat part of the pad. That meant we were overhanging the back of the space, but that's what most people do. Fortunately, the pad itself was in good shape and we had a site on the end of a row, so we had a decent amount of space around us. The sites only offer electric hook ups (and you can only book a 30 amp site if your rig is shorter than 29 feet). There are no water spigots or sewer hook ups at the sites and, unlike in many campgrounds, there are no spigots located throughout the park. There is one water filling station next to the dump station at the bathhouse. That meant we had to move our entire RV to fill the water tank, which is a giant pain when you're staying for a longer period of time. We also noticed that the bathhouse is not nearly as clean or well maintained as it used to be.

Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, campground wifi, and staff):

2/5: There is no technology at all. You have to call for reservations and they handle their reservations the same way it was done in 1985. There are no email confirmations or anything of the sort. Everything is done by hand. Customer service was nice enough, but the guy who checked us in worked at a snail's pace and we never saw the camphost out and about.

Overall Value Rating (the overall value of the campground; was it overpriced for what it was?):

1/5: This whole campground would be perfectly fine if it cost $22 or $25 per night, but at $45 or $50 per night, it is ridiculous. It just isn't that nice, and it isn't that convenient, and it doesn't have enough to offer to justify the absurd pricing.

Summary:

While we would probably stay here again out of necessity, we wouldn't be happy about it. To charge people $45 per night for a simple campsite with an electric hook up is ridiculous. To up that charge to $50 on the weekends and to charge people the weekend rate even on the Monday night of a holiday weekend is criminal. Unfortunately, the D.C. area as a whole is just crazy expensive and with the limited local options, people will keep paying for this place. My best advice is to keep your visit short.

Campground Photos (Click for larger image):