Prince William Forest Park — Attraction in Dumfries

I just camped there for the weekend, and have to give one star based on an interaction with a park ranger (or park police, not entirely sure which one he was)

This is a long story, but I planned this trip with my family awhile ago. I have never been to this park before but it’s near my dad and our favorite spot was booked. Anyway, I put “oak ridge campground” into my gps to get me there. It had me turn down the road that says “camps 2-5 entrance”. Again, I’d never been there before so I figured that was correct. A lot of the side roads were blocked off there and my gps wanted me to go on this road that had a gate. I turned around and got back onto the main road. I didn’t have much service but I was able to contact my dad and he sent me his location. I put it in my gps and it took me back that same way. This time, when I got to the gate I decided to get out and see if it was unlocked. I’ve been camping and hiking at places where there are gates you have to open and close, so I figured that might be the case. There was a lock on it, but it was unlocked so I just opened it up and pulled in, then closed it again. I kept going and got to another gate that was locked. I called my dad and explained and he said he would try to get a park ranger to help. In the meantime, there was a number on the gate to call so I did. Mind you, I have horrible service so my call got disconnected but the park ranger on the phone was very helpful and explained what I needed to do to get to the campground. As I was backing up, the park ranger my dad found pulled up and got out. I got out to, but he immediately started berating me and telling me about all the signs I “ignored” (his words) about how I can’t be here. I did not see any signs at all and tried saying that. He kept cutting me off and arguing with me. He told me don’t tell him they’re not there because they are. He kept saying that my responsibility was to drive a one ton vehicle??? Like the stuff he was saying didn’t even make sense. He was insinuating that I was speeding but the speed limit is 15 and I was definitely going slower than that because I didn’t know where I was! He said he’d been working there almost 3 years and I’m the first person that ignored all the signs. He let me through the gate finally, but was still saying stuff even as I got in my car. I was very shaken. I was already upset about being lost, and the person I thought would be helpful berated me. I could tell he felt really great about being able to finally use his authority to yell at a woman.

I wrote all this to say, at the end of my stay (today) I decided to drive back down that road (and obviously not go through the gate) to see all the signs I missed. My husband and daughter were with me this time. There was not one single sign that said I couldn’t be there and as a matter of fact, the gate was open! The only signs posted were the speed limit, a sign for a private residence, and the signs for mawavi.

I know nothing will come from this review, but this interaction ruined my stay honestly. As someone who loves nature and always follows the rules, I felt upset about getting “in trouble” at a park. I want this guy to know, because I just have a feeling he probably looks at reviews, that I was correct. I may not work at the park, but maybe you should spend more time exploring the surroundings to see where signs are and are not. If I’m not supposed to be somewhere, maybe do your job and lock the gate!

I will definitely not...

This national park has been on my list of places to see for two years. Active duty military & their family get free access to this park as well as military veterans and gold star families. They charge $20 for a vehicle (car) to enter this park. Annual park fee is $35 and a better option if you come to the park often and pay for entrance.

We were immediately impressed by the scenic drive, low traffic, and visitor center of the park. This is the least crowded national park we ever visited with so many trails to hike & explore. Bicyclists will love the immense bike routes and trails in this park. They engineered the roads with bicycle only paved roads beside the automobile road. Perfect for bicyclists.

The visitor center was conveniently located by the Laurel Loop Trail and restroom areas. It was the first place we visited to get information for the park and a stamp for our national park passport book. The rangers were very helpful and showed us locations & trails we might be interested in seeing.

We hiked two hours on the easiest trails in the Prince William National Park. We hiked the Laurel Loop Trail, the Birch Buff Trail, the Mary Byrd Branch Trail, the Quantico Falls Trail, and the North Valley Trail. The rugged terrain of some of these trails made it difficult to hike. I actually got holes in the heels of my old boots walking these trails. While we hiked we listened to birds on the trails and identified some birds we never heard before: Golden-crowned Kinglet, other unknown birds - etc. The Lauren Loop Trail had miniature Fairy Homes placed along the trail which was a delight to see. The Quantico Falls Trail was one of the smallest trails and winded down to the Quantico Creek & small waterfalls. We spent the most time in this area sitting on the large flat rocks on the creek watching the falls and the fish in the water. Proper hiking boots and socks are a definite must for these trails even the easiest trails.

Prince William’s Park has of the most difficult hikes we encountered despite going on the easiest trails we encountered yet it was one of the most memorable and enjoyable times we had hiking. Looking forward to coming back...

Let me first start off by saying the State Park off Dumphries road is a terrific starting off point for thoroughly checking out the forest. The RV sites will accommodate full hook ups up to 30 amps. Of course water and sewer are available on a lot of spots but not all mind you. If you are a die hard tent camper you may want to actually stay at the tent sites and not the RV park. Just my opinion. I hike, hard core mountain bike and run so this park had it all for each of these activities. I did all of these almost every day and it never got boring. There are great trails, bush wacking if you are very well versed in that and you have an excellent sense of direction. I would strongly recommend you do a lot of exploring and familiarize yourself with the area before you go off and do that sort of thing. The hiking trails offer easy and hard routes so take your pick. Talk to the rangers if your are not a hard core adventurer like me. I spent about a week and hit almost all the trails and roads...I said almost. I also used this location as a base camp for visiting DC. After exploring I showered, ate and took the metro from Franconia/Springfield (about a 20 minute drive from the RV park) into DC. It is so much easier than trying to drive in and park somewhere. We saw so much in DC. If you are in good shape you can walk everywhere no problem. If you are not, plan to see areas close to one another and then return another day in another area and explore that. There is a ton of walking so be prepared. Great photo ops, great adventures and great fun. Most every thing is free admission and you can even bring in your backpack. This helps to carry water and snacks for the day. I hope this review helps someone. I've included a few photos of DC. I'm sorry I don't have any of the forest. I never took my camera when...