RV Park Review – Cherry Hill Park, College Park, MD

November 25, 2017 by libertatemamo 23 Comments

A large, full-service private RV Park with easy access to Washington DC. Nice park, but be ready for $$$ and road noise!

Link to park here: Cherry Hill RV Park, College Park, MD
Link to map location here: Cherry Hill RV Park, College Park, MD

1. Site quality = 3.5/5
   Decent sites here with just a few dings. This is a VERY large park with ~400 full hookup (plus Cable TV) RV sites arranged in typical side-by-side layout around several large loops. All sites are stone gravel base, flat and large enough for just about any-sized rig. Nice greenery & plenty of mature trees throughout camp. Main ding is that the sites are fairly tight and privacy is limited, plus there is significant road-noise almost everywhere throughout camp from the Beltway that winds around 3 sides of the campground (sitting outside your site is not that relaxing). Also there is some difference between the type of site that you book before arrival:
   1. Standard Back-In Sites: These are the most “basic” sites in the campground and our recommended choice for anyone coming here. All of these sites have gravel “sitting areas” with picnic table and fire-pit. Most are fairly similar, but there were a few areas of the campground that we preferred. Sites near the entrance of camp (#404-516, lots of trees here) and sites in the north end of camp (specifically #13-25 plus sites at top end of Adirondack Run, Badlands Gulch & Big Bend) were a tad quieter than sites in other locations. Also, although somewhat noisier we quite liked the sites #43-#75 as they had somewhat larger separation, as well as the sites in Arctic Circle since they were tiered along a small hill (again providing slightly larger separation). We were parked in #1308 which was nicely large, backed by trees and faced north (so we had shade all day). We did have road-noise, but it was muted enough inside the RV that we could sleep at night. Basic back-in sites cost $70/night*.
   2. Premium Back-In Sites: These are basically identical to the basic back-in sites, except they have a paved “sitting area” instead of a gravel “sitting area”. Plus they have a grill and metal table and chairs in addition to a picnic table. Honestly we didn’t think the paved sitting area was worth the extra cost, but if you choose to book one of these I’d recommend the sites at the north end of camp (specifically sites #3-11, 27 and #31-39) since they are by far the quietest. Premium back-in sites cost $80/night*.
   3. Standard Pull-Through: These are very long pull-throughs and were our least favorite sites in camp since most of them are arranged so that RV’s park end-to-end which means you share your small “sitting area” with your neighbor (a horrible arrangement!). The only exceptions to this are a single row of sites 602-616 near the back cabins. If you book a standard pull-through try to get one of these when you check-in. Standard Pull-Throughs cost $75/night*.
   4. Premium Pull-Throughs: These were definitely the nicest of the premium sites. Very large, very spacious pull-throughs with paved “sitting areas” containing chair/table and fire-pit. The best of these were sites #725-733 since they were nicely tiered and in a somewhat quieter location. We were not keen on the premium pull-thoughs in the other locations. Premium Pull-Throughs cost $90/night*.
   5. Tents & Cabins – In addition to the ~400 RV sites this campground also offers a large tenting area which is nicely separated from the main RV area in a heavily forested (shaded) area, but it is also RIGHT next to the highway (very, very noisy). There are also several cabin rentals which look nice and are in quieter sections of the park.
      NOTE1 – BOOKING. When you book a site here you can only choose TYPE of site (back-in, premium, pull-through etc.), not a specific site or location. Specific site numbers are not allocated until check-in.
      *NOTE2 – RATES. This campground has a fixed daily rate and there are NO discounts for longer stays (no weekly, monthly or seasonal rates). The only discount offered is 10% off the daily rate for Military, Good Sam, AAA, AARP, FMCA, NAARVA, CAA, FQCC and KOA. 
2. Facilities = 4/5
   Multiple facility houses on-site with flush toilets and individual walk-in showers with good shower heads, adjustable temp, bench and peg (for your clothing). Facilities weren’t fancy and they were a tad dated, but impeccably clean. On-site dump station.
3. Amenities = 5/5
   This is definitely a full service campground which offers just about every amenity you could want in a private RV park. There’s a large central club-house with two pools, hot-tub & sauna, a cafe, multiple playgrounds (throughout camp), a game/arcade room, a lounge room and a very cute miniature golf course. Also TWO large, clean laundromats with industrial-sized machines (total of 27 washers & 28 dryers!). No tennis or pickle-ball courts however. A nice extra “guest amenity” is daily sightseeing information sessions to help orient people about everything there is to see & do in Washington DC. Lastly there is also FREE on-site WiFi (thro’ TengoInternet) which worked mostly well during the day, but struggled some at night.
4. Location = 3/5
   I have a mixed view of the location here. This is the closest RV park to Washington DC, so for exploring the city it’s definitely well-placed. There is an on-site bus stop that takes you to College Park Metro station (you can also drive there in ~15 mins) which is a direct line into town. Just ride the Green Line for 9 or so stops and you’re in the very heart of the National Mall. It’s super convenient and will get you into the city in ~45-50 mins which is not bad considering how horrible traffic is around the Capital. Biggest ding is that the park is RIGHT next to the Beltway which runs literally RIGHT next to the RV park on almost 3 sides. This means there is CONSTANT road-noise to the point that it’s hard to sleep if you’re in one of the sites closest to the highway. We found the noise jarring and meant the park was not very relaxing to hang out at outside of sightseeing hours. On positive side nearby College Park was convenient for groceries, eateries and farmers market.
5. Pet friendliness = 5/5
   This is an outstanding place for paws & one of the things we liked most about the park. There are TWO off-leash dog runs, as well as a lovely ~2.5 mile hiking trail all around the park. Another unique little doggie feature? The park offers a dog-walking service, something I’ve never seen at any other RV park anywhere! Lastly on-site poo bags available at multiple spots around camp.

Overall Rating = 4.1
BONUS ALERT: Stay in the closest campground to Washington DC!

Summary: Last time we stayed in Washington DC (earlier this year) we chose a County Park West of town and didn’t have a great experience, so this time around we decided to stay in the park that everyone recommends. Admittedly we had a bit of a mixed experience. On the positive side this is a HUGE park with very decent full hook-up sites (gravel, large), lots of greenery and some of the nicest set amenities we’ve seen. There’s everything here from pool to hot tub, miniature golf, on-site cafe, two laundromats and more. Plus it’s well-catered to dogs, which is something we always appreciate. There are no less than TWO off-leash dog-runs, a fabulous ~2.5 mile hiking trail (around camp) and even on-site dog walking services (we were well impressed)! In addition location can’t be beat, at least as far as visiting Washington DC is concerned. There is an on-site bus that takes you directly to College Park Metro Station (~15 mins away) which then takes you directly into the National Mall. Total time is ~45-50 mins to get into the heart of town which is very decent indeed. The negatives? The road noise! This park is conveniently located right off the Hwy, but it is also RIGHT next to it. The beltway runs on 3 sides of the park and it is always busy which means literally non-stop road noise day and night. We found it to be fairly bad throughout camp except for the sites closest to the entrance (around #404-516) and a select number of sites at the very the northern end of the park (around #03-#41). The sites closest to the highway were the worst and I don’t think I’d have been able to sleep if we’d been parked there. We were near the northern end (#1308) and had enough noise that it wasn’t really pleasant to sit outside, but it was muffled enough inside the RV that we could at least rest at night. Also it was pricey. The cheapest price is $70/night and there are no discounts for weekly or monthly stays (only 10% off for select club memberships*). Also the more expensive “premium” sites are basically identical to the non-premium sites except they have a paved “sitting area” (instead of gravel) and a metal table & chairs in addition to the picnic table. We did not think the premium sites were worth the extra $$. Overall we enjoyed the proximity to DC and certainly enjoyed the many amenities in the park (especially the dog run & hiking trail), but for us (personally) the constant road-noise really wore us down. My baseline recommendation? We’d probably  stay here again to visit Washington DC (it’s IMO still the most convenient RV park in the capital), but we’d only ever do it for a very short time-frame. It’s simply too noisy and too pricey for a longer stay.

Extra Info: Decent cell signal (Verizon had 3 bars LTE, ATT had 4 bars LTE and T Mobile Binge On worked great). Free on-site WiFi, which worked mostly well during the day, but struggled some at night. Total ~400 RV sites. All sites offer FHU plus Cable TV. Standard back-in sites cost $70/night, standard pull-through sites cost $75/night, premium back-in $80/night and premium pull-through $90/night. Prices are for 2 people only (extra $5/night per person above 2). *No weekly, monthly or seasonal discounts, but you do get 10% off nightly rate with Military, Good Sam, AAA, AARP, FMCA, NAARVA, CAA, FQCC, & KOA. On-site dump station.