Cabin Camp 3

This was our first time at Camp 3, A Unit - we took a Girl Scout troop and had a great time. A couple of notes that may be helpful for others: 1) As the description says, you can not park anywhere near your cabin. You will park in a common parking lot and then walk a bit of a distance (~1/5 mi?) with your items to the cabin - the walk is on a dirt trail and has an upward slope before the cabins. The campground does provide large carts to transport your items. They are in the parking lot. Some cabins are farther back so the walk is longer - but flat once you reach the cabin area. 2) There is NO firepit. There are only permanent grills intended for cooking. No firepit was unclear in the description but the description referenced what type of wood to bring, so we expected there to be a firepit. 3) We didn't find a potable water source other than the bathhouse which had a wash room with a large sink. There is a random working water fountain in the grassy area. 4) The bathhouse was great and not too far from any of the cabins (we were in one of the furthest & it was a 2-3 minute walk).

Lots of beautiful trails, close to the Marine Corps museum, easy drive to lots of sites in the NoVA/DC area.

Overall cabins were nice with a light, beds with clean mattresses, and ceiling fan (in the 6 bed cabin). We thought there was going to be a fire ring at Cabin Camp 3, but there wasn't which was a disappointment. There were rolling carts all around camp to help transport belongings from the parking area down and then up a hill to the cabins.

I arrived at this place at 4:40 PM and found no one in the office. Called 10 times and got no response. After some time, one of my friends came into contact with a person. Had a tough time getting the welcome message. Once we reached Unit B, the situation in the room was really bad. Had a bad smell and got debris inside the room. We cleaned the room and got settled. After this, we had no issues. We had a great time while staying there.

First time visitor. Nice little camp. Beautiful setting. The cabins are solid and classic. Just as described and just as expected. Very comfortable and secure. We went on the last weekend of the season and it was full, but very peaceful and quiet. There were families and couples and everyone was very sedate. I assume in the warmer weather, with later sunlight, it may be a bit more lively. The only thing that was a drawback was the noise of traffic from I-95, specifically the trucks during the night and wee hours. You could hear the diesel engines and the jake brakes. I estimate it's about a mile as the crow flies. I should have realized this ahead of time. Nonetheless, we slept fine and overall it was a very peaceful setting. The only complaint with the park, if you would call it that, was the parking. Somehow, the lot was overflowing when we got there at about 3:30PM. I suppose there was an event going over the limit. The Park Rangers were very accommodating and permitted us to park along the roadside outside of the lot. The staff was generally very welcoming and helpful. Nice park and nearby. However, the nearby part is a drawback if you want to get away from civilization. We probably won't visit again to camp based on the road noise.

I've been to cabin camp 3 three times before aside from the year it was closed down. This year I saw no camp host, no wood was provided, previous years it was, trash was left by previous campers in hot coal cans, men's single toilet bathroom handle was broken. Lastly the shower water was ice cold and I can kind of understand why....what i wish was upgraded was the motion sensor light....maybe add an adjustable timer switch. The fire place in the cabin avaliable for everyone was still bored up...has it been 5 years? But the grill on the opposite side was not bored up, so does that mean it was avaliable to use? No notification, no one to ask. Previous years I would rate 8 out of 10....this year I felt like I was staying in an unkempt, abandoned campground. Was a sad experience because I really enjoy the park.

there was no one at the camp, so we had to book a motel. We were looking for any sign of life, checked the bathrooms - the cabins were locked and no one at the whole park to ask for help.
On the way back, we didn't even try checking in, booking a motel to avoid the stress.

$120 waisted - we showed up at 7 pm and could not use the cabin, because no one was there for check in... The whole park was completely deserted, no one to ask. It was quite a surprise. We had to book a motel nearby.

Cabin was rustic but all we needed. Grounds were beautiful with clean bathrooms and a fire pit shared the other 6 or 7 Camp 3 cabins so we made some friends, which was great. Took away a star because Cabin 3 did not have a grill despite there being one in the photos and the picnic table was at such an angle things slid off and there didn’t seem to be an place to level it out. Must have been some erosion since photos were taken. Luckily, Cabin 4 next door was empty so we ended up using that grill and table which was great. The Visitor Center had very helpful rangers who picked out a beautiful trail perfect to our needs. We will definitely come again!

the cabin suited our needs just fine and the email stating the construction showed that communication is taken serious by the NPS.

We had a wonderful visit with 11 Girl Scouts and five adults. It was incredibly easy to bring out bags to the cabins with wagons, to make a fire for activities and cooking, to use the craft hall for meals and to use the sink near the bathroom for washing dishes etc. We look forward to coming back. And are grateful for Ranger Nick helping to orient us and answer all of our questions!