Maybe it’s time to “shake the bushes and see what comes out”. It has been somewhere in the 5-year range that Lunga Park has been closed because of munitions found at the bottom of the reservoir and in the surrounding grounds. If you go to the Lunga Park (Virginia) site on this MCG website you will find a link to a document that will explain the munitions story. I do not know the date of the document, but it doesn’t appear to have been changed in quite some time. If you have ever been to Lunga Park, you might agree that the reservoir, trees and open areas as a background, along with the RV sites strategically scattered to different points on the compass around the grounds, is the perfect picture for a RV marketing brochure. There was an inherent problem with the park. I don’t know the story about how the RV park came about, but I would assume that it was planned and built quite some time ago when RV’ing was not such a popular pastime. The utilities presented the biggest problem you had to deal with, not so much with the electric and water, but mostly with the antiquated septic tank sewer system. The sewer system was a disaster for some, but those who were at Lunga Park in self-contained RV’s could cope with the problem and enjoyed the rewards of why they came there in the first place. To this date, we have never been at a MCG or private campground that the setting compares to Lunga. There were many activities available at the park. Water oriented activities, such as, fishing, canoeing, kayaking and practically everything you would want to do on a lake [reservoir]. Jet-skiing was prohibited and there were some stringent restrictions on the use of boats with outboard motors. I believe there are different regulations for a lake versus a reservoir. The enforcement of the reservoir rules not only protected the reservoir from harmful things, it provided a peaceful, quiet, and serene place to enjoy nature at its best. It was not uncommon to see deer, wild turkeys and other animals while walking around the park or on the trails in the forest. There are some MCG’s that come fairly-close, but they don’t get the cigar. If-and-when, the powers-to-be should decide to construct a new RV Park at Quantico, I hope they do not go in the direction of a traditional RV park with the sites being cookie cutter designed, and located at some degree on the protractor next to each other [parking lot effect]. If they take that approach, I am sure they will have no problem finding the space to build the RV park on the vast Quantico base, but they may have a problem finding guests. On the other hand, a little thinking outside-of-the-box and a little creativity will produce a showplace. For example, a “Retreat” atmosphere, on a small scale, which might include a small number of tent and RV sites, in addition to a few rustic cabins or lodges. The extent of the of the facilities, peak and off-peak occupancies rates, as well as, other maintenance and operating costs would be the primary factors for establishing a price point [rates] based on military pay grade. A retreat is not new to our military community. Retreats are sanctuaries where our active duty warriors can reconnect with their families after serving a tour of duty in a hostile place or just want to get away from the norm. If an RV park is built at Lunga it would be just another place to park your RV in a regimented alignment formation, which is so common in RV parks today. There are MCG’s closer to the historic and cultural sites in the DC area - Quantico may not be the preferred choice for many visitors. Lunga reservoir is a perfect example of what a recreational area should be and perhaps a retreat for our active duty warriors might be thinking a little outside of the box. Semper Fi
