Richmond Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation RV Camp

Not much has changed since JimUSMC reviewed the park with some exceptions. Our reservations paperwork said site #4 was ours but we couldn't determine any site numbers because the small signs are covered by black paint obscurring the little site numbers. So odd. It's like they don't want people to know which site is which. So before just taking one, I drove our tow car down the street to MWR in Bldg 24 and found NO ONE despite wandering all over inside...could not believe the lax security. Called the RV park phone number and we were met back at the park about 10 minutes later. The nice fellow didn't even have our reservation due to employee no longer there (reservation made one year before arrival and confirmation received by email about 8 months later). He gave us pull through Site #6 which turned out to be sloped; after 1 1/2 hours of trying to get level in the 95 degree Virginia heat and humidity we gave up. Sure could have used a bathhouse with showers. But we got our sightseeing done and the large Exchange and Commissary at Fort Lee are only about 30 minutes away.

B.O. left this review using the Directory Software: We stay here because we have family in Richmond but have been lucky not to have stayed during inclement weather in the past. There was quite a bit of rain during our last stay, but there were also some obvious drainage problems. Only two of us were at the campground and the other camper had to move. Our site was probably the best one and you can see the electric pole sitting in a puddle of water!
The gate staff is professional and the registration is easy; but for just electric and water, $20 is high for a military campground with 6 sites and absolutely nothing else (well, there is a little shoppette and a few moose in an enclosure somewhere on site. :-)) When we had the wet weather issues we felt we needed to let others know, just to be fair.

We stayed here a a couple of days on a trip to the Northeast. Electric & water hookups with good underused little dump station. The campground was easy enough to find after coming through the gate but I thought I was going the wrong way when I started in, looked more like an alley than a road going into the gate. There are 6 sites 2 are pull through and the others are back in. The back in sites have the water & power posts near the front side of the site which could be a problem with short cords and water lines. No sewer, cable or WIFI and very little of anything on base. There is a small shoppete which also sells gas, NO DIESEL. The campground was very quiet, clean with only one other camper there during our stay. The site we were on was fairly level we used only one inch under the tires on one side to level up. Very little shade around the campground and none around the sites. Nice screened gazebo with lights inside and out. No using your own grill without getting it inspected by the fire dept., there are 3 firepit type grills there with fire extinguishers right next to them. They obviously take fires very serious. There is a paved bike/walk path that runs beside the road from the gate past the CG to the pond and picnic area. If you continue past the gas station/pond and picnic area toward the main gate there is a small canteen on the left and the area housing the Elk is on the right. I missed the Elk on the first bike ride to this area so the next time I walked the same route and saw the large enclosure with the Elk just past a nice workout trail. For $20 a night I expected a little more but the location was good for me. We will use this facility again when in the Richmond area.

There isn’t much to recommend this campground. There are no amenities at the campground or on the base – no bathhouse, restrooms, or laundry, no commissary or exchange. There is no office or camp host at the campground. No sewer hookups at the sites and I had to call the MWR office to get the location of the dump station. It is located about 100 yards north of the campground near a small building between the two RV storage lots. $20 a day is too high for this campground, in my opinion, unless you consider Richmond a prime destination. I guess I shouldn’t complain because there are not too many good camping options in or near Richmond. I am paying $400 for two weeks at the nearby Pocahontas State Park. But I recently left Camp Carlson at Fort Knox and Scott AFB near St. Louis where I paid $15 a day. Both of these campgrounds are much nicer than this one. The campground is small and located 0.75 miles from the back gate on the left side, just after you pass the second RV storage area. The exact location is 37.42548, -77.447043 on Google Maps. When I arrived the grass had been freshly mowed and the campground presented an attractive appearance. There is a row of large oak trees at each end of the campground. The surrounding area is an industrial area, probably large warehouses – the entire base may be an industrial area for all I know. I did not unhook and explore. The campground has four easy back-in and two long pull-thru sites and each one is fairly level. Lot of space between sites. Roads and sites are gravel except for the entrance road at one end which is asphalt. I made a reservation by calling the number listed in the U.S. Military Campgrounds and RV Parks website and spoke to Charles. He took my credit card info and cheerfully answered my questions. He is located in a warehouse somewhere but I didn’t bother to ask directions. You can also pay using a drop box at the campground. I guess the word hasn’t gotten out on this campground because it was empty when I arrived. It has only been open since April.