Is there a place to park a bus near the D.C. mall?

[Barn Owl]

Does anyone know of a place to park a bus in D.C. and get to the mall? Does the Metro have enough parking for one? Any close Wal-marts or campgrounds close that would be recommended? Another obstacle to overcome before this weekend.

[Hi yo silver]

L,
I'll be watching for replies, because I would like to know too!  Marilyn and I have a long list of trips we want to take, but we are sort of biding our time, thinking how much better it will be if we go in a bus!  Glad your vacation to the tidewater area was a success.
Dennis

[tekebird]

Park at Washington national or the stadium and take the metro In

[WEC4104]

I'll offer up another option.  There is a very nice campground call Cherry Hill Park just north of DC.  There is a commuter bus stop right at the entrance to the campground. A few minutes on that bus will get you to the Metro station. From there, Washington's wonderful Metro will take you wherever you'd like to go.  Our family has stayed there several times.

www.cherryhillpark.com

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

I'll offer up another option.  There is a very nice campground call Cherry Hill Park just north of DC.  There is a commuter bus stop right at the entrance to the campground. A few minutes on that bus will get you to the Metro station. From there, Washington's wonderful Metro will take you wherever you'd like to go.  Our family has stayed there several times.

www.cherryhillpark.com

Yes Wayne, Very nice place.. We stayed there too....
Nick-

[RJ]

After looking at the Google Hybrid Map, and Cherry Hill's site map, you might want to stay away from sites 65 - 99 on the Appalachian Trail within the park, if possible.  These sites are adjacent to I-95, so you'd be subjected to traffic noise all night long.   Same with the sites on Yukon Terrace and Capitol Reef Loop.

Other than that, go for it!!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Barn Owl]

Tekebird,

Do you know how much it is to park at either of those places you mentioned?


Everyone,

Cherry Hill looks nice but it is a bit pricey for a place we will pull in at dark and leave by sunrise. Any other possible options? I have never done the Wal-mart camping and it makes me a little nervous. Has anyone done it? It is getting very tempting.

Thanks,

Laryn

[buswarrior]

some replies over at BNO of interest on this same post

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Sean]

Laryn,

I wish you luck in your quest, and I've been following along to see if any really good suggestions come along.

That being said, we tried and failed to find reasonable bus parking in DC.  We are Red Cross volunteers and were assigned to work national headquarters, just a couple blocks off the mall.  We ended up having to park out at another Red Cross facility in Falls Church and take the Metro in.  Other volunteers with rigs have parked at Cherry Hill, already mentioned here, and also taken transit (or rental cars) to get to HQ.

Parking, even for cars, is difficult and expensive anywhere in DC.  Even most people who live in the metropolitan area take transit into town.  Your best bet will likely be to find someplace in MD or VA with easy access to a Metro stop and plan to take the Metro into town.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[WEC4104]

Laryn:

Regarding your WalMart camping question, yes we do that from time to time, and without incident. My primary reason is for schedule flexibility.  To maximize our vacation time, I like to start trips in the evenings right after I get off work.  Our first night out often involves hitting the road and driving until I get tired. After 9 pm, with the kids asleep and reduced traffic, it is easy to rack up the miles. But, when it gets to be 12-1:00 am, it is way too late to go rumbling into a campground.  With the Walmarts, I am closer to the Interstate, don't need a reservation, and I can adjust my driving time as I want to. We always park in a discrete area of the lot, and invariably end up shopping there in the morning to buy whatever my wife realized she forgot to pack. In the morning, I send my kids out to police the parking lot for trash, telling them it is our way of saying "thank you".

There is one Walmart Superstore along Route 81 up near Winchester that I have used multiple times. Having said all this, I don't know that I would attempt staying in a Walmart near an urban area such as DC.

I went back and re-read all of this thread to try to get a better understanding of exactly what you might be looking for. Sounds like you need a place to land the bus near the Mall during daytime hours so you can do the tourist thing. Also sounds like you need a place to camp overnight.  My previous suggestion of Cherry Hill assumed you would leave the bus at the campground during the day and use the Metro (not leave the campground by sunrise).   Yes, Cherry Hill is not cheap. But at least you run your air conditioner all day while you are gone, using their electric.

But if you just want an overnight camping spot in the area and then plan to use the bus during the day, I have another suggestion.  For that scenario, I'd probably suggest the Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville, VA  (out near Dulles Airport).  The paragraph below is a cut/paste description I found online.

The campground, with 150 spacious and shaded sites (50 tent sites and 100 sites with electric 30-amp hookups) is open mid-March to mid-October. Sites cost $14.75 to $18.25 a night for Northern Virginia residents, $16 to $18.25 for nonresidents, for up to four people. The park charges an extra $2.50 a person per night and allows seven campers per site. Reservations are accepted. All sites include a grill, fire ring and picnic table. Miniature golf, disc golf, a playground, trails and outdoor pool (open through Labor Day) are within walking distance of the campground.

I have stayed there with a Boy Scout Troop (not with my bus) and was amazed at how large and beautiful this place was, especially that near a metro area.  I will warn you that there is a nearby skeet shooting range, so you will hear that until dusk.

[Runcutter]

A minor weigh-in - for two reasons.  I work with some bus operators in DC, and I need to be downtown for a meeting in July - on a trip where I'm thinking of bringing the 4107.  In addition to the downtown parking issues/fines that have been mentioned, Homeland Security issues abound.  City transit bus layovers are essentially not allowed at Union Station - although that may be the best driver restroom location. 

I normally use WMATA whenever I'm in DC - almost never rent a car.  The only reason I may rent a car is if I'm going outside the area, or coming in from outside.  I'm not fond of driving a car in downtown DC - random road closures/detours, on top of the city's traffic pattern (laid out to defend against the British, it now defends against tourists).  So, if I do take the coach, I'll be looking for a place to park, near a Metro station - somewhere on the outer ring. 

Coming in from Roanoke, or the south/west in general, you might call the Fairfax Connector information number, and see if you can park the coach at Herndon/Monroe in Herndon (near Dulles Airport).  Ride the express route 980 to West Falls Church, get on the Metro there.  If I do make the trip, I'll be coming in from the north, so I hope I can find something out in Maryland to do the same. 

EDIT - Herndon/Monroe is a parking garage, so vertical clearance wouldn't allow coach parking.  However, if I recall, there's some surface parking.  The Fairfax Connector folks may have some suggestions - or Montgomery County Ride-On in Maryland for the north side.  Question - has anyone asked the DC Convention and Visitor's Bureau for ideas?

Arthur.   

[gumpy]

I don't know about close wal-marts, but the last time we were in DC, we parked our car (no bus yet) in one of the outer lots and took the train in. Worked great.

I just did a bit of surfing, and found something interesting. There are links to metro maps on their website at http://www.wmata.com/maps/maps.cfm?fromMenu=MapsAndStations.0. You can see google map overlays with train stations, etc. http://www.wmata.com/maps/metrorail_street_map.cfm

I was looking for a station near Jussup MD, where there is a truck stop, but there isn't one there. However, I noticed another line that goes way north, and ends up near Gaithersburg. It appears from the google map that the parking lot is not a multi storied cover lot as we had used before, but rather, just a surfaced lot, and a bus might fit in there, depending on the entrance, etc. The station appears to be called Shady Grove. Detail say it's $4 per day to park, but that's probably for one space. The bus might require you to pay for 2 spaces.

It also appears there's Montgomery Co bus depot across the tracks with parking for that and a tunnel to the train station. http://www.stationmasters.com/System_Map/SHADYGRO/shadygro.html

One more interesting thing I noticed from the satellite photo, is that just north of the station, there's a huge school bus parking lot. It might be possible to contact the owners and explain your situation and ask if they'd allow you to park your bus there for a day. You never know.

craig

[Barn Owl]

Thanks for all of the ideas, keep them coming if you have them. I have spent all morning researching all of the suggestions above and compiling a list of options. Haven't finalized anything yet because of the ongoing research. If some are confused as to what exactly I am doing, well, that's OK because so am I. DC needs to post a sign that says "Don't even try, we don't care, and we don't want you here!" I have heard the word "no" more than I wanted to today. I know where Capital One Credit Card got their inspiration for their "NO" commercials from. How ironic that they use the word "Capital" in their name. If it wasn't for the kids and the foreign exchange student this would not be worth it.

[REK]

Barn Owl:

I hesitate to go from "Lurker" to opinionated poster but   .   .   .   { I could never follow Granma's advice to "It is better to remain silent and appear stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt !" }

The Advice:

Park, during the day, at the Springfield Mall and take the Metro ( Blue Line ), from the Franconia Springfield Station into the District.  The Mall parking garage is used as an overflow lot for the Metro Parking garage.  The Station is a short walk from the Mall.  I believe that your coach should be safe ( considering this is NOVA .  .  .  ) in the Mall lot.  The Metro is the easiest / cheapest way to get in and around DC.  NOTE:  1)  The Capital Police are restricting Tour Busses from the Capital Grounds, as of Monday, June 11.  2)  Do NOT eat or drink on the Metro, the Metro PD have NO sense of humor.  3)  Firearms -  NOT allowed anywhere in the District – Except by Congressmen.  It seems that off duty Capital Police et. al. are NOT allowed to carry.  I feel safer, how about you ! 

If you want to spend the evening in a Wal-Mart, I would suggest the Potomac Mills / Woodbridge Wal-Mart.  Exit 156 off of Route 95, headed toward Manassas, on the Prince William Parkway.  You need to make a Left, at the 4th { ? ) traffic Light, with a TGI Friday's on the Left corner, the Best Buy is on the Right.  The Wal-Mart is ahead on the Right, just prior to the Potomac Mill (Outlet) Mall.  I would strongly hesitate entering the first entrance you come to as I suspect that your tires would get up close and personnel with the curb.  I have seen coache$ in the front parking lot however I am not sure the best way to get in and as such I believe that prudence would call for driving around the Wal-Mart / Sams Club.  NOTE:  1)  The Potomac Mills area has every chain restaurant know to mankind within 10 minutes.  2)  Milwaukie Frozen Custard, in the TGI Friday's plaza is fantastic !  3) Rush hour in this area goes from 5:30 AM to 9:00 AM and from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM ~ I kid you not !

My Background ( To assist with judging the above advice ):

I am a Bus Not however  .  .   .  My family started coaching in '72 with a Travco who's notable accoutrement was an "incinerator toilet".  That was fun !  Sometime around '74 Mom ( Yes, that is right, my mother bought the bus  .  .  .  ) bought a '56 Flxible "Chest X-Ray" cruiser for Dad to convert and the adventures began.  I helped Dad strip and convert the coach (OK, it was never even close to being finished, but hey, it ran most some of the time) and we traveled from NJ, up and down the East Coast - from Florida to Canada. – breaking down in every State and 2 Provinces of Canada ! 

I live in VA and commute into DC, just off of Capital Hill, every day.  I have driven, used Mass Transit and slugged and driving is by far the least desirable way to get into this city.  Friendly and DC are mutually exclusive ideas, think Manhattan.

I have my wife's "Approval" to buy a coach when our finances allow and I have convinced her that a converted bus is our best option.  She has also supplied tentative approval for us to convert our own coach in the future.  { I would say near, she would say far, far future but hey, 1 battle at a time ! }  My lurking is an attempt to learn and decide how I wish for us to proceed.

Personal Note:

a)   I would like to thank each and every (well almost every) poster that I have had the opportunity to read.  Your insights have been, and continue to be invaluable.

b)   If anyone talks to / runs into Bob Stirling and his Prevost, kindly give him my best.  Bob is the only man I know that, among other things, can got all 6 wheels of a 3751 off the ground, at the same time.  True story.  My imagination is not that good.

c)   Dallas:      Personally, I preferred your previous Tag line.

That's my 2 cents worth. 

Who has my change ?
Rick

[Barn Owl]

WOW!....REK what a great post! That's just what I need, someone that understands busses and DC! Thank you for leaving the "Lurker" group behind and joining us. I postponed my trip by two weeks because I am finding that the complication of a DC visit requires some planning to stay out of trouble. When I get off work tonight I will Mapquest that route out and add it to the number one spot on my options. What is your opinion of parking at the Union Station or the Arlington National Cemetery? Until your post that was where I was heading. I think your Springfield Mall/Metro idea will be what I was looking for.

Thanks for the heads up on firearms, are you allowed to have one in your vehicle if it is secured and unloaded?  I would rather live where everyone had a gun, rather than just the bad guys. Oh, I forgot, it's the law-breakers that get all the privileges, like American Citizenship!.....Sorry, I couldn't help myself; I will stop before I get into trouble.

My wife was very concerned about our finances when I bought our bus, but I don't live in NOVA, so I would think you might have some additional pressures that would influence that decision. Now that my family has had a successful trip, my wife's attitude has improved tremendously. Now I hear "When we go to DC I want to take the bus". That is music to my ears.

REK, Thank you for your help with this, I will keep you posted.

Laryn