Pohick Bay Regional Park

Came here with 2 friends to rent some paddleboards down at the dock. We asked first about immediate board availability when we approached the rental desk to find that there were three boards ready to go. We go ahead and pay, fill out our forms, get fitted for our lifejackets, stow our belongings & walk down to the riverfront to get our boards. Once we get down there, they tell us that only two boards are available at this time. To this, we ask if we can then pay the difference to get these two paddleboards and one kayak, so that we are able to go out together, to which they happily respond of course. The young girl helping us returns to tell us that neither of the paddleboards can actually be taken out right now because they don’t know where the paddles are for these boards… To this we respond that we only paid and went through this process because we were guaranteed three boards ready to go otherwise we would’ve gone somewhere else. The girl looks at us with a blank face and says that we can wait until people come back in but she doesn’t know when that will be, to which we said no thanks and asked for our money back. Perhaps the most disappointing part of this story is that customer service was not sympathetic nor apologetic, and neither were any of the young kids running this place. A simple apology and we would have been more understanding about this (apparent) mix up, since we work in a similar service industry. Definitely will NOT be coming back here & I will never recommend this place to anyone in the area.

Indian Summer in diesem Park ist wahrer Genuss. Wir hatten ihn, das perfekte Wetter in einer wunderschön in bunten Farben eingetauchten Landschaft direkt am Potomac River.
Der CG hat einen kleinen Loop, den wir links liegen ließen, und eine weitläufigen großen. Hier fanden wir einen Platz unter hohen Bäumen, die alle im herbstlichen Laub strahlten. Innerhalb dieses großen Loops liegt eine weitläufige, runde Open Field & Play Area, um die herum die Stellplätze liegen: Full hook-​up, Electric Water oder nur Electric.
Verschiedene Trails führen durch den Park und an den Fluss, der hier sehr breit ist. Alle Trails sind gekennzeichnet, man kann sich nicht verlaufen.
In der Nähe laden diverse Plätze zum Besuchen ein: Pirates Cove Water Park speziell für die Kids, ein Jugend-​Campground, am Potomac River eine Ramp Launch, von der aus im Sommer die Boote zu Wasser gelassen werden, der Fisherman’s Point, die Eagles Nest Veranda und, und …
Da wir aber außerhalb der Saison hier waren und all diese Plätze im Dornröschenschlaf lagen, genossen wir einfach den Indian Summer und bewanderten den Yellow Trail Loop zum und entlang des Rivers.
Ein wunderschöner, ruhiger Platz zum Entspannen — genau das taten wir hier.

The park is lovely and well-​kept, so I need to clarify that my three star review applies strictly to the kayak rentals. The kayaks are in abysmal shape, and the staff there gives you minimal assistance. It’s basically self-​serve on everything, though one nice young man did help pull my kayak on shore as I came back in. We enjoyed our time on the water, however, seeing snowy egrets, great blue herons, and even a bald eagle. The water at the coastline was full of moss and grass, which is nobody’s fault, but it made the water smell foul for about the first 100 feet out. Just a point of information if that sort of thing bothers you.

Pohick Bay is an amazing park. My family loves to camp there, and we frequent the great water park there named ‘Pirate’s Cove.’ This waterpark is particularly great for families with younger children. All the pirate themeing is a hoot!
For a different side, paddling the Marsh at Pohick Bay is a wonderful way to reconnect with nature!

The closest nice (and maybe closest as well) camping spot to DC. Just head down Route 1, past Ft. Belvoir, and you’ll come to this nice regional park featuring camping, swimming, playgrounds, mini golf, frisbee golf, and kayak, paddleboat, stand-​up paddleboard, and canoe rentals.
I went for the camping, because it was the weekend and I needed to get out and I waited to the last minute and didn’t want to do with the two-​night minimums at lot of the privately-​owned campgrounds in the region force. Pohick Bay, at $ 25 a night, fit the bill.
The campsites are set around a open field and playground. At night, along with the fireflies, the tweens rules, running about with all their wild hormones until their parents tire of the worry and noise and corral them into their tents around 9pm. There are campsites toward the back that do not get to listen to such banter but I was not that lucky.
Most sites feature electrical hook-​ups, in addition to a picnic table, fire pit, and charcoal grill. Several trails lead from the campground down to the Potomac and the aforementioned rentals. Good times.

Lovely when it’s warm out. I’ve held a ton of kids parties here. Also great for dogs and children to run around and play at. Great deals on the boat rentals too!