National Park Service · VA

Camp HappyLand

Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 15:26 UTC
Right now
Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 15:26 UTC
Sites
1In the agency’s record

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

Prince William Forest Park is a 15,000-acre forested oasis, located 35 miles south of Washington, DC. 21 miles of bicycle trails and 37 miles of hiking trails crisscross Quantico Creek and its tributaries. Camp HappyLand, also known as Camp 5, is the only cabin camp that is open year-round. The last camp to be built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Camp HappyLand can accommodate up to 204 campers in the summer in two large, rustic camp units. Dorm buildings with heating were added to the camp in the 1960s allowing the camp to stay open in the winter at a limited capacity (104 people). Camp HappyLand is also the only cabin camp with a large outdoor pavilion containing a stage and large stone fireplace. Keep reading

Recreation

There is a large field area available for recreational sports. Access to the lake is a short walk from the camp. Hiking and biking trails are a short walk from the camp.

Facilities

Camp HappyLand is set up in two units with cabins that sleeps 2 to 10 people and four larger dorm buildings that sleep 26. In the dorm buildings, there are lights, electrical outlets, bunks and mattresses, showers and restrooms. Dorm buildings have heat, but no air conditioning. In each cabin, there are lights, electrical outlets, bunks and mattresses. Each unit has a newly renovated central restroom with showers. Each bath house has a women's restroom with three showers, three toilets, a mop sink and a baby changing station. Each men's rest room has three showers, two toilets, one urinal, a mop sink and a baby changing station. The two dorms in each unit have restrooms and showers. There are also restrooms located in the dining hall and infirmary. Campers are responsible for cleaning and sanitizing floors, shower stalls, sinks, and toilets. Plungers and toilet brushes are provided. Campers should bring hand soap, detergents, and other necessary toiletries. Toilet paper is provided. The dining hall seats up to 120 people and has a commercial kitchen. The park provides no food to campers. The dining hall provides wooden tables and benches. The kitchen is equipped with the following: 10 burner gas stoves 3 ovens Large griddle Microwave Walk-in refrigerator Freezer Large three-bay sinks Food warming station with 4 trays Storage space Plenty of counter space Natural Features Camp HappyLand is located within a nearly 15,000-acre forest. There is a large field area available for recreational sports. Access to the lake is a short walk from the camp.

Nearby Attractions

Camp HappyLand is located 35 miles south of Washington D.C. and a few miles from the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Tents and rigs

Sites
1 · 1 cabin
Hookups
1 electric
Accessible sites
None listed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Sep 16, 2026

Facilities

Showers
Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
“Each unit has a newly renovated central restroom with showers.”

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, Creek, Coast
Biking
Birding
Hiking
Picnicking
Water access
Wildlife viewing
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Sep 16, 2026

Nothing to book until it reopensread 15:26 UTC

recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend

Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itNational Park ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
Tell me when it reopens

Watch for it to come back

One email when the agency reopens it, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check the agency’s own record once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time it stops saying closed.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

We’ll write once, when the agency reopens it.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Every line of the receipt · 12

What you actually pay

The sign priceNational Park Service
The National Park Service publishes no per-night rate for this campground that we can read, so there’s no sign price to print. That’s a gap in the record, not a free campground.
All reservations must be made online and paid for electronically.
No payment will be accepted onsite.
All vehicles entering the park must also pay the park vehicle entrance fee.
Visit the park website's fees and passes page for rates.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 3
Why this page can’t say why

recreation.gov lists every site at Camp HappyLand closed this Friday and Saturday night. The National Park Service has published no closure notice we hold, so this page can’t say why, and it won’t fill the gap with a guess. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one: the reservations its record still carries were taken before the sites were closed.

Closure: National Park Service status record · Sep 17, 2026

There’s no notice to quote and no reason to argue with, so this page offers you the watch and the list below, and no letter.

recreation.gov availability, read 15:26 UTC · record Sep 16, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

1 sites

All 1 sites

Sleeps
HappyLandCamp HappyLandcabin electric

Getting there

the phone number
The phone703-221-5843
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

The weather

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

The land, and who answers for it

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: recreation.gov lists every site here closed on Friday and Saturday night (read 15:26 UTC). National Park Service has published no closure notice we hold, so the reason isn’t on this page. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one, and the reservations the record still carries predate the closure. That reading is ours, off the agency’s own booking record.
Cell signal: the Park Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.