Fort Dupont Park Picnic Areas
This place has sites and nobody may sleep in them.Ask for camping here →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 15 of the next 15 nights read 16:45 UTC
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 4 notices
In the agency’s own words
Fort Dupont Park has three picnic areas that groups may reserve from spring to fall each year. There are also picnic areas available on first-come, first-served (no reservation required). Keep reading
Recreation
The varied seasonal activities at this spacious area east of the Anacostia River include: picnic areas, hiking trails, Civil War programs, gardening, environmental education, concerts and special events, mountain biking and youth programs. Visit Fort Dupont's Things to Do web page.
Facilities
The three reservable picnic areas at Fort Dupont are:: Picnic areas A and B at Randle Circle. Both of these offer picnic tables, a grill and a nearby restroom building and playground. Electricity is not available on site. These areas have street parking but there is also a larger parking lot less than 1/4 mile from the picnic area. This site is also close to several park nature trails and the Fort Dupont Activity Center that has exhibits and other information about the park. No other amenities are available. The Historic Earthwork (Lanham Estates) picnic area on Alabama Avenue . This area offers a picnic shelter, tables, grill and a fireplace. Electricity is not available on site. This site also has an adjacent parking lot with open space nearby for playing games but there are no formal ball fields. This is also in the historic area of the park that contains the earthwork remnants of Fort Dupont and interpretive signage that give the history of the fort. This picnic area also offers access to the seven-mile Fort Circle Parks Hiker-Biker Trail, a seven mile trail that connects multiple fort sites in southeast Washington, D.C..
Natural Features
Fort Dupont Park has 376 rolling wooded acres (152 ha), and is one of the largest parks in Washington D.C. Oak, beech and maple trees cover the hillsides. There is also a large area of mountain laurel that blooms in the spring each year. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (771) 241-6891.
Nearby Attractions
Visitors may also enjoy: Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Anacostia Park and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens Fort Circle Parks Hiker-Biker Trail, a seven mile trail that connects multiple fort sites from the Civil War Defenses of Washington in southeast Washington, D.C., is accessible from Fort Dupont's Lanham Estates picnic area.
Charges & Cancellations
Half day $65.00. Full day $130.00. No refund for cancellation.
What the agency tells you
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
Live bands, DJs, amplified music, moon bounces, helium balloons, parking/driving on the grass, generators, etc., are also prohibited.
Parking for Randle Circle picnic areas is curbside parking and/or there is a large parking lot about 1/4 mile from the picnic area on Fort Dupont Drive.
Everything else this campground posts · 1
Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Biking
- Guided Interpretive Walks
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Ranger programs
- Picnicking
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 9 days ago, 12 km away
- Minimal color
6 of 6 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:45 UTC
The agency files 6 records here and marks every one of them day use, not overnight. On its own record there’s nothing here to spend the night in.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
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One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
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 make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“Half day $65.00. Full day $130.00.” · this campground’s own terms
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 · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 16:45 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
6 records · the site map
All 6 records
| ALABAMA AVENUE | Historic Earthwork (Lanham Estates) AM (8am-2pm) | day use | 290 ft | $65 |
| ALABAMA AVENUE | Historic Earthwork (Lanham Estates) PM (3pm-8pm) | day use | 324 ft | $65 |
| RANDLE CIRCLE | Randle Circle A - AM (8am-2pm) | day use | 359 ft | $65 |
| RANDLE CIRCLE | Randle Circle A - PM (3pm-8pm) | day use | 368 ft | $65 |
| RANDLE CIRCLE | Randle Circle B - AM (8am-2pm) | day use | 349 ft | $65 |
| RANDLE CIRCLE | Randle Circle B - PM (3pm-8pm) | day use | 356 ft | $65 |
The agency files 6 more records here that aren’t sites for the night. It files them as day use. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Rock Creek Park Group Picnic Areas (DC)Rock Creek Park · 8.1 mi
Greenbelt CampgroundNational Capital Parks · 9.3 mi
Greenbelt Park Picnic AreasNational Capital Parks · 9.3 mi
Fort Hunt Picnic AreasGeorge Washington Memorial Parkway · 11 mi
Marsden Tract Group Campsite16 mi
Swains Lock Hiker-Biker CampsiteChesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park · 19 miPlease visit the Fort Dupont's Directions web page for detailed directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Washington, DC
Typical weather
Typical October night 49°F, day 70°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 28°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Fort Dupont Park Picnic Areas is in District of Columbia’s 98th congressional district. Whoever holds it votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. See how its representative votes on public lands →