Carderock Recreation Area Pavilion in MD -- Campground & RV Camping

Carderock Recreation Area Pavilion is a covered, three-sided day-use shelter built to host up to 200 people near the C&O Canal and Potomac River. The site features picnic tables, four 110-volt outlets, two outdoor grills, a large interior fireplace, water, portable toilets, a softball field, horseshoe pits, and open areas with volleyball poles. Four parking lots serve the site. Situated just downriver from Great Falls and Mather Gorge, it provides direct access to woodland walking paths and the rocky Billy Goat Trail.

Getting there: Carderock Pavilion has no street address. Search Carderock Recreation Area with Google Maps, use GPS coordinates 38° 58' 18.0001" N 77° 11' 58.9999" W, OR follow these directions:.From I-495 in Maryland: 1. Take Exit 41 toward Carderock/Great Falls. 2. Merge onto the Clara Barton Pkwy and continue 1 mile to the Carderock exit (on the right is the David Taylor Model Basin 9500 MacArthur Blvd., West Bethesda, MD 20817). 3. Take the Carderock exit and at the stop sign, turn left to cross over the Clara Barton Pkwy. Follow the road until you reach a second stop sign. 4. Turn left for parking lot 1 or turn right for parking lot 2 and the restrooms. (The pavilion is located between parking lots 1 and 2.)From I-495 in Virginia: 1. Take Exit 41 (Carderock/Glen Echo) from the American Legion Bridge and at the fork, bear left toward Great Falls/Carderock. 2. Merge onto the Clara Barton Pkwy and continue 1 mile to the Carderock exit (on the right is the David Taylor Model Basin 9500 MacArthur Blvd., West Bethesda, MD 20817). 3. Take the Carderock exit and at the stop sign, turn left to cross over the Clara Barton Pkwy. Follow the road until you reach a second stop sign. 4. Turn left for parking lot 1 or turn right for parking lot 2 and the restrooms. (The pavilion is located between parking lots 1 and 2.)From Washington DC (Georgetown): 1. From the intersection of "M" Street and Key Bridge, go west for approximately .5 miles and bear left onto Canal Road. 2. Stay straight on Canal Road which turns into the Clara Barton Pkwy and follow the Clara Barton Pkwy for approximately 9 miles to the Carderock exit (on the right is the David Taylor Model Basin 9500 MacArthur Blvd., West Bethesda, MD 20817). 3. Take the Carderock exit and at the stop sign, turn left to cross over the Clara Barton Pkwy. Follow the road until you reach a second stop sign. 4. Turn left for parking lot 1 or turn right for parking lot 2 and the restrooms. (The pavilion is located between parking lots 1 and 2.)Directions from I-270. 1. Take I-270 South toward Washington. 2. Keep right to take I-270 Spur South toward I-270/Washington/I-495 /Northern Virginia. 3. I-270 Spur South becomes I-495 South/Capital Beltway. 4. Take Exit 41 toward Carderock/Great Falls. 5. Merge onto the Clara Barton Pkwy and continue 1 mile to the Carderock exit (on the right is the David Taylor Model Basin 9500 MacArthur Blvd., West Bethesda, MD 20817). 6. Take the Carderock exit and at the stop sign, turn left to cross over the Clara Barton Pkwy. Follow the road until you reach a second stop sign. 7. Turn left for parking lot 1 or turn right for parking lot 2 and the restrooms. (The pavilion is located between parking lots 1 and 2.)

• Limited separation from through roads or other sites here, with the nearest through road 0.1 miles off.
• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal runs 0.1 mi off.
• Estimated night sky: Bortle 6, a suburban sky.
• Open country, with nothing named rising within 30 miles.

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