Fishing is just one of the recreation activities on the shores at Fort Belvoir.
As Fort Belvoir evolves into a base with more recreational features for the residents and surrounding communities, a recently proposed “Travel Camp,” is in the works for users to camp along the water on Fort Belvoir land overlooking Pohick Bay.
The proposed camp would be outfitted with spaces for 30 recreational vehicle camp sites located on 20 acres of Federal land. The sites are going to have full utility hookups, laundry facilities, restrooms, showers and associated access roads and walkways. It will be managed by the Installation Management Command’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate, the Army document stated. It will be located “in a highly desirable area along the Potomac River,” the description read.
The new travel camp will join the current recreational facilities at the base.
Even though it is Army land and an Army facility, members of the Mount Vernon community and others will be able to use it, said Paul Lara, an Army spokesperson. “They just have to go through the visitors control center and get a pass,” he said.
Right now, the Army is drafting an Environmental Assessment for the project, and this is available to the public at the Lorton Library, the Kingstowne branch, the Richard Byrd Library in Springfield and the Sherwood Regional branch in Mount Vernon. According to the Directorate of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation, which is spearheading this initiative, it is too early to report anything.
The permitting paperwork has been sent to the Capital Investment Review Board for approval. They will meet at the end of this month. If Fort Belvoir’s request gets approved, the next steps would be a Project Validation Assessment and an Environmental Assessment.
According to Lara, there is already one RV park at Belvoir along the Potomac River and the new park will be close to that but separate.