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Picnic Areas at Fort Hunt are available for reservations at certain times of the year. Areas are different sizes and prices, and offer different amenities. Before you reserve a picnic area at Fort Hunt, please review the common questions below. To browse availability and make your reservation, visit recreation.gov . During 2024, Fort Hunt is looking forward to two exciting upgrades to its amenities. In Area A, a new playground is being installed. In Area B, the comfort station is being rehabilitated. As of January 2nd, the size and duration of these projects’ impact on reservations in Areas A and B are not known. Fort Hunt staff will share information relevant to affected reservation holders as soon as it becomes available. Reservations cancelled for any reason two weeks before the date for which the site was reserved will be refunded. Learn more about these projects on our management information page at https://www.nps.gov/gwmp/learn/management/yourdollarsatwork.htm . For more information, call (202) 439-7325.
Frequently asked questions: Areas A, B, C-1, C-2, C-3 and D are available for reservation from April-October. Reservations must be made no fewer than twenty-one days in advance. Area E is always open for use, first-come, first-served. Picnic permits are not available on July 4th.
Reservations are valid only from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Access and use of reserved amenities outside of these hours is not guaranteed.If you have questions about early check in or late check out, speak with a park ranger when making your reservation: 202-439-7325. If you reserve Pavilion A on a Sunday in June, July or August, the pavilion must be clean and vacant by 6:00 pm in time for the park's free summer concert series. Late check out will not be available. Here is a list of concert dates for 2024:
Here is a list of night sky events for 2024:
Table of prices, capacity, and parking spaces for each Fort Hunt Area:
Note: There is a $50 permit application fee on top of your recreation.gov reservation cost if you want to bring a caterer to your private event. Please see catering and special use permit sections below. Reservations open on January 2 for dates in April-October of that year. It is possible to reserve sites on recreation.gov until twenty-one days (three weeks) in advance of the reservation date.
Yes, reservation holders and the general public are welcome to bring food into Fort Hunt Park. Reservation holders and the public must personally transport their food to the park, set it up, and serve it themselves.
Yes, reservation holders and the general public can grill at Fort Hunt Park. The park does not have grills so please bring your own equipment. If you are grilling at the park, you must have a fire extinguisher on hand in case of emergency. Grills must be at least 10 feet away from a structure. If you are using a charcoal grill, please dispose of coals using the red charcoal disposal receptacles at the park. Cooled cooking water must be dumped down curbside drains only, not on the ground. You must take cooking grease with you off-site for disposal.
No for the general public; yes for reservation holders. If a catering company is coming to your private event at Fort Hunt, in addition to a recreation.gov reservation for your picnic area, you also need a special use permit to cover the catering.Catering is defined as:.
A caterer brought in for a reservation holder's private event via a special use permit may not sell food or give food away to the general public under any circumstances. If your caterer is a food truck, they must display a sign in their window that they are closed for a private event. The permit coordinator may be reached at: (703) 289-2513 or gwmp_sup@nps.gov. No. If you have a recreation.gov reservation and you're arranging catering for your guests, you can work with any caterer you like, as long as you submit a $50 special use permit application for catering. Food trucks wanting to sell to the general public at Fort Hunt must be licensed through RGI and display a park placard while they're at Fort Hunt Park.
No for the general public; yes for reservation holders. Reservation holders can bring their own beer and wine to serve at their events at Fort Hunt Park. Reservation holders may not serve hard liquor. Because beer and wine consumption is only available to those with reservations and reservations cease at 6:00 p.m., service of beer and wine must also cease at 6:00 p.m. Reservation holders are not allowed to charge their guests for beer or wine. Reservation holders must comply with Virginia alcohol laws.
No. To protect the environment at Fort Hunt, glitter, confetti, or paint powder are not allowed for the general public nor are they allowed for reservation holders.
No. Whether you have a reservation and a special use permit or not, the following items and activities are forbidden:
On top of what you reserved on recreation.gov, you must also work with the George Washington Memorial Parkway's permit team if you are considering adding any of the following to your Fort Hunt Reservation:
Park management considers the following when establishing policy at Fort Hunt Park:
Yes, please visit the George Washington Memorial Parkway permits and reservations page for details on commercial, non-commercial, and news photography and filming. You do not need a permit or reservation for a “low-impact” filming activity, which is defined as fewer than 5 people, outdoors and in areas open to the general public, and involving equipment that can be carried at all times (except for small tripods used to hold cameras).If your activity does not meet the “low-impact” definition, please contact the permit team at 703-289-2513 with at least 10 days notice.
Fort Hunt rangers have found the general public and reservation holders are often able to use small Bluetooth speakers at a low volume without disturbing Fort Hunt’s neighbors or other visitors. Whether such a setup is permissible is the judgment call of park rangers on the day-of, however, and guests who use such speakers may be asked to reduce the volume of their music or turn it off. Federal regulations state no audio disturbance can exceed 60 decibels measured on the A-weighted scale at 50 feet from the source.
Amplifying sound and using the park’s electricity is only allowed at Pavilion A if you have a reservation. Check recreation.gov for available reservation dates. Use of electricity and amplified sound is not permissible anywhere else in Fort Hunt Park.
Use of amplified sound in Pavilion A must conform to federal guidelines (which prohibit the sound from exceeding 60 decibels 50 feet from the source) and must also not be so loud as to bother neighbors of Fort Hunt or interfere with other visitors’ ability to enjoy the park. Moreover, as an activity available exclusively to reservation holders, use of amplified sound must cease by the time the reservation expiries (6:00 p.m. on the day of the reservation). Park rangers work with reservation holders during events at Pavilion A to ensure that use of amplified sound conforms to these regulations. If you hold a reservation in Pavilion A and want to use the electricity to amplify sound, please call us at (703) 289-2513 at least two weeks before your event to discuss the equipment you plan to use. Yes, but you can’t stake anything into the ground. You need to modify volleyball, croquet, or other games that typically involve staking so that nothing penetrates the ground. Also, water balloons and water recreation (slip and slides, sprinklers, etc) are prohibited.
Yes, piñatas (without glitter, confetti or paint powder) are permissible if they are tied to a pavilion. Piñatas and other items may not be tied to trees, other vegetation, or stapled, tacked, or nailed into park structures.
Yes, but you cannot damage or alter the pavilion or bench you are decorating. Decorations cannot be staked into the ground or stapled, tacked, or nailed into park structures. Reservation holders may not decorate trees, vegetation or park signs, nor may they decorate anything outside of the area or timeframe they reserved. You may tie decorations onto park structures.
Yes, decorating your pavilion or picnic area with balloons is permissible if they are tied to a pavilion or picnic bench or weighed down. When you are done with the balloons, please pop them and dispose of them in park garbage cans. Do not release them into the sky.
Yes, banners are permissible. If you have reserved a pavilion, please hang the banner by tying or taping it to the pavilion. If you have reserved a picnic area without a pavilion, you may use a banner in your area as long as doing so does not violate any other regulations (e.g. the banner may not be tied to trees, park signs or to items staked into the ground).
No. Reservation holders are only allowed to decorate the area they have reserved. It may be helpful to provide your guests with the Fort Hunt map.
At the current time (January 2024), there are no COVID restrictions or regulations by which reservation holders must abide in order to hold a reservation.
Park rangers will hold reserved areas for reservation holders. No action is required on the part of reservation holders. If when you arrive your area is being used by other visitors, contact a park ranger at (202) 439-7325 for assistance.
Cancellations and refunds are conducted via recreation.gov. Reservation holders who cancel their events more than fourteen days prior to the date of the reservation are refunded. To receive a refund for different reason, reservation holders must submit a refund request. For more information, please consult the Help page on recreation.gov.
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Last updated: January 24, 2024