Actually, The Wilderness is less than half an hour's drive from DC, but I can understand not wanting to use the capital.

There are some major cities in the DC area as well - Fairfax, Alexandria, Baltimore.

One thing about this country is that it is mostly rural. There are a lot of major population centers, but the areas in between have sparse populations other than small towns. I can't think of a single city in the US that isn't an easy daytrip away from the middle of nowhere, and a lot of that nowhere, especially by the coasts and along the northern border, is full of trees.