4 campgrounds with availability this weekend
Sandy Bottom Nature Park offers glamping accommodations near Carrollton, Virginia with four tent cabins situated directly on the edge of Sandy Bottom Lake. These waterfront glamping campsites provide a comfortable outdoor experience while maintaining proximity to modern amenities and flush toilets. The park features picnic tables and fire rings at each site, with trash receptacles conveniently located nearby. First Landing State Park Campground also provides glamping options with more extensive amenities including electric hookups, showers, and access to a camp store for supplies. One guest highlighted, "The tent cabins that sit right on the edge of the lake create a perfect balance of comfort and natural immersion."
The 456-acre Sandy Bottom Nature Park surrounds glampers with natural beauty and recreational opportunities throughout the year. Visitors can enjoy hiking and biking trails that wind through the property, boat rentals for exploring the lake, fishing, and wildlife observation areas for spotting local birds and animals. According to a recent visitor, "There are miles of trails around the lake and through the woods you can follow. It is extremely dog friendly with a fenced in dog park as well. There are kayaks and paddle boats you can rent by the hour." Most glamping sites require advance reservations, though Sandy Bottom operates on a first-come, first-served basis with in-person registration at the visitor center. The park maintains a no-alcohol policy and enforces quiet hours to ensure a peaceful experience for all guests.
"Our family stayed at site 99 which is close to the bathhouse and camp host. It is also on one of the small roads that leads to a boardwalk to the beach."
"The cottage is furnished, has a queen size bed and 2 sets of bunk beds; nice living room/dining room combo, full kitchen with dishes, pots, etc.; TV; fireplace; outside deck with grill; and screen porch"
Available this weekend
from $32 - $147 / night
"My son, furbaby, and I camped in their RV/tent site with easy access to their bathrooms which were spotless (and maintained multiple times a day) and warm!"
"The access to the little beaches are short but moderately steep, especially with lots of beach gear or strollers. It also seems to get washed out so watch your steps."
Available this weekend
from $37 - $311 / night
"Sites: 11 primitive tent sites 2 of which are group sites 4 tent cabins that sit right on the edge of the lake
The individual campsites are FCFS and you must park and hike in."
"The park is centrally located with easy highway access. Plentiful parking, lots of trails to choose from. The staff was top notch and super kind and helpful. "
from $11 - $42 / night
"It each site has a grill, picnic table and a fire ring. A couple of the sites have some drainage issues, but only after repeated heavy rains. "
"He’s awesome and treats everyone like they’re special :) The tent sites are clean, closely grouped, and the lights from the bathroom shine on them all night (so bring a sleep mask)."
from $15 - $30 / night
"Originally, we planned to stay closer to Virginia Beach, but after finding Davis Lakes, we decided to give it a try."
"We had a personal guide to show us the location of our campsite. Campsites had wood decks which would be nice in warmer weather. Close to highway but reasonably quiet at night"
from $72 - $105 / night
"Excellent sites, good access roads, plenty of bathrooms, beautifully tiled and modern, climate controlled environment in the bathrooms, nightly entertainment, shuttle stop right at the campground, excellent"
"You can rent sites for RVs or tents, you can rent cabins, campers, and even glamping tents!"
from $25 - $92 / night
"We love staying in the yurts at Virginia State Parks because they are always an affordable, easy way to camping without having to set up a tent or spend the extra money for a cabin."
"Situated along the Chesapeake Bay on the Eastern Shore, campers can participate in tons of water fun."
Available this weekend
from $32 - $413 / night
"Nice spots, a little close, no campfire rings, friendly staff, close to amenities, nice bathrooms."
from $32 / night
"They have a really nice climate controlled game room too. They are extremely fairly priced. They also have THE best campground bathrooms I have ever seen."
"The showers were nice and the bathrooms were very clean. The camp store is great. It has ice cream, which my kids loved. Would definitely go again"
"Super friendly staff! All sites provide 50/30/20 amp electric, water, cable and WiFi. Premium to standard include sewer. Big rig friendly, log cabins and cottages."
"A little on the smaller side, but the staff are super helpful and friendly. We stayed in one of the premium sites."
from $46 - $235 / night
TravelerA beautiful campground. Nice wooded sites with decent space between sites. Bathroom and laundry were clean. Showers were just ok. Nice trails and the walk along the James
river was nice. Will definitely stay again.
TravelerDO NOT WAIST YOUR MONEY! THIS IS A SCAM!! Our 3 campsites flooded with 6 inches of water within an hour of arriving before high tide. Very difficult to get ahold of staff due to limited hours of business. I have requested a refund for failure to render services due to unusable campsites. I have left several voicemails and sent emails with attached pictures. Management has been avoiding my phone calls, will not call back. Very unprofessional. I received one call from"management" at 7:20 pm to tell me that he received a message to call me, but he hasn't looked into why he needs to call me and he will call back the next day. I never heard back from him and that was a week ago. I have followed up daily with phone calls without a return phone call. My family makes several camping trips through the year, will never return here.
TravelerGenerous sized sites but only semi-private. Excellent facilities
ScoutThis campground was very enjoyable. I spent a lot of time at the fishing pier, learning to ID birds I had never identified before. Brown pelicans were everywhere near the sunken ships. I also talked to the Hawkwatch people for a bit.
My campsite was far enough from the bathroom I couldn't hear the door slam, but since I was the only one in the F loop, that wouldn't have mattered. Since the loop was so empty, it was an absolute pleasure.
Had the campground been full, I would have felt too close to the people in tents in the sites next to me.
One great thing was that there weren't tent pads so we didn't have to worry about how to fit two tents on to one tent pad.
GuideEnjoying this campground. Close to all the attractions. Incredible staff, super friendly. Pool and game room are wonderful.
TravelerNote to Self: No Primitive Site reservations...EVER. I love this park. It's situated far enough from the busy traffic noise...beautiful Virginia city of Hayes. When I arrived, it was such a scorching day and there wasn't nearly enough tree cover to shield my tent from the "son of Hades". Suffered heat exhaustion almost to the point of death...Literally. Night was my only respite. If it hadn't been for the wonderful camp attendants who came to my rescue, it would've been an utterly failed experience. Bless their hearts. Other than that, this was a great training experience for an old Novice camper. Now that I'm a bit more practiced, I'm going back 😁, armed with knowledge and more confidence.
TravelerThe good: super clean and new restrooms / showers. The entire parking immaculate. Stayed at site 12. Offers water views and shade. Site 13 is similar and is probably the most ideal site.
Cons: zero privacy. The sites are basically scattered around an open grassy area and fairly close together.
Be aware: sites are not vehicle accessible. Need to carry your kit 50-75 yards.
TravelerThis is a long one! Here we go. My partner and I travel for work, we went out of our way to move to this location based on reviews saying this is a great place. We have paid in full for the whole stay which is about little over 2 months. We have been here approx 2 weeks give or take. We work night shift. No activity during the day. Simple easy. Not our first campground by any means. At first, we were excited to experience the amenities and such. Now we’re uncomfortable to try anything out. Why you ask? Situation: first day we move in, we end up next to what seems like the literal only other long term or possibly even permanent resident on the grounds. My service animal alerted me to a trigger, which she left the front door of the camper before we walked out. Recalled her to me once we saw that the perm resident (our neighbor) had what presented as an aggressive dog. (Husky maybe?). Within not EVEN 5 minutes of this event, someone was at our door- instead of asking what is going on we were immediately accused of her running around off leash I guess? We had just woken up from sleeping and it was evening time, time to go to work. Instead of arguing or even offering up ANY facts related to the situation I simply said got it thanks and the interaction ended. I’m thinking to myself well damn. Okay. A week or so maybe goes by? Leash in hand VISIBLE -at the door my dog steps out, I step out behind her- same time same situation. She walks ahead of me to where she will relieve herself, I ask for her to come back next to me, she recalls- neighbors dog loses its mind again. I look up at neighbor and say “just go ahead and call man, I get it”. She calls. This time THREE employees are driving on carts to our site, at this point we’re already leaving for work. I knew it was coming, figured they would for sure ask what’s going on this time. They don’t. The older woman accompanied by two men behind her- simply says “you have been told before you need to leash your dog”. We reply yes we understand. Nobody asks for a description of the events, what’s going on, or if this even happened. The female voice is raised and hostile presenting towards both of us. The man behind her approaches our car and peers into the vehicle I’m not sure if to intimidate or what, but that action was also very ineffective in diffusing the situation and instead very intimidating. And now making us both VERY late to work as this is an extra 15 minute drive to the hospital in which we work at. Seemingly, the word of this permanent resident is all they needed to full on accuse the two of us… of what? I am not sure. My animal has resided all over the country in countless locations, all while working and we have had no issues to date. At this point I am still remaining silent as the female worker continues to educate us on our alleged actions. My concern is that there has been ZERO questioning, only full on accusations. We’re highly uncomfortable at this point. They say “we will be speaking with the general manager tomorrow”, Which also felt threatening. I’d like to add that given the whole situation this wouldn’t matter but since this is happening: earlier that morning after work I had stopped by the front desk, to ask about a package I thought that I sent to the wrong place, but didn’t. The same female was there. I remember thinking wow she’s actually so rude. But I brushed it off. Now looking back she must have some kind of prejudice toward myself and my dog. I’ve never been threatened / accused so one-sidedly in my entire career such as what has been happening at this campground. Our resolution was to request moving sites, however nothing was asked of us WHATSOEVER. As stated we were not given any opportunity to speak on the situation. Will attempt to update review whenever we speak with management of this location. Warning is to be wary of implicit bias in staff, potential favoritism, and inconsistent / unfair conflict resolution, aggressive long term campers, and lack of communication from staff.
ScoutWe stumbled across Davis Lakes Campground last year when we brought our camper down to visit our son and grandchildren. Originally, we planned to stay closer to Virginia Beach, but after finding Davis Lakes, we decided to give it a try. We were lucky enough to get site F28 right on the lake, and we enjoyed it so much that we came back this year—and even booked the exact same site.
After reading some of the other reviews, I wanted to share our experience because it was very different. Yes, there are some rules regarding dogs at the beach, but they never interfered with our stay. We enjoyed walking our dogs every morning around the campground and lakes, and it was a wonderful way to start each day.
The beach itself was clean, had plenty of nice chairs, and the AquaGlide was an absolute blast. We spent 5–6 hours a day swimming, and surprisingly, the beach never felt crowded.
One thing that really stood out was how fair the prices were. The campground store was stocked with essentials, and unlike many campgrounds, the prices were very reasonable. If you forgot a loaf of bread or wanted to grab a pool float, you didn’t feel like you were being gouged. They also have a cute snack shop, a spacious game room, and an impressive movie selection, making it a great place to spend a rainy afternoon.
The campground itself was clean and very well maintained. Although many of the sites are seasonal, they were neat, well cared for, and nothing like some seasonal campgrounds where sites become cluttered or run down. It was obvious that both the staff and the campers take pride in the campground.
The nightly rates were very reasonable, and while there is a visitor fee, we found it to be completely fair considering the amenities. We had an amazing time with our son and his family, and the campground played a big part in making those memories.
Davis Lakes isn’t a luxury resort, and that’s part of its charm. Its focus is on beautiful lakes, swimming, friendly service, and providing a relaxing camping experience. It reminded me of the kind of campgrounds I grew up enjoying—simple, welcoming, and centered around making great memories.
We’ll absolutely be back. If we lived closer, I’d seriously consider getting a seasonal site myself. In fact, my son is even talking about buying a camper just so he can keep it nearby and enjoy Davis Lakes more often. Many of the employees and seasonal campers are locals who return year after year, and I think that says everything you need to know about this place.
The Carrollton area sits at the convergence of the James River and Pagan River, creating unique camping opportunities within coastal Virginia's humid subtropical climate zone. Average summer temperatures reach the upper 80s with high humidity levels. Glamping options near Carrollton, Virginia often feature water access, with most locations receiving 47 inches of annual rainfall.
**Wildlife observation: Wildlife viewing opportunities exist throughout the region's parks. At First Landing State Park Campground, campers often spot local species. "There are miles of trails around the lake and through the woods you can follow. It is extremely dog friendly with a fenced in dog park as well," notes one visitor to the area.
Boating excursions: Waterfront camping locations typically offer boat rentals for self-guided exploration. "We've never camped here but we lived about 5 minutes down the road from the park and absolutely loved it... There are kayaks and paddle boats you can rent by the hour," explains a Sandy Bottom Nature Park visitor.
Fishing opportunities: Multiple camping locations offer fishing in stocked lakes and river access points. "The fishing in the ponds was good," reports a camper at Davis Lakes Resort. Seasonal fishing permits may be required, with licenses available online or at local outdoor retailers.
Beach proximity: Several campgrounds provide beach access for swimming, relaxation, and shoreline exploration. "The beach is more secluded and you're close to all the activities that Virginia Beach has to offer," explains a visitor to First Landing State Park. "Great campground for couples or family. Beach is awesome, not crowded at all," adds another camper.
Historical attractions: Many campgrounds serve as convenient bases for exploring the region's rich historical sites. "This hidden gem is just a short distance from Williamsburg but yet so remote! The still working farm and homes are a treasure of how life and farms ran back in the day," notes a visitor to Chippokes State Park Campground.
Natural settings: Even campgrounds closer to urban areas maintain natural environments. "Campground is at the back of the park and is covered with mature trees. A beautiful, peaceful setting," explains a visitor to Gosnold's Hope Park. Seasonal foliage changes create different camping experiences throughout the year.
Reservation policies: While some locations accept advance bookings, others operate differently. "Sites: 11 primitive tent sites 2 of which are group sites... The individual campsites are FCFS and you must park and hike in," explains a Sandy Bottom Nature Park visitor regarding their first-come, first-served policy.
Weather considerations: The coastal Virginia climate affects camping comfort throughout the year. "The campsites were ok, easy to get to. I wouldn't recommend tent camping in the middle of summer - my husband and i both got sick," cautions a First Landing State Park visitor. Spring and fall typically offer more moderate temperatures.
Noise factors: Location-specific noise issues may impact sleep quality. "There is no sound barrier between 64 and the park so every noise just filters right through the trees," notes a Sandy Bottom Nature Park camper. Bringing earplugs helps mitigate this issue at affected campgrounds.
Playground access: Families appreciate dedicated play areas at several campgrounds. "The tent sites are clean, closely grouped... Our boys (8, 6, & 4) had so much fun on the big playground and paddle boating," shares a visitor to Military Park Langley AFB Bethel Recreation Area.
Swimming options: Many locations feature swimming opportunities ranging from pools to natural water bodies. "The pool doesn't look like it's been opened in years but there is a little beach area near the welcome center," notes a Chippokes State Park Campground visitor, highlighting the importance of verifying amenity availability.
Educational activities: Several campgrounds incorporate nature centers or interpretive programs. "This is a beautiful 456 acre education and wildlife facility. Born from garbage dumps and it is great example of what can be achieved," explains a Sandy Bottom Nature Park visitor about the educational opportunities available.
Site selection: RV sites vary considerably in layout and positioning. At Kiptopeke State Park Campground, "1st two rows of sites have almost ZERO tree cover. 1st row not very level sites," warns one RVer. "Try and get C loop spots 15 - 21. They're shaded and at the back of the loop."
Seasonal considerations: Weather impacts RV camping differently throughout the year. "Large, private sites among really cool, bent trees. Clean, up-to-date facilities. Large laundry room," notes an RV camper at First Landing State Park, highlighting the importance of tree cover during summer months.
Hookup variations: Available utilities differ between campgrounds and specific sites. "We had a personal guide to show us the location of our campsite. Campsites had wood decks which would be nice in warmer weather," reports a Davis Lakes Resort visitor, noting the personalized service that helped with setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Carrollton, VA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Carrollton, VA is First Landing State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 124 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Carrollton, VA?
TheDyrt.com has all 34 glamping camping locations near Carrollton, VA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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