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Equestrian Camping near Charles City, VA

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    Chippokes State Park Campground and Pocahontas State Park Campground accommodate horseback riders near Charles City, Virginia, though neither offers dedicated horse corrals. Both campgrounds maintain multiple accommodation types including tent sites, RV spots with hookups, and cabin options for equestrians bringing their own containment methods. Chippokes provides access to historical riding paths where visitors can explore the grounds of one of America's oldest continuously operating farms dating to 1619. The campground features water and electric hookups, reservable sites, and sanitary facilities. Riders exploring the park's trails frequently note the unique opportunity to ride through both working farmland and forested areas.

    Located approximately 30 miles from Charles City, Pocahontas State Park offers extensive trail systems accessible to horseback riders. The park encompasses numerous hiking and riding paths through wooded terrain and around Swift Creek Lake. The bathrooms and shower facilities remain consistently clean according to regular visitors. Trailer parking is available at both parks, though riders should confirm space availability when making reservations. The ferry crossing near Chippokes provides an additional transportation option for horse owners traveling between Jamestown and Surry. Both parks require advance reservations for overnight stays, with seasonal availability varying (Chippokes operates from late March through early December).

    Best Equestrian Campgrounds near Charles City (2)

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      1. Pocahontas State Park Campground

      4.5(81)28mi from Charles City131 sitesGlamping

      "Largest State Park in Virginia - nearly 8,000 acres. We stayed two nights and paddled around Swift Creek Lake on Sunday. The staff was amazing."

      "There is a small gift shop at the main entrance. The camp store was closed during our stay. We did not make use of the laundry, bathrooms or showers."

      from $37 - $459 / night

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      2. Chippokes State Park Campground

      4.5(21)23mi from Charles City59 sitesRVs, Tents, Cabins, Glamping

      "We've stayed here pretty often as it's only a few hours from home and near everything in Williamsburg, Virginia. The park is against the James river and theres easy access to the riverside."

      "Chippokes State Park is located on the grounds of an old historic plantation, actually one if the original plantations in the area dating back to the 1600’s."

      from $37 - $345 / night

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    Equestrian Camping Reviews near Charles City, VA

    110 Reviews of 2 Charles City Campgrounds

    • RL
      Jun. 29, 2020

      Pocahontas State Park Campground

      Biggest State Park

      Largest State Park in Virginia - nearly 8,000 acres. We stayed two nights and paddled around Swift Creek Lake on Sunday. The staff was amazing. Camp store has ice, drinks, snacks, souvenirs, and wood is $5 a bucket (honor system). Bathhouses (showers separate of restrooms) were very clean. The first campground you come to definitely has more shade than the second loop so if you're looking to hammock camp, pick the first campground. In both campgrounds, some sites are a bit close together and/or close to the road. Tons of trails, some for mixed use and other for mountain bikers, some for horses, and some for hiking only. Great location! Will definitely be back!

    • JThe Dyrt PRO User
      Jun. 6, 2022

      Pocahontas State Park Campground

      Awesome State Park Campground

      We spent three nights here (May 17-19, 2022). This is an awesome State Park CG with wide, level pull through and back-in sites.

      There is a small gift shop at the main entrance. The camp store was closed during our stay. We did not make use of the laundry, bathrooms or showers.

      Activities include: hiking/walking, mtn biking (three levels of difficulty– wish I brought my mtn bike), boating, fishing, swimming, equestrian, etc. The trails are excellent. The forest and lakes are absolutely amazing. There is so much to see and do.

      This is the kind of park that you hate to leave. We would most definitely stay here again (and again). How fun!

    • Andrea N.
      Jul. 18, 2016

      Pocahontas State Park Campground

      A great park for a weekend get-away

      The trails at this park are very well maintained. They are designated as hiking, biking, and/or horseback riding, so you'll know which trails are best for your activity.

      This park has some of the best bike trails in the state - over 25 miles. Several new mountain-bike-only trails opened just this year. The difficulties are clearly marked as Novice through Expert. They even installed maintenance equipment at the entrance of each new trail so you can make minor adjustments without carrying your own equipment.

      A number of the hiking trails through this park are wide fire roads. Smaller paths wind throughout the park connecting the larger trails together. Be sure to get a park map before you start your adventure. This is the largest state park in Virginia and it's easy to get turned around.

      If you're into Geocaching, or want to learn how, you can pick up a hand-held GPS from the park office along with a list of the geocaches located in the park. The geocaches are rotated on a fairly frequent basis, so there will always be new caches for you to find.

      Pocahontas State Park has a great Nature Center where you can pet or hold some of the smaller snakes, and watch the box turtles wander around. Here you can learn about the local plants and wildlife so you know what to look for out on the trail. There are even craft activities for the little ones. Just check with the park office or the Nature Center for a schedule of events.

      For water lovers there is a large swimming pool that is open during the summer months. If you're camping for the night, your entrance to the pool is included in your stay. Or, if you prefer kayaks and canoes, you can put in at Swift Creek Lake for a flatwater paddle. The park has rental equipment if need to borrow gear.

      The southern end of the park has been designed for the horse lovers. There is ample parking for trailers and miles of wide trails so you don't have to ride single file. The park includes new facilities for your horses including two exercise rings. There are no overnight facilities for horses at this park.

      The camping sites are nothing special. Tent and RV camping are in the same area. They do provide plenty of room for your tent, and include a picnic table and fire ring. Many of the sites are in almost full sun, so you may want to bring a shade of some type with you.

      Beware that there is a huge tick population in this park. Be sure to wear bug spray if you'll be out in the woods at any point.

      All-in-all, this is a fantastic park for families. There is a little bit of everything for everyone in your family.

    • J
      Jul. 3, 2024

      Pocahontas State Park Campground

      Huge park with plenty to do!

      Our site was nice and level. Covered by shade the majority of the day. Playground was decent and pretty centrally located on the campground. Firewood for sale by QR code was convenient. The trails were nice and it was a nice walk to the aquatic recreation park. Access to the aquatic park is free for campers. The bathrooms were clean but the one close to my site the outside was falling apart. Don’t know how the camp store is because it is only open Thursday to Sunday and has almost different hours every day. Overall great campground we will be going back

    • Philip S.
      May. 11, 2018

      Chippokes State Park Campground

      Great park, clean, and close to tons to do!

      We've stayed here pretty often as it's only a few hours from home and near everything in Williamsburg, Virginia. The park is against the James river and theres easy access to the riverside. There's also a large pool during the season with a camp store, snacks. The staff are always great, the sites are level and not too close together, with plenty of shade. The bathrooms and showers are kept clean and the showers are huge! There's plenty to do on the grounds, hiking, biking, touring the plantation, geocaching, and yes, even Pokemon Go! About 5 miles away is the ferry to Williamsburg...its free and usually a highlight of the trip for the kids! You can follow history or ride plenty of roller coasters at Busch Gardens.

    • Myron C.The Dyrt PRO User
      Jul. 6, 2020

      Pocahontas State Park Campground

      State Park with Some Limitations

      This was the first time camping with just my grandson and me, and I looked forward to him playing in the water, playing at the playground, fishing, and kayaking on the water. Unfortunately, the pandemic restrictions caused the playgrounds, the boat rental, and the swimming complex to be closed. With no swim beach and no play area, that stretched my imagination to keep him entertained. I took this into consideration when reviewing this campground, but there were other reasons for disappointment. 

      According to the website, you can purchase a fishing license at the park office. This was not true, so I had to drive seven miles to purchase one. While I was there, I also bought two bags of ice since it was more reasonable than the price at the campground. When I was ready to dispose of the trash, I discovered that the nearest trash disposal was not within a reasonable walking distance, so driving to the trash bin was the best option. The sites were level, and many of them were either paved or gravel. I liked the separation and privacy between most of the campsites. The lower numbered sites had lots of shade. Unfortunately, most of those had been reserved. The site we had was large, but the shade was minimal. I guess the site being so large is a double-edged sword. We had a small teardrop, and the distance from our little kitchenette in the back of the camper to the picnic table on the gravel pad was quite a walk to carry a heavy cooler by yourself.

      I’m glad I wasn’t staying in a tent this time. The gravel pad between the pull-through and the picnic table would not have been pleasant. The two nights that we stayed at this campground, the temperature was in the mid-90s for most of the day, so not being able to swim made us miserably hot. The worst part, however, was going to the bath house and shower. The showers were large, and the bath house was clean, but there was NO ventilation. There were no windows or exhaust fan. Stepping inside was like stepping into a sauna. Immediately after turning off the water in the shower, I started sweating from the heat in the shower. It looked as though there might have been a heater, but without having ventilation during the summer, it was TERRIBLE planning. 

      There is a boat ramp, but when I got there, it said“swimming prohibited.” I was hoping my five-year-old grandson could at least play in the water. I let him anyway(technically, he wasn’t swimming). The boat ramp is small, and motors are not allowed. The only place to fish was really from a boat. There were not many places from the shore to cast. Fortunately, we did take a kayak with us. At the boat launch site, there was a swing set, but it was also closed. To get to the boat ramp and lake, we had to drive 1.8 miles to get there, which isn’t a bad thing, but everything(camp store, trash dump, etc.) seemed out of walking distance. We got a chance to hike a little on one of the trails, which was fairly easy. If the whole family would have come camping with us, I could have tried one of the bike trails. From the campground, I saw one of the bike trails, which looked pleasantly challenging. 

      There are two camp stores, but the one within walking distance of the campground was closed for the summer. The camp store near the entrance was a decent size, but you would have to drive to it from the campground. There are picnic shelters, meeting facilities, a CCC museum(which was closed), a snack bar(which was closed), and laundry facilities. Overall, it wouldn’t be such a bad campground to stay at if everything was open.  Also, despite so many things not being open (swim complex, all of the playgrounds, one of the camp stores, the boat rentals, the CCC museum, etc.), I was charged FULL PRICE!!!  However, even with everything open, there are reasons I would prefer to camp elsewhere next time.

    • Janet R.The Dyrt PRO User
      Jun. 20, 2024

      Chippokes State Park Campground

      Great park for cultural and natural history

      Chippokes State Park is located on the grounds of an old historic plantation, actually one if the original plantations in the area dating back to the 1600’s. The land grant was huge, and as a state park now it provides a rich opportunity to learn about the James River, the natural and indigenous history of the region, the settlement history and role of this plantation in Virginia History, and more. Visiting here provides hiking opportunities to learn about fossils along the river shore, the temperate forest in the woods, and history around the old plantation. Taking the ferry across the river from Jamestown to get here was part of the adventure too. There is a nature center and visitor center that provides lots of info and programs near the river , a network of easy park roads for biking, and the plantation itself, set back further away from the river, provides a wealth of learning, including about the history of crops and trade in this area, and about the lives of the slaves who worked the plantation. The grounds right around the plantation are, in fact, a memorial to the hundreds of souls who lived and worked the land here. It was an amazing learning experience to come to the park, and the options to stay over in the park include standard campsites in a wooded campground, or cabins. The campground has all the usual state park amenities, and was very quiet when we were there in November—so late fall is a great time to come, as the fall weather was amazing

    • Gary G.The Dyrt PRO User
      Jun. 20, 2022

      Pocahontas State Park Campground

      Excellent camping with a variety of activities available!

      The campsites were private, well maintained, and shady.  The facilities were also well maintained.  Flush toilets and free hot showers were abundant.

      With only 120 sites, the traffic and noise was acceptable.  There was cell coverage for our Verizon phones.  There was a nice playground for the grandkids, a small campground store, dry firewood, and friendly campground hosts.

      The day use area is incredible and less than a mile walk through the woods on a hike/bike/crawl/stroller gravel surface.  The day area includes awesome MTB trails, hiking trails, kayaking/fishing spots and a water park.

      No doubt we will return to this Virginia State Park in the future!

    • V
      Jul. 18, 2016

      Pocahontas State Park Campground

      Not a pretty area

      I grew up near this park and only went twice. While the trails are extensive, they are not very interesting. Also, the ticks in this part of virginia were out of control and i found myself spending more of my hike picking them off than looking at the scenery. The scenery however left much to be desired. I would not recommend this park. There are far better ones like Prince William State Park near D.C.

    Guide to Charles City

    Equestrian camping near Charles City, Virginia offers access to historic riding trails and natural landscapes along the James River. The area sits within the Coastal Plain region with elevations rarely exceeding 100 feet above sea level. Winter temperatures typically remain mild enough for year-round trail riding with proper preparation, though summer humidity can reach uncomfortable levels during peak months.

    What to do

    Historical trail riding: At Chippokes State Park Campground, visitors can hunt for shark teeth along the riverbank beach areas. "Hunt for sharks teeth on the beach. Pool is very clean," notes reviewer Danielle H.

    River access: Paddlers can explore beyond the main waterways into less-traveled wetland areas. "Definitely recommend following the river inland and kayaking through the marshland," suggests Christina at Chippokes State Park.

    Mountain biking: The trail system at Pocahontas State Park offers extensive options for cyclists of various skill levels. "Lots of hiking, fantastic mountain bike trails, lots of history. LOVE the staff," writes Ashley I. The park maintains dedicated mountain biking paths separate from equestrian routes.

    What campers like

    Spacious sites: Campers appreciate the well-designed layout at Pocahontas State Park. "Great State Park campground! No sewer hookups (they do have 30/50amp). Sites are well spaced," reports Ashley I., noting the balance between privacy and amenities.

    Natural setting: The forested environment creates a secluded camping experience even during busy periods. "Some of the campsites are surrounded with forest. Very quiet and peaceful," shares Gregg S. about his stay at Pocahontas State Park Campground.

    Clean facilities: Both parks maintain their restroom and shower facilities to high standards. "Well laid out sites, clean restrooms and showers," confirms Glenn T. about his Pocahontas camping experience.

    What you should know

    Seasonal operations: Chippokes State Park Campground operates from late March through early December, closing during winter months. The camping season runs "last Friday in March to first Monday in December" according to official park information.

    Site leveling considerations: Some camping areas require additional preparation. "The campsites on the A loop are a little more on an angle, they converted tent site lots to camper lots so they come with a level tent area as well," explains Johnathan M. at Chippokes State Park.

    Amenity access: While the parks list swimming facilities, availability varies. "The pool doesn't look like it's been opened in years but there is a little beach area near the welcome center," notes Johnathan M. about current conditions at Chippokes.

    Tips for camping with families

    Water activities: Shallow water access points provide safe recreation options. "The water at the beaches is so shallow great for my son! It's a beautiful place!" writes Susan P. about her family experience at Chippokes State Park.

    Transportation adventure: The free Jamestown-Scotland Ferry connects Charles City area to Williamsburg attractions. "About 5 miles away is the ferry to Williamsburg...its free and usually a highlight of the trip for the kids!" explains Philip S. from his Chippokes Plantation stay.

    Evening environment: Light pollution remains minimal, allowing for stargazing opportunities. "Firewood for sale by QR code, almost total darkness at night," reports N P. about the Pocahontas State Park experience, making it ideal for astronomy activities with children.

    Tips from RVers

    Proximity to supplies: Despite the rural setting, urban conveniences remain accessible. "20 mins from every store you can imagine, but super quiet at night," notes Ashley I. about Pocahontas State Park.

    Hookup limitations: While both parks offer electric and water connections, sewer options vary. "No sewer hookups (they do have 30/50amp)," confirms Ashley I. about Pocahontas, important information for RVers planning extended stays.

    Road conditions: Interior campground roads accommodate larger vehicles with paved surfaces suitable for bikes. "Every camper's dream spot. Seriously, this modern giant state park has it all: mostly private sites, a paved road for biking," shares N P. about their Pocahontas State Park experience.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Charles City, VA?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Charles City, VA is Pocahontas State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 81 reviews.

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