Horse camping is the perfect way to enjoy Chester. If you're an equestrian lover who prefers nature-based adventure, yet still wants comfort, this is the perfect opportunity for you. Equestrian camping is the best way to experience nature. The Dyrt can help you find the perfect equestrian sites that are scenic and easy to access.
Just 20 miles from Richmond, Pocahontas offers boating, picnicking, camping, camping cabins, 90-plus miles of trails, and nature and history programs. The Aquatic Center, which has a toddler pool, fountain wet deck, three-foot and five-foot-deep leisure pools, an activity pool and two tubular water slides, affords seasonal water-based activities for all. Three lakes offer plenty of fishing. Boat rentals are available seasonally by the 225-acre Swift Creek Lake. The Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, dedicated to Depression-era workers who helped build the state park system, is one of a handful in the nation. Two dining halls may be rented for meetings, weddings and special events. Rustic group facilities with primitive overnight cabins (bunkhouses) are available seasonally for larger groups. The park's 2,000-seat amphitheater hosts the Pocahontas Premieres series of concerts and family-friendly entertainment. Pocahontas State Park's location and 90 miles of trails make it particularly popular among bicyclists.
$35 - $40 / night
$19 / night
Just across the James River from historic Jamestown in beautiful Surry County, Chippokes Plantation is one of the oldest continually farmed plantations in the country. A working farm since 1619, the park offers modern recreational activities and a glimpse of life in a bygone era. Visitors tour the historic area with its antebellum mansion and outbuildings, stroll through formal gardens, and view antique equipment at the Chippokes Farm and Forestry Museum.
A campground and four overnight cabins allow visitors to stay on the historic grounds. The park has an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a visitor center with a gift shop. It also provides opportunities to bike, hike, ride horseback and picnic. Chippokes Plantation also offers wedding packages and meeting facilities.
Cabins, yurts and camping. For information on the availability of overnight accommodations, particular park amenities or to make a reservation, you can reserve online or call 800-933-PARK. Rental rates for cabins and camping vary by season, dwelling and park. First, determine the appropriate season, which can vary by park, then the relevant rate. You also may want to learn about the cancelation and transfer policies. A fee is charged per pet per night for cabin stays.
Traveler
Truly enjoyed this CG. Staff are very friendly and helpful CG is clean. Bathroom rooms are dated (compared to the ones at Twin Lakes State Park near Farmville, VA). The dump station is two-sided - helps on busy mornings when campers are leaving. Spent time touring the civil war sites around Petersburg. Lots of breweries in Richmond - a much needed place as a cold beer was very needed during the extreme heat occurring during my stay.
Scout
Like most Virginia state parks the River Bend campground is well spaced out and great for RV camping. Verizon service was stable enough to work all week with a Jetpack without the need for a directional cell booster
TravelerOur 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
Legend
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
LegendThis state park is amazing, it is close to the Richmond metro but allows an easy and wonderful retreat to nature. I was there in early June, and it wasnt crowded, though I can imagine it might be later in the summer. There are numerous camping options here, ranging from tent camping to RV’s to camper cabins to yurts, to regular full service glamping cabins, all in different sections. There is also an area set aside that could be rented for a group retreat or group summer camp, with groups of cabins around meeting space and dining hall area. The full service cabins are new and very upscale; the camper cabins are older but well maintained. The yurts are lovely too. I car camped in a standard site, all the campsites are wooded, shady, fairly private and well spaced. The park is huge and has lots of recreation, from miles of hiking and riding trails, biking and more. Very family friendly, with playgrounds, an incredible waterpark and pool, and nature programs at the visitor center. There is also a summer series of concerts etc in the park. Highly recommended!
RangerVery basic campground, nothing particularly exciting to do but has everything you need!
TravelerPersonally, I spent my Birthday week 09-13 October there. I had a wonderful experience for my first time car camping. I would've preferred not having noisy camp neighbors but I guess it was to be expected. So happy that I invested in a tent that survived a rainy night with flying colors. It was a training run to get myself accustomed to the many insects that frayed my nerves. I would return though and the next time should be a lot easier on this old woman and her old husband. 😁
ScoutStayed just one night on our way to Maine. Nice, well-kept park and very friendly staff! Will definitely come back when we can stay longer. Stayed in a pull-through site with lots of space and privacy.
TravelerSuch a clean and well maintained State Park. Sites relatively level, surrounded by beautiful trees and well spaced out. Great hikes and gift shop at office.
ScoutReally quiet and spacious campground with two bath houses. A lot of trails to explore.
Legend
We camped here for a couple of nights in February for my sister’s birthday. Super clean cabin, lots of dishes and pots/pans, and utensils. Our cabin had beautiful water views and access to the trails. Saw an albino squirrel! We loved our trip!
GuideIt was Veteran’s Day a 3 day weekend…and boy was it full, even with the late season tropical storm blowing through later in the day! I guess it was busy because it is free on Veteran’s Day! Water and electric at each rv site, but water and 50 amp only in sites 66-129. (Dual dump station on the way out.) Host sites are #41 & 99 and can answer questions for you. Cabins and yurts also available for rent. Hike or mountain bike down to the lake for some fishing or scenic exercise. Camp store has ice, snacks, ice cream, camping games, and first aid supplies. Friendly store staff too! Separate laundry facility at the camp store.
TravelerThis park has great ranger staff at the gate and roads were well marked. The grounds were very well kept. Our site was fairly level easy to get into and pull through. The facilities for the bathroom were also very clean. I would definitely go back.
GuideWe stayed here for one night on our way to Acadia National park. The park was lovely, sites were pull throughs for our 20 foot pull behind. Although we did not get to explore much we enjoyed our time here. We would definitely come back to explore it further.
GuideI stayed 4 nights in my Coleman 17b a rolling hills campground 20' max. Lake views and surrounded by hardwoods. Very nice gift shop with very nice staff. Cabins are available as is the archery range. Beautiful beach and surroundings make for a quite tranquil week stay.
GuideBig place, easy to find some solitude midweek. Crowded on weekends. Park is nice and clean
LegendThe 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!
LegendWe 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!
RangerJust 20 miles from Richmond Va. Pocahontas offers boating, picnicking, camping, camping cabins, yurts, plus 90 miles of trails, along with nature and history programs. The Aquatic Center, which offers a toddler pool, fountain wet deck, three foot and five foot deep leisure pools, along with activity pool and two tubular water slides. affords seasonal water based activities for all. Three lakes offer plenty of fishing. Boat rentals available seasonally by the 225 acre swift creek Lake. The Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, dedicated to Depression era workers who helped build the state park system, is one of a handful in the nation. Two Dinning halls may be rented for meetings, weddings and special events. Rustic group facilities with primitive overnight cabins (bunkhouses) are available seasonally for larger groups. The park also offers buddy camp sites for 2 sometimes 3 campers in a party.
The park's 2,000 seat amphitheater hosts the Pocahontas Premiers series of concerts and family-friendly entertainment.
Pocahontas State Park's Location and 90 miles of trails make it particularly popular among bicyclists.
The canoe trips around the swift creek lake will leave lasting memories of the fun times in nature as you will see and abundance of it.
Pocahontas has 129 camping sites some of which are site specific while others are reservable, on a first come basis. Most all the sites are somewhat level and lengthy, but if you have a lengthy setup, it's recommended to reserve a lengthy site. The reserve America website will post site overall lengths and be helpful in reserving the proper sites.
This is a rather big and very enjoyable state park with much to do, while being fairly close in to town for lots of other exploring. Should You decide to give it a closer look. I hope You will find it greatly enjoyable as I do.
Due to covid please check ahead to be sure activities you may be interested in are not canceled.
The park does have some slight rolling hills in sections while there are fairly flat hikes as well. Best Wishes and Enjoy!
Legend
Great little site right on the river! Short walk to other great river put-in sites for kayaking and swimming. The campground has loaner kayaks 🛶
Cute little bathhouse with flushing toilets. Slightly tricky getting to the site in the dark - just follow the host’s directions really well. We had a great time and bought some homemade wine from the farm store. They also left us drinking water on the picnic table at the site. Beautiful wildflowers all around the property! Want to return in the spring.
GuideThis state park has it all! Nice roomy campsites. Clean bathrooms and showers. Laundry in the park. Many trails to hike or bike. Beautiful area. It is near Richmond, VA where we were visiting family so it worked well. There are also cabins available in the park.
LegendWe rented the buddy site this summer, which was actually three very close together sites that have been grouped together to become a buddy site. Typically group sites have large spaces and lots of room to gather around a fire but with it being three sites, the picnic tables, firepits, and tent pads were all spread out. It wasn’t really what I expected for a group site but we made it work.
Bring fans for summertime camping! Not all sites have good shade.
TravelerWe hit a nice 4.5 miler loop "forest exploration trail" lovely scenes
GuideThis park sets the bar on how a park should be. Attention to detail, well kempt level sites, laundry service, well maintained facilities, friendly helpful staff, plenty of activities and local history.
I am glad I did not pick the early drive though sites as they exchanged convenience for sub par sites. The back in loops further in are well worth it.
ScoutWent for 1 overnight. It was great. The campground was quiet, we were able to fish, and even got out on the kayaks. The host was super friendly and was always there if we needed anything. Definitely coming back, and with more people
GuideEven though it was a very crowded weekend, this site felt pretty private since it is set back off the road a bit. It also had a good amount of forest next to it. Lots of room to park and accommodate a large group. Glad we brought canopies for some shade since the entire site isn't shaded.
About .25 miles to the bathroom/shower house which was very clean.
GuideSite was shaded, private, and right next to the river, so we had our own private access for swimming and bathing. Plenty of room for several tents and lots of parking space. Plenty of land to walk around and check out the farm.
Bathrooms were very clean and just a short walk from the site. Hosts are friendly and generous, especially with the use of the kayaks. We took kayaks out on the pond and the river and caught lots of fish!
They're building a farm store and allowed us to shop during our stay.
Horse camping in Virginia offers a unique blend of outdoor adventure and equestrian enjoyment, with several well-reviewed campgrounds catering to horse enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Chester, VA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Chester, VA is Pocahontas State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 78 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Chester, VA?
TheDyrt.com has all 4 equestrian camping locations near Chester, VA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
