Best Campgrounds near Portsmouth, VA

Excellent. Large, private sites among really cool, bent trees. Clean, up-to-date facilities. Large laundry room. Close to the bay and a few minutes drive to ocean beaches and the boardwalk. Near plenty of restaurants and activities. Hiking and biking in the park.

Plenty of room..showers/bathrooms huge..water NOT at all sites but easy to fill tanks. Some sites close to main road but not a lot of traffic.

I was visiting the Yorktown battlefield the next morning so I chose to camp here for the first time.  The facilities are nice and modern, and the environment is quiet.  Just what I was looking for.

I arrived at the location and, within 10 minutes, police officers showed up to monitor me, despite my behavior being no different from that of others around me. The next morning, I returned and, once again, within 10 minutes, the police were called to watch me. I plan to document these incidents and file a formal complaint, but I want to warn other Black individuals to exercise caution when visiting this place. I'm unsure whether the issue lies with the organization itself or if it's the Bethel campers falsely reporting my actions, but it’s striking that simply walking to decompress has led to repeated police presence. I plan to document each experience, timing my arrival and the police arrival and then look into why I believe I'm being racially profiled. While this isn't blatant racism, it sure aligns with interpersonal racism is much harder to detect if there isn't a pattern and you know how it operates.

Good campground as usual. bathrooms well maintained and cleaned twice a day when we were there. Campsite is right next to the bathroom and has a good amount of shade. Bathrooms had two sinks to clean dishes. Boardwalk nearby to the beach was very convenient, however quite a few boards look like they need replacement. One highlight was watching the school of dolphins from our kayaks, not far from the beach. Never saw that before.

There were a lot of events and options for the family. Cape Charles is also a nice place nearby.

Most of the sites have shade a few do not have any shade. If you do not like traffic noise, stay far away from the main road that the park is located off.

You can not see the water from any campsite and all sites are a little walk to get to the beach of the bay.

Light waves on the bay. It has beautiful sunsets with dolphins playing there in the evening.

We stayed in site 5 which is literally in the bathroom front yard with NO SHADE.

We stayed here for two nights during our trip along the Outer Banks. We had a great time and enjoyed our stop here. Our site had a great view of the water and we could see the Currituck lighthouse at night. Our boys enjoyed kayaking around the sound and riding their bikes to the playground. It seemed like they are working to add more amenities and upgrades so I’d stay again next time we make it that way. Also, Diggers Dungeon is only a few miles away so if you have kids make sure to stop and let them see the monster trucks.

We had a very hot stay. We stayed at campsite 13 which had wonderful shade in the late afternoon. Be prepared with a wagon to transport items from your car to your campsite if choosing the no water/electric sites. Short walk from parking to sites. 

The interpretive area was really fun to explore in the evening during golden hour and beyond. Great view of the sunset over the river.

Annuals run the place and take up the most desirable sites. Other sites are unlevel and muddy. Coreen, Donna and other management and rangers are grumpy and less than helpful. Many rules obviously being broken are ignored, including large dogs not on leads, children running around unsupervised, fences being put up around rugs next to trailers, large refrigerators up around trailers, campers being parked and left for days at a time in order to save the spot for themself for the weekend, excessive alchole use while driving golf carts, so many golf carts. Requiring golf carts being electric by Management but they still use gas powered everything including lawn mowers. Water, electricity, and the pool do not work consistently. They have an excuse for everything there. Bad pot holes in roads. RV’s being washed by a business advertised there and spray getting on others property and cars. Noisy. Putt putt and other amenities in disrepair.

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

This is an amazing recreational campground for military families and retirees that is located right on the York River between Williamsburg and Yorktown. It is immediately adjacent to the Colonial Parkway for easy access to historic Jamestown as well, making for a great base for exploring the historic sites and state and national parks of the area. There are several Navy Bases in the area, so this is an easy retreat for active duty folks, but also open to uniformed service personnel or retirees and families from all over the country.

The campground is multi-faceted. There is everything for everyone—camper cabins (some dog friendly and some handicapped accessible) as well as an RV park with hookups as needed, and also standard tent sites as well as primitive tent cents. The various camping areas surround a central recreational area that includes golf course, playground and swimming pool, but there are also wooded hiking trails, two lakes with rowboats and kayaks and fishing, as well as shoreline and piers on the York River itself. The RV campground has a nice central bath house with showers snd toilets as well as laundry facilities. There is a small convenience store as well as a cafe if needed, but you are so close to Williamsburg and its myriad cafes and shops that you have amazing options! We have stayed here several times now, in fall and spring, and it was a great home base for exploring the whole “historic triangle

Everything was wonderful! The host was a call away. But we never needed him.

Good: Beautiful campground. Very clean facilities and close by. Easy access to water. Close proximity to beach and hiking. 120 - was able to get two RTT on one site.

Bad: close proximity to other sites. Busy campground in general. Kids running around. Lots of standing water, once bugs start coming out would be a ton of mosquito.

Great campground with nicely shaded sites. If you want quiet and peaceful stick to the spots on the beach side.

Love coming to this spot for camping so close to the beach! Campground fills up fast and sites are kinda close together though. 1-2 bars Verizon.

I had the privilege of getting to stay on this property for a week while camping and exploring the outdoors in the obx. It was not only beautiful, but felt very safe as well! Greg and his wife Mary were extremely kind! They made an effort to help familiarize myself with the area while checking in and giving tips! I was also lucky enough to see the wild horses at camp & at the beach 3 out of 4 days i was there. This was truly one of the best camping experiences i’ve ever had. If you are ever in the area and craving a unique experience, I recommend reaching out to Greg and considering staying here.

We stayed down by the boat ramp. There are basically two parking or camping spot closest to the ramp partitioned by some rail timbers. A large was camped out in the First section closest to the boat ramp area. There weren't very hospitable to say the least. One releaved him self at his truck on the side We were on and moved on the side with the larger group of cars ,truck and campers. To add insult to injury this group ran their generators up until 4:30 am. Very uncool and inconsiderate. Be aware that you will be able to hear the shooting range up till the evening. In my opinion these areas are not necessarily the best place for quiet secluded camping. There are other areas though. The scenery is spectacular alongside the Chickahominy River and a great place to for hiking.