Best Glamping near Smithfield, VA

What could be better than camping and kayaking on a beautiful river? Maybe try fishing off the new pier or taking a bike ride on a nice long trail after visiting Jamestown or Colonial Williamsburg or Busch Gardens which are all within a very short driving distance! Or even a Ferry Ride across the river to a lovely waterside restaurant where you can experience delicious food and the most amazing sunsets! And no worries if you don’t have a tent or camper, because they have cozy yet roomy glamping tents available!We love camping at CRP! Everyone is always friendly and helpful! Facilities are always clean and well maintained. We have stayed in the spring as well as late summer without any problems. There is a camp store, two bath houses, and a convenient dump station. Playground and fenced pool. A boat ramp for motorized boats as well as a launch site for kayaks. Bring your own or rentals available. Looking forward to our next visit this Spring!

This was our first time staying in a yurt at Kiptopeake State Park. 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. The ones at here are $75/night. This one was awesome! It is hidden down a long walkway from the parking area and is very secluded. The one we stayed in, Yurt 4, only has neighbors on one side. It comes with two picnic tables, a water spigot, fire pit, grill, a big deck around the yurt with rocking chairs, and a refreshing breeze coming off the bay. Unfortunately, the way the yurt is situated, none of that breeze gets inside the yurt and it was very hot inside. Especially if staying here in the summer, I would suggest bringing some fans or a portable a/c for a more comfortable nights sleep. The bathrooms are farther away than I would like with little kids. You have to walk through to the tent campground loop to get to them. Even with a couple negative things about it, I think this is the way to stay here at Kiptopeake and I am already planning our next yurt trip here for next year!

Love this park so much! The beach is amazing. This time we discovered the dog-friendly beach, which was less crowded than the main one. I always like to go out and watch the sunset over the bay, it is magical!

Honestly, I forgot to put the pics on my other review. Here’s picture of the yurt. Only complaint was the the yurt windows were not facing the bay breeze, so we had to make a wind tunnel

We really enjoyed camping in a yurt. Great dog beach as well!

Stayed in the yurt and also stayed in a cabin. Great location. You feel the wilderness bit are only one mile from grocery stores and restaurants.

One of my favorites. Nice and close to beach, restaurants (hot tuna) (shore break). 7 eleven close by for ice and late night ice cream. Negatives, they need electric and ac in the yurts. Overall good.

Beautiful wild beach covered with crabs, access to kayaks and paddle boards and fishing within walking distance. rangers are very considerate and keep it family friendly. they have yurts for rent as well as tent sites, bathrooms are posh with hot water. convenient water spigots throughout park.

First Landing was great. There are several campsites that range from basic to rv. They even have yurts and cabins to stay in. Easy access to bathrooms, fresh water, and the boardwalk down to the Chesapeake bay. There are so many options for water activities, but since I went during October and it rained, I stuck to hiking the trails and walking the beach. The staff was very accommodating and knowledgeable. The campsite was great too even if a bit close to the main road.

Kiptopeke is absolutely beautiful. Situated along the Chesapeake Bay on the Eastern Shore, campers can participate in tons of water fun. There is a boat launch (with tons of parking), a swimming beach, a huge (24-hour) lighted fishing pier, kayak, paddle board and bicycle rentals, a camp store stocked with a little bit of everything, designated campsites for RVs and tents, clean bathhouses with laundry facilities, and miles of beautifully-maintained (easy-to-walk) hiking trails. In addition to campsites, they have one yurt (with electric), four brand new cabins, and several six-bedroom lodges. The concrete ships are an interesting piece of history, and if you look closely along the road leading to the boat launch, you might even see the old motel marquis that used to welcome weary ferry travelers to one of the only motels along their journey.

This family friendly state park and campsite is nestled between the southern shore of the Chesapeake Bay and Shore Drive. Campsites accommodate a range of options from yurts, tents, and RVs. You’ll find locals coming here during the day to access the long sandy Bay side beach, which has gentle waves (perfect for little kids), paddle boarding, etc.

Campers park for free. Sites come in a wide range of shapes, shade, etc. If you are coming to tent camp, you want to choose sites as close to the Bay as possible. Shore Drive runs literally along the south side of this campsite. The road is very active all day and night as a military base is next door to the park.

There are no waterfront sites, but you won’t walk far from your site to the beach or bath houses. We had a two minute walk to the beach from site #14 and a 90-second walk to the bath house- just to give you perspective.

The campsite map on their site isn’t drawn to scale, so keep that in mind. There are tons of hiking/biking trails within the park, plenty of beach access, and a quick 15 minute drive to the Virginia Beach beaches. The Park Store wasn’t open during our stay but ice and firewood can be purchased in the store or office under normal circumstances.

Overall this is a fantastic park to camp in with lots of local options for stores, food, attractions, etc. This is not a quiet or isolated campground, so if you’re looking for that bring your earplugs :)

First landing State Park is a 2,888 acre park located on 1.8 miles of the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay. We camped here in early May in our 34 ft Class A Rv. If you are familiar with us, you will know we love campgrounds where we park our RV and we can spend the next 10-14 days hiking 🥾, biking 🚴‍♀️ and paddling 🛶.

🛶You can easily launch your kayak from the campground area but realize you will be trudging through sand for about 200 yards. When the bay was rough, it was a challenging paddle... and worth the views.

🎣I paid for an out of state fishing license for 5 days and it was pretty expensive. I already keep GA and FL yearly fishing licenses...so I may have to rethink my fishing addiction as we travel more outside those states. There is a boat 🚤ramp near the Narrows beach which is either free or costs $4 for people staying at the Park. (We didn’t use it and the wording was contradictory in my research) so check with park on that item if you tow a motorized boat.

🥾20 miles of Trails!! Lots of trails to hike and mountain/hybrid bike. We were surprised at the quality and the number of trails available. We were never bored. Here is a link to the hikes

https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/document/data/trail-guide-firstlanding.pdf

🚴It was also fun to road bike the 10 miles from the state park to the Virginia Beach Boardwalk but we advise you take cautions on the first 2 miles outside the park. We were NOT there “in season” but during certain times of year there is a trolley 🚃 that goes to the boardwalk, gift shop and lots of park activities during the season.

🚍⛺️This campground delivered! The 184 Campsites with variations of 20/30/50amp electric and water (some sites may be seasonal March-December) sites are mostly hard sand/grass based and not all are level. Due to foilage/branches —>many of the larger sites near the waterfront are narrowed (Our camping neighbor had branch clippers he let us borrow) Also, note is that there is a $5 per pet per night additional fee at the campsite

🏡they have lots of cabins. pets are allowed for a $10 fee per pet & per night in the 20 cabins but not in the 4 available yurts. (I know that seems high but many parks in other states do not allow pets at all in their cabins) Here is a link to a pdf about the park

https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/document/data/facility-guide-firstlandingnorth.pdf

We are excited to come to this park this upcoming April.

Happy Camping! Pamela and Keith

We traveled all the way from NY to camp here. What’s better than camping in a vacation destination on the ocean ? It was nice being able to walk down to the beach whenever we wanted. We could drive to town and visit the attractions.

Highlights: Right on the Ocean

Near by attractions: Virginia Beach Board walk Virginia Beach aquarium First landing military base and light house

My family and I really enjoy camping at First Landing. Its close to Virginia Beach. Nice and quiet beach right there at the park and good hiking trails.

Great place. Very close to Virginia Beach city limits, but you would never know it. Grounds are all throughout dunes with decent distance from other campers. The beach is a 3 minute walk from most sites.

This is a beautiful park that is very close to the water. As with other Virginia State Parks, the campground is very clean and the facilities are well-maintained. There are lots of trails to walk and bike on and are great for dogs.

We arrived here on a wim. We had heard great things about this campground. It's being kind of secluded but still on Virginia Beach. We heard this part of Virginia Beach was beautiful and not over crowded. So we gave it a shot.

It's a beautiful camp ground with tent and RV sites. Some of the sites sit perfectly nestled in trees protected by the elements while others are directly along swampy bug infested areas. We arrived later and our choice on sites just wasn't looking to good. We found what we thought would be a great site and all and all it was but when the sun went down the bugs came out. Excellent facilities here. Very very clean bathrooms and sites. There hiking, biking, swimming and fishing here. Long story short get here early and get yourself a good spot preferably not by the swamp.

Cheers!

By far my favorite place I've ever camped! Just steps off the beach from our campsite. The campground itself was pretty quiet considering how many other people were there. Plus there is a ton to do right by the campground in Virginia Beach, if you get bored.

Always love camping here. Try to get as close to the beach as possible, even tent camping. Bath houses are nice, they now have a shuttle that will take you to the strip in Virginia Beach, very inexpensively, great interpretive programs, and of course, the beach!

FLSP is a real Gem in the midst of a very busy Virginia Beach. The campsites range from tenting with no hookups to 20, 30, and 50 foot sites with water and electric. There are also about 20 cabins on the Trail side. The only sewer hookups are for the three Camp Host sites located throughout the Park. There are nice clean showers located around the campground. There are beaches with boardwalk access over preserved dunes. There are no lifeguards. Across the road from the campground are fabulous hiking trails, a bike trail, and another beach area on a tidal lake. The variety of activities within the Park, including Ranger led activities, along with easy access to the Virginia Beach boardwalk via the local bus system, biking, or personal vehicle, make this State Park the only place we stay in VaBeach. We love this Park so much we have volunteered as Camp Hosts for eleven years❤️

We were visiting the shanendoah mountains and decided to check out Virginia Beach for a day. Originally set up on beach but were kicked off and had to find a spot in a pinch. The campsite was large enough but other guests were not considerate of space.

Went for Labor Day weekend. Great campsite with good shade. Beach was nice and bay water was good temperature. Plus while Virginia Beach had red flag conditions, we could still swim. Had my crocs stolen at the beach though. Bathrooms next to us were completely renovated and are very nice.