For 6 nights in late August 2018, my boyfriend and I stayed at a tent campsite with our 4 girls, ages 10-16. We needed a budget friendly option and shopped online to compare reviews. We had 3 day passes to Busch Gardens, Williamsburg and Water Country USA, so we needed to be within a short drive from the parks. Chickahominy Riverfront Park was the answer to our prayers! We had a beautiful spot along the river, so two of the girls spent every moment at the camp swimming and talking girl talk. The campsites were spacious and we had no immediate neighbors, so we spread out. The park rangers drove by every few hours and seemed very friendly and helpful, not invasive. They never complained about my boyfriend's car parked a campsite over, or about our game tent that was completely in the next site.
One secret goal was to experiment with different campfire food. We may campfire chili, biscuits and gravy, layered nachos, bacon egg and cheese English muffins, and omelettes. We also had the traditional s'mores and hotdogs, (covered in campfire chili!)
I was prepared for the passing thunderstorms. We picked up tarps and ropes and strung them up over our cooking area and the entrance to our tents. Most of the time, we were not at the campsite during the rain, but it did help while the trees drained afterwards. We were camping next to the "Jones's," so we got touches of tent envy, but then laughed to ourselves when it took them all morning to pack up thier Castle and small village.
The swimming pool was incredibly large and CLEAN!!! I was surprised! It felt very refreshing and even had a adult swim time and attentive life guards.
The bathrooms and showers were good enough, typical camp showers. Bring your own soap and wear flip flops and you'll be fine. There's a utility sink outside the bathhouse to scrub things off as well. We didn't see the dumpster the first couple days, it is across the street from the bathhouse. Use it whenever you leave or sleep, or all the beautiful wild animals will snack on it! We saw a fat raccoon, daring squirrels, a turtle, and vultures. There are gorgeous, HARMLESS, garden spiders that are shockingly large and bright yellow. My boyfriend also saw a harmless black snake on a trail.
This campground caters to fishermen. The camp store has very limited food. They do have fishing gear and ice.
I do have one regret. I opted to leave the bikes at home, not knowing this campground also caters to people riding the Virginia Creeper bike trail!!! it went for miles and was beautiful!!! Next time!
We camp a lot, and loved this gem. Check it out!
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