If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Virginia Beach, look no further. Find the best information on tent camping near Virginia Beach, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of Virginia Beach, Virginia's most popular destinations.
Primitive camping year-round. No cabins. The park does not offer same-day reservations. For information on the availability of overnight accommodations and particular amenities or to make a reservation, call (800) 933-PARK.
All campers must receive their confirmation letter and information packet before camping at this park. Carefully and thoroughly read the information you receive. False Cape is unusual and can be unpleasant for those who are unprepared. The packet is generally sent via email, but if you need it sent by postal mail, be sure to allow enough time to receive it. No exceptions. All overnight guests must bring two copies of their confirmation letter. One must be placed on the dashboard of their vehicle; the other clipped to the site marker.
Because False Cape is very primitive and has unusually restrictive access, reservations are not available online. For safety's sake, please take the time to carefully read and follow the information below.
Parking is never available at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge for overnight guests. Campers must instead park at the Little Island City Park, leave a copy of their confirmation letter on the dashboard, and walk from five to nine miles through Back Bay Refuge to the park’s campsites. Pets are not allowed access to the park through the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. See below for more information. Beach camping is subject to tides. During significant high tide events, the park may close the campsites. All park guests are subject to Back Bay Refuge and Little Island City Park's rules and regulations. Campers must be out of the refuge before sunset when arriving and departing False Cape State Park. Be prepared for biting insects during summer. They are very common. Little Island City Park in Virginia Beach - the place from which most visitors depart to False Cape - is closed on New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, at noon the day prior to Thanksgiving Day, on Thanksgiving Day, at noon on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. On days when the lot is closed, False Cape staff will meet incoming and outgoing campers at 1 p.m. sharp to let current campers depart and incoming campers enter with enough time to hike, bike and set up camp before nightfall (about 5 p.m.)
$20 / night
$30 - $100 / night
$11 - $42 / night
Private secluded site only 1 mile from 2 separate remote beaches. This privative site is nestled in a grove of wisteria covered trees. Plenty of room for larger groups with access to close to 20 acres to walk.
$35 - $50 / night
Guide
We went here on our honeymoon and had the best time! The tent sites are mostly succluded with woods around you. The campground is right down the shore from Virginia beach. And you have beach access right in the campground so you don't have to worry about fighting the crowds at the beach, because it's mostly people swimming there from the campground. The facilities are very clean. The park rangers close the bathrooms and showers once a day to clean them! Cleanest camp ground I've been to so far. The staff and Rangers are very friendly. They also have a general store on site incase you need ice or any other necessities. Across the street is a learning center and a bunch of hiking trails. We hiked some and the trails were great. Some of the trails leaded you over marsh and through woods great activity while you are camping there! I love this place and can't wait to go back!
GuideSpent a hot & humid week here tent camping. Tent sites are packed in close among live oaks- lending towards a mystical experience, weather depending. RV/camper sites a tight as well. Beach is within walking distance and located near the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Definitely recommend taking a short drive over to The Narrows, also part of First Landing State Park, for a change of scenery.
Traveler
We tent camped here over Labor Day weekend as our first family camping trip, and we all had such a good time! Our boys (8, 6, & 4) had so much fun on the big playground and paddle boating. Ask for Bill! He’s awesome and treats everyone like they’re special :)
The tent sites are clean, closely grouped, and the lights from the bathroom shine on them all night (so bring a sleep mask). But for $10/night with full bathrooms, sink to wash dishes in, and laundry? Worth the lights! Will definitely stay here again.
GuideAlways 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!
Guide
HTP is the closest commrcial campground to the Virginia Beach oceanfront & boardwalk as you can get. This place is huge, has Super Sites, FHU sites, tent sites. They also host an array of musical events through out the summer, 4 swimming pools, game room etc…
Guide
Lovely small campground located inside a National Park land. Full hookup sites are named after the original 13 colonies. Nicely situated between Williamsburg, Hampton, Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Tent sites, group accommodations, store, firewood, pavilion for rent and typical rv resort activities including corn hole, pickle ball......
Guide
North Landing has had quite the facelift since our first visit in 2015. Tons of cottages have replaced the coveted waterfront tent sites. Several configurations are offered including studio, one and two-bedroom. RV sites range include water, electric, pull-through and full amenities. There is a large outdoor entertaining pavilion as well as a smaller, indoor event space with full kitchen. There Is a very nice workout room and a bIllIards room adjacent. A decent-sized pool with outdoor shower, a newly-constructed hot tub, miniature golf, basketball, horseshoes, pickle ball, and playground round off the outdoor fun. Unfortunately, as of this writing, they have decided to eliminate tent camping, which will deter quite a few campers.
TravelerThis is an excellent campground with large tent sites that you feel almost as if your the only one camping even when the campground is full. There are multiple points of entry to a beautiful well cared for beach. The park offers a trolley ride for 4.50 a day to the main beach front in Virginia Beach. Camp store is well stocked and is run by an outstanding staff. FT Story is very close so you will hear the Star Spangled Banner at 8am every morning and occasionally you will here helicopters doing night exercises.
Legend
We love this campground and have been all months of the summer, but this was the first time camping here after Labor Day and I think it might be my most favorite time of all!
Kiptopeake is a very popular park for good reason and therefore the campground and beaches are usually pretty crowded. We came here the last weekend of September and it was awesome! There was a much chiller vibe, the beaches were not crowded at all! We watched a beautiful sunset on the beach with maybe 6 other people there.
We chose to reserve a non-specific tent site and when we got there late on a Friday night had most of the site in loop D to pick from, so we got a great one! Site D-13 was close to the bathrooms and amenities. Nighttime was nice and quiet!
The slightly cooler and less humid weather made tent camping much better than mid-summer sweatfest, but the water is still warm enough to swim. Highly recommend coming here in the Fall!
ScoutI have stayed at this campground countless times for years! They have bathrooms/shower houses that look like they belong in 5 star hotels! A huge game room, 4 or 5 swimming pools, with one pool having a stage for live bands while people are swimming at night. They have a trolley that takes you to the Virginia Beach oceanfront and back so that once you're set up for camping, you don't have to drive at all. And if you choose to drive, you get to park in a designated parking lot near the beach for no extra charge. They have 2 awesome camp stores, cabins and amazing tent sites! They continuously have events going on at the campground for all ages. The USO Patriotic Festival the first weekend of June every year is the ultimate time! Best camp ground in the southeast!
GuideUpdated after a second trip (August 2020) This campground is generally really lovely, lots of trees, good Chesapeake beach access, but not very well designed for tent camping. Some of the sites are as I observed on our first trip, but all are not created equal. A lot of them are small and close to the camp road and run right into each other (no privacy) and lack sufficient flat space to pitch two tents. So many of the camper/RV sites have lots of flat private space behind where the RV would be parked, which would be great for pitching tents. The map is not to scale; sites 130, 132, and 133 back on to site 84, for example. Site 83 backs on to site 93, which in turn is open to 94. These three would be nice for a large group camping together. The sites on the east side of the campground back right on to the boundary fence of the neighboring military base (barbed wire fence). Restroom capacity (in COVID times) is supposedly limited to the safe number of 10, but 10 would be way too many. Four stalls and three sinks do not work out to 360+ square feet of space.
Initial review (August 2019) The tent sites at this campground were gorgeous. Deep and private-feeling and well shaded. But so close to the road. I saw the map that clearly indicates Shore Drive running alongside the campground and I thought, “It can’t be that close!” But it is. Four lanes of 55mph traffic running within 25 yards of all the tent sites on the south side of the campground.
We had such a fun time, despite the noise and lack of sleep, that we will almost certainly go back, but will definitely book one of the interior loop sites or maybe even one of the 20’ camper sites instead. Additional points: multiple daily nature programs for all ages in summer, really helpful staff, but the “camp store” doesn’t sell many camp supplies or groceries except ice and firewood.
TravelerThis is a convenient place to stay close to the oceanfront if you’re going to be spending time along the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. They have lots of amenities as well as putt-put and several pools.
There are various sections and some of the higher priced sites are very well kept but the newer pull through sites in the rear of the park flooded really badly when we were there and we had constant construction from backhoes and building crews, which took away front the relaxation somewhat. The tent sites are fairly nice unless it rains, which means floating on your air mattress. We had a fairly good experience with our travel trailer but it would have been miserable with a tent setup.
We’ve stayed a couple times prior to getting our camper and have had a good experience overall. The comfort stations are fairly clean but some are nice than others and you don’t know until after arrival if the closest ones are the better ones. There’s quite a division between the fancy side with full hookups and the sites with partial hookups.
RangerOur family stayed at site 99 which is close to the bathhouse and camp host. It is also on one of the small roads that leads to a boardwalk to the beach. Thete are 4 boardwalks to the beach over the dunes so keep that in mind when booking your site. This is a pretty big campground and thereare many trees which are dense and it keeps a lot of the campsites private even though they may be close to each other. Some areas are more open with less privacy. The bathhouses are clean but not climate controlled in the summer so be ready for heat and humidity after showering. The staff, camp hosts, and rangers were allvery helpful. The campground is situated on the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia Beach. We loved the beach here because we have six small grandkids and they could play in thewater without the worry of large waves and heavy tides. The park also has many awesome trails that you can walk or bike. Also, dogs are totally allowed on the beach as long as they are on a leash during any time of the day or night. There are no lifeguards on duty. There are many tent sites and e/w hook up sites. It definitely seemed to be tent heavy while we were there this time. We loved our stay here and have already booked a time to go back in April.
ScoutThis 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 :)
Ranger
would love to stay here but I tent camp and there is no place for tents!! very sad
Guide
Our actual tent site was nice, but crowded with rowdy RV folks.
Traveler
I went tent camping and fishing in the sound they have much to offer. Enjoyed a nice night with a buddy. Polite people and not loud.
Scout
Its nothing fancy. Good place for a natture hike, campfire amd one night tent camping. Plan on bringing your own water as there isn’t always running water (not sure why).
RangerGreat little trails to the beach. The RV areas had zero privacy. The tent camping area had a lot more privacy but the bathrooms in that area were not as clean.
ScoutThe area is beautiful & the bathroom is good. But if you're tent camping, be aware that it is extremely windy here and there is nothing to block the wind so your tent will howl and keep you awake all night.
GuideClean facilities, close to beach and fishing pier. Only gripe is tent sites and interwoven with RV sites with little privacy.
Guide
Went to VA Beach on a whim with no lodging reserved, and saw the sign for this campground on our way out to Sandbridge Beach. We were able to get a campsite here, at a good price, very last minute on a Friday night in June. Check in was quick, friendly, and we were escorted to our site (how nice!). The tent sites are along a waterway to a boat ramp so in the morning boats will go by, otherwise very peaceful and quiet all night. There's a cool little pavilion close to the tent sites with picnic tables. All in all a very good experience!
TravelerThe campsites were ok. easy to get to. I wouldn’t recommend tent camping in the middle of summer - my husband and i both got sick. The beach was nice and quiet, and the water wasn’t too cold. overall, decent for the price.
GuideCherrystone is located right on the Chesapeake Bay, which provides campers with lots of water activities (swimming, clamming, crabbing, kayaking, fishing, boating, etc). During the summer, this place is packed. They offer tent sites, partial amenity sites, pull-through, and full hookup in addition to rustic cabins and fully-equipped cottages. There are five pools (including one for adults-only), miniature golf, hayrides, playgrounds, golf cart rentals, a snack bar, a game room and an entertainment pavilion. Cons: bathrooms get a LOT of use, are pretty far from tent sites, and seem to be difficult to keep clean. Flooding is also an issue during/after a healthy rain. These cons can be forgiven after viewing one fabulous sunset, however.
Scout
Great campground. Very quiet and each tent site is very far from one another. You could have music or a generator going and not disturb your neighbor
GuideElectric sites are very open and close together - thus my rating. Restrooms are fine, old but serviceable. Clean campground.
Tent sites are shaded and very inviting!
Enjoyed that they have ranger programs.
Legend
Sites: 11 primitive tent sites 2 of which are group sites
4 tent cabins that sit right on the edge of the lake
The individual campsites are FCFS and you must park and hike in. It is a short hike along the lake and placed a short distance from the trail so hikers will not be hiking through the sites. You have a sand bottom tent site, picnic table, fire ring/grill and trash. This is a beautiful 456 acre education and wildlife facility. Born from garbage dumps and it is great example of what can be achieved. This really is a great site. There is an amazing nature center that overlooks Sandy Bottom Lake. Hiking, and biking trails, fishing, boating with boat rentals or bring your own, birding and wildlife viewing. 757-825-4657
LNT
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Virginia Beach offers a fantastic escape for tent camping enthusiasts, with a variety of campgrounds that provide unique experiences close to nature and the ocean.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Virginia Beach, VA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Virginia Beach, VA is False Cape State Park Campground with a 4.8-star rating from 11 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Virginia Beach, VA?
TheDyrt.com has all 5 tent camping locations near Virginia Beach, VA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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