Kiptopeke State Park Campground

Have you ever wanted to go to a beach where the water is calm, clear, warm and shallow? With hardly any people there? Kiptopeake is the beach for you! Located on the bay there aren't huge waves to worry about or big beach crowds. Kiptopeake is my favorite Virginia State Park campground, hands down. 

Camping:

If you are a primitive tent camper like us, you'll want to get the site-specific sites. They are more secluded, bigger, and walkable to the beach. The sites in the site-specific loop are conveniently located to the bathrooms which have nice hot showers! Each site has a pretty standard picnic table and fire ring with enough room for two tents. Our site didn't have tons of room for two cars though, we had to squeeze in to our space awkwardly. We've been here in pretty much all months of the spring, summer and fall and have never had a problem with mosquitoes or biting flies.

To Do:

The beach at Kiptopeake is so beautiful! Most of the time we post up and spend all day there. I highly recommend watching the sunset from the beach. Check out the concrete fleet on a kayak. There's some great hiking, butterfly garden, bird watching. Virginia State Parks has some great programs for the kids as well! The town of Cape Charles nearby is very charming and worth a visit for cute shops and restaurants. 

Highly recommend this park! It is a really special place you'll want to keep coming back to!

Excellent camping and beautiful beach!

Electric 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.

Bay access for swimming and boating. Good for biking.

This currently is the best campground I have ever been to. It was very peaceful and clean. The bathhouse was clean. The sites are huge and it had the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. It doesn't have all of the activities for kids, just a small playground. I will return here again and again!

BEAUTIFUL CLEAN PEACEFUL LARGE CAMPSITES

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. 

Our favorite Virginia State Park

Only campground in the Virginia State Park system that offers sewer hook-up's. As for the campsites, I was not really impressed so only gave it 4 stars. If you like open field camping and absolutely no shade, this is the place for you! Other than the lack of tree's, I think this is a great campground, a great location, and a ton of things to do...

Best equipped Va State Park

We stayed at this State Park campground for 1 night. The tent sites are decent, shaded by pine trees and on a sandy terrain. There’s a water spigot but no electricity. The RV sites (where my friends stayed) are not very nice, the RVs are parked very close to each other and there’s no trees for shade or to hang an hammock. The bathouse is ok. It was warm when we went so they had the AC running. I've seen cleaner bathouses but it was overall fine. The park offers hiking and biking trails, but the main attraction is the beautiful beach on the Chesapeake Bay. You can rent a kayak or fish from the pier.

Nice campground and beautiful beach!

Fishing pier. Boat launch ,boat and kayak rental. The bay is beautiful here. Dog beach.

Love this park. Some sites are trees some are not. Friendly camp host. 

We only stayed here one night back in August 2017 en route to South Carolina.  The tent sites were nice, wooded and spacious, but there was not a whole lot of privacy between each site.   We were there on a weekday, thus there were only about three other campers in that loop, so it wasn't a big deal.  The bathroom facilities were clean and the shower was spacious.  

There is a great fishing pier and a little gift shop that had some camping supplies, ice cream, snacks.  The RV sites left something to be desired - no shade whatsoever and not much spacing between the sites.

Nice sites for tent camping, great fishing!

Several full hook up sites, reservable sites and some walk up. Nice wide sites, fairly open, but still a good amount of trees. 50/30 amp available. Was able to pick up a few tv stations on our antenna. Camp is full on weekends, empties out during the week. Some sites are shaded several in full sun.  Nice swimming beach on the Chesapeake Bay (North Beach), just a short walk, either down the road or by lovely boardwalk through the woods. Wearing water shoes is advisable or the blue crabs might mistake your toes for lunch. No one likes their pinky toe pinched! The South Beach is just on the other side of the pay fishing pier and boat ramp. This beach is not great for swimming, the tide is different and has drop offs, not to mention, several folks fishing and crabbing here. Dogs are allowed on the south beach, not the North. Tho, this beach is where the shells are! Kids can splash on the waters edge, but going in too far is not advised for the littles.  Boat ramp also has side area for launching kayaks and canoes. There's no licence needed on the pier, it's included with the fee. Great views of the concrete WWII ships that have been placed as breakwater. There are several well kept trails and boardwalks, 5 miles in total. Great play ground across the road from the campground, which isn't ideal. There's also a falcon observation deck near the playground, we didn't use either. Bathrooms were clean, didn't observe or use the showers, we had full hook up. There's also several coin-op washers and dryers available. Camp hosts are friendly and very visible, obviously to thank for the well kept grounds and facilities. It was windy here, not sure if that's the norm, so we kept our awning in. A little pricey for a state park, other commercial campgrounds near by were not much more. However, we do appreciate a quieter, non-commercial campground with full hook ups. You do have to haul your trash down to the entrance of the park, we asked why they were so far, host said they were in the campground, but the smell was awful, so many people fish and crab, so it was decided to move it farther away, good idea.  Lovely campground. 

Kiptopeke

Open meadow camping; some cabins and bunk houses available. Nice swimming beach and fishing pier. Many people bring their boats to put-in at the boat launch. Several easy hiking trails around. Recommend heading to Cape Charles (20 minutes north) for ice cream!

Open field, little privacy, boat launch!

My husband and I were very pleased with this park. We got one of the campsites at the back (F1) much more secluded area then the sites at the front. The sites at the back were not right on top of each other which was perfect. Easy beach access and staff was friendly. Cape Charles is just a short drive North and is a cute little town to check out while you're there!

Anniversary Weekend

We camped at the tent only loop(F3). The site was great. The walk to the beach was longer than I thought. The most northern access was closed.   

I was a bit disappointed with the bathroom situation and the trash situation. The one shower/bathroom serviced 3 different loops. And they closed it for cleaning in the morning for about 30 min. Frustrating.  
There was no trash can in the loops. It was located at the entrance to the park forcing us to either drive it up daily or keep on site till the end. 

Otherwise I loved the fishing and crabbing. The north beach was beautiful and water warm. Although they don’t allow dogs on the north beach. 

Overall I would still go again. 

Fun weekend

Awesome campground with amazing an amazing beach! You can rent kayaks or paddle boards. Has a bait shop/gift shop. Really good crabbing. Caught like 40 crabs in half an hour. Have to pay to use pier for fishing (5 for adults 3 for kids.) Really nice cabin and have stayed at tents as well. Awesome park and will definitely come back for years to come.

Best Crabbing spot ever!!

Great beach and fishing pier!  Camp sites are spaced well, about 30 feet for each.  They have a mix of pick your own spot and reserved spots.  Full hookup for the pick your own site.  

Awesome place for the kids 

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!

Early Fall Camping at Kiptopeake is awesome!

Clean facilities, close to beach and fishing pier. Only gripe is tent sites and interwoven with RV sites with little privacy. 

Solid park and campsites close to beach/pier

This park is a nice  place to bring your family to camp, fish , crab and relax by the beach and collect seashells . It has 2 beautiful beaches ‘ one that allows pets and the other does not . There are wooden boardwalk trails in the park and a few of them leads to different areas on the beach . We used 2 of them that were wheel chair accessible. The campsites are a bit tooo close for me . I don’t like camping right on top of people and as soon as I walk out of my tent there’s people on every side of me ! I did enjoy the fishing pier and got to catch fish I have never seen before . One being a searobin . By the way a searobin crocks like a frog when you grab it and I did learn they have sharp spines on their gill plates and dorsal fins that inject a mild poison, causing slight pain for two to three days. So be careful!  

Cape Charles Virginia 

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 

Yurt! 

Nice easy back-in sites, full hookups in good working order, and friendly hosts. Great walking trails, boardwalks, and beach access. Arrive early to choose shady spots. 

Great Park Stay 

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!

Awesome Yurt Camping

With plenty of hiking, kayaking, fishing, wildlife viewing, and other outdoor opportunities, Kiptopeke State Park is a perfect base camp location!  

  

The actual campsites are small and close together, with little privacy.  The bathrooms had running water, but only cold.  The camp store was small but sufficient. 

  

The beaches were awesome and the trails were well groomed and provided some great hikes for a family or couple just looking to get out.

  

We will return to Kiptopeke to camp so we can kayak around the bay and near the concrete ships in the harbor.

Great location but only average marks on the camping...

This is a great campground on the Eastern Shore of VA. As with most VA state parks, it's popular with RV's and campers, but it was great for tent camping as well. There are numerous trails and water/beach access points throughout the park. The sites are spacious, and even though it has a lot of sites, they are spread out throughout different loops so it doesn't feel crowded. As with most campgrounds near sea level, it is prone to flooding if there's a lot of rain. 

  

There's also a nice little store where you can purchase camping essentials and souvenirs.

Great Location

Overall experience was excellent. Only negative was the bathroom was a mess no matter what time of day. I didn’t expect perfection however I did expect better. 

Beach fun

Great 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. 

Nice and close to the beach

We really enjoyed the short hiking trails and the opportunity to kayak off the very nice beaches.  The boat landing was extremely busy, but a separate section for canoes/kayaks made it slick to get in and out.

  

The bathrooms are not well maintained, although this time there was hot water!  Our site was good and semi-private.  Certainly large enough for our two man tent and camp chairs.

  

A small camp store means you may have to take a trip into town, which is close by.  There are also a number of nice restaurants in the area.  Gas, groceries, etc. are near by.

Great location but so so camping...

This is a “Diamond in the rough” location. We stayed is site A08 which was a little uneven, but we enjoyed the shade from the trees as a lot of the middle sites did not have any trees. The beach is within walking distance and the water was a dream! The waves ebbed and flowed instead of breaking in your face thanks to the concrete ships causing a barrier. Kayaking out the the concrete ships was not available when we visited, but they were opening up tours July 15,2021. All in all, we had a great weekend here. 

Full hook-ups! Dream beach!

We come every year because it's on our top list of yearly visits. The beach and staff there are nice. Crabbing and fishing there's very popular. Very pet friendly and they also made a beach side for pets to swim at. Wild animals usually pass by often later in the evening, horses, deer, rabbits etc; sites are nice and big. Some sunny some shady. Park usually fills up when I'm there 

NICE PLACE to stay at for a long time

First time camping at this state park. Tent site was spacious and very shaded. We camped on the F loop which is tucked away. Site was a quick walk to the swimming beach and bathhouse. If you don't have bikes/don't ride a bike, location is pretty far from camp store and trail heads. 

  

Loved that we could take our dogs on the south beach and enjoy a beach day with our dogs &amp; toddler. Beautiful sunsets on the bay. 

  

Bathhouse is outdated, and did not experience any hot water from the showers. Toddler rolling around in sand meant multiple showers, all chilly.

Great Tent Site 

Pine forests, wild beaches and nice bathrooms 

Beautiful surprise! 

First time here and will definitely be going back. Many trails, beautiful beach and well maintained campground. 
Trails were marked well and taken care of.
Beach was clean and water was gorgeous. 
(F Section) Campsites are decent sized. Bathhouse was aged but clean and kept stocked.
Camp staff and patrons were very friendly. Also there is Cape Charles, which is about 10-15 mins away. Awesome little town with many things to see, do and try. From good food to distillery to local art gallery.
Highly recommend this place.

Fantastic! Highly recommend. 

Plenty of space at the site and plenty to do. Really enjoyed the beach!

Great site

My friends and I love to come and chill here every year. Love falling asleep to the sounds of waves and watching the stars. Great place for fishing too.

Its the spot

We camped at Kiptopeke State Park in a Super C Dynamax DX3. We enjoyed this park a lot because we had a great site. The majority of the sites in the Kiptopeke State park are on the open space. All sites are spacious, clean and green, but there is nowhere to hide from the sun. There are very few shaded ones and we were lucky to get one of those. Kiptopeke State park has two unguarded beaches on the Chesapeake Bay. Kiptopekes northern swim beach is nearly half a mile long. The south beach, which is even longer is open to swimming, fishing, boating and dogs are allowed on leash. And its absolutely beautiful! We have a video about this park in our YouTube channel- Summertime RV Rovers- RV Campgrounds in Maryland and Virginia: Kiptopeke State Park and Outstanding Dreams Alpaca Farm. Please check for yourself.

Nice Small State Park with beautiful beaches

We visited for a bit and fell in love with the peace and serenity. The kids enjoyed the playground for a bit and then watched the sky to observe the hawks. The old ships are a true sight to see! 

Beautiful escape 

This campground had beautiful beach access but the tent campsites are too close to other campers which I found awkward. Usually when I think of camping I think of some peaceful time in the woods but I felt like I was in a crowded restaurant. One thing I did appreciate was that the beach and campground were dog friendly and the bathrooms/showers were clean.

Beautiful beaches but too close to other campers

Great little beach area with separate dog beach 
Tight camping
Great fishing
Few full hook ups 
Short walk to beach 
Decent hiking trails
Bring bug spray
Very hot in camp ground 
