I am thinking about a trip to the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia later on in the spring. I have never been to that area, much less camped there. I can search and see what campgrounds are in the area, but I would like some suggestions from those of you who have camped there before. Some campgrounds are on the Peninsula, and some are on the west side of the Bay. I really do not know what location would be better, but I do know I will not have to deal with the Bay bridge tunnel if I stay on the west side of the Bay.Any comments and suggestions are welcome!

Kiptopeke state park (spelling??)

The side of the bay you choose would depend on what you're interested in doing. If you're looking for busy and a lot to do than it would be better to stay on the Virginia Beach side of the bay. If you're looking for quiet and laid back then that's the other side of the bay bridge tunnel on the Eastern Shore. Both areas have there pluses. For camping we've stayed at First Landing State Park which is on the Chesapeake Bay and you can see the bay bridge tunnel from the beach. Electric/Water only and some sites have a view of the water but it depends on if they are available when you get there. These sites are picked when you arrive more choices of site during the week than on a weekend. On the other side of the bridge we always stay at Kiptopeke State Park another pick when you get there but they have electric/water/sewer and cable. They are not on the water but are within walking distance with lots of beautiful trails to explore whether by foot or bike. There are also a lot of private campgrounds on the eastern shore to choose from.

We have stayed at 3 on Chesapeake Bay. Kiptopeke State Park is in Virginia at the end of the DelMarVa Pinninsula.Full hookups and cable.Short walk to the beach.The next 2 are in Maryland. Elk Neck SP is in the northeast corner of the bay.Has a few different sections.One loop has full hookups.Very nice.They have a beach but it's a little on the rocky side.The last one is Jane's Island SP.Has electric hookups.Bath houses need some work.The only beach they have is reachable by boat or canoe.They do have a canoe launch in the park. We took our dog out to the beach in our canoe.Since you can only reach it by boat,it's never crowded.

Kiptopeke State Park (click)If you can hold off till the fall, you could camp at Tom's Cove RV Park in Chincoteague, VA during the annual pony penning.

Well, if I understad your post correctly (as the others so far seemed to have missed the point), the west of the bay as you are calling is what we locals call The Penninsula (Hampton, Yorktown, Williamsburg), Middle Penninsula (Gloucester, Mathews, Urbana), and the Northern Neck (Whitestone, Westmorland)... as such, there is not a lot of bayside camping, but Westmoreland State Park up on the Northern Neck is, and on the middle Penninsula you'll find Bethpage Resort & Grey's Point (same owner) both are on the bay near Urbanna.On the EAST side of the bay (we call that The Eastern Shore) there is Kiptopeke State Park (mostly just an open field with full hook-ups), Cherrystone is an RV Park a bit further north.On the South side of the bay you'll find Va Beach & Norfolk... nothing in Norfolk really, but a few campgrounds in Va Beach, only one on the bay though, that would be First Landing State Park...Hope that helps a little...

Chesapeake Bay Campground suggestions | Good Sam Community

Mcamper
Explorer
Jan 11, 2014
shenandoahvalley wrote:
Veebyes wrote:
I'm a little confused. What is wrong with the CBBT? Used it many times. No issues. Turn the propane off before you go through the toll & back on at the other side. It is a bit of a novelty to get out on the middle of the thing & not see land in any direction.

There are lots of CGs on the Delmarva spanning 3 states. How far north do you want to go? It is not very wide but deceptivly long.

I agree with this post. The CBBT seems a little daunting but the lanes are adequate width and once you get going it really isn't difficult. There are several places to pull off or stop. My rig is pretty tall and 57 feet long and I have had no issues crossing over to the Eastern Shore. The toll is pretty steep, IIRC it was raised to $24 one way for a TV and TT,

I am sure that I have towed worse places than the CB Bridge Tunnel. I was not concerned with that. My issue was the tolls going and then coming back a few days later.

I want to thank GoneCamping for making my question more clear - by helping me with the locations of the Peninsula, Middle Peninsula, and Northern Neck. I may stay on that side of the Bay for my first trip, depending on what we find there.
Horsedoc
Explorer II
Jan 12, 2014
I cannot recall the name of the park, but it was near Urbanna (sp?) Big place and we had a rally there a few years back. CRS has kicked in
Veebyes
Explorer II
Jan 12, 2014
Must admit, $24 toll is steep. About $1 a mile for the CBBT. For us, if heading south or coming from the south it is well worth it to avoid the agravation & extra fuel burned dealing with anything near DC.

If you are a boater you would thoroughly enjoy the Maritime Museum in St Michaels. Be sure to drive all the way down to Tilghman Island. A whole different world down there. The closest cg is Martinak SP near Denton. The area is sort of home for us & Martinak is our start & finish park. Nice CG.
Kate_and_Ed
Explorer
Jan 12, 2014
See someone mentioned New Point already. New owners have made lots of great changes here. We are seasonal, opens in April for 2014 season. We have nice beach on Chesapeake Bay biggest draw. Water front sites. If you are coming to the bay you should try it.

http://www.sunrvresorts.com/Community/NEW
bucky
Explorer II
Jan 12, 2014
New Point is a great location, but on our one visit there I don't remember many sites that weren't seasonal. We had to pull nose in thru some deep sand to match the hookups. Might've locked the gate at night also, don't remember for sure. It is in the exact middle of nowhere. Awesome bluegrass jam session one night, with retired Nashville grade musicians joining in. Pretty cool. The place has a very nice beach, and an awesome marina for where it is.
D___M
Explorer
Jan 12, 2014
Horsedoc wrote:
I cannot recall the name of the park, but it was near Urbanna (sp?) Big place and we had a rally there a few years back. CRS has kicked in

It could have been Grey's Point campground, located in Topping VA, which is close to Urbana. But more then likely it was Bethpage Resort just outside of Urbana.

Both very nice places.
DiploStrat
Explorer
Mar 01, 2014
We were just down the the Chesapeake/Virginia Beach area. Two suggestions:

-- First Landing State Park - lovely sites, but does not open until March.

-- Holiday Trav-L-Park - Ghastly name, but very nice people and facilities (They let us stay without demanding that we use hookups, important for us). AND, they have a parking lot two blocks from the beach, included in the price of your stay. Holiday Travl-L-Park

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