Chesapeake Bay Campground suggestions

[Mcamper]

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!

[DiploStrat]

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

[D___M]

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.

[bucky]

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.

[Kate_and_Ed]

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

[Veebyes]

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.

[Horsedoc]

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

[Mcamper]

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.

[shenandoahvalle]

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,

[Veebyes]

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.

[Merrykalia]

There is also Point Lookout State Park in Maryland. It is on the spit of land that is where the Potomac River runs into the Chesapeake Bay. On one side of the park, you are on the Potomac and on the other side, you are on the Chesapeake. There is lots of fishing and water sports opportunity there.

We camphosted there last summer for a month and we had plenty to do, lots of water around, campgrounds right ON the water, so you can put in a small boat or kayak from your campsite. Nice trails throughout the park, great nature center with programs. The park is the site of a former Civil War prisoner of war camp and hospital, so there is lots of history.

[pinesman]

We stayed at New point a couple times a few years back. They have changed ownership since then but it was ok when we were there.

[eastern_shore_g]

tallpinesharbor.com

Tall Pines Harbor is on the bay on the Eastern Shore of VA. Great place.

[GoneCamping]

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...

[D___M]

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.