“Enjoy this pristine Chesapeake Bay Park”
Located on the eastern shore of Virginia, this park offers recreational access to the Chesapeake Bay and the chance to explore a unique coastal habitat featuring a major flyway for migratory birds.
Reviews of Kiptopeke State Park Campground
20 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 11 users | Last reported on September 13, 2022AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 9 users | Last reported on October 18, 2023T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on August 03, 2022During the day, we watched commercial aircraft and military helicopters over the bay and many ships in the bay; but it did quiet down at night, so it was all part of the interest of the place. The bay beach was a bit limited. We found the laundry facilities to be convenient (located in each bathhouse). Full RV hookups were very convenient, and tent spaces were provided with frost-free water.
The RV section is crowded and half the sites have little to no shade. Thank goodness for airconditioning in the camper, because it was dripping sweat hot and humid, and we showered a lot. By Virginia state park standards, the RV section of Kiptopeke is below average, but I hear the tent sites are shaded and very nice. The bath houses were not spotless. But, we had full hookups!! Pretty awesome for a state park. It was so hot that we didn't even want to cook, but luckily there are plenty of wonderful waterfront towns on the Eastern Shore for eating out. We even got to see the premiere of the 2016 Virginia Experiemental Film festival for free at Cape Charles. The park has some nice trails, picnic and playground area, beautiful lodges to rent, and a large boat ramp, fishing pier, and small beach on the Chesapeake Bay. Also some odd historic concrete war ships that were once used as a sea break for a ferry, but are now a place for fish and birds and a destination for kayakers. We kayaked the wild barrier islands. To me, this campground is just for an inexpensive place to sleep at night in an amazing area, but the park itself is just ok.The Eastern Shore of Virginia is still very uncommercial and charming, but keep in mind that all ocean beaches are boat access only. Only bay beaches are easily accessible. If you are a coastal kayaker, this area is your Disneyland. I also hear it is fantastic for fishing and crabbing. If you are looking for big white beaches and beach towns, go to First Landing State Park near Virginia Beach or NC ocean campgrounds instead. Plenty of cell service, but data was pretty slow. Reservations a must in the summer.
Nightly Rate: $40.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: B6
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
50 amp FHU which is nice for a state park. It's in a quiet and peaceful area with not much around.
To get to shopping you have to cross a toll bridge/tunnel that will cost you $18/trip.
The sites are pretty close together. The ones that back along the road (like we had) were a little more private and had some shade. The ones in the middle were in full sun and you had people in front of you or behind you as well as to your sides. The hiking/biking trails were a nice perk and the swimming beach was nice. The non swimming beach (where dogs are allowed) had multiple dead fishes, birds etc which made it not really a good place to walk. I know this is nature and dead animals will happen but this was excessive and I've never seen anything like it before.
Sites are pretty unlevel so choose wisely. Ours was impossible to level w/out blocks but not as bad as other sites we saw.
The sites are also grass so it's going to get muddy during rain.
The only trash dumpsters were by check in which was a good .25 mile walk from the campground and not convenient at all. The bathrooms were nice and very clean. I didn't check out the showers.
OTA channels were plentiful and Verizon was 22 d/l and ATT was 31 d/l unboosted.
Nightly Rate: $40.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: A18
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
Was here 4 days & the day we were leaving the sun came out. Other than that, a nice state park. We have cricket wireless & had 3 bars!
Nightly Rate: $36.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: B42
We’ve loved every state park we have stayed in to date in Virginia. This one was included. They really seem to be timeless. Kiptopeke is right across the long bridge from the mainland of VA and the only tbing is that there is not a lot around You are right on the bay. So the beach is nice. There is a great point to fish on and looks as if many people were catching fish. Nice cleaning stations also. There appeared to be some nice trails but we will try them next time. It is nice just to walk along the beach though. It appears as if they park has resurrected some old ships and has set them not far off shore for people to kayak or paddle board around. Looked really fun and hope to try it next time.
Some of the sites appear to not have much shade. We were right along the first section which was nice not having anyone behind us and did provide some shade. There was a nice lodge house that could fit a family and a great shaded tent area also w some cottages. We were there on Memorial Day weekend so it was quite full. We didn’t use the bathhouses as we have a bathroom. Our friends that were tent camping said they were gross though.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: A26
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This campground has a lot to offer with beautiful cabins, yerts, quiet, private tent sites, and of course RV and camper sites. The RV sites are adequate but it seems they've put more into the cabin area than the camping area. The new-looking cabins are in a naturally, landscaped and private area. Conversely, the camp sites are a bit overgrown and the bathhouse is older and includes 2 washers and dryers but no change machine. The rest of the park is fantastic with a great beach (awesome dog beach too), kayak rentals, fishing, etc.
Don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic state park and I would definitely come back again. Just think they could upgrade the campground a bit more to match the other facilities.
Nightly Rate: $47.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: C5
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
Excellent customer service at the office when we drove up with no reservation. 2 beaches, with great swimming. Clean, well kept, full hookups.
In the C loop, the shaded sites are in the circle.
Nightly Rate: $35.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: c11
We stayed at an EWS site. The site itself was nice and level, beautifully tucked away in the woods (A loop). With our spot we were close to the beach and able to enjoy both the sun rises and sunsets. HOWEVER this park has a serious problem with the sewer system. Depending on the wind direction it’s pretty common to get a whiff of sewage. The reason? The sewer system is seriously outdated. We could not even dump our tanks at even a moderate flow without it bubbling up and overflowing. We called maintenance and they said that it’s a common problem and suggested using the dump station. Because of this, I don’t think we’d ever come back. If having a reliable sewer hookup is important to you, skip Kiptopeke.
Nightly Rate: $40.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: A-28
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We stayed here for 9 nights in October 2020. Our site was large and easy to get into, as the roads were large. The site included a large picnic table that is handicap acessible and fire pit with a nice graye for grilling. The B loop is largely in an open field setting although there were two tall trees near our site. Power was good, water pressure seemed high so bring a regulator. Others had mentioned poor sewage drainage, we did not experience this, even though we had a few very rainy days. The bathhouses we kept relatively clean even thought the park was full on the weekends. The showers were hot, large, and had great water pressure. The only drawback was there was not individual dressing areas. We had two bars of Verizon but plenty to stream from. We had three bars of AT&T and used that for work and entertainment. Make sure you catch a birding walk with Ranger Stan or one of his Owl Prowls.
Nightly Rate: $42.00
Days Stayed: 9
Site Number: B7
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
We stayed here for 9 nights in October 2020. Our site was large and easy to get into, as the roads were large. The site included a large picnic table that is handicap acessible and fire pit with a nice graye for grilling. The B loop is largely in an open field setting although there were two tall trees near our site. Power was good, water pressure seemed high so bring a regulator. Others had mentioned poor sewage drainage, we did not experience this, even though we had a few very rainy days. The bathhouses we kept relatively clean even thought the park was full on the weekends. The showers were hot, large, and had great water pressure. The only drawback was there was not individual dressing areas. We had two bars of Verizon but plenty to stream from. We had three bars of AT&T and used that for work and entertainment. Make sure you catch a birding walk with Ranger Stan or one of his Owl Prowls. The WWII concrete ships used as a sea wall were another interesting surprise.
Nightly Rate: $42.00
Days Stayed: 9
Site Number: B7
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
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Kiptopeke State Park Campground
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 40
- Last Nightly Rate
- 40.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 38.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 28.0
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 86
- Standard Tent Sites Count
- 47
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Pets, Restrooms
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