Kiptopeke State Park

Beautiful park with many trails to pick from. Benches available throughout the park. Trails well kept and flat. Great for birding!

Our favorite places to camp in VA are state parks and this is one of our very favorites. We've been here several times and even have a favorite spot :). This is one of only 2 state parks in the state with full hookups (I wish so many others would get on board with that). That being said, make reservations early!Most sites are fairly level and all have fire rings and picnic tables. Most sites also accommodate larger RVs, especially the C loop (the one with the sewer hookups). We drag a 32' fifth wheel and have no problems, and we've seen several larger rigs (including big class As) get in and out with no trouble at all.The beautiful thing about this park is all of the many activities it offers. There is lots of history here (research the concrete ships - they are amazing). Several well marked trails cross cross the park (and most all are level and rated easy to navigate) - our dogs love them. During the season, there is a nice swimming beach and you can kayak out to the ships. Fishing is big here as well and the boat ramp is well kept with ample boat trailer parking.Again, one of the nicest VA state parks and a good home base for adventurers on the ES. Do yourself a favor and skip the KOA down the road (they are packed in like sardines) and book here. Just do it early!

I know there are closer beaches and parks where you don't have to pay the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (steep) tunnel fee ( $20 total if you return back the same day; $14 one way off peak, $18 peak one way) plus the park $7 fee. But I really do enjoy this beach and park. On the eastern shore in Cape Charles, it's a slice of heaven. You can camp there - RV camping, tent camping and I believe they have a few yurts. Dogs are allowed at the park, but must be on leashes. If you haven't seen it, they have old WWII concrete ships that were placed in 1948 to protect where the Chesapeake Bay Ferry terminal used to be. A lot of birds can be seen resting and nesting on these old ships. If you have a kayak or a paddle board you can paddle closer to it and check it out. A fishing pier, which looks more like a wide piece of a grassy island, juts into the water. lt's an additional price to fish from the pier. If you walk to the left there's a more isolated part of the beach that isn't advisable for swimming due to the current. But it's nice to take a stroll on that side of the beach. The swimming beach is to the right and the beach is a lot cleaner than the beaches at the oceanfront. The sand is softer and powdery and cleaner. The water feels and looks a lot cleaner too. There is plenty of parking and both times I've been, it hasn't been crowded. There are several walking trails. Places to picnic. I stumbled upon an old rusty vintage (1960's) abandoned Tourinn's motel sign that looked straight out of a horror movie. It was pretty cool looking. Closer to the swimming beach there is a boat launch and a kayak launch. The restrooms are fairly clean and have showers inside and on the outside. When I was there the soap dispensers were filled and toilet paper was stocked. There's a little camp store at the entrance of the parking lot, but we didn't check it out. Along one of the boardwalk trails we came across a persimmon tree. While there were people on the beach, it wasn't overcrowded or crowded at all and people were generally quiet. I even saw several people riding bicycles on the beach itself and in the park. If you look up some of the history since there was once a ferry, that area used to be pretty busy. Pretty interesting.

This is a smaller park, but still boasts a few neat things! There are newer lodges / cabins for rent, and the area is a little less busy than First Landing, but you do have to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to get here, EZ Pass recommended fir discounted fares. Definitely pet friendly, fisherman friendly, and all around friendly! The parking attendant let us right in with my tag from First Landing, said fees were covered with my cabin stay there, so bonus!! The concrete WW2 ships that were half sunk to make a breakwater for the ferry system are super neat! The bridge tunnel replaced the ferries in 1964, but I'd love to go back here and paddle around the concrete ships. You can't go in between or on them, but you can paddle around. Tons of seabirds and fish around the 9 ships, which were used in both Pacific and Atlantic theater for training back in WW2. Otherwise, the beach was beautiful and there were some neat hiking trails, birdwatchers on hawk watch, and an old sign from a Motor Inn, as well as playgrounds for kids.

How you can award this park less than 5 stars is beyond me. This is one of my favorite VA State Parks now. I've been to 16 Va State Parks as of today. My #1 favorite is Sky Meadows of course. 15 min from my house, however Kiptopeke was also a show stopper!! Great Camping area! Great restroom/Shower area!! Ramps, parking, shower chairs and access to the entire park for guests with disabilities. Every single Ranger I came in contact with was genuinely kind and friendly.* The beach is actually part of the Chesapeake Bay, not the Atlantic Ocean. Nice waves coming in. Good clean beach. Today I was the only person on the beach from 0700 to 1100. They also have showers and dressing rooms beach side! Very convenient. I went tent camping. The tent areas are clean and roomy. You can ask for electric and water if needed. Then i went on a 3 mile hike and saw many cool critters and that was just one trail. They had many! One thing I wish for is to have some activities and rentals extend year round. Im sure its due to staffing. Everybody going back to school. I went September 10th-12th..which was the weekend after Labor Day and no kayaking allowed. Also it'd be great if you could rent beach chairs, umbrellas and pull carts for the beach. You'd prob make some good money from it. People like me can't fit that stuff in their cars. I want to rent it. :)I managed to love this park even w/o those amenities and am already thinking about reservations for 2024!!Enjoy my pics please. There's a lot, I know.

Tony and I had never visited this area before so of course had to stop at the first state park new to us in the area. This park normally has a day fee but not while out of seasonLocated in Cape Charles, Virginia across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel from Virginia Beach, well worth the $14 one way tollThere is definitely park police presence thereThere is a great beach area, playground, picnic areas, shelters and grills. There were some old ships of the beaches making some sort of barrier fence, very neat to see...Highly recommend you to visit

Elbow to elbow in summer of 2022!I have mixed feelings regarding tip to peak State Park. Overall it is a great location with great amenities and facilities. My biggest criticism is reduced capacity for tent camping. Read on.It was high season in the summer of 2022 and all spots were sold out. Everything. But when a last minute cancellation opened up an RV spot I reserved it for a tent camping trip. How bad could it be? Bad. Spots were typical width, comfortable enough for a truck, powerboat and/or RV. And that's exactly what people did. Listening to your neighbors truck, marine engine, and picnic might not be a big deal if you have the comfort and isolation of an RV. RVs might even enjoy it. But not tent campers.We drove through the tent camping sites install vacancies. Tent sites and dirts were seemingly available. But the front desk explained they are at reduced capacity because of a sewage problem.My suggestion would be to tent camp only in the tent areas. RVs will enjoy the RV spots if they do not mind full capacity.A worthy mention is the convenience of a kayak launch. There is a designated kayak area to avoid powered watercraft and their tow vehicles.

We came here windy cold spring time. But we loved the view and walked over the beach. It was very windy but It kept us walking because we were looking for shells. It was so much fun.The view were breathtaking. We got to see Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel. There are many shipwrecks. It gives historical feel. I don't fish so I can't talk about it but I am guessing this is a nice place to do fishing. This is definitely Instagram worthy place.

Great state park. Quiet and relatively spacious RV sites. Will visit again. I loved the boardwalk trails. Decent beach too.

This is a great safe and clean place to visit. Enjoy the beach and go to cape Charles to dinner