Kiptopeke State Park

Nice park. Great views of old ships moored for retirement. Plenty of pelicans nest on these vessels. Birds, fishing, hiking trails, picnics and beach. There are bathrooms too. Beautiful area with close proximity to the Chesapeake Bat Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) and Virginia Beach.

Cabins were very nice, so was the area. Nice trails & things to do. My only complaint was there were no sheets, towels or blankets. Luckily we brought our own

It is a nice state park with numerous offerings such as camping, fishing, and hiking. Our purpose was to hike out to the beach and search for shells. It was a beautiful day and we found a great deal of desirable shells. The trails are relatively level and an easy hike. There are some boardwalks with a good number of steps to descend to the beach (which you have to ascend to return, if you choose the same way in and out). I really like this park and this is my third visit this year.

I have been camping at Kiptopeke State Park for over ten years, several times a year. This is a magical place. It is quiet, the spaces are large, and grounds are well-kept. Hiking is easy and tranquil, and the views of the concrete ships are spectacular. The Rangers have always been helpful and kind and the Camp Hosts friendly. There has never been any stress while camping, easy-peasy. However, I found myself incredibly disappointed when I showed up for my fifth trip there this year to “new check-in rules”. Unnecessary and truly just ridiculous check in rules. Check out time is 1pm and check in is 4pm but in all my years I have never had to wait until 4pm, or at all for that matter. If the site was open, I pulled up and enjoyed my time. It has never been an issue, and I always arrive around noon. If they are cutting grass or doing any type of maintenance, I would wait but truly I don’t recall ever having to wait. So, when I was told that I was not allowed on the empty site that I had booked, that was not occupied the night before, until the Camp Host deemed it ready, which could be 4pm, I was surprised. I was told the Camp Host would text me when it was ready and to just line up with the other campers outside or go explore the park while I wait. I parked behind two other campers and took a walk to find that my spot was indeed open, no maintenance was taking place, and the Camp Host was driving around in their golf cart not appearing to be completing any tasks. A line of us waited for two hours and all of our sites were open, we talked. When the Camp Host finally came, no text was ever received, she wanted to escort each of us to our site individually. I don’t need an escort and didn’t appreciate her obvious need to have some type of authority and control. Kiptopeke, why ruin a good thing? Why start enforcing rules that don’t need to be enforced? Why have Camp Hosts be anything other than kind people, there to sell you firewood and answer questions. To say I was dissatisfied and disappointed is an understatement. Please bring the ease and peace back to Kiptopeke camping.

The campsite spaces are great. The bathrooms are not great. Very old and the shower area has shower curtains to seperate the area from the toilets and the 4 showers have a communal drying area. Its 2025 not a 1950s high school locker room! There is no feeling of personal safety while showering or getting dried. The floor tile is cracked old. Use shower shoes.