Camping In Virginia (Virginia Beach, Newport News, Hampton: rent, college, live in)

[Wi_Girl]

Does anyone have any favorite campgrounds to go to in Virginia? We live in Hampton Roads and are trying to find some different campgrounds to go to that are not too far away from the area. We've been to several in Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. Our favorite camping place is in Verona Virginia that is a KOA, and although its far from HR, we have made it a tradition to go there every October. Just looking for some new places to check out! Thanks!

I'd love to hear from other campers!

[j1n]

Originally Posted by Wi_Girl

Does anyone have any favorite campgrounds to go to in Virginia? We live in Hampton Roads and are trying to find some different campgrounds to go to that are not too far away from the area. We've been to several in Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. Our favorite camping place is in Verona Virginia that is a KOA, and although its far from HR, we have made it a tradition to go there every October. Just looking for some new places to check out! Thanks!

I'd love to hear from other campers!

I could tell you, but I'm not giving up any of my secrets!
The VA State Parks websites, and the campground directory have very detailed descriptions of various campgrounds...what they offer, etc. Lots of info on those sites...from full RV type camping to primitive. Have fun!

[CosmicWizard]

I lived in Va Bch for 16 years, and I went camping for a few days just about every year. Unlike you, I always wanted to get far away from Hamptron Roads whenever I went camping, so the ones I recommend require more of a drive. My favorite campgrounds were Big Meadows in Shenandoah NP, Douthat SP ( can also rent cabins ), Peaks Of Otter along the BRP, Grayson Highlands SP, and Claytor Lake SP ( can also rent cabins ). Since I had no desire to camp east of the mountains, I never discovered any campgrounds closer to the Hampton Roads area.

[Erma]

I travel ALOT for my job and camping in HR is nice for me, because most of the places that are quiet make you feel like you are far away from home. We don't do KOA's because our kids are grown and neither of us like to be around kids anymore. We'd prefer the quiet, the fishing and relaxation. If you want to travel about 4 1/2 hours, Douthat State park near Clifton Forge is awesome.

[roanoker 4]

Clifton Forge VA area is awesome but go over into WV which has much nicer campgrounds than VA. I visited one near the New River Bridge, where the
whitewater rafting, skydiving, canoeing is big. Lake Moomaw is a great place to visit also in WV. The WV campgrounds seem to be better maintained with cleaner facitilites, hot showers and nicer overnight quarters.

[Hokieed]

Claytor Lake State Park is a great campground. Very clean. Bathrooms and showers were clean. Nice trails... lots of wooded camping lots. Great lake. A great weekend!

[md2013]

Douthat, James River, and Pocahontas are the ones that we really enjoyed. We did primitive camping, but I'm pretty sure they all have other options.

[Wi_Girl]

We love to try and get away from Hampton Roads as much as possible and as far as possible but have been staying somewhat local with the gas prices. That wont always be the case though and I love to try and get away as long as we have the budget for it. I'm thinking we'll do a Nags Head trip later this summer too. The KOA is totally overpriced down there, anyone know of any good camping places down there? We usually like the full hook up sites.

Thanks for all the other suggestions!!! So many places to camp, so little time!

[Erma]

Originally Posted by Wi_Girl

We love to try and get away from Hampton Roads as much as possible and as far as possible but have been staying somewhat local with the gas prices. That wont always be the case though and I love to try and get away as long as we have the budget for it. I'm thinking we'll do a Nags Head trip later this summer too. The KOA is totally overpriced down there, anyone know of any good camping places down there? We usually like the full hook up sites.

Thanks for all the other suggestions!!! So many places to camp, so little time!

Don't do nags head until after tourist season. The sites are on top of each other and it's a mess down there. Too many wild partiers til wee hours of the morning.

[Count_Campula]

Originally Posted by Wi_Girl

We love to try and get away from Hampton Roads as much as possible and as far as possible but have been staying somewhat local with the gas prices. That wont always be the case though and I love to try and get away as long as we have the budget for it. I'm thinking we'll do a Nags Head trip later this summer too. The KOA is totally overpriced down there, anyone know of any good camping places down there? We usually like the full hook up sites.

Thanks for all the other suggestions!!! So many places to camp, so little time!

I've only been camping 3 times so I am definitely a newbie. But I can talk about where I've been!

Sandy Bottom park on the Peninsula is great for a 1 day camping trip, I wouldn't recommend it for much longer. There's not all that much to it. It's really convenient because it's so close to me.

Newport News Park & Campground is phenomenal in that it was waaay above my expectations. But then, I went the day they were having the yearly Festival of Kids so my opinion might be biased. Again, a great short-term camping location. I could see staying a couple days there (good fishing).

Funny you should mention the Outer Banks KOA. We just came back from there. We went over the Memorial Day weekend. It's pricey but was mostly worth it. Given how packed it was and all the activities/events I would almost call it a "camping theme park." It's VERY kid-oriented and falls quiet at a relatively appropriate time (around 11). Even though it was Memorial Day weekend it wasn't bad.

I talked to some other campers at the KOA concerning cheaper Outer Banks locations and in a nutshell, if you're a family, go to the KOA. The higher price actually does a good job of screening out college students/partiers. But not having been to any other campsites down there I can't attest to the reliability of that info.