Campgrounds and RV parks near Exmore, VA

The bay side is the main draw. Kiptopeke State Park has 5 miles of bike and hike trails, over a mile of beach on the Chesapeake Bay, a fishing pier, boat launch, kayak and bicycle rentals, and a camp store. The park is a hot spot for bird-watchers through fall and winter, when the coastal marshlands serve as a stopover for migrating songbirds and raptors along the Atlantic flyway. Cape Charles, about 20 miles south of Exmore, has a walkable historic downtown with restaurants, a public beach, and boat charters. Family resorts add on-site activities: Sun Outdoors Cape Charles offers an 18-hole mini-golf course, five pools, a splash pad, licensed fishing piers, pedal boats, kayak and paddleboard rentals, and planned activities like shuffleboard and volleyball. To the north, day trips reach Chincoteague and Assateague Island.

The Eastern Shore has a humid subtropical climate moderated by the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic. Summer highs typically sit in the mid to upper 80s Fahrenheit, and winter nights are cool but only occasionally drop well below freezing. Summer draws peak crowds to bay beaches and family resorts, and humidity, biting insects, and afternoon thunderstorms are common. Spring and fall are the most comfortable windows for RV travel. Bugs ease off, temperatures are moderate, and campgrounds are quieter after Labor Day. Fall brings raptor and songbird migration through Kiptopeke, which remains a bird-watching draw into winter. Winter is the off-season. State park cabins stay open, but most Virginia state park campgrounds, including Kiptopeke, follow a spring-to-fall pattern: full-service camping runs from the first Friday in March through the first Monday in December. Private parks such as Sun Outdoors Cape Charles operate on their own seasonal calendars, typically spring through fall. Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, with the highest activity from August to October.

Exmore sits on US Route 13, the main north-south road through the Eastern Shore, and most campgrounds are within a 30-minute drive. Access from Hampton Roads uses the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, and Kiptopeke is three miles from its northern terminus, on Route 13. The bridge-tunnel charges a substantial each-way toll. State park sites are generally spacious with a picnic table and fire ring, and shade varies by loop. Many sites at Kiptopeke sit in open areas with limited tree cover, so shaded sites can be scarce. Private resorts are denser but include full hookups and amenities such as pools, laundry, camp stores, and shuttles. Expect mosquitoes and biting flies in summer, especially near marshes. Do not bring firewood into state parks; firewood can harbor destructive, invasive species. Cell coverage is generally good along Route 13 but can drop in wooded loops.