BAREFOOT BEACHCOMBING

Camping - First Landing State Park - Virginia Beach, Virginia - March 2021

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For the first camping trip of the season. I once again decided to stay relatively close to home and go to First Landing (Seashore) State Park in Virginia Beach. Camping at the Virginia State Parks is open from the beginning of March to the beginning of December. There are a few Virginia State Parks, but First Landing, surprisingly, despite being the most visited park, is not one of them.

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www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/first-landing

 

First Landing is a BIG park. It covers 2,888 acres with 1.25 miles of beachfront right at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The campground and beach access are north of Shore Drive and the trails, cabins, and boat ramp are south of Shore Drive. The campground has 183 campsites with 108 of them having electric and water hookups.

 

Most of the interior roads in the campground were closed due to still being flooded from all the rain this winter. The outer (farthest) loop was the only way around and it still had a section about 20 feet long with water standing in the road. Much of the campground (mostly tent sites) on that end of the campground was still closed due the sites being flooded. The main campground sites on the dune side of the park were high and dry and sandy, so they were fine.

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I stayed in space 201 which is on the last loop closest to the visitor center. It is has a gravel/sand/dirt surface and is a back-in site with electric and water. (You can see the specific details about the site below.) The park doesn't have sewer hookups at the campsites but has a double-sides dump station near the main entrance.

 

​The campsite was great. Deep enough for the camper and the truck to comfortably fit. And plenty of room for the fire pit and picnic table to the side. The sites at the campground are separated by thick brush and trees. Kate came and helped me set up and hung out for a little while.

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There are several boardwalks leading from the campground over the dunes providing access to the beach. So I walked down to the beach and watched the sunset.

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Saturday morning it was quite cold and windy, but it was perfect for a bunch of guys who we out on the Chesapeake Bay kite surfing.

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i also walked across Shore Drive into the main part of the park and hiked on some of the trails.

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I stayed for just 2 nights. It was a great shakedown trip. Everything worked well, and it was a good start.

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Stayed tuned for more trips throughout the year.