Quick Trip Along Delmarva Penninsula and Jamestown, VA

The Delmarva Peninsula encompasses the eastern shores of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, We took the Cape May-Lewes ferry from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE, then drove to the Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland. We spent two nights at the campground there, then drove to Cape Charles, VA to spend a night at the Kiptopeke Sate Park campground. On the way to Cape Charlies, we stopped for lunch at Chincoteague, VA. There are numerous quaint small towns to explore along the penninsula.

Assateague Island National Seashore

Assateaque is a barrier island off the eastern coast of Maryland and Virginia. The National Seashore comprises the Maryland section of the island. This area also has a campground, which is where we spent two nights. We arrived at our campsite late afternoon, so we had still a few hours to explore the area a bit on the day we arrived.

We stayed in the Bayside campground which borders the bay between the island and the mainland of Maryland. There are actually only a few sites that have a good unobstructed view of the bay, and since we booked late we were not able to get one of those. There is also the Oceanside Campground where several of the sites back right up to the sand dunes. Regardless of not having a great view from our site, we enjoyed our stay immensely. The biggest thing to contend with at the campsite was the mosquitoes, which are prevalent.

As has become part of our typical routine when we arrive at a campsite, we got on our bikes to get a sense of the area surrounding the campground. We rode down to the area where, with a permit, one can drive their vehicle onto the beach. We parked our bikes and walked onto the beach along the access road. The beach is beautifully unspoiled. We didn’t spend a lot of time on the beach since it was starting on early evening. We got back on our bikes and rode a bit more until we found the Sand Dunes Trail. This is about a mlle and half trail winds through the dunes, sagebrush, and pine trees. One of the most striking features of the trail is walking along the ruins of a road that was built along the shore in the 1950s. The road was in use for several years as, apparently, there were plans to develop the area much like Ocean City a few miles to the north. Fortunately, the national park service took possession of the area in the 1960s and another resort type town was not built and there is still undeveloped shoreline.

In the morning of the one full day we had at Assateague, we rode our bikes along the bike path that runs the length of the road coming into the area to the Visitor Center on the other side of the bay. While riding, there are numerous glimpses of the bay and marshes that are common in the area. And, of course there are the horses grazing along the road and in the marshes. To cross the bay by bicycle, there is a separate bridge running parallel to the road bridge. At the visitor center, there is also a short causeway offering great views of the bay.

In the afternoon, after having grilled cheese sandwiches done on my Traeger Grill plugged into the back of the van, we rented kayaks for two hours. There is a rental shop at the end of the road going to the Bayside Campground where one can rent kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, and bicycles. The rental shop sits at the end of a penninsula that sits between the ocean and the bay. We paddled for a little over an hour into the marshes where we swam in the warm water. For the last half hour or so, we paddled up along the shore. Wherever one goes in Assateague, the horses will be visible. We saw them in the marshes and along the shore. It is a magnificent site seeing them just wander freely.

In the evenings, the horses seem to like to wander through the campgrounds, presumably in search of food. There are boxes built under the picnic tables at each campsite to store your food as it is illegal to feed the horses and the National Park Service states that a fed horse is a dead horse. While wandering through the campsites, the horses are completely oblivious to people around them. It is advised that you stay back from them about 40 feet, but this is literally impossible at the campsites as they will walk right past you grazing for food. I sat there for a good fifteen minutes or so while three or four horses wandered through chomping on the grass the whole time.

Chincoteague, VA

We stopped for lunch in Chincoteague on our way from Assateague, MD to Cape Charles, VA. The town is accessed via a causeway going across the marshland. It is a rather magnificent drive across. It is a very nice little town with lots of great little shops and art galleries. Many of the art galleries were closed on the Wednesday afternoon that we were there. We had lunch at Don’s Seafood which has a patio are bordering the channel. It was a perfect place to stop for a break and admire the coastline. I had an order of Chincoteague oysters which were superb. They were much less briny than the ones that I had in Cape May, NJ. I also had a crab cake sandwich, which was excellent. Chincoteague is only a few miles off the main road, so is well worth a stop for a break and lunch if one is traveling down the Delmarva penninsula.

Cape Charles, VA

Cape Charles is a small quiet seaside town at the southern end of the Delmarva peninsula and at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The town was developed in the early 1900s by the Pennsylvania Railroad in order to get trains across to Norfolk, VA, a major shipping port. The trains were put on barges at what is now Kiptopeke State Park. Driving along Route 30 and along the road into town, the railway line is still clearly visible even though the tracks have been removed. The town clearly grew as a seaside resort as a result of the railway, as is evident by some of the fairly opulent houses; it is still completely undeveloped and the one main street of downtown has some lovely shops.

There are two wonderful small little shops where we got some good cheese, crackers, dips and  wine. We also stopped in K-Coast Surf shop that offers a great selection of beachwear. The beach in Cape Charles is wide and expansive with great swimming. The water is wam and shallow, making for a wonderful place to just relax in the ocean. We spent the night at Kiptopeke State Park which is right along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The campground is nice but very exposed as it is basically a large field. The spots, though, are very wide to accommodate for the many people that camp there with their boats. There is a boat launch area within the park.

Jamestown, VA

From Cape Charles, we drove to Jamestown, VA via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which connects Cape Charles to Norfolk, VA. The roadway is a combination of a bridge, causeway, and two tunnels spanning about 17 miles across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. It is a strange feeling driving across the road with no land in sight, which is the case once you are in the middle of the crossing. It took us about four hours to drive from Cape Charles to Jamestown. When we arrived at Jamestown, it was early afternoon and quite hot so we decided to find a place we could stay for the night. So, we drove about another half an hour to a lovely state park nestled along the shores of the Jamestown River called Chippoke Plantation State Park. From Jamestown, the park is accessed by using a free ferry service across the Jamestown River provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation. The crossing takes about 20 minutes.

Chippoke State Park is nestled in the woodlands along the Jamestown River. The campground is up on a hill with lots of shade. A short path from the visitor center takes you down to the river  where there a number of small beaches nestled amongst the trees. Just as in the Chesapeake Bay, the water was wonderfully warm for swimming.

The next morning we took the ferry back to Jamestown. Jamestown is a fascinating place to visit that details the beginning of the Virginia Company in 1607, who were the first English settlers in what is now the United States of America. The $20 per person entry fee is well worth the cost.

The walking exhibit begins with a recreation of a typical Indian village that would have been common along the banks of the rivers before the English arrived and started pillaging the land. The Indian village also includes interesting exhibits such as how they made rope out of Yuca leaves and built canoes by burning a cavity in a large log to hollow it out.

After the Indian village are replicas of two of the three ships that brought the first English settlers to Virginia. The smaller of the two, Discovery, allows you just to walk on deck. On the Godspeed, you can go down below deck and get a true sense of how hard the voyage was due to the extremely cramped space that held about 20 passengers. The exhibit hall is huge providing a wealth of information about the history of the Virginia Company and the beginnings of Colonial America.

After leaving Jamestown, we drove to another state park to spend the night. Lake Anna State Park is about three hours from Jamestown. The namesake lake of the park is large and has a magnificent swimming area with a large expansive beach. As with all the other bodies of water we had experienced in the area, the water was warm.

Though we only had five days of traveling in this area, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Jamestown was well worth the visit and driving across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is an experience in itself.