Virginia has some of the best state parks in the country so we may be a little spoiled but this is not the top of the list. Kind of bare bones - a few trails to hike but not a lot of scenery. The farm museum is informative and you could spend a few hours there depending on your level of interest but it's not worth the trip for this alone. I guess to be fair I should say we visited in the late fall early winter and it was cold, the house was not open to tour and little was going on in the park. I would go again because it is close for us. As others have said there are few if any level camping spots in the A lot so be ready to adjust your trailer, bring blocks since some sites a very sloped and require a lot of adjustment. Also the A-loop camping section is a little worn and I would stay away from it if possible. Many use this park as a roost at night and spend their days at Jamestown, Yorktown, Bush Gardens and Water Country which are not far after a ferry ride across the river.
This is a fun destination. Chippokes is great, fun, historic, scenic & so much more. We did not camp there, but there is camping, renting "cabins" (historical homes!), esquestrial trails (horses welcomed), day, week programs & stays. We did go to the Plantation, excellent. Visitor center, excellent. We stayed longer than we though. Look into this one. It's good. And a free ferry ride from Jamestown to boot (with car). So much good stuff! GO There! And for the fee of the state park, you get a gift certificate to Subway!
We took a few days to camp at this state park and were pleasantly surprised. Since we were middle of the week in mid July, we had ample sites to choose from. The only negative is when you call Reserve America to reserve a campsite, they cannot guarantee you a specific site. You wonder why they even bother. We only wanted a pull thru site and there were plenty when we arrived at the park. The campsite in Loop B was paved, long and level. The water and electric hook up was fine and the dump station was really easy to manage. The whole park was really lovely and perfectly maintained. They have a swimming pool but we did not go to look at it, so cannot comment. The town of Smithfield is really a lovely historic town and lots of shops and restaurants. Be sure to see the Isle of Wight Courthouse if you visit Smithfield.
We visited Chippokes Plantation State Park while in the Surry area. The history of this plantation is amazing. The grounds have a natural beauty. The Plantation House is steeped with history and beautiful antiquities. The Steward's the last owners of the property were good stewards of the land. Our tour guide, Gloria is very well versed on the property and the owners. The house has an unusual amount of mirrors in it, but they were there for a practical use as Mrs. Stewart could keep track of what was going on in various rooms just by looking in an adjacent mirrors. After Mr. Steward died, Mrs. Steward was concerned about what would happen to the property. Her attorney it would probably be parceled out and sold. She did not want this to happen so she donated it to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the house, furnishings and all the land. The new is that the state has set up little museums on the land and have made a nice campground with an Olympic size pool. There are nice campsites as well as a few cabins. Mrs. Steward was a visionary ahead of her time. This is a must see, if you are in the area, you will not be disappointed, if you love history and culture.
We went to Chippokes plantation on M. L. King day. The enviroment was very clean, park was not crowded. We spent a nice afternoon just hiking and grilling near visitor center. Then we went to a River house area with an open air museum . The exposition is rich and touchable. We met a ranger Mathew and he offered us a tour to a River house. It was very interesting. We will come back on summer!
We visited Chippokes campground recently for a 2 night stay with friends camping also. We all made reservations for Loop B. It is first come first serve, however we couldn't have gotten better campsites. Loop B has all paved sites which means fairly level, except for a slight slope that your stabilizers will take care of. The sites have a very large pea gravel area for the picnic table, campfire pit and also plenty of space still for a canopy cover or tent, and a lot of the sites have many mature trees, providing lots of shade. The sites are extra long, enough that there is plenty of space for your truck. The bath house was very clean, with 4 large, individual shower areas at the back of the building, each with a locking door, a dressing area and a shower possibly the size of 5'x8'. There are also heaters in the dressing area. The laundry area is located in the same building as the bathhouse, also including a large sink for washing dishes. We enjoyed the easy 1.5 mile walk from the visitors center to the farmhouse and back. Nice paved surface, with a great view of the James River. We were very impressed with Chippokes and thanked our friends for suggesting this great campground. All in all, a very, very nice place to camp!
We visited on a little trip across the ferry from Jamestown. This is a very nice park with camping, beach access on the river, and a very nice plantation with a tour. The tour guides are very informative. Also, the small gift shop at the plantation has very reasonable prices!
We camped at Chippokes last weekend for a night-- would've been longer, but I don't typically go under 30 degrees in a tent without extremely good reason.We were visiting the area to hit the Mariner's Museum's Hampton Roads Naval Battle Festival. This state park was a pleasurable ferry ride away from most of the action. I could see doing another outing down here for Jamestown/Busch Gardens/Williamsburg, as they're all very close by.The campground was nice and well maintained; the volunteer and staff were outstanding-- friendly, helpful-- as well. Not a bad place to pitch your tent!
The park and plantation are wonderful. I would recommend another time if you are a history buff. The festival is okay, best for children.
There is only 7500 in the whole county and all are nice. Park staff are so very nice. Everything was clean. The grounds are well take care. They need some more time work on the gardens but the staff and volunteer make up for the slightly over grown gardens. The story of the Stewards is great. Lots of history at this planation. Nice to walk the beach to. This is vacation all by its self.