Camping & SUPing with the Dogs at Kiptopeke State Park
- ericamargaret5
- Aug 4, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 26
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Kiptopeke State Park
Ever see those Instagram posts where one half shows reality and the other half shows what gets posted on Instagram? Well. this campground had those vibes going on. I was really excited for the drive, which just ended up being gas stations and convenience stores. I was excited for the campground, only for us to be crammed in between two huge trailers on top of the mud pit that was called our campsite. Despite the initial let down, Kiptopeke State Park is cool state park to visit in the summer months.
Once we made it way, way, way, way down there to the tip of the Virginia eastern shore, we got to the campsite and realized it did not have a concrete pad, which we were unprepared for. This was only our 2nd or 3rd trip in the trailer and we were still learning the ins and out. While trying to back into the site, we kept sinking and people were stopping to ask if we needed help because we couldn't get the damn thing parked and we were blocking the campground road.
At this point in our trailer journey, on top of not having all the necessary tools, we were also not that good at parking it, yelling things at teach other like "TURN RIGHT! NO, YOUR OTHER RIGHT!??! TURN THE OTHER WAY!??! THE OTHER WAY!!! NOT THAT WAY, DAMN IT! Get out. Let me try." Our neighbors, after watching for a while and enjoying the show (which, I'll admit, watching people try and park their campers after parking yours if half the fun of camping), took pity on us and helped us out by setting up some plywood so we wouldn't keep sinking.
Anyway, as you would have it, this is one of those campgrounds that would be a good example of "camping IRL" as opposed to "camping on Instagram." Close-in, the site, and the idea of it, looked cool. Zoom out, though, and you'll see trailers squeezed next to trailers.
The good news about this park is that if you can get over being crammed into your site, it is pretty neat, which is why it's packed full in the summer. We could only get a random reservation from like a Tuesday-Thursday. The dogs are not allowed on the swim beach, but you can walk them on the shoreline outside of the beach boundary. There are some shipwrecks off shore that create a quiet lagoon next to the park where the dogs enjoyed sniffing and splashing their toes in the water.
My main goal while we visiting this park was to try and stand up paddle with Porter or Cheeze. We had been practicing get used to the board in the above ground pool at our house and I thought we were ready for a real life paddling attempt.
We decided to pack the inflatable SUP instead of the fiberglass one since we were still getting used to towing the trailer and didn't also want to throw a SUP on the roof. The walk to the lagoon was also kind of long from the campsite if you are trying to walk three dogs and carry a big SUP, so we thought it would be easier to carry the inflatable SUP, which fits into a backpack. All of this to day, the dogs did not like the inflatable, so best to bring the fiberglass board or whatever you have been practicing on if you can manage it. (My inflatable was the Tahoe SUP Alpine Explorer, which was very expensive. Back when I bought it, though, it was one of only a few options. Now, there seems to lots more on Amazon that you could buy to try out SUPing at a lower price point and then invest later if you enjoy it. I also have a fiberglass board that I haven't tested in the real world yet. When I do, I can let you know how it goes.)
The lagoon was very shallow by the shore, so this was a great place to practice because I could lift the dog onto the board. I could also stand in the water and brace the board so it was more stable. In the above picture, I have Cheeze on the board, and you can tell he is feeling a little nervous. We spent a while just doing this until he was more relaxed. When I felt the dog had calmed down, I got on and took a few paddles around the lagoon. I did not get far with Porter or Cheeze, as neither of them could get comfortable with the inflatable bar down the middle. The water was calm without a lot of current, so it really was a nice place to practice if I could get the dogs to agree with me. Mostly they preferred to jump off and swim around, so that's what we did. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to get a long paddle in, but it was also a good training session and my expectations were a bit too high considering all of the newness of the situation. I'm looking forward to trying again this summer.
Our camping routine at this park was to start the morning with a walk along the shoreline. Eventually you will get to a boundary marker for the park, so that's where we would turn around. If the dogs wanted to swim a bit and there was no one else around, we would let Porter and Cheeze paddle in the water a bit. (Gussie HATES WATER with a burning passion.)
After the morning walk, we would have a nice breakfast at the campsite, making sure no one popped around the corner of their giant RV's and spooked the dogs, and then we would cool off/read inside the camper for a while. The midday walk was usually just around the campground, and in the evening we would take them to the trails in the meadow next to the park. I enjoyed these trails as no one was on them and since they were on the bluff above the water, you could get a view of the water at certain places. These trails were quiet and empty and we did not see any off leash dogs. The campground had a dog park that dogs could run around in off-leash, so maybe that helped.
Ultimately, due to the closeness of the sites, I do not recommend this campground for those of us traveling with more than one rescue dog. It was too squashed and too busy. If you have a dog that loves swimming and splashing, though, this is a great place to take them.
If you ever go camping at Kiptopeke State Park with your dogs, please lets us know how it goes in the comments. You can also reach us on Instagram @SpotsandBrindle.
Kiptopeke State Park: 5/7
 | Car camping accessible |
 | Decent space at site |
| 6-8 ft. wide/emptyish walking trails accessible from campground. |
| Rangers enforcing leash requirements. |
| Site cleaned prior to arrival. |
| Quiet/lack of busyness |
| Fire pit on site |
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