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Region: Eastern Shore

A favorite region for Virginians and guests alike, the Eastern Shore is home to quaint old world towns, fishing villages that provide local restaurants with the finest seafood to be found anywhere, and its wildlife refuges and parks make it a birdwatchers paradise. And getting their through the Bay Bridge Tunnel is an adventure in itself.

Learn more about the amazing outdoor destinations in the Eastern Shore region of Virginia by clicking the links below:

• Kiptopeke State Park
  

  Kiptopeke State Park is located on Virginia's Eastern Shore three miles north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Cape Charles Toll Plaza. It has extensive camping opportunities for RVs and tent campers. The park also offers a swimming beach, hiking trails, picnic area, playground, boat ramp, fishing pier and bird watching. In addition, many types of birds nest in the park permanently or temporarily in the fall as they fly south for the winter. This is why the Eastern Shore Birding Festival is so popular every October at Kiptopeke. The park property was originally purchased by the Virginia Ferry Corporation for the northern terminus of the Virginia Beach to Eastern Shore Ferry. In 1949, when the terminus was moved from Cape Charles, the site was named Kiptopeke Beach in honor of the younger brother of a king of the Accawmack Indians who had befriended early settlers to the area. Kiptopeke means Big Water. In 1950 the terminus opened after the completion of a $2.75 million pier, promoted as the world's largest and most modern ferry pier.Ferry service was discontinued in 1964 with the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. In May 1992, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation purchased the 375 acres from John Maddox, who operated the property as Kiptopeke Beach Family Resort. The park was opened to the public on Memorial Day weekend of 1992. In 1999, an adjacent 160 acres known as the Parson tract was purchased on the South end of the park. Later an acre was purchased next to the park's contact station in 2000. The TAVI property was the latest purchase. It added 26 acres in 2009 to the East side of the park. This brought the park's total acreage up to 562 acres. A total of 126 acres has been reforested in the park.

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