Beaches Along The Chesapeake Bay

Fishermen have long appreciated the hidden jewels along the shorelines of Virginia's tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. At beaches where freshwater and saltwater meet, you can expect a diverse array of wildlife, calm waves, and some of the best views in the Commonwealth.

Chippokes Plantation State Park in Surry, in the northern Coastal Virginia - Hampton Roads region, maintains two miles of beach along the James River for fishing. Amenities at the park also include a swimming pool, picnic areas, cabins and campsites.

The park has been an actual working farm since 1617, and visitors may tour an antebellum mansion, stroll through formal gardens, or view a collection of antique farm and forestry equipment and a sawmill exhibit at the Farm and Forestry Museum.

Colonial Beach

In the Northern Neck, which stretches between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, five small public beaches run along the Potomac River. These include Westmoreland State Park's beach and Colonial Beach, the northernmost outpost. The waterside town is also the site of George Washington's Birthplace, where costumed interpreters re-create the sights, sounds, and smells of 18th-century life.

Another famous site in the region is Stratford Hall Plantation. The home of the Lee family, which includes two signers of the Declaration of Independence and Confederate general Robert E. Lee, sits on 1600 acres of farmlands and forests on a high bluff overlooking the Potomac River. Take a tour of the Great House to explore the family's history.

Bordering the Chesapeake Bay, the wide, clean Buckroe Beach offers eight acres of family-friendly sandy beach, plus a playground for children, picnic shelters with tables and grills by reservation, a great walking and bike path, and spacious car park area. Certified lifeguards are on duty daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day.