Bike Camping At False Cape State Park, VA

(This is a first-person account of the recent trip we took to the False Cape State Park in Virginia, where we spent a relaxing few days of cycling and camping)

THE IDEA

When Jani got off the phone with her brother Matt last winter, she said that he and his wife, Cathy, had booked a week of camping for early May in Virginia; some place called False Cape State Park. We had camped with them the previous fall in the Boundary Waters (click here to see the Boundary Waters post), and they were wondering whether we wanted to join them in Virginia. We knew next to nothing about the destination, but Jani thought it “sounded like fun”. I said I would look into the details.

In researching the park, I found that its trails were limited to hiking and biking and that you could only get there by walking, pedaling or kayaking through the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, an 8-mile trek to the first campsites. All camping was “primitive” and not all the sites had potable water. Fair enough; that would discourage less serious campers and afford some privacy.

The online photos showed a lovely tidewater environment with lots of bird watching opportunities and unspoiled beaches. There was nothing that I found that would keep us from going, save for the warning about the presence of Cottonmouth snakes (aka Water Moccasins) … and the fact that I did not even own a bike.

Admittedly, I was lukewarm about our going, but there were some good reasons for making this happen. We really enjoyed Matt and Cathy’s company, we were both fully vaccinated and could travel safely, we had not yet made any firm trip plans for the summer, and I wanted us to do more things together, not fewer, in our retirement years. And, alas, I did not want to be the one who poured cold water on this idea.

So … I decided to buy a bike.

PREPARATION

The world of bicycles had experienced monumental changes since I last owned a bike, some 60 years before, so I contacted our younger son for some seasoned advice. Before the pandemic, Wyatt had, on occasion, commuted to work in Seattle on his bike and, a few concussions later, knew a lot about bikes and bike safety. He suggested buying a hybrid bike, avoiding bike trailers (we were going to be transporting a lot of camping gear), investing in a good helmet, lights, disc brakes, cycle shoes, and yes, even those “doofie” cycle shorts.

Because of the pandemic, I found that bikes and their accessories were in short supply. Fortunately, the second bike shop I called had one hybrid left, and they would hold it if I would drive over and see it that day. I liked what I saw, a Trek FX3 disc, purchased it and started to search for the accessories we would need to make our trip a success. Fortunately, we had 2 months to prepare, because it took more than six weeks to secure all the gear.

Once I got my bike (Jani already owned a hybrid bike), we needed to get out on the road and add some miles of riding experience. We pedaled over to the cemetery in Milton, where Jani’s parents are buried, and realized that our local hills were a surprising challenge for senior cyclists. The spinning classes I had been taking were a big help in getting me through this maiden 10-mile ride, but I was glad that the Virginia trip most likely promised pretty flat going.

PREPARATIONS: A PHOTO SLIDESHOW

It turned out that bike carriers for our car were also largely unavailable, but after numerous tries we located one that would work to transport our bikes. Thinking that we should work out the bugs in all this new equipment, we loaded up the bikes and drove 35 minutes to Wassaic NY to ride on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. The rail trail was ideal, built on an unused railway bed, flat, paved and limited to walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers. We rode about 12 miles the first day, and promised to return to try more of the 53-mile round trip when we had more time. This proved to be a worthwhile shakedown journey since we learned that our bikes would not fit on the carrier unless we removed the bike racks that we would depend upon for carrying our camping gear once we arrived in Virginia .

Once the panniers (saddlebags) came, we returned to the rail trail, re-attaching our racks and carrying these bags, with some additional weight. This time we biked 25 miles and everything went smoothly. We felt that we were ready to make the trip to False Cape; that is, if everything we ordered for the bikes would arrive on time.

We started piling supplies on the dining room table, hoping to get a solid idea of how much space all our stuff would devour. Just our sleeping gear – pads, pillows, sleeping bags – took up most of the two panniers we had originally purchased for my bike. Add in our two collapsible camp chairs, and the panniers were full. The tent would have to be carried separately, lashed to the a rack, but we still had to account for a stove, fuel, tarp,utensils, dishes, cups, fuel, first aid kit, and, of course, 3 days of provisions.

After days of surveying amount of supplies growing on our table we realized that we would have to add panniers to Jani’s bike as well in order to be able to carry everything we would need in one trip. And we hadn’t yet figured our clothing and rain gear into this calculation.

The additional bags arrived three days before we were due to leave.

We loaded the bikes two days prior to leaving just to make sure we could fit everything. Then we gave each bike a trial run on our dirt road to see whether we could manage the bikes with these loads. The only thing missing in these trials were our day packs, which would hold our clothes and any last minute additions; they would be on our backs.

We removed the bags and the bike racks once we were sure we could handle the weight. With one day left, we loaded the bikes onto the car. We headed south early the next morning (Mothers Day), pinning our hopes on an memorable adventure in the days ahead.

VIRGINIA BEACH: A PHOTO SLIDESHOW

Since it was Sunday, and a holiday, the trip south was easy. We were a little nervous whether the bikes would ride well for the 9-hour trip, especially since we had never experienced the 17.6 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and did not know what to expect. We arrived in Virginia Beach without a hitch though, found our hotel, secured our bikes and looked forward to getting a solid start the following morning.

After a filling breakfast in town, we set off to find the designated parking area from which to launch our trip. Once located, we started to unload our bikes, re-attach the bike racks, and load up for the trip through the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and into the park. When we were all loaded, it started to lightly rain. Naturally….

The week prior to our arrival, temperatures had been in the 90’s, but the rain dropped the mercury into the 60’s, making pedaling in rain gear pretty comfortable. While it remained overcast a lot while we were there, there were long stretches of sunshine and it never poured on us. The benefit was that there were almost no bugs … and fewer, if any snakes (that we saw).

FALSE CAPE STATE PARK

False Cape is not a true cape; hence the name. In an era of wooden ships, this barrier spit of land between the ocean and Back Bay was often mistaken for Cape Henry, at the mouth of the Chesapeake. These mistaken sightings resulted in many shipwrecks, and many of its early residents were survivors from these wrecks.

Some of the early residents formed a community called Wash Woods, named for the storm surges that inundated the dunes. In the late 1800’s, there were approximately 300 residents, a store, a cemetery and a Methodist Church. It was remote; the people were cut off from Virginia Beach except at low tide.

As much as I researched False Cape, I had only an inkling of what we would actually find there. As expected for a tidewater tract, we were at sea level and the trails were mostly flat. There was always a breeze and the air was damp. Hidden from the pages on the internet is that False Cape State Park is an anomaly. It is clean, well-maintained and cared for, quiet (except for some loud birds at night), private and most-likely underutilized. In short, a gem.

The trails, though gravel, are wide and easy to navigate, save for the few marked areas where the gravel morphs into deep sand. The campsites are semi-secluded and most are sheltered from the wind. They are spacious with easy access to water (two areas with potable water; two without) and two well-stocked, clean outhouses. The outhouses even had motion-activated interior lights, Purell sanitizer and extra rolls of TP.

The beaches were immaculate and deserted, stretching as far as we could see. We saw Dolphins patrolling in the surf, an unexpected plus. I have no idea how busy these beaches become in the summer, but I got the feeling that the friendly staff at False Cape could handle it.

The only unfortunate aspect was that the trails can be covered in a single day, making long stays less inviting but ideal for a relaxing visit. The park borders North Carolina, but deep sand makes it difficult to extend travel south by bike.

FALSE CAPE PHOTO GALLERY

(click on any picture for enlarged viewing)

FINAL DAY: SUNRISE AT THE BEACH

On our last day, we were treated to a wonderful sunrise, embedding an indelible memory of False Cape State Park and another worthwhile adventure.

SO, WHAT’S NEXT?

We are currently planning to start lessons next month to become certified SCUBA divers. The goal is to venture to some exotic locale to finish our open water diving requirements sometime in the fall or winter, hopefully after hurricane season.

We are also discussing a family canoe trip in the Adirondack Mountains with Austin and Nicole’s family during the summer. I have been lobbying for a canoe trip to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway for the early fall, but nothing has yet to be finalized. In short … stay tuned.