A Young Couple Goes to Cape Charles, VA

The Bay Creek Marina is a fun, bright, revitalized area in an otherwise historic town. There are plenty of shops, restaurants, aquatic activities, and brightly colored rental houses in the area to accommodate any family and any interest.

Quick Tips:

Informative, official Cape Charles web pages are hard to find. I found that Bay Creek Golf Club had several informative web pages about points of interest and things to do in the area.

Also, the Cape Charles Museum and Welcome Center provides a wealth of information on the town's past and present.

Best Way To Get Around:

The town itself is pretty small, but I don't think I'd like to walk from end to end. On-street parking is abundant, and parking at the Marina is limited but sufficient.

For walkers, the Historical Society provides free self-guided walking tour information of the town's historic buildings and interesting architecture, and shoppers antique buffs would enjoy a walk down Mason Avenue's stores.

Bay Creek Resort Rentals offers an assortment of houses, condominiums, duplexes, townhouses, and cottages for rent or purchase at Bay Creek Golf Club, the Marina area, or within the town of Cape Charles itself.

We originally rented a home in town, but when it had a plumbing problem that rendered it uninhabitable, the Bay Creek staff were able to offer us a comparable duplex on the Bay Creek property. It was such a relief, especially considering how this improbable catastrophe could've ruined our vacation easily.

The home was comfortable and beautifully decorated, and we enjoyed it very much. Depending on the size of your party and the length of your stay, a rental can be more cost-effective than a hotel room. Moreover, Best Western seems to operate the only major hotels on the Delmarva Peninsula, as far as I could tell, and the Bay Creek properties are much, much nicer than any hotel room.

Bay Creek Resort itself offers a variety of amenities, from swimming pools, tennis courts, and other activities. The company is really investing in and beautifying the area, and it's nice to support and benefit from that kind of effort.

The only problem we encountered is that the drinking water tastes horrible, and Bay Creek says as much in its literature. We drank bottled water the entire time, as even a Brita filter did nothing to improve the taste. Although this was an unfortunate inconvenience, we enjoyed Bay Creek immensely and would recommend it to anyone considering a vacation in the area.

The Chesapeake is a self-proclaimed seafood bistro & wine bar, but I was most interested in their sandwich selections and pasta.

The Chesapeake is probably the nicest restaurant in Cape Charles, and it is located along the main street in town. There are only a couple of tables for outside seating, and there isn't much of a view, so I'd recommend eating indoors.

Since some of the seafood and meat dishes were rather expensive, I thought that the sandwiches and pasta dishes would offer a tasty opportunity to try the food without trying my budget.

Nothing on the menu was particularly spectacular or eye-catching, but that made choosing a meal all the more difficult. Everything looked good. And although I'm not much of a wine drinker, they offered a tasteful and extensive assortment of wines.

My only criticism is that the restaurant has fairly limited hours, especially on the weekends, so it was difficult to find an appropriate time to go. But it is a small town, so I understood why the hours were so limited. But if you're looking for a nice, romantic restaurant in the area, The Chesapeake is a good choice.

The Cape Charles public beach spans the length of Bay Avenue along the western edge of the town.

We found that the water was quite shallow at low tide, and people were able to wade out quite far without getting too wet. We also enjoyed spying tiny fish and crabs near the shore.

There is a relatively short pier at the south end of the beach, where people enjoy fishing or watching the boats travel along Chesapeake Bay. There is also a quaint gazebo alongside a small dolphin sculpture.

This is a very small beach. There are few waves, and there weren't many people at all at the north end of the beach, where we relaxed. The beach is separated from Bay Avenue by a long fence that allows few points of entry.

It might be a nice place to wade and relax, but it is far from a tourist attraction.

We enjoyed renting a kayak and paddling around the marina area. The water was calm, but a slight breeze and inland current made steering a little treacherous for us beginners.

We paid $15 for a 1-hour rental of a two-seater kayak. We sat atop the boat rather than inside it, if you will, as with a standard kayak. But passengers be warned--the holes in the bottom of the boat that prevent the kayak from being swamped also ensure a soggy ride. You will get wet, so wear a bathing suit.
The rental employees were friendly and courteous, but there was no instruction, and they were entirely unhelpful once we'd paid. But we had a fun time despite them and plenty of nice memories.

The following page contains a helpful chart of rental prices for various watercraft and other amenities at the marina: Marina Rental Rates.

The Seaside Gallery at the Marina features beautiful watercolor paintings by Thelma Jarvis Peterson, who also has a gallery in nearby Cheriton. Her artwork is gorgeous and colorful, and her subjects are generally flowers, still life, and she's able to wonderfully capture the simple and historic charm of the area.

She offers prints for sale at her galleries and on her website, with prices generally starting at $75 and up, which is quite reasonable for the size and beauty of her paintings.

Here is a small image of one of my favorite paintings. Click on the picture to visit her website.

Bay Creek has two golf courses open to the public. The Arnold Palmer-designed course borders the town of Cape Charles to the south, and the recently completed course designed by Jack Nicklaus borders the town to the east. Both courses are beautifully landscaped and maintained, and they are challenging to golfers at any skill level.
The average price for a round is $65 in the off season and $95 in the summer. However, there are a variety of discounts available that can reduce the fees to as low as $45 and $55, respectively. See the this chart for a full description.
The Arnold Palmer course opened in June 2001, and the Jack Nicklaus course opened in June 2006. Although they are both currently open to the public, they will eventually become private courses, so play them both while you still can! They are definitely the premier courses in the region.