For those of you not wanting to fight with the crowding around Norfolk and Portsmouth, our friend Peter TenHagen suggests a quieter, less congested alternative. The Hampton River departs Hampton Roads north and west of Old Point Comfort approximately 11 nautical miles north of Mile Zero.

A sleeper of a municipal pier is the Hampton Piers on the Hampton River which runs north a ways when you come to Old Point Comfort whether north or south bound. A long stretch on the east side of the channel from red daymark Number 20 to a marina farther up is designated for transient anchoring and will comfortably hold half a dozen boats. Hampton Piers recognizes anchorees as valuable visitors to the City of Hampton and provides them a dinghy dock, trash disposal, water, and free use of their fleet of well maintained single speed bicycles for getting around town. They also offer showers for $1 each – as far as I am aware the only thing they charge for. On Fridays and Saturdays in the summer a free jitney bus runs a 30 minute loop up to the huge Peninsula Mall from noon to midnight both days. A Food Lion supermarket lies a 10 minute walk from available dinghy dockage on the short canal west of the Blue Water Marina. And dockage is only $1.25 a foot this time of year usually with lots of available slips. The Hampton River is quiet for the most part (some fish processing docks make a bit of noise) with an enforced 5mph no wake zone throughout – kayaking is pleasant and there are some areas where wildlife abounds. All in all a good layover heading north or south around the Norfolk area with friendly welcoming people to greet you.
Peter TenHagen

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Hampton River