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    JEB Fort Story, VA

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    Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story is located at Cape Henry, VA, at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay just north of Virginia Beach. Fort Story was established during World War I as a coastal defense facility to guard the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Dormant during the 20's and 30's, the fort was reactivated for World War II. Toward the end of the war, Fort Story became a major convalescence center for returning soldiers, treating more than 13,400.

    There's even more history attached to the Fort Story narrative. In April 1607, the first English settlers landed at Cape Henry. After a short stay, they moved on up the James River and made Jamestown their home.

    There is a monument to French Admiral François Joseph Paul, comte de Grasse to commemorate the famous sea battle on September 5, 1781 which prevented the British from reaching Yorktown near the end of the Revolutionary War.

    Today Fort Story is a Joint Expeditionary Base, training sailors and soldiers in what is termed Logistics-Over-The-Shore (LOTS) operations.

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    We decided to stop at Fort Story on our way south in the fall of 2014. Although we had called ahead in the morning for a reservation, it wasn't necessary - there were only two other campers there. We were assigned to site 5, although I'm sure we could have had any other site had we wanted to move.

    Date of visit: November 2014

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    Site 1 is typical of all the sites here - well-shaded and not to close to your neighbors. Although we prefer more sunny sites at this time of year, I'm sure the shade is welcome in the summer.

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    Lots of pine cones and pine needles here.

    Sites 2-5.

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    Site 16 is up on a slight knoll and is one of the most private sites.

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    Sites 20 and 22.

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    Sites 24 and 26.

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    Sites 11 and 12.

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    Site 14 is another quite private site.

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    Site 15, near the entrance to the camppground is the sole pull-through site.

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    Site 6 is located at the end of a short cul-de-sac.

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    The bathhouse isn't much to look at on the outside, being an old cement building. But the interior has been nicely re-worked inside into reasonably modern Mens and Womens bathrooms. They were very clean, heated and had free hot showers.

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    Next to the campground is a cabin area with 17 individual cabins. In the middle of the loop is a play area for the kids. In the background are both of the Cape Henry lighthouses.

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    Rather than spend the day in the darkness of the pine grove, we drove out to the shoreline and parked behind the Harbormaster's office just a few feet from the water. Lots of activity here with all the ships heading in and out of the Norfolk area and Chesapeake Bay.

    There was an amphibious assault exercise going on the day we were there, so there were helicopters circling about and several hovercraft came zipping in from the ocean.

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    Amenities

     

    27 campsites with W/E(20/30/50A) hookups

    Dump station, showers

    Excellent VZW coverage

    Coordinates: 36.921819 North, 76.004344 West

    Elevation: 10'

     

    fort story map