While we stayed in the historic triangle of Virginia over the summer, we made our home base at Camp Cardinal RV Resort in Hayes, Virginia. Interested in everything we did in Virginia? Now you can download our itinerary for free!
Like when we stayed at Resaca de la Palma, we workamped. This allowed us to stay for free in exchange for Mom working a few hours a week in the reception office. A big difference, though, between our Virginia stay and our South Texas stay, was Mom got paid! 15 hours of her work per week went to paying for the site. The rest became a small paycheck.
Kid-Friendly Campground
This was a proper campground, with campers coming and going, seasonals staying the whole season, and other staffers living on-site. The benefit of this for the kids was amazing. Both Mom and I felt a little bad about the pseudo-isolation of Resaca de la Palma, but here at Camp Cardinal, the kids made new friends every weekend, but also established close friendships with the resident kids.
The campground itself is divided roughly into three areas. There are heavily tree-covered areas reserved for staff, seasonals, and long-term residents. There are areas of cabins and open spaces for weekend trippers and a smaller area of tent camping spots. Nothing special about the accommodations; all the sites, even the tent spaces, have water and power.
Camp Cardinal is More Cramped Than We’d Prefer
We favor wide-open spaces and from that perspective, we weren’t the most comfortable in the packed nature of the campsites. They had some tree cover and that was nice, better than the parking lot in Casselton, ND. However, if we’re paying for parking, we’d much rather grab a spot at a state park or other low-amenity, low-capacity locale.
Most of the sites run $80 to $100 a night, so it is not cheap. However, rumor has it that it’s one of the cheaper campgrounds in the area.
Amenities
Where Camp Cardinal stands out are its amenities. The big ones a lot of people come for are the water park, the bounce pads, the fishing piers, and the boat launch.
The water park consists of 2 pools. One pool is dedicated to water play, with dump buckets, water sprayers, and 2 water slides! The other pool is more for general swimming, going from about 3 feet deep on one end to 9 feet on the other.
The bounce area consists of 2 large bounce pads and 2 inflatable play structures. It’s a great place to send one’s littles to stay out from underfoot while camp is being set up.
Speaking of littles, the campground hosts fun-themed activities for children, families, and adults every weekend, though not during the week.
The fishing piers and boat launch are a great amenity for several reasons. Camp Cardinal’s licensing means anyone can fish or crab at the piers unlicensed. They also have several kayaks and paddle boats available for campers to check out and tool about the river that the camp sits on. The summer we were there, they were free!
There are smaller amenities as well, including a playground, horseshoe pits, an off-leash dog park, a convenience store, and group pavilions.
Unsurprisingly, the campground wifi was “present” but not usable. We relied all season on our Pepwave router for cellular internet.
Camp Cardinal Faults
Our stay at Camp Cardinal did highlight some faults, however. This is a campground beyond its prime. Whether from mismanagement or lack of income, the park’s water and sewer infrastructure was straining to keep up with the demand throughout the season. Several campers complained to the health department about backups. In response, most of the short-term sites had the sewer lines capped, one bath house was shuttered, and the laundromat was closed near the end of the season.
While we never saw inside the cabins, they got complaints every weekend. Everything from weak floors and black mold to missing blinds and kitchen wares. Online, they look like mini-suites, but in reality, they are worn-down, rustic portables. Bring your own linens, as they are not provided.
Untapped Potential
There was a lot of untapped potential at Camp Cardinal. There is a building across from the general store labeled as a “Snack Shack” where historically hot dogs, pizza, and cold drinks were sold. However, it didn’t run all season. They could have made a lot of money on hungry, tired travelers grabbing a quick meal after arriving and setting up camp. Not to mention slushy and soda sales to thirsty pool users!
There are 2 other outbuildings farther down the point. One was labeled “Boat Shack” and the other was unlabeled but adjacent to a large fenced-in area. While the boats ran all season, campers had to sign up at the general store and then walk down to the boats. They then had to wait for a staffer to unlock a boat and get them PPE from the boat shack.
The open area could have easily been leased for craft markets, themed events, or other “pop-up” style events.
Workamping at Camp Cardinal
From a workamping perspective, management was not great. The two managers were only on the clock during the week and alternated which one was “on call” during the weekend. We feel that if you are in hospitality, you should have both managers present every weekend! As it was, when the campground was busiest, the staff had the least support. When there were issues the staff was unable to handle without a manager, they were made to feel like they were bothering a manager.
Camp Cardinal has a lot of work to do to bring it back to its former glory. Our experience doesn’t make us confident that the ownership or management will be willing or able to make the investments needed to make it shine again. If you’re looking for a place to stay in the historic triangle, you may be better served elsewhere.
