York River waterfront homes in Yorktown, York County and Gloucester Point

York River waterfront, in short

Private York River waterfront on the Peninsula sits in three places: the lower York County shore from Yorktown east to Dandy on Goodwin Neck; the York County creeks that feed the river (Wormley Creek, Back Creek and Queen Creek); and the Gloucester County shore around Gloucester Point, Sarah Creek and the Perrin River. York County's comprehensive plan notes that roughly 40% of the county is federal land and that, unlike the upper county, most lower-county waterfront is privately owned. Much of the upriver shoreline belongs to Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Cheatham Annex and Camp Peary.

What matters for a house is the depth at mean low water at its own pier. For questions to ask on a specific property, see York River waterfront: questions to ask before you buy.

What kind of river is the York?

The York is a tidal estuary formed at West Point by the Pamunkey and Mattaponi rivers, running about 29 nautical miles (roughly 33 statute miles) to the Chesapeake Bay, per NOAA's U.S. Coast Pilot 3, Chapter 11. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is headquartered at Gloucester Point.

• Channel. A federal project provides a 37-foot entrance channel, and natural depths exceed 37 feet from there up past Yorktown to the naval installation. Those are channel depths, not shoreline depths.
• Tide. At NOAA's Yorktown gauge (station 8637689), the mean tide range is 2.27 feet (NOAA datums).
• Sea level. NOAA's long-term trend at Yorktown is 1.91 inches per decade, 1950 through 2025 (NOAA).
• Bridge. The Coleman Memorial Bridge between Yorktown and Gloucester Point has twin swing spans with 60 feet of clearance when closed.
• Restricted water. Restricted and prohibited areas surround the Naval Weapons Station and Cheatham Annex piers.

Where is the private York River frontage?

York County has about 235 miles of tidal shoreline, per the Land Use chapter of its comprehensive plan. Federal installations sit outside local zoning, and the 153-acre Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown holds frontage at the end of Moore House Road. The 2013 VIMS shoreline inventory shows how use splits: 24.5 miles of York River mainstem shoreline had only 15 docks, while Back Creek had 77, Wormley Creek 62 and Queen Creek 19. Felgates Creek and King Creek had none.

Seaford and Chisman Creek face the Bay more than the river (Seaford); see also Queens Lake and Gloucester.

Deep water or creek water: what to verify

Coast Pilot depths describe marked channels and change. For a specific house, get a depth survey at mean low water (MLW) from the pier head to the channel; with a 2.27-foot mean range, 3 feet at MLW means a little over 5 feet at an average high tide. Check the creek entrance's controlling depth, permit records for the pier, lift and shoreline work, and, if you sail, mast height against the 60-foot bridge clearance.

Who issues permits for piers, bulkheads and living shorelines?

• York County Wetlands Board (County Code Chapter 23.1). Jurisdiction runs from mean low water to 1.5 times the tidal range. It permits riprap, bulkheads, dredging, marsh toe sills and commercial piers after a public hearing; private piers and boathouses are exempt from its permit (Wetlands Board, 757-890-3750).
• Virginia Marine Resources Commission manages state-owned bottom below mean low water. Under Code of Virginia 28.2-1203, a riparian owner's noncommercial pier is exempt from a VMRC permit if it is no more than 6 feet wide with no more than 400 square feet of platforms, though an application is still required.
• One application. Since September 1, 2025, the Army Corps of Engineers' Regulatory Request System is the only way to submit the Joint Permit Application; it routes to the Corps, Virginia DEQ, VMRC and the local wetlands board (VMRC).
• Living shorelines are Virginia's preferred approach; VMRC permits other stabilization only when the best available science shows a living shoreline is not suitable (28.2-104.1).
• Gloucester Point side. The Gloucester County Wetlands Board hears tidal wetlands projects; residential permits cost $250 and last three years (Gloucester Environmental Programs).

How the Chesapeake Bay Act applies in York County

York County's ordinance (Chapter 23.2) defines the Resource Protection Area as tidal wetlands, tidal shores and connected non-tidal wetlands plus a 100-foot vegetated buffer; the Resource Management Area extends 500 feet beyond it or to the 100-year floodplain, whichever is greater (York County). The chapter was rewritten in June 2025 (Ord. 25-5). Under it:

• For a house that legally existed in the buffer, the county's CBPA Manager can approve additions by staff waiver if they add no pollution load. Accessory structures can't be approved this way (Sec. 23.2-14).
• On lots created before October 1, 1989, a new house may not enter the first 50 feet of the buffer.
• Staff cannot approve patios or other accessory structures in the buffer; those go to the Chesapeake Bay Board with a $250 fee and a Water Quality Impact Assessment.
• Pruning or removing trees for sight lines needs the CBPA Manager's authorization and a water quality impact assessment (Sec. 23.2-10), and state rules require replacement plantings (9VAC25-830-140) and require septic pump-out at least every five years (9VAC25-830-130).

Confirm current rules with York County Public Works.

Flood zones and insurance along the York

York County's FEMA flood map took effect January 16, 2015, and the county is Community Rating System Class 7 (15% off eligible NFIP premiums); Gloucester County's map took effect October 21, 2021, and it is Class 5 (25%) (FEMA Community Status Book, as of October 2026). At the Yorktown gauge, the National Weather Service minor-flood threshold is about 1.9 feet above mean higher high water, and the station's highest reading since 2004, on November 13, 2009, was about 4.3 feet above it (NOAA). Look up any parcel in Virginia's VFRIS, ask for the elevation certificate, and read the flood-zone guide.

Public boat ramps and docks on the lower York

Sources: York County facilities, Gloucester County parks.

Adam Triplett's record in York County

Adam Triplett, Vice President and Senior Partner at Garrett Realty Partners, has been ranked the #1 individual agent by the Virginia Peninsula Association of REALTORS® every year since 2018. A 2002 Grafton High School graduate, he specializes in seller representation, waterfront property and high-end homes.

Adam's closed-sales record, 2006 through July 2026, includes 111 sales with a Yorktown address (median $331,000), 20 of them at $500,000 or more: nearly half of his 42 sales at that level. Seaford addresses bring York County to 120. Notable listing-side sales with Yorktown addresses:

House numbers are omitted, and the list does not indicate which homes had water frontage. See Sold, High-end homes and Yorktown and York County.