Land for Sale in Westmoreland County, Virginia

Westmoreland County sits on the Potomac River at the northern edge of Virginia's Northern Neck. Colonial Beach — a small beach town with a boardwalk and a view of Maryland across the Potomac — draws weekend visitors and retirees. The county is also home to George Washington Birthplace National Monument and Westmoreland State Park's fossil-rich Chesapeake cliffs.

Westmoreland has two distinct markets. Colonial Beach is the county's population and tourism center — a walkable beach town with restaurants, a boardwalk, and Potomac River views. It attracts retirees and weekenders from DC and Northern Virginia (about 90 minutes). The rest of the county is deeply rural: large farm and timber tracts, historic plantations, and quiet crossroads communities like Montross (the county seat) and Oak Grove.

The Potomac riverfront is Westmoreland's signature feature. Unlike the Chesapeake Bay side of the Northern Neck, the Potomac is a wide tidal river with sandy beaches, fossil-hunting opportunities at Westmoreland State Park, and views across to Maryland. Potomac Creek and Nomini Creek provide tidal access on the county's interior waterways.

Westmoreland has no hospital — the nearest options are in Fredericksburg or Tappahannock. Broadband is limited outside Colonial Beach. For buyers seeking Potomac River access, historic Virginia character, and Northern Neck value, Westmoreland delivers. LandMatch maps flood zones, wetland percentage, creek access, and usable land on every parcel — critical data where the Potomac's tidal influence affects buildability across large portions of the county.

Westmoreland County's Potomac River shoreline, its Bay-facing eastern edge, and tidal creeks like Nomini Creek and Potomac Creek all fall under Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. The Act requires a 100-foot vegetated buffer — a Resource Protection Area (RPA) — along every tidal waterway, tidal wetland, and connected perennial tributary. Colonial Beach buyers should pay particular attention: the town's appeal is its Potomac waterfront, but the RPA buffer means the first 100 feet landward from the tidal shoreline is protected, and on the smaller lots typical of a beach town, that can constrain what you can build and where. Outside Colonial Beach, the RPA is most relevant along Nomini Creek and the Potomac's tidal tributaries. Westmoreland's interior farm and timber tracts generally sit above tidal influence and are not affected. For any waterfront parcel, request an RPA determination from Westmoreland County's planning office before making an offer.