Guest Info
Welcome to The Laughing King!
The Rules of the Road
The Laughing King is nestled in a small community of summer cottages and full time residents. This makes for quiet, peaceful, safe, friendly surroundings. Being a part of this community comes with many benefits as well as a few personal responsibilities. In order to make sure there are no misunderstandings and to maintain our good standing in the community, we are compelled to spell them out here:
Guests are welcome to access the beach through the Backyard Beach Access and Southern Beach Access. Please keep off neighboring properties.
In Virginia, waterfront property owners own to the “mean low water mark,” or the average low tide line. Basically, if you’re walking right along the water’s edge, you’re on public property, which is good. If you’re walking or setting up chairs and towels above the water’s edge, then you’re on private property, which is not good. We recommend that you walk along the water’s edge to get to the sandbar where you can go anywhere you like for miles.
Steer clear of the breakwater at the northern edge of the community. It’s dangerous, covered with razor sharp oysters, slippery and off limits. No exceptions.
Only use our Southern Beach Access to access the sandbar.
Do not walk across or through anyone’s yard in an effort to get to the sandbar or to grab a better view of a gorgeous sunset.
Do not use any of our neighbor’s beach steps or docks. They are all private.
The speed limit is 25 mph, which is probably too fast. Take your time, enjoy the view, and watch out for others on the road.
Please do not put your towels or beach chairs on any beach in any beach in the community other than ours.
If you see or make any trash, please pick it up and toss it in our trash cans.
We have hosted over 10,000 guests since we began in 2018 and have never had a single problem. We think that is because we go out of our way to be a little crazy with laying out what you can and cannot do. With your help, we’ll continue to enjoy the wonderful relationship we have with our neighbors.
Please do not think that we have these rules in place because the folks that live along the waterfront are not friendly. Our neighbors are wonderful. Wave to everyone. Stop and speak to anyone you see. Introduce yourself. They are all fascinating and would love to say hello.
Directions
14367 Mattawoman Rd
Eastville, VA 23347
The Laughing King is located at the end of Old Town Neck Drive in Eastville. Follow Old Town Neck for about 4 miles, then take a right on Hungars Beach Road. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see the white Hungars Beach sign. Follow that road to Mattawoman Road. Look for the small brown road sign on the right that takes you to a lane lined with white fences. Follow the lane and make a left down the tree-lined drive.
Parking
As you are facing the house, parking is on the left and right sides (see picture below). Congratulations you made it! This is your home for the extent of your stay
Wifi
Network: Home
Password: 4107074256 (this is also MJ’s phone number)
We have limited cell service, but a strong wifi connection. But while you’re here, we invite you to set down the screen and enjoy the natural beauty all around you.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served around 9am. We rotate through a variety of signature dishes. But the real treat is sharing a table with other guests, making connections and sharing stories. Dietary restrictions are no problem. Just let us know ahead of time. Breakfast is paired with Laughing King's custom coffee blend, roasted exclusively for us by Eastern Shore Coastal Roasting Company, a bold French roast worth waking up for.
Backyard Beach Access (Duck House)
Head through the duck house and down the steps to reach the main waterfront area. This is also where you'll find our collection of boats and boards — canoes, kayaks, paddleboards — all available for your use. Please pull any watercraft as far up on the beach as you can, where the beach meets the bulkhead. This is so the tide doesn't carry them off.
Once on the beach, here a few things to keep in mind:
To the left: You may walk until you reach the private property signs.
The concrete breakwater: Strictly off limits. It's dangerous. Please steer clear. See picture with golden yellow beach grass.
To the right: Go until you hit the small creek. It's too deep to cross by foot.
Please give the clam beds a wide berth. See aerial photo. The clam beds are submerged rectangular sections of netting marked by a white PVC pipe.
Aerial photo of clam beds. Steer clear of these! Clams are growing.
Photo of breakwater. Though it looks fun, please keep off.
Southern Beach Access (Hungars Beach)
The aerial photo with the blue annotations shows you Laughing King property lines. The red marker is the Laughing King main house. The blue line off Hungars Beach Road that juts towards the water is the Southern Beach Access.
This beach access is best at low tide or sunset. The top of the dune has the best view on the property. This is also the way to get to the sandbar, one of the most beautiful places on the Shore.
As you travel from the house down Hungars Beach Road, after about a quarter mile, you’ll find a mowed parking area on the left (see image). Across the street, look for the small sign on a stick marked "beach" (see image) that marks the path through the woods to the dunes.
If you reach the white Hungars Beach sign with all the property owner names, you’ve gone too far.
Please see the below video for a visual explanation for how to traverse the path to the beach.
Video of Southern Beach Access.
Photo of Southern Beach Access parking.
Photo of Southern Beach Access sign (far away).
Photo of Southern Beach Access sign (close up).
The Sandbar
The sandbar is public property and one of the best features of The Laughing King. At very low tide you can walk for miles across broad, sugar-white sand. Ask us about tide times and sunset times before you head out or check out NOAA’s Tide Predictions here. Low tide is the best time to go.
We are happy to walk you through all of this when you arrive and point out anything you want to know more about.