Virginia Beach Highlights
From America's first federally funded lighthouse to the Oceanfront boardwalk and the wild barrier-island refuges of the south, a curated tour of Virginia Beach's history, beaches, and nature.
Trip Stops
- 1
The 1792 tower was the first public works project authorized by the new U.S. government. A taller 1881 lighthouse stands beside it and still guides ships into the Chesapeake Bay.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 2
Near where Jamestown's colonists first came ashore in 1607, this is Virginia's most-visited state park. It was built by an all-Black Civilian Conservation Corps crew, and legend says Blackbeard once hid in its cypress-lined Narrows.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 3
A National Historic Landmark long believed to date from 1636, it was actually built around 1719 by the founder's great-grandson. Its brick walls and English-style garden overlook the Lynnhaven River.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 4
Opened in 1927 on a hill above the ocean, this Jeffersonian-style grande dame hosted several U.S. presidents. The Navy used it as a radar training school during World War II.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 5
The three-mile oceanfront boardwalk has been a resort promenade since the 1880s. Its centerpiece is a 34-foot bronze King Neptune rising from the sand at 31st Street.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 6
This 1903 life-saving station was later moved to make way for a hotel and now tells the story of the shipwreck-strewn "Graveyard of the Atlantic." The name Seatack is said to come from locals' slang for the British "sea attack" of 1812.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 7
Opened in 1986, it holds over 800,000 gallons of fresh and saltwater exhibits, from Chesapeake Bay habitats to Komodo dragons. Its boardwalk crosses salt marsh where wild crabs and fish can be spotted.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 8
A 165-acre park built on a closed landfill, it is one of America's earliest landfill-to-park conversions. Its 60-foot-high hills offer views, and the park also has a skate park and two fishing lakes.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 9
One of the world's largest private collections of flying World War I and II warbirds, many still airworthy. It sits on a grass-runway airfield marked by an orange-and-white checkered water tower.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 10
Established in 1938 for migrating waterfowl, this barrier-island refuge has boardwalk trails and dune beaches. Back Bay has wind tides instead of lunar tides, so steady south winds push its water level up.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
- 11
Ships once mistook this remote spit for Cape Henry and ran aground, hence the name. With no vehicle access, it is reached on foot, by bike or by tram through Back Bay, and the beach is nearly empty.
📍 Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
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