If you love nature, you’re going to love Virginia Beach.
In addition to beachcombing on the beach, bird watching along the shore and hiking in our parks, take a look below for some other things nature lovers will enjoy while visiting Virginia Beach.
Visit False Cape State Park. Located between the ocean and Back Bay, this park is one of the last undeveloped areas along the entire Atlantic coast. The park once was home to Native Americans, the Wash Woods community and a Coast Guard lifesaving station. You can enjoy a primitive camping spot, walking/hiking/bicycling trials, and – possibly the best part of all – a full six miles of undisturbed beach!
Get on over to Cape Henry. Located at the southern boundary of the Chesapeake Bay, the cape is the home to First Landing State Park, which is near the location of the April 1607 landing of members of the Virginia Company (before they established themselves at Jamestown). It’s also the home to the Cape Henry Lighthouse, one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the country.
You can explore lagoons, hike among large cypress trees along more than 19 miles of hiking trails. You also can enjoy a guided ecological kayak tour (explore the area’s bays and marshes). You also can enjoy the park’s swimming beach, rent a kayak, and even sleep overnight in climate-controlled cabins, or pitch a tent on a primitive campsite.
Try stand-up paddleboarding. Many companies in Virginia Beach rent these stand-up surfboards and also offer lessons.
Go for a long walk in nature within the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. With more than 9,000 acres (that are located on a very thin strip of coastline), you can hike on the Bay Trail. You also can volunteer and learn how to maintain the bay’s ecosystems, as well as it’s fish and wildlife.
If you love nature but don’t have the time to visit the above suggestions (or the funds to hire a kayak guide), just leave your condo or hotel room: nestled right on the Atlantic Ocean with miles and miles of sandy beach, you’ll find plenty of nature to amaze and soothe you here in Virginia Beach. Watch seagulls. See how many horseshoe crab shells you can find. See if you can find any small rays skimming along just below the surf line on the shore. Watch the waves ebb and flow.
There’s so much nature in and near Virginia Beach that any nature lover probably will run out of energy before she runs out of things she’d like to do outdoors. Come to Virginia Beach soon and find your own little nature preserve along our shores.
