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Destination Virginia Beach

by Rails to Trails Conservancy

These photos by Contributor Scott Stark highlight the diverse sights and wonders of four trails around Virginia Beach—one of the state’s most popular destinations.

21 photos · 27 views
The trail also affords easy access to a long beach in the state park, sheltered by the bulk of Cape Henry.
The 7.5-mile Cape Henry Trail, which crisscrosses First Landing State Park, traverses forest, cypress swamp and salt marsh before terminating at a small white sand bay beach.
The Cape Henry Trail’s surface is composed of mostly hard-packed earth suitable for mountain bikes and hybrids.
Its mild ups and downs average out to nearly flat.
The trail connects to several shorter hiking-only trails within the park.
First Landing’s beaches provide a quieter experience than the more popular boardwalk beach to the south.
Extending 9.5 miles from Harbor Park stadium to the Norfolk International terminals, the Elizabeth River Trail skirts the decommissioned USS Wisconsin.
The USS Wisconsin is a major draw of the adjacent maritime museum, Nauticus.
A U.S. Navy bluejacket with hands stuffed in his peacoat keeps eternal watch over the Wisconsin.
Steps from the USS Wisconsin, the Elizabeth River Trail goes through an Oriental garden at Freemason Harbor.
The tea garden’s central pagoda was built in 1989 on and around the pillars that once supported a massive molasses storage tank.
The Ghent Loop path (a detour for a temporarily closed section of trail) goes down the center of a 35-foot-wide median on Redgate Avenue.
The Chrysler Museum of Art anchors The Hague, a Y-shaped inlet of the Elizabeth River.
A bridge over The Hague is covered with locks symbolizing lovers’ commitment to each other.
Norfolk Southern donated the land that became the Weyanoke Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary.
Benches are rare within the refuge’s eight acres of mostly untamed wilderness.
The trail transitions for a bit to crushed gravel near an explosion of wildflowers.
Like Chicago’s cows or D.C.’s pandas, individually decorated mermaid statues can be found throughout Norfolk.
The 1.3-mile Norfolk Avenue Trail extends from Birdneck Road to its terminus two blocks from Virginia Beach’s famous boardwalk.
Virginia Beach’s 2.5-mile boardwalk is flanked by shops and the Atlantic Ocean.
This statue of Neptune along the boardwalk (north) is a crowd favorite.