False Cape State Park
Virginia Beach, VA
False Cape State Park picks up where Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge ends, six miles of undeveloped Atlantic beach reachable only on foot, by bike, or by boat. No cars are allowed in at any time, which is exactly what keeps this the emptiest stretch of sand left in Virginia Beach.
The only truly undeveloped barrier beach left in the city, a real reward for the effort, though the hike or bike only access rules out anyone without half a day to spend getting there and back.
How we score beachesPlan the hike or bike in around low tide. The beach route is the fastest way in, but it needs a wide band of hard packed sand to be passable, and high tide can pinch that down to nothing.
There's no vehicle access to the park itself. Most visitors park at the Back Bay refuge lot and walk or bike the several miles in from there.
The approach is a multi mile hike or bike ride over sand, boardwalk, or refuge trail, with no paved or wheelchair accessible route to the beach.
Biting insects can be brutal on the refuge trails during late spring and summer, which keeps a lot of casual visitors out entirely. Fall and early spring trade a few degrees of water temperature for a nearly bug free walk in.
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