Grandview Nature Preserve
Hampton, VA
Grandview Nature Preserve trades a boardwalk for a trail through 475 acres of salt marsh and tidal creek before it finally opens onto 2.5 miles of undeveloped Chesapeake Bay beach in Hampton. It's the wildest stretch of shoreline left in a city otherwise built up around its bay.
The most undeveloped beach walk in Hampton, with real birding and quiet, but the lack of real parking and the seasonal dog ban rule out a good chunk of casual visitors.
How we score beachesGo early for the birds and the light. Migratory shorebirds are thickest at dawn, and the marsh trail feels a lot different, and a lot quieter, before the day heats up.
Only limited street parking is available along State Park Drive. There's no dedicated lot, so this beach stays quieter than the boardwalk beaches nearby.
A trail leads from the street to the beach, unpaved for most of its length, ending in open sand with no boardwalk.
Dogs are banned on the main beach from May 15 through September 15 and on the Factory Point section from April 1 through September 15. Outside those windows, leashed dogs are allowed.
Biting insects in the marsh can be heavy in late spring and summer, so an early morning or a cooler shoulder season visit tends to be the more comfortable choice.
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