Ocean View Beach Park
Norfolk, VA
Ocean View Beach Park anchors Norfolk's stretch of Chesapeake Bay shoreline at the end of Granby Street, one of three city run beach parks along a strip that runs east from here for miles. Locals drive straight up Granby from downtown, and the road simply ends at the sand.
An easy, free beach day minutes from downtown Norfolk, though there's no lifeguard on duty and the amenities are basic compared to a resort beach.
How we score beachesThe city's three beach parks, Ocean View, Sarah Constant, and Community Beach, sit close enough together that it's worth driving a block or two past a full lot to try the next one instead of waiting.
A free public lot sits directly at the park entrance, 100 W Ocean View Avenue, with more free street parking nearby.
Access ramps and walkways lead from the lot to the sand, along with restrooms and shaded benches.
Bay water here runs a few degrees warmer than the oceanfront by midsummer, calm enough that it rarely gets the swell or rip current warnings the ocean side deals with.
More Atlantic Coast beaches
Coast Guard Beach
Eastham, MA · Atlantic Coast
A National Seashore beach backed by grassy dunes and a tidal marsh, with clean Atlantic surf and one of the Cape's most scenic approaches on foot from the parking area.
Surfside Beach
Nantucket, MA · Atlantic Coast
Open Atlantic swell and a wide sandy shoreline about three miles from Nantucket town, popular with locals for its bodysurfing waves and quieter, less commercial feel.
Jones Beach State Park
Wantagh, NY · Atlantic Coast
A classic Long Island beach with six and a half miles of shoreline, a landmark water tower, boardwalk, and a large outdoor amphitheater that hosts concerts through the summer.