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Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
A park featuring six miles of unspoiled beaches in an ocean-to-freshwater bay habitat. Both Back Bay and False Cape are home to wild horses, feral pigs, loggerhead turtles, American bald eagles and a large variety of migratory birds and endangered species, making the comprehensive area a true Virginia jewel.
False Cape State Park is a 4,321-acre (17.49 km2) state park located on the Currituck Banks Peninsula, but within the city of Virginia Beach, from Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge to the state border with North Carolina. Access is generally by foot or bicycle through the wildlife refuge from Virginia, or by boat or canoe from either the bayside or Atlantic shoreline. The park and former Wash Woods community therein gained their respective names because some mariners mistakenly believed it a barrier island near Cape Henry and the Chesapeake Bay further north. Some would run aground, particularly in severe weather, then their cargo washed ashore. The Currituck Banks Peninsula is a one-mile-wide (1.6 km) sandy spit between the Back Bay of the Currituck Sound and the Atlantic Ocean, and just north of Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.
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An plot is made up of barrier islands, dunes, freshwater marshes, maritime forests, ponds and ocean beaches. No pets.
The park is one of the largest and most significant nature preserves in the state. The boardwalk is as of April 2019 closed to the public.
Inside the park, visitors will find brilliant, colorful water slides and tubes for all-day excitement, featuring a million-gallon Runaway Bay wave pool and 13 water slides. Shoot the rushing Rocky River Rapids on an inner tube or soar down the Maui-Wowie speed slide.
The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center is the state’s largest and one of the most-visited aquariums in the nation. It is an authority on the state’s various aquatic and marine environments and features more than 700,000 gallons of aquariums and live animal habitats, more than 300 hands-on exhibits and the IMAX 3D Theater. A one-third mile-long nature trail connects the two Pavilions that make up this “must sea” museum, and an outdoor aviary offers an up-close glimpse of the marsh birds seen along Virginia Beach’s shore.
Experience the rural side of Virginia Beach at the Farmers Market, a country-style, open-air market that features fresh, locally grown produce, dairy products, organic groceries, a meat market, home and garden gifts, jams and jellies, and a restaurant. It is open year-round and special events are held each month.