Virginia has more than 7,000 miles of shoreline, and some of its prettiest beaches are far from the busy boardwalks and packed resort strips you might expect.
You’ll find wide sandy shores, calm waters, wildlife, and plenty of room to slow down and enjoy the coast.
Whether you want gentle water for swimming, Atlantic waves for surfing, or a quiet patch of sand for watching the sunset, Virginia has a beach worth adding to your list.
Here are eight stunning Virginia beaches that deserve a closer look.
1. Assateague Beach
Assateague Beach stretches along the Virginia side of Assateague Island, a 37-mile barrier island shared with Maryland, with wide sandy shores facing the Atlantic Ocean.
The beach sits inside Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, where you can swim, surf, search for shells, watch shorebirds, and walk the 3.2-mile Wildlife Loop through marshes and forests.
It’s especially famous for the Chincoteague ponies, a herd of about 150 wild horses that lives on the Virginia portion of the island and sometimes appears near roads, dunes, and marshes.
Bring binoculars for spotting snowy egrets and sika deer, observe the ponies from roads, trails and designated viewing areas, and visit the nearby Assateague Lighthouse, a 142-foot red-and-white-striped landmark first lit in 1867.
2. Guard Shore Beach
For a completely different beach day, head to Guard Shore Beach in Bloxom on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where the Chesapeake Bay replaces crashing Atlantic waves with shallow, calmer water.
This quiet public beach borders the Guard Shore Tract of Saxis Wildlife Management Area, which is a protected landscape filled with salt marshes, tidal creeks, forests, and habitat for herons, egrets, ospreys, and migrating waterfowl.
You can walk the sandy shoreline, launch a kayak into the surrounding creeks, go fishing, hunt for shells, or stick around as the sun drops over the Chesapeake Bay.
Guard Shore has no tourist facilities and no busy boardwalk, so pack water, snacks, sunscreen, and bug spray before exploring this remote corner of Accomack County.
3. Sandbridge Beach
Sandbridge Beach brings you 4.5 miles of soft Atlantic sand, less than a 30-minute drive from Virginia Beach’s busy resort district.
Instead of a packed boardwalk, you’ll find beach houses, rolling dunes, lifeguarded swimming areas in summer, and plenty of room for surfing, fishing, shell hunting, and sunrise walks.
At the southern end, Little Island Park adds a 400-foot fishing pier, picnic shelters, playgrounds, sports courts, and easy beach access for a full day by the water.
Keep driving for about 10 minutes and you’ll reach Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, where more than 9,000 acres of beaches, dunes, marshes, and woodlands attract sea turtles, migrating birds, and other wildlife.
4. Cape Charles Beachfront
Trade Sandbridge’s Atlantic surf for the gentle Chesapeake Bay at Cape Charles Beachfront, a sandy public beach along Bay Avenue on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
The water here stays shallow for a long way from shore, making it a great spot for swimming, wading, paddleboarding, and kayaking without the bigger ocean waves found at many Virginia beaches.
Stroll the beachfront, then walk to Cape Charles Fishing Pier, where you can fish without a Virginia saltwater fishing license, or head a few blocks inland for shops and restaurants along Mason Avenue.
Stay through the evening because Cape Charles faces west across the Chesapeake Bay, giving you front-row views of the sun dropping over the water, a sight you don’t get from Virginia’s Atlantic-facing beaches.
5. First Landing State Park
Next on the list is First Landing State Park, where 1.5 miles of sandy Chesapeake Bay shoreline meets forests, dunes, and wetlands.
Virginia’s most-visited state park covers 2,888 acres and marks the area where English colonists first landed in 1607 before continuing to Jamestown.
Beyond swimming and beachcombing, you can explore about 20 miles of trails, including the 6.1-mile Cape Henry Trail and the Bald Cypress Trail, a 1.8-mile loop with boardwalks over freshwater swamps.
You can also camp steps from the bay, rent a cabin, launch a kayak, or watch for osprey, herons, turtles, and dolphins while enjoying gentler waves than you’ll find along Virginia Beach’s Atlantic coast.
6. Chic’s Beach
Sticking with the Chesapeake Bay, Chic’s Beach shows off a more laid-back side of Virginia Beach along the sandy shoreline of the Chesapeake Beach neighborhood.
The beach stretches for about 2 miles near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, with generally gentle waves that make swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking, and long walks along the water especially popular.
Look toward the bay and you can spot the 17.6-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel crossing the horizon, while dolphins, pelicans, and passing boats add plenty to watch from your beach towel.
There’s no oceanfront boardwalk here, so spend your day on the sand before grabbing seafood at local favorites like Buoy 44 or Chick’s Oyster Bar, both located right along the water.
7. Colonial Beach
While Chic’s Beach looks across the Chesapeake Bay, Colonial Beach puts you beside the Potomac River on Virginia’s Northern Neck, about 1.5 hours from Washington, D.C.
The town has over 2 miles of sandy shoreline, including a wide stretch along Irving Avenue where you can swim, sunbathe, kayak, paddleboard, or watch boats cruise past the riverfront.
A fishing pier extends into the Potomac near the center of town, while golf carts are a popular way to reach waterfront restaurants, small shops, and colorful murals around the peninsula.
Colonial Beach also puts you close to the George Washington Birthplace National Monument, located about 15 minutes away, where trails, historic demonstrations, and Potomac River views add an easy history-filled bonus to your beach day.
8. Kiptopeke State Park
Back on the Chesapeake Bay, Kiptopeke State Park adds a wonderfully unusual sight to Virginia’s beach lineup: a line of concrete ships sitting just offshore.
Located near Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore, this 562-acre park has a sandy swimming beach, a fishing pier, kayak access, campsites, cabins, and more than 5 miles of hiking and biking trails.
The nine partially sunken ships form the Kiptopeke Breakwater, created from World War II-era concrete vessels in 1948 to protect the former ferry terminal from rough water.
Bring binoculars too, because Kiptopeke sits along the Atlantic Flyway and is famous for fall bird migration, when hawks, falcons, songbirds, and other species pass through the park in impressive numbers.
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