Bodie and I lived in coastal Virginia for two and a half years and spent a good amount of time gazing out to sea! Here we present our Top 3 Dog-Friendly Virginia Beaches for throwing balls and catching rays. (Along with the best places to buy a picnic nearby – you’ll notice a common thread to our recommendations!)
FIRST LANDING STATE PARK – CHESAPEAKE BAY’S BEACH
First Landing ranks in First Place in terms of heart-inflating beauty and expansive sandiness – the shoreline seems to run itself rugged for miles and is trimmed with wildlife zones, pale swishy grasses and driftwood to dig by…
A lovely wooden boardwalk takes you over the protected areas and there’s a bench midway where Bodie liked to pause at and enjoy the paragliders…
The only slight draw back is that you have to pay for admission ($4 per vehicle weekdays, $5 weekends) but this does also afford you access to clean restrooms and you could easily spend a full day here. (Open from 8am til dusk.)
You can also camp here with your dog ($5 extra fee per dog).
First Landing State Beach: Driving Directions
BEST PLACE TO BUY A PICNIC NEAR FIRST LANDING: TASTE at 4097 Shore Drive
This is our favorite food-stop in all Virginia! The Princess Anne sandwich with havarti cheese, avocado and roasted red pepper aioli is heaven! For an extra $4 you can get a ‘boxed lunch’ with chips and a giant cookie or dessert bar. Even though our intention would be to get these goodies to go, Bodie and I would always sit on an Adirondack chair or at a picnic bench on the picket-fenced front lawn. It’s so idyllic and contentment-inducing here. Oh to be perusing the fresh fruits right now…
OCEAN VIEW BEACH – NORFOLK
Speaking of Adirondack chairs… is this not a perfect picnic spot? Ocean View Beach welcomes dogs from Labor Day to Memorial Day and then before 10am or after 6pm during the summer. Off-season it’s easy to find street parking and there are numerous paths leading from the residential street to the beach, just look for the brown signs.
Bodie and I loved starting our day here, not least because 9 times out of 10 we had it completely to ourselves. Plus the sky often put on a great cloud show!
One morning we visited at sunrise and the waters were so shallow it gave the illusion that Bodie was walking on water – crossing a path of gold!
When the rays get too intense, dogs can shelter beneath the sun-bleached steps.
Alternatively Bodie would create his own cool, damp sandpit…
Sometimes completely overdoing it in the process of burrowing…
One thing to look out for – jellyfish! I thought I’d tangled in some barbed wire as I waded into the waves but then I looked down and saw these gelatinous white blobs and ran back ashore so that I could Google ‘Can I die from a jellyfish sting?’ If this happens to you, there’s a Rite Aid at 6135 E. Virginia Beach Blvd (Norfolk, VA 23502) where you can buy ointment that eases the prickling.
Ocean View Beach: On the Map
BEST PLACE TO BUY A PICNIC NEAR OCEN VIEW: TASTE at 6464 Hampton Blvd
This Norfolk location is 20 minutes drive from the beach but there are always some tasty samplings to snack on while you await your order – perhaps the Chesapeake Crabcake sandwich today? Or the Hilltop with turkey, provolone and house dressing? Their most popular order for 40 years!!
VIRGINIA BEACH
This is a very different experience – a broad, flat, fairly bland beach lined with dated tower block hotels. As with Ocean View, dogs are allowed on the beach and boardwalk before Memorial Day and after Labor Day, so basically Spring, Fall and Winter. In the summer play is restricted to the north end above 42nd Street or the south end in the Sandbridge area and only then before 10am and after 6pm. Regarding the boardwalk in summer, dogs are only allowed to parade in the mornings from 6-10am.
FYI The boardwalk runs parallel to the 3-mile stretch of oceanfront and offers a salty breeze and opportunity to commune with Neptune…
In the name of variety you could stroll along Atlantic Avenue with its garish tourist-tack beachware shops, but avoid Spring Break or crushed summer weekends where the rowdy crowds (and heat) would be too much. Once was enough for us, though we did appreciate this giant German Shepherd/Police Dog mural…
This was the first Virginia beach that Bodie laid his paws on and it marked the end of a 3,000-mile drive from California so there was a huge sense of relief knowing that we’d literally gone from coast to coast and to venture any further would simply take us out to sea! I think his expression says it all…
BEST PLACE TO BUY A PICNIC NEAR VB: TASTE at 3603 Pacific Avenue
I promise I’m not being paid in sandwiches (if only!). The fact is, TASTE is a local Virginia business and simply the best. They also have fabulous smooshy ice-cream.
Also, WHOLE FOODS MARKET at 1800 Laskin Road has a huge range of ready-to-go food from pizza slices to soups, salads and wraps. Plus lots of health-giving beverages like Aloe Vera Juice and Kombucha – if that’s your kick! Not cheap but you do feel you’re doing your body good with the groovy organic ingredients. Added bonus – there’s a PETSMART literally across the street at 501 Hilltop Plaza.
Do you have any pics of you and your pup enjoying Dog-Friendly Virginia Beaches? We’d love to see them! Send to bodieontheroad@gmail.com