My husband and I finally had a Sunday where neither of us had to work – a miracle when one works in real estate and the other helps run a family business! We wanted to spend some time at the beach with the kids and were looking for a new spot to try. We typically head to Yorktown Beach for an easy trip but lately the water there has been filled with jellyfish and the kids don’t love that, for good reason. So this time we decided to head to Sandbridge for the day!
When I was googling the best places to park in Sandbridge, I found a few good recommendations but there wasn’t nearly as much information on the beach place to access the beach as there is in Virginia Beach. Therefore, I thought I would put together a super quick blog post about where we were able to park and how convenient it was! Here we go…
Where to Park
We parked at the Sandbridge Public Parking lot that is the farthest north (and closest to get to). Use the address 2524 Sandpiper Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456 when using your GPS. It is a fairly small parking lots but you can pay for the day on the Parking Whiz App and it was only $5.50 – totally worth it! In the Southside of the parking lot is a building with restrooms and it even had a family bathroom, I could barely believe it. Just outside of the restrooms are a few rinsing stations which were perfect to clean the kids off after the beach and rinse all of the sand toys before throwing them back into the car.
To the beach
After parking in the lot, it was a super quick walk to the beach. You need to cross one small road to get to the public beach access but luckily the road isn’t that busy and it is the shortest walk I’ve ever had to make from a parking lot to beach access. I really couldn’t complain at all, even the kids could handle carrying some of their stuff from the car to the beach. You can see in the image below how short of a walk it is from the lot to the oceanfront.
Since the parking lot is fairly small, I would definitely recommend arriving between 9am and 10am if you are visiting on a weekend. We came at 9:30am and the lot was already about 70% full. By the time we left at 3pm, cars were stalking us (and waiting 15 minutes) for me to load the kids up and give them our parking spot.
The beach itself was lovely and has good sand for making sand castles, unlike some of the other “beaches” in the area – Yorktown, Jamestown, etc. We also found the waves to be big enough that the kids had fun swimming and jumping over them but not quite as powerful as they can be in the Outer Banks. Best of all, the beach is way less crowded than public access on Virginia Beach, which is a big plus for us. The chaos and activity of Virginia Beach can be fun when we are looking for lots to do but for a more relaxing day at the beach, I definitely recommend Sandbridge.
Other things to do in the area
If you have older kids or have some additional time to explore, I also recommend heading just a bit father to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. There, you can find peace and quiet, trails to explore, and lots of wildlife to watch!
There are also a few good restaurants and treat shops near the parking lot where we ended up. Sandbridge Sugar Shack is adjacent to the public parking lot and is the perfect spot for an ice cream after a beach day.
If you’re looking for a meal, just a short drive from the beach is a family friendly spot called Blue Pete’s. They have a delicious menu and I personally love their tagline “We’re not fancy, but our food is.” https://www.bluepetes.com/
If you head to Sandbridge soon, let me know! I am happy to answer any other questions you may have about places to park and activities for little ones.
