With miles of bike-friendly trails through a variety of landscapes, Virginia Beach is a cyclist's paradise. From First Landing State Park to Pungo to the boardwalk, no two biking experiences are the same in Va Beach. Here are some of our favorite places, and vehicles, for exploring Virginia Beach by bike.
Biking on the Boardwalk
The Virginia Beach Boardwalk was built with cyclists in mind. With separate biking and walking paths, cyclists can ride their beach cruisers along the coast without having to dodge pedestrians or cars. For a classic Virginia Beach adventure, rent a four-wheeled surrey bike and work as a team with your entire family as you pedal full-steam ahead. With rental stations all along the boardwalk, you can come right off the beach and hop aboard.
The 3-mile long Boardwalk is also our favorite place to break out our favorite beach cruiser bikes. You can even find tandem beach cruisers for a more challenging cooperative experience beside the beach. Whether you opt to ride the entire length of the Boardwalk or just ride your bike from stop to stop, this is one of our favorite Virginia Beach experiences.
Bike Trails and Parks
Our state and city parks offer over 100 miles of trails that allow you to explore the full beauty of Virginia Beach. At First Landing State Park, you can bike through seven distinct ecosystems like a seasoned explorer, with 19 miles of interpretive hiking, running and biking trails through protected habitats, including one of the most endangered habitat types in the world, the maritime forest community.
At the southern end of the laid-back Sandbridge neighborhood are the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park, which both have trails for both hiking and biking. From the parking lot at the wildlife refuge, it’s possible to bike all the way to the North Carolina state line, a distance of approximately 10 miles. The best part of this ride is that you’ll have nature all to yourself for the greater part of the way. In the refuge, the flat, dirt and gravel trail passes along a series of waterways where migratory waterfowl feed during the winter. Several trails provide access to one of the most beautiful and solitary beaches on the East Coast, which is not accessible by car.
Running parallel to Shore Drive in the Chesapeake Bay District, the Cape Henry Trail passes through an old-style beach neighborhood where saltboxes sit comfortably next to contemporary renovations. The 7.5 mile flat trail, shaded in places by pine and live oak trees, leads through First Landing State Park and eventually down to the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. We’d recommend mountain bikes in both the parks and on the Cape Henry Trail for a smoother ride.
Fat Tire Biking on the Beach
If you think navigating a bike down our wide, sandy beaches sounds like an impossible feat, you have to try it out on a fat tire bike. From the oceanfront to the Chesapeake Bay, there may be no better view than biking along the water’s edge and the wide tires of these bikes makes riding on the wet sand as easy as riding on pavement. When in the Sandbridge District, you can rent fat tire bikes from Surf and Adventure Company or Ocean Rentals LTD for a day spent exploring the beaches of Little Island Park and beyond in true local fashion.
