Old Cape Henry Lighthouse

Located about a 15 minute drive from the main boardwalk area of Virginia Beach is the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. The lighthouse is located within an active military facility, Fort Story. Due to this, be aware that when entering, your car will be inspected by military personnel. In addition, you will need drivers licenses for all adult visitors, as well as the insurance information and registration for your car. If you're driving a rental car, you'll need to show your rental agreement in lieu of the insurance/registration. On a busy day, this can take a while, so please plan in advance.

Once you get to the lighthouse, you'll see both the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, as well as the current one. Only the historic building is available to climb. Once through the gift shop (where you pay), you'll have some stairs outside to climb just to get to the base of the lighthouse. In this area, you get some good views, but of course, the best views are at the top of the light house. We found it was definitely worth the climb up and it's a good alternative to just sitting on the beach all day.