Want to shop ‘til you drop, enjoy a delicious meal or a tasty treat?
How about a hike or a bicycle ride off the beaten path? All that and more awaits in Virginia Beach’s South End.
That’s right, the attractions in this beach town extend well beyond the resort strip, all the way to the North Carolina border, in fact. And it’s all a short car ride away. Just follow Pacific Avenue over the Rudee Inlet Bridge. At the base of the bridge, Pacific turns into General Booth Boulevard, and within a few miles, Virginia Beach’s South End emerges.
At its beginning, the South End is a commercial thoroughfare overflowing with fun destinations. Red Mill Commons is among them. A community shopping center featuring over 600,000 square feet of retail space, Red Mill Commons is a “Best of the Beach” award winner, and it’s easy to see why. Home to some of the biggest names in retail, as well as a wide selection of restaurants and local stores, it offers a unique and extensive shopping experience. The Red Mill area is the ideal place to combine a delicious meal with the fun of searching for that perfect something. But the South End isn’t all hustle and bustle.
Venture a little farther south, turn left at the historic Nimmo Methodist Church and follow Princess Anne Road inland to Pungo. Virginia Beach’s farming community, Pungo is home to wide-open spaces, horses and natural scenery, but it’s best known for its strawberries. Its annual Strawberry Festival is held in May on the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Drawing close to 200,000 visitors, this family-oriented celebration features entertainment, crafts, music, 4-H exhibits, a carnival, parade, children’s activities, great food and plenty of plump, juicy strawberries. Best of all, admission is free and so is the beauty of Pungo itself. Take a ride to the rural side of Virginia Beach anytime of year and enjoy the small town tranquility of this charming city.
Ready for another outing?
Taking Princess Anne Road to Sandbridge Road leads back to the coast and the seaside community of Sandbridge. With its beautiful homes, limited retail and relatively uncrowded beach, this five-mile stretch of sand harkens to the Virginia Beach of old. Known as the “Outer Banks of Virginia,” Sandbridge makes it easy to marvel at vacation cottages or to spend some quality time with the family. Located in Sandbridge, Little Island State Park is a public beach boasting a fishing pier, picnic area, bath houses, basketball, lighted tennis courts, a playground and plenty of parking.
At the southern end of Sandbridge lies the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Once a haven for the area’s well-known hunt clubs, Back Bay is today the protected territory of a number of threatened and endangered species, including loggerhead sea turtles, migrating snow geese and bald eagles. Walk among them on any of Back Bay’s scenic trails, observe them by bicycle or boat, or learn about them at the Visitor Contact Center. This rich oasis was meant to be explored, and an afternoon may be all one needs to do so.
But for the truly adventurous, no trip to Virginia Beach would be complete without a visit to False Cape State Park.
This is where land meets sea much as it has for centuries. There are no high-rise hotels or beach cottages on this stretch of shore. It is one of the last undisturbed and unpopulated coastal environments on the East Coast. False Cape is a mile-wide barrier separating Back Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Named for its shape, which resembles that of Cape Henry, False Cape was responsible for luring numerous ships searching for a way around it into shallow waters. Today it features an extensive environmental education program and is accessible through Back Bay by boat, bike or on foot.
From False Cape, visitors may find it difficult to believe that the resort strip lies just a few miles to the north, but that thought, in and of itself, is a testament to Virginia Beach’s South End. From its sand dunes to its nature trails, its rural communities to its retail centers, the South End mixes past and present with plenty of fun in the sun.
For a detailed map of Virginia Beach's South End, go to our Maps page. |
