North End Beach
North End Beach is a beach in North End, Virginia Beach, best for quiet mornings, locals' beach days, long walks, dog walking outside summer daytime hours.
North of 42nd Street the Boardwalk ends and the crowds thin out fast: the North End is the same wide Atlantic sand as the Resort Beach with none of the commercial strip behind it — just residential beach houses and street-end access paths. There are no lifeguards, no restrooms, and no rentals, which is exactly why locals favor it for morning walks and low-key beach days. Summer dog rules are friendlier here than on the resort sand, and the beach runs all the way up to the dunes below Fort Story. Bring everything you need; there is nothing to buy once you cross the dune line.
- Free
- Dog Friendly
- Hidden Gem
Amenities
- Street-end public access paths
- Uncrowded residential shoreline
Know Before You Go
- Best for: quiet mornings, locals' beach days, long walks, dog walking outside summer daytime hours
- Parking: Free street parking at the numbered street ends, but spaces are scarce and residential — arrive early on summer weekends and mind posted no-parking zones.
- Accessibility: Sand access is via unimproved street-end paths over the dunes; no ramps, restrooms, or beach matting. Not well suited to wheelchairs without assistance.
- Dogs: allowed — Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, dogs are allowed on the sand north of 42nd Street only before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m., leashed or under voice control. Off-season, dogs are welcome anytime and may be off leash on the beach.
- Location: Atlantic Ocean beach from 42nd Street north to Fort Story, accessed via numbered street ends off Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA
Last verified 2026-07-10.
More Beaches Nearby
Chic's Beach (Chesapeake Bay Beach)
Chic's Beach — officially Chesapeake Beach, never called that by locals — is the bay answer to the Atlantic beaches: gentle, shallow water with small waves,…
- Free
- Dog Friendly
- Family Friendly
- Hidden Gem
Croatan Beach
Across Rudee Inlet from the Resort Strip, Croatan is Virginia Beach's surf beach: the Croatan Jetty is one of the city's two classic breaks, a left-hander…
- Free
- Dog Friendly
False Cape Beach
The most remote beach in Virginia Beach — arguably in Virginia: False Cape State Park's Atlantic shoreline sits beyond Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge with…
- Hidden Gem
- Free
Sandbridge Beach
Sandbridge is Virginia Beach's 'Outer Banks in miniature' — about five miles of residential Atlantic beach backed by vacation rentals and dunes, fifteen…
- Free
- Dog Friendly
- Family Friendly
While You're in the Area
Cape Henry Lighthouse
Completed in 1792, the Cape Henry Lighthouse was the first federally funded public works project in the United States — authorized under George Washington,…
Cape Henry Memorial & First Landing Cross
This quarter-acre National Park Service site — part of Colonial National Historical Park — marks where the Jamestown colonists first came ashore in April 1607…
Cowabunga Ray's E-Bike Rentals
North End fat-tire e-bike rentals — 750-watt motors with 35-60 miles of range, sized for riders 4'11" to 6'6", rented by the hour, day, or week.
Edgar Cayce's A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment)
At 67th Street and Atlantic Avenue, a few blocks past the hotels of the Resort Strip, sits the world headquarters of the Association for Research and…
- Free
- Hidden Gem
The Hunt Room
Fireplace-and-leather tavern inside the historic Cavalier Hotel, with rare bourbons, game-meat plates, and weekend live music until 1am.
- Date Night
- Live Music
- Happy Hour
- Open Late
Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront
North End beachfront hotel at 57th Street with a semi-private beach, year-round pools, and a pet policy with no breed or size limits.
- Dog Friendly
- Waterfront
Upcoming Events Nearby
Neptune's Coastal Craft Beer Festival
August 15, 2026 · annual
The Neptune Festival's 11th annual beer afternoon takes over 31st Street Park with more than 60 beers from around 30 breweries, heavy on the coastal Virginia scene. Two bands play through the 3–8pm session and local food trucks handle the eating. It's a compact, single-day festival — an easy add-on to a mid-August beach day, a block off the boardwalk at Neptune's Park.
Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships
August 23, 2026 – August 30, 2026 · annual
The world's oldest continuously running surfing competition returns for its 64th year, turning the south end of the Oceanfront — from the 1st Street Jetty up to 10th Street — into a week-long surf carnival. More than 850 competitors surf pro and amateur divisions, including a WSL qualifying event, while the beach fills out with skate and BMX demos, live music, and tournament games. It's the anchor event of late summer at the beach and the best week of the year to watch serious surfing at the 1st Street break.
Virginia Beach Funk Fest Beach Party
August 28, 2026 – August 29, 2026 · annual
A free two-day beach party on the Oceanfront closing out August with funk, R&B, and soul acts on the sand. Part of the official Beach Events season, Funk Fest draws a big, dance-heavy crowd to the resort beach for one of the last major music weekends before Labor Day — no ticket needed, just claim a patch of sand.