Just outside Virginia Beach sits the first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. Government. This is also one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the United States. Completed in 1792, this original lighthouse provided guidance for ships navigating to ports on the Chesapeake Bay through the 1880s, at which time, because of some concerns about the age and settling of the lighthouse, a replacement was built just 350 away. Today a visit to the top of the first lighthouse is free of charge and provides a great view of passing ships, which on any given day may include aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and other military ships heading out from the Norfolk Navy Base (the world’s largest naval station). There is a nominal fee to climb the lighthouse, but not to visit the site.

Since you are there – Just down from the Cape Henry Lighthouse is the site of the first landing of the first permanent English settlers. Thirteen years before the pilgrims, these settlers set up the Jamestown colony. The site is now marked with a cross and stone monument.

Note: The lighthouses both sit on an active military base and require you to provide an ID (drivers license, passport) to enter. It’s 10 minutes from Virginia Beach and about 30 minutes from downtown Norfolk.

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