First Landing State Park Fall 2026: Events and Parking

First Landing State Park's official calendar for the rest of 2026 has ten listings on it, and every one of them falls in October. The higher weekend parking rate also ends with the month. After Halloween, the state calendar lists nothing at the park through Dec. 31. The next dated event in the park is a 50K trail race on Sunday, Dec. 13, posted by its organizers. It starts and finishes at the 64th Street boat ramp, the park entrance closest to the North End.

So the next three weeks are crowded, and the six weeks after them are almost empty.

Ten Listings, One Month

A Virginia State Parks calendar search covering Oct. 12 through Dec. 31 returns ten First Landing listings, all in October. One of them, a Camper Movie Night on Oct. 16, is marked canceled. Here are the rest, by date:

• Friday, Oct. 16, 10 to 11 a.m.: ribbon cutting for the new exhibits at the Main Visitor Center, with light refreshments
• Saturday, Oct. 17, 1 to 5 p.m.: the annual Fall Festival in the Main Visitor Center Courtyard, with live music, community partners, games, prizes, autumn crafts, food and drinks, and a hay wagon ride
• Sunday, Oct. 18: Pinecone Possums at the Trail Center, 9 to 11 a.m., then Bay Lab Exploration inside the Main Visitor Center, noon to 4 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 23 and Friday, Oct. 30, 8 to 10 p.m.: Camper Movie Night in the Main Visitor Center Courtyard. The listing says the movie is free and invites campers.
• Sunday, Oct. 25: Bay Lab Exploration, noon to 4 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 31: Build A Bat, 9 to 10 a.m., and Bay Lab Exploration, noon to 4 p.m.

The ribbon cutting and the festival charge no extra fee, though standard parking applies, and the festival needs no registration. Run the same search for Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 and it returns zero events. Programs could still be added later. As of today, though, the official calendar ends on Halloween.

The Exhibits Are Already Open

The Oct. 16 ceremony is the official ribbon cutting, but the exhibits aren't new to the building. Kim Wells wrote about them on the Virginia State Parks blog on Aug. 10, describing displays in the Visitor Center on stewardship, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and early preservation efforts, with rangers on hand for questions. If you'd rather see them without the crowd that comes to a ceremony, any day the Visitor Center is open works. It's open daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The ceremony itself falls in an anniversary year. In 2026 the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is marking 90 years of the state park system. First Landing, then called Seashore State Park, was one of the six parks that opened in 1936. The park dates its dedication to June 15, 1936. The ribbon-cutting listing says the interactive displays cover the park's history, its founding, and "the people who actually built it." The park's own history says it was built in part by an all-African-American Civilian Conservation Corps company between 1933 and 1940. It is also a National Natural Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The same August post covers two other recent additions:

1. The Beach Box, a free gear station outside the Visitor Center, just before the boardwalk to the water. It was set up in partnership with L.L. Bean and stocks chairs, umbrellas and beach toys you can borrow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as long as they're back by 5.
2. An all-terrain wheelchair with pneumatic rubber tires instead of tracks. Park Manager Bruce Widener told the blog the park had opened more than 5 miles of trail for it. Requests go in at least 48 hours ahead, and same-day use is possible if the chair is free.

The Bay Lab is in the same building. It has live local species, including diamondback terrapins, and keeps seasonal hours of noon to 4 p.m. The three remaining Bay Lab dates on the October calendar are the last ones listed for 2026.

What Changes on Nov. 1

The quiet stretch starts with a lower price. On the state's parking fee schedule, effective May 21, 2026, First Landing charges $7 for a standard day and $10 for weekends from April through October.

Oct. 31 is a Saturday, so Halloween is the last $10 day of the year. Sunday, Nov. 1 is the first weekend day at $7. Veterans park free on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and holders of a Virginia State Parks license plate park free that day and on the day after Thanksgiving. The daily fee runs midnight to midnight, and skipping payment can bring a $25 parking ticket.

A few things carry through the change. Day-use areas stay open 7 a.m. to dusk. The park still posts a warning that weekends draw heavy visitation and that people are turned away once the lots fill. Cabin renovations are scheduled to run until May 2027, with dates subject to change. The campground and yurts are not affected. The park also points out that it sits beside a military training center that operates year-round, with nighttime training that can run past midnight.

The North End's Gate

Almost everything above happens at the Visitor Center and Trail Center, which are reached from 2500 Shore Drive. The North End's way in is 64th Street off Atlantic Avenue, at the park's southern end. In December, it's where the park's only dated event takes place.

The official trail guide and DCR's park pages show what's reachable from there:

1. The Narrows boat ramp, at the 64th Street extension, with launch facilities, car-and-trailer parking, and restrooms. Swimming there is discouraged because of strong currents.
2. The Cape Henry Trail, which runs to the Narrows and is shared by hikers and bikers. It's one of only two trails in the park open to bicycles, along with Live Oak, and DCR lists the segment between Kendall and 64th Street as universally accessible.
3. Long Creek to Osprey, a loop that starts along the 64th Street park road and runs through the southern part of the park.

For paddlers, the City of Virginia Beach lists the 64th Street waterway access as open year-round, dawn to dusk, for motorized boats, canoes and kayaks. It says the park entry fee and launch fee apply, and that non-motorized craft use the ramp free of charge. On the state's schedule, the launch fee is $5 per trailer on top of daily parking. Fishing and crabbing require a valid Virginia saltwater fishing license.

Some details about this gate aren't confirmed by any current source we found. One is whether the 64th Street contact station is staffed this season. Another is what someone walking or biking in without a vehicle pays. When a contact station is unstaffed, the state's rule is to use the posted self-pay envelope or QR code and display the hang tag.

Dec. 13 at the 64th Street Ramp

The next dated event after Halloween is the Mel Williams Memorial Seashore 50K on Sunday, Dec. 13. It appears on the organizers' registration page, not on the state calendar. Tidewater Striders run it as two loops through the park, starting and finishing at the 64th Street boat ramp. The race starts at 8 a.m. and has an eight-hour cutoff. Full aid stations sit at 64th Street and Bald Cypress, and runners pass each one several times. Race-day packet pickup is 7 to 7:50 a.m. at the ramp. If you usually start a Sunday walk or paddle from 64th Street, plan for runners and volunteers on the trails near the ramp between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The race has its North End connections. Saturday packet pickup is 1 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 12 at Running Etc., 1940 Laskin Road. The post-race party runs 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Smartmouth Brewing's Pilot House, 313 32nd Street. Registration costs $125 and closes Dec. 10 at 11:59 p.m., or sooner if slots fill. There's no race-day registration.

Between Halloween and that race, the official calendar lists no programs. The trails, the ramp and the $7 weekend rate all stay in place for those six weeks.

Living near the 64th Street gate shapes everyday life on the North End, and it's part of how we describe homes here. If you're considering a sale or purchase close to First Landing and want someone who knows the park side as well as the market, Michael Rowland is happy to talk it through. Start your tailored market consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.