Grandview Nature Preserve, Hampton

Name: Grandview Nature Preserve, Hampton
Start: 2025-11-15T08:00:00-05:00
Location: Grandview Nature Preserve

Schedule

Sat, 15 Nov, 2025 at 08:00 am

UTC-05:00

Location

Grandview Nature Preserve | Hampton, VA

The walk to the beach is about 0.6 miles along a dirt and gravel path. The path passes through several habitat types, including salt marsh, tidal creeks and ponds, and a couple of very short, wooded stretches. During this portion of the outing, we’ll be on the lookout for sparrows, wrens, woodpeckers, and other passerines, as well as ducks and herons. Marsh Wren and (less often) Sedge Wren are found in the marshes along here, as are Clapper Rail and (less often) Virginia Rail.
The dirt and gravel path ends at a beachfront overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, facing east. Here, we’ll walk northward along the shoreline checking for loons, grebes, sea ducks, gulls, shorebirds, and others. In past years, this has been a good place to see Brant. We could also get lucky and find something rarer like Harlequin Duck or Snow Bunting.
Logistics: There is only street parking, which is along the right-hand side of State Park Drive. We will walk at a leisurely pace. How far we walk on the beach will depend on the weather (i.e., if it’s very cold and windy, we probably won’t go too far), how active the birds are, and how energetic the group feels. Plan for the entire outing to last around 2 to 3 hours.
There are no restroom facilities at the preserve!
Sunscreen is recommended, as there is very little cover along this route. Mosquitoes are not typically a problem here in November, but if it is warm they might be present along the very short wooded sections of the walk, so you may want to have bug repellant available just in case.
The beach can be very uneven. At low tide there may be a few old tree stumps sticking out of the sand in places, and other obstacles such as half-buried crab pots present, so please be mindful of where you step and wear appropriate shoes.
Directions from Virginia Beach-Norfolk area. Approximate drive time is between 40 and 60 minutes - however be aware of the HRBT construction. Take I-64 West. Once through the tunnel take a right at Woodland Rd. (Exit #267), go approximately 1 mile and turn right on Pembroke Ave. Then go approximately 1 1/2 miles and turn left on Old Buckroe Road to Fox Hill Rd. Turn right and then immediately turn left on Beach Rd and follow all the way to State Park Dr. Turn left and park on right side of the road. Entrance is at the end of the road.