Hampton sits on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula on the Atlantic coast at Chesapeake Bay. Hampton is the oldest community in North America - it was settled in 1607 by a party led by Captain Christopher Newport and became a town in 1705. Top attractions in Hampton include Buckroe Beach and Park, Fort Monroe National Monument, the Virginia Air and Space Center, and the Casemate Museum of Fort Monroe.
Buckroe Beach and Park
Buckroe Beach and Park offers eight acres of family-friendly land and a lovely nearly mile long stretch of sandy beach on Chesapeake Bay. During the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, there are certified lifeguards on the shore, Saturday night concerts for Groovin' By The Bay, and Tuesday night outdoor movies.
The park has ample parking, a playground, a nice path for walking or cycling, restrooms, and rental of kayaks and paddleboats. Restrooms are available. Two picnic pavilions with tables and grills can be reserved for a small fee, and there is a stage for community events. From Memorial Day until Labor Day no dogs are permitted in the park.
Fort Monroe National Monument
Fort Monroe has guarded the waters between Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay since the earliest fortifications were built in 1609 in the Colony of Virginia. It is the largest stone fort in the United States and a site brimming with history. It served as a Union fort in Confederate Virginia during the American Civil War, and as a safe haven for slaves under the Contraband Act. Today, Fort Monroe National Monument is a popular tourist attraction and offers a historical museum, miles of nature trails, excellent fishing off Engineer Wharf, picnic areas, a marina, and miles of beaches, one of which, Outlook Beach, has a lifeguard during the summer months.
41 Bernard Road, Fort Monroe, Virginia 23651, Phone: 757-722-3678
Virginia Air and Space Center
The Virginia Air and Space Center has partnered with NASA to house an exciting hands-on science center. Visitors young and old can land on the moon in a lunar simulator, check out the Apollo 12 command module, experience the wonder of the five-story high IMAX theater, and get an up-close look at the sun and its waves in the solarium, which is full of radiant images taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Little ones can put their minds and hands to work at Engineer-It, a playground in which building larger than life buildings is the game of the day. The museum has day camps that teach core sciences, facilities for completing scouting badges, curriculum materials for teachers and homeschooling parents, a café, and a gift shop. Guided tours for school children and community groups are available.
600 Settlers Landing Road, Hampton, VA 23669, Phone: 757-727-0900
Casemate Museum of Fort Monroe
The Casemate Museum of Fort Monroe tells the history of this significant fortress built to withstand attacks from the sea. Once the prison that briefly held Confederate President Jefferson Davis after the American Civil War, the museum is a real treasure for those who love military history or old buildings.
The museum has excellent artifacts and educational displays, a replica of an officer's two-room family quarters, and a self-guided tour that takes visitors through the museum, out to the moat, and along the defensive walls, which are six to eight feet thick and built to withstand cannon fire. Groups of ten or more people can make reservations for a guided tour of the museum and grounds.
41 Bernard Road, Fort Monroe, VA 23651, Phone: 757-788-3391
Bluebird Gap Farm
Bluebird Gap Farm was first used as farmland by an English sea captain in 1622. Now it is a rural educational, family-oriented site with approximately 150 farm animals such as chickens, horses, pigs, cows, and goats. The farm also has more uncommon animals, including peacocks, tortoises, llamas, alpacas, rabbits, and deer.
Birds of prey are regular visitors to the park, as are water birds and shore birds. The farm has a picnic pavilion available for full or half-day rental and more picnic tables scattered throughout the property for family use. There are animal feed vending machines and vending machines with snacks and drinks for people. The display barn is filled with farm and home antiques from the past two decades.
60 Pine Chapel Road, Hampton, VA 23666, Phone: 757-825-4750
Hampton History Museum
The Hampton History Museum chronicles the story of Hampton, the oldest continuously English speaking city in the United States. In chronological fashion, the museum takes visitors through the city's four hundred year history, delving into its African American history, its Native American history, the War of 1812, the American Civil War, and into Hampton's current rebirth as a military and aerospace technology center.
The museum has particularly fine collections of old maps and photographs, and there are a great many interesting artifacts from early times, including a nine thousand year old arrowhead. Snacks and drinks are available in the gift shop.
120 Old Hampton Lane, Hampton, VA 23669, Phone: 757-727-1610
Sandy Bottom Nature Park
Sandy Bottom Nature Park is a 456-acre property containing a pond, twelve miles of nature trails, and a huge nature interpretative center. The reclaimed land now has wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife such as white-tailed deer, frogs, turtles, Mabee's Salamander, and the endangered canebrake rattlesnake. The trails are well maintained and suitable for both hikers and cyclists.
The park has a children's playground, two sets of restrooms, five picnic shelters available for rental, and other picnic tables set in shaded areas around the park. Fishermen can fish off the pier or rent a boat to go after largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, and bluegill. The water is so clear that you can see the fish and the bottom of the lake. It's a great place for family outings, and it has an educational aspect to it that kids and parents can both appreciate.
1255 Big Bethel Road, Hampton, VA 23666, Phone: 757-825-4657
Hampton Coliseum
The Hampton Coliseum is a 9,777-seat multi-use entertainment venue, and fan-favorite music performers, comedians, and Cirque de Soleil have all graced its stages. Conventions and trade shows find Hampton Coliseum suits all their needs, and the coliseum hosts three annual festivals: the Hampton Jazz Festival, the Hampton Funk Festival, and the Hampton Roads Soul Music Festival.
Throughout the year there are varied performances for the entire family to enjoy: the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circuses, Disney on Ice, monster truck rallies, WWE events, and professional bull riding. The coliseum has a multitude of food and beverage concessions and free parking.
1000 Coliseum Drive, Hampton, VA 23666, Phone: 757-838-4203
Old Point Comfort Lighthouse
Perched at the mouths of the Elizabeth, James, and Nansemond Rivers, the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse represents the entryway to the historic Hampton Roads. The site on which the lighthouse stands has been said to have been a long-time navigational beacon as historians believe that the Native Americans would light wood fires and keep them burning for the navigation of Spanish ships in the 16th century. The first official lighthouse, however, was built sometime in 1800. Guests to the lighthouse today can explore it and learn more about the area through informative and entertaining guided walking tours or self-guided tours.
69 Fenwick Road, Hampton, Virginia 23651
Hampton University Museum
Hampton University Museum was established in 1868, the same year the university itself was established. The museum has always strived to provide knowledge and understanding of diverse cultures and traditions. To foster that, they emphasize studies in geography, culture, and history. It is the only museum in the U.S. to have a permanent collection of African American fine art.
Its African art collection is widely esteemed and includes several hundred pieces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They have a variety of other pieces from across the continent. The first collection in the museum was of South Pacific art, and it has been augmented in recent years by pieces from Japan and the Philippines. The most recent collection of the museum is of the history of the university.
11 Frissell Avenue, Hampton, VA 23669, Phone: 757-727-5308
Air Power Park
Air Power Park is dedicated to the vital role of aircraft and rockets in early American space exploration. There are indoor and outdoor exhibits of missiles, rockets, and fighter aircraft, including a Hawker Kestrel, a Phantom, a Voodoo, and a Mercury Capsule.
Other exhibits in the museum focus on the different military branches of service, and there is a large collection of Balsa wood aircraft models. Many of the exhibits are linked to the nearby Langley Air Force Base and the NASA Langley Research Center. Children are sure to enjoy the outdoor playground as well as the new Children's Room in the museum.
413 W. Mercury Blvd., Hampton, VA 23669, Phone: 757-726-0650
St. George Brewing Company
The St. George Brewing Company is named for the third century Roman soldier who, in popular mythology, slew a fire-breathing dragon. For that act, he has become the patron saint of England and of chivalry. The beer brewed here proudly uses the Cross of St. George to adorn their labels. The brewery makes twenty-two varieties of ale, bock, and stout, and tours are available.
The owner or his son lead the tours, taking visitors through the whole brewing process. Afterwards, visitors can enjoy trying different beers in the tasting room, often in the company of the brew master. On Tuesday and Friday night, the brewery arranges for a food truck to pull up and serve brewery guests tacos and burritos.
204 Challenger Way, Hampton, VA 23666, Phone: 757-865-7781
The Woodlands Golf Course
Built in 1916, The Woodlands Golf Course is one of the oldest in the United States. A local favorite, The Woodlands is a challenging course with water on eleven of its holes and fifty-two sand bunkers. The greens are bentgrass, while the fairways and rough are Bermuda grass. The Woodlands is an 18-hole, par 69, 5,900-yard course.
The clubhouse has an excellent restaurant, The Grille at The Woodlands, which serves breakfast and lunch daily. There is also a pro shop that sells men's and ladies' golf apparel and accessories. Golf clubs and carts are available for rent. The clubhouse also has an 18-seat conference room that it lends out to community groups.
9 Woodland Road, Hampton, VA 23663, Phone: 757-727-1195
Captain Hogg's Charter Fishing
Visitors who would like to try their hand at Atlantic fishing need look no further than Captain Chandler Hogg, his professional and helpful crew, and his forty-foot custom fishing boat the Smoking Gun. The boat, which carries up to 32 passengers, cruises lower Chesapeake Bay to find the fish; Captain Hogg always knows where to look.
Potential catches include cobia, grey trout, striped bass, black drum, red drum, flounder, bluefish, sheepshead, tautog, Spanish mackerel, and spadefish. In order for visitors to spend less time traveling and more time fishing, the Smoking Gun cruises at a speedy 26 knots. Back at the shore, the crew will clean and filet your fish so that all you need to do at home is put it on the grill.
Captain Hogg's Charter Fishing , 101 S. King Street, Hampton, VA 23669, Phone: 757-876-1590
Park Lane Tavern of Hampton
Dine in a vibrant and high-energy European atmosphere at Park Lane Tavern of Hampton. Designed with some of Europe’s most famous taverns in mind, the Park Lane Tavern of Hampton offers a delightful dining experience founded upon tradition. Offering a wide menu of tavern staples as well as finely crafted European beers and spirits, the tavern promises an experience that will be memorable in every way possible. Sample crowd pleasers like the Magners Corned Beer Sandwich and Bavarian Pretzels, or comfort entrees like the London Broil, Shepherd’s Pie, or Knob Screen Bourbon Cracked Pepper Steak. For guests who love a good Sunday Brunch, Park Lane Tavern’s got a great brunch menu with classics like the Eggs Benedict, as well as twists on classics like the Redneck Benedict, Sunday Brunch Pie, and the Jameson Chicken and Waffles.
Peninsula Tower Center, 4200 Kilgore Avenue, Hampton, Virginia 23666, Phone: 757-838-2748
Gosnold's Hope Park
Gosnold's Hope Park is a 105-acre development in Hampton with a multitude of facilities. There are eight picnic shelters with tables and grills; campsites with electricity, water, a picnic table, charcoal grill, and shower access; and a public boat ramp, restrooms, athletic fields, a fitness trail, and a children's playground.
It also has a BMX SuperTrack open for annual membership and licensed by USABMX. It supplies bikes and gear to its members and arranges tournaments on its banked and winding course.
901 E. Little Back River Road, Hampton, VA 23669, Phone: 757-850-5116
Grandview Nature Preserve
Grandview Nature Preserve is a quiet, practically unknown spot with 475 acres of salt marsh and tidal creeks and two and a half miles of unspoiled beach on Chesapeake Bay. The sandy shores are great for beachcombers who love shells and sea glass, which it has in plenty.
Hikers like the half-mile trail across the tidal marshlands to the pile of rubble that was once a lighthouse before it fell victim to a hurricane in 1956. There is great fishing from the shores of the park; a valid saltwater fishing license is required. Canoeing and hiking programs are offered for those who would like to know more about the woodland birds and other creatures that inhabit the wetlands here.
State Park Drive, Hampton, VA 23664, Phone: 757-850-5134
Bethel Paintball
Bethel Paintball aims to give its guests the most exciting, safest, and most age-appropriate paintball experience. Several different of play are offered: PeeWee Paintball doesn't hurt at all, Low Impact Paintball is only mildly painful, while Traditional Paintball results in a sting for a minute or two after impact.
The company offers a diverse menu of paintball games: the most commonly known Capture the Flag, as well as Domination, Freeze Tag, Protect the President, and Terrorist on the Bus. Bethel Paintball specializes in birthday parties for all ages, and for every party a referee is present so that each group remains together and does not get fired on by different parties.
123 Saunders Road, Hampton, VA 23666, Phone: 757-488-2501
Escape Room Virginia Peninsula
Are you up for a thrill? Escape Room Virginia Peninsula promises thrilling and immersive escape experiences that will have you and your teammates squeezing your brains for answers to riddles and clues! Each room will require attention to detail and excellent observation skills as players will only have sixty minutes to solve clues and complete tasks to secure victory. Find a world-famous pancake recipe before time runs out at Greta’s Diner or crack a safe and escape at a Gatsby-style gathering in The Great Estate Burglary. At Cabin 11, players will have an hour to breakout of a cabin before disappearing into the night forever, while Merlin’s Tower will have you stepping out of reality and into the magical world of wizardry.
4410 Clairborne Square E Suite 212, Hampton, Virginia 23666, Phone: 757-915-6240
Sparetimes
Roll on over to Sparetimes and get bowled over with fun while knocking down one pin at a time. Serving the community since 1960, Sparetimes is an independently owned and operated bowling center that features over 30 spectacularly maintained lanes equipped with exciting technology and cool lights for night bowling. This bowling alley also has a pro shop, a full bar, and a game room for guests who are either waiting for a lane to open up, or simply want to switch things up and play an arcade game or two between bowling games. Those who want to get involved with community activities can also sign up for the bowling leagues regularly hosted by Sparetimes.
1 Family Fun Pl, Hampton, Virginia 23666; Phone: 757-838-2121
