Parks and recreation

Virginia Beach is home to 210 city parks, encompassing over 4,000 acres (1,600 ha), including neighborhood parks, community parks, district parks, and other open spaces. Each park is unique and offers something for everyone, from wide open spaces to playgrounds, picnic shelters, and ballfields.^[55]
Mount Trashmore Park is clearly visible from I-264 when traveling to the oceanfront. The park is 165 acres (67 ha). The hill is 60 ft (18 m) high and over 800 ft (240 m) long, and was created by compacting layers of solid waste and clean soil. It is the highest point in Virginia Beach. The park also features two lakes: Lake Windsor and Lake Trashmore. Lake Trashmore is stocked with fish, but is unsanitary to fish in. Residents can also take advantage of a skate park.^[56]
Another major park in the city is Great Neck Park, a 70 acres (28 ha) park located in the Lynnhaven District. Facilities include five large group shelters, mini-shelters, family picnic tables and grills, three playgrounds, horseshoe pits, volleyball courts, vending machines, walking trails, four baseball fields, as well as a gazebo located at the end of a scenic walkway overlooking the Lynnhaven River.^[57]

People riding a rental surrey on the boardwalk

The Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1938, is an 8,000-acre (32 km²) fresh water refuge that borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and Back Bay on the west. The barrier islands feature large sand dunes, maritime forests, fresh water marshes, ponds, ocean beach, and large impoundments for wintering wildfowl. It is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.^[58]
First Landing State Park and False Cape State Park are both located in coastal areas within the city's corporate limits as well. Both offer camping facilities, cabins, and outdoor recreation activities in addition to nature and history tours.^[59][60]
Munden Point Park is a rural park located in the deep southern end of the city,^[61] right on The North Landing River.^[62] It is owned and maintained by the city of Virginia Beach. The park features five shelters, three baseball fields, a boat ramp, boat rentals, three playgrounds, six horseshoe pits, volleyball nets, and light hiking trails. An outdoor amphitheatre is fully equipped with electrical outlets and is available for reservations of weddings, outside classroom activities and other events. Restrooms, parking, vending machines, playgrounds, gardens, and barbecue grills are also available for use. Canoes, boat ramps, and disc golf courses may also be rented to go.
Additionally, the famous 3 miles (4.8 km) boardwalk at the oceanfront is often packed with fascinating entertainment, outdoor cafes, concerts and people. Made of concrete, the boardwalk links forty hotels and other attractions and has a bike path.^[63]
Naval Aviation Monument Park was formally dedicated on May 6, 2006, by the Hampton Roads Squadron of the Naval Aviation Foundation Association. Planned since 1997 in partnership with the City of Virginia Beach, the park features heroic-scale statuary and reliefs to tell the history of Naval Aviation.^[64]
Pleasure House Point is an 118 acres (48 hectares) park of undeveloped land on the shore of the Lynnhaven River. Located just south of the Lesner Bridge and the Chesapeake Bay, it's includes oyster beds, wetlands and a maritime forest.^[65] The location was the site of a planned condo development that collapsed in 2008. It was acquired by the City of Virginia Beach with help from the Trust for Public Land and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in 2012.^[66] It is one of the largest undeveloped parcels of land on the Lynnhaven River and will be preserved for future generations. It is also the location of the Brock Environmental Center which provides hands-on educational programs for students to learn about the Chesapeake Bay.^[67]
Lastly, of course, are the city's abundant and ample indoor recreational facilities, which often include basketball and racquetball courts, weight and fitness training rooms, and olympic sized swimming pools. These centers also play host to many special programs for children, youth and adults. The Bayside facility, for example, offers classes in yoga and pilates, as well as various types and styles of dance, not to mention seasonal offerings for young children and senior citizens.
Virginia Beach's extensive park system is recognized as one of the best in the United States. In its 2013 ParkScore ranking, The Trust for Public Land reported that Virginia Beach had the 8th best park system among the 50 most populous U.S. cities.^[68] ParkScore ranks city park systems by a formula that analyzes the city's median park size, park acres as percent of city area, the percent of city residents within a half-mile of a park, spending of park services per resident, and the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents.