We may earn a commission when you book through links on this page. We don’t add any fee, and the commission helps support LayzTravel.
The best free things to do in Virginia Beach with kids are Grommet Island Park, the boardwalk, the King Neptune statue and Mount Trashmore, with five more below. Grommet Island Park is the one to plan the week around. It is a playground on the sand built so that every child, in a wheelchair or not, can play on it. We travel slowly with kids, one thing a day and a long afternoon in the water, and a town whose free things are real outings rather than filler makes that easy. Every item was checked against the park, city or county’s own page on September 27, 2026, and where a small fee sits beside a free thing it says so. By the end you will have a week of days that cost nothing and know which one carries a small charge.
How We Chose These
Free means the thing itself costs the family nothing to do. We left out anything that is only free for one age group, anything that is really a free walk past a paid attraction, and the tips-based tours. Where a free place charges for one part of itself, or charges for parking, that fee is printed in the item rather than left for you to discover at the gate. Eight of the nine carry no charge at all. The other one is the oceanfront beach itself (the sand is free, city lots have a $24 daily maximum in season).
Hours and fees change. Every item links to the page the operator maintains, and the dates and prices here were read from those pages on September 27, 2026. If a line below disagrees with the official page on the day you go, the official page wins.
The 9 Best Free Things to Do in Virginia Beach with Kids
1. Grommet Island Park
A 15,000-square-foot beach park with wheelchair-accessible entrances, a playground on poured-in-place surfacing, raised sand tables for building sandcastles at wheelchair height, a sensory board for children who are autistic or visually impaired, and a sway boat. It is a playground on the sand, which is rarer than it should be, and the raised sand tables let a toddler or a child in a wheelchair build at the same height as everyone else. Beach wheelchairs are there to borrow, first come, first served.
Where: Boardwalk and 2nd Street, at the south end of the boardwalk. When: Open all year. Beach chairs are set out in the park area from April 1 to October 1. Cost: Free. The beach wheelchairs are free to use too. Check the official page before you go.
2. The Virginia Beach Boardwalk
Three miles of boardwalk along the ocean, used for walking, jogging and bike riding, with four beachfront stages that host the summer Live! On Atlantic music and entertainment. Walk or ride it early, while the sand is still cool, and let the statues and monuments along the way set the stopping points. On a summer evening the stages add music at no cost.
Where: The oceanfront from 2nd Street to 40th Street. When: Open around the clock. Live! On Atlantic runs through the summer months. Cost: Free. Most Live! On Atlantic events are free of charge. Check the official page before you go.
3. The King Neptune statue
A 24-foot, 12-ton bronze of the Roman god of the sea by Richmond-area sculptor Paul DiPasquale, the best-known landmark on the oceanfront. It is the photo every family takes, and at 24 feet tall it wins over even the children who are tired of walking. The park around it is one of the summer stages.
Where: 31st Street, at the gateway to Neptune Festival Park on the boardwalk. When: Always open on the boardwalk. Cost: Free. Check the official page before you go.
4. Mount Trashmore Park and Kids Cove
A city park with a 60-foot grassy hill, two lakes and Kids Cove, a playground of nearly 26,000 square feet with three play areas, swings for all ages and a wheelchair swing. The hill is the part they remember, for running down if not rolling, and Kids Cove is big enough that a whole morning disappears into it. The lakes have benches for the grown-ups.
Where: 310 Edwin Drive, in central Virginia Beach. When: Daylight hours. Cost: Free. The city lists no admission charge. Check the official page before you go.
5. Naval Aviation Monument Park
A 16,000-square-foot oceanfront plaza of larger-than-life bronze sculptures showing three eras of naval aviation. Bronze pilots and planes bigger than life make history something to walk around rather than read about. The Norwegian Lady monument stands right beside it.
Where: 25th Street and Atlantic Avenue, beside the Norwegian Lady monument. When: Open around the clock. Cost: Free. It is an open plaza on the oceanfront. Check the official page before you go.
6. Red Wing Park and the Miyazaki Japanese Garden
A city park with the Miyazaki Japanese Garden and the Reba S. McClanan Fragrance Garden, plus open lawns. The Japanese garden is small enough for a short attention span, and the rest of the park has room to run once it is done.
Where: 1398 General Booth Boulevard, south of the oceanfront. When: Daylight hours. Cost: Free. The city lists no admission charge. Check the official page before you go.
7. Pleasure House Point Natural Area
A city natural area of tidal marsh, sandy shore and maritime forest, with trails that are all open to the public. Flat trails through marsh and woods down to the water make a gentle nature walk, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s environmental center sits at the edge of it.
Where: 3957 Marlin Bay Drive, on the Lynnhaven River by the Lesner Bridge. When: Daylight hours. Cost: Free. The city lists no admission charge. Check the official page before you go.
8. Virginia Beach Public Library storytimes
The city library’s storytimes by age, from Baby Rhyme Time for 3 to 12 months up to Combined Preschool for ages 3 to 5. It is the rainy-morning plan for the under-fives, pitched to the exact age, and the children’s section fills the rest of the hour.
Where: Library branches across the city, including the Oceanfront Area Library. When: Days vary by branch. Most storytimes need online registration, which opens two weeks before the class, and some are drop-in. Cost: Free. It is the city’s public library. Check the official page before you go.
9. The oceanfront beach itself
The public beach, which is free. In season the cost is parking, and from November to March the city’s oceanfront lots are free. Park once in a city lot and the beach, the boardwalk, Grommet Island Park and the statues are all within a walk. In the off-season, that parking costs nothing.
Where: The Resort Area beach along the boardwalk. When: Paid parking at city lots and meters runs April 1 to October 31. From November 1 to March 31 the municipal lots are free, and so are most on-street spaces. Cost: Free. In season the city lots charge $1 for the first hour, rising to $3 an hour from the third hour, with a $24 daily maximum. Check the official page before you go.
When You Are Ready to Spend
A free week still needs a bed and usually one paid outing. In Virginia Beach the paid outings worth the money are the dolphin-watching boat trips, and they book through GetYourGuide. For lodging, staying on the oceanfront puts the boardwalk, the beach and Grommet Island Park within walking distance. Our Virginia Beach activities guide covers the paid side of the town, and the Virginia Beach beaches guide covers every public beach access.
Virginia Beach is one of the towns in our ranking of the most affordable East Coast beach vacations, which covers what a week here costs against the rest of the coast.
FAQs About Free Things to Do in Virginia Beach with Kids
Is the beach in Virginia Beach free?
Yes, the beach itself is free. Parking is the cost in season, from April 1 to October 31, when the city lots charge $1 for the first hour, rising to $3 an hour, with a $24 daily maximum. From November 1 to March 31 the municipal lots are free.
Is Grommet Island Park free?
Yes. Grommet Island Park, at the boardwalk and 2nd Street, is a free accessible playground on the sand, open all year, and its beach wheelchairs are free to borrow.
Is Mount Trashmore free?
Yes. The city lists no admission charge for Mount Trashmore Park at 310 Edwin Drive, which has the 60-foot hill, two lakes and the Kids Cove playground.
What is free to do in Virginia Beach in the off-season?
The boardwalk, the King Neptune statue, the Naval Aviation Monument and Grommet Island Park are all open all year, and from November to March the city’s oceanfront lots are free. The public library’s storytimes run through the winter.