Virginia
Why Fall is the Perfect Season for a Virginia Beach Getaway
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As fall weather sets in, Virginia Beach — which welcomes more than 13 million visitors annually — reveals its quieter, more relaxed side. Gone are the crowded beaches and long lines, replaced by serene shorelines and golden sunsets.
Visitors are treated to perfect weather for outdoor adventures like hiking through scenic trails, biking along coastal paths, and camping under the stars at places like First Landing State Park, winner of the 2024 Travelers’ Choice Award from Tripadvisor.
Fall festivals offer visitors a variety of experiences, including wine tastings, live music performances, and boardwalk art shows. The annual VA Beach Jeep Fest expands to four days this year. The Virginia Beach Neptune Festival celebrates its 50th year with parades, free concerts, craft shows, and local vendors. An annual highlight, the International Sand Sculpting Championship, kicks off this weekend.
In this season, local breweries begin crafting fall favorites, such as rich, malty Oktoberfest lagers, pumpkin-flavored beers, and refreshing hard ciders. It’s the perfect time to explore the Virginia Beach Beer Trail with family, friends, and even Fido!
During these months, seafood lovers are in for a treat as oyster harvesting season begins. Virginia, often called the “Oyster Capital of the East Coast,” sources a significant portion of its oysters from the waters surrounding Virginia Beach, including the Atlantic Ocean, Lynnhaven River, and Chesapeake Bay.
Want something scary? With its rich and storied past, Virginia Beach has many spooky spots to get you in the Halloween spirit. Virginia Beach is full of eerie tales and ghostly encounters, from colonial and Civil War-era sites to haunted historic hotels.
Outdoor Autumn Adventures
Virginia Beach offers many trails perfect for hiking and biking, especially during the cooler fall season when the leaves turn beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow.
First Landing State Park features a variety of paths that wind past lakes, cypress swamps, and salt marshes, while False Cape State Park provides a gateway into Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Both state parks also offer camping opportunities. First Landing accommodates tents and RVs and includes amenities like bathhouses, laundry facilities, a camp store, and beach access. For a little more comfort, rent a yurt or cabin.
False Cape State Park, only accessible by foot, bike, or boat, offers a more primitive experience with tent-only camping.
The city’s vast network of waterways makes kayaking an excellent way to experience the city’s coastal scenery. Among the best places for kayaking in Virginia Beach is the 64th Street entrance to First Landing State Park, or “The Narrows” to locals.
The generally calm waters make it the perfect spot for families with children. Other great options include Back Bay, the Chesapeake Bay, or the open waters of the Atlantic, where lucky sightseers often spot dolphins.
While fishing is always in season in Virginia Beach, the fall months are great for reeling in bluefish, king mackerel, striped bass, wahoo, and yellowfin tuna.
Popular spots for saltwater fishing include the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, offshore fishing charters from Rudee Inlet, the Lynnhaven River, and the Chesapeake Bay. Freshwater anglers can test their luck at spots like Stumpy Lake Natural Area, Lake Trashmore, and Lake Lawson/Lake Smith Natural Area.
Fall Festivals and Events
The annual Virginia Beach Neptune Festival features parades, live performances, sand sculpting competitions, Neptune’s 8K Race, volleyball tournaments, and more for an all-around beach life celebration.
Art lovers can look forward to the annual Virginia MOCA Boardwalk Art Show, held over three days and featuring more than 175 artists from across the country. Meanwhile, the ViBe Art District will hold its annual Mural Festival, featuring 10 new murals over ten days.
Jeep enthusiasts can enjoy a dedicated long weekend during VA Beach Jeep Fest. More than 1,400 vehicles from 15 states gather to celebrate the brand with beach cruises, sand courses, and evening gatherings.
The Africana Arts & Music Festival is a lively celebration of African culture, showcasing art, music, and performances. This three-day event includes LIVE Poetry, Indie Soul artists, wine tastings, and community conversations.
Pumpkins & Pirates is a family-friendly Oceanfront event blending fall festivities with pirate-themed fun, including face painting, carnival games, and costume contests. Part of the “Wicked Weekend,” the festival coincides with the Old Point National Bank Wicked 10K race.
Seasonal Sips
Celebrate Virginia Spirits Month in September by exploring the Virginia Distillery Trail, where you can sample spirits from local distilleries, including smooth bourbons, handcrafted vodkas, and innovative gins.
Don’t forget to use the complimentary Virginia Spirits Mobile Passport to track your adventure and collect stamps at participating distilleries, like Chesapeake Bay Distillery and Tarnished Truth.
This October, indulge in Virginia Wine Month by visiting local wineries like Mermaid Winery and Love Song, where you can taste exquisite wines from the region’s finest vineyards.
Join the Virginia Bourbon Invitational in November at the Historic Cavalier Hotel to taste rare and limited-edition bourbons from top local distilleries. Enjoy a day of bourbon tastings, gourmet food pairings, and live music while learning from master distillers.
Spooky Experiences
The Cavalier Hotel is a rumored hotspot for ghostly encounters, including a phantom piano player and the apparition of Adolph Coors, who died on the property under mysterious circumstances in 1929. Guests have also reported seeing a vanished bellman and the sound of a ghostly cat scratching at doors. Book a stay this fall and find out for yourself!
The Ferry Plantation House, dating back to 1642, also purportedly houses ghostly residents, including colonial-era figures and a mourning woman named Sally Rebecca Walke. Be sure to book your tour in advance.
Similarly, the Thoroughgood House holds playful spirits known to move objects around the property. Visitors often report seeing a red-haired woman in colonial attire and a man in a brown suit. Book a Ghosts of Thoroughgood Past tour and explore by candlelight.
Many believe the spirit of a bride and other less-friendly male ghosts haunt Princess Anne Country Club. Reports of ghostly 1920s music and unexplained sounds of shuffling dinner table settings heighten the spooky atmosphere.
Fall in Love with Virginia Beach this Autumn
Fall is the perfect season for a Virginia Beach getaway, offering lively festivals, outdoor adventures, seasonal flavors, and spooky experiences. It’s a wonderful time of year to visit and fall in love with the city’s coastal charm and creative vibes.
Alexandrea Sumuel Groves is a nationally syndicated travel writer who collaborates with destinations, hotels, and hospitality firms to provide fellow travelers with exclusive insights and information.
As Roanoke hosts the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships this week, one of the region’s leading advocates for outdoor recreation is taking on a new role at the state level.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger has appointed Pete Eshelman to the Virginia Tourism Authority, marking his second term on the board after previously serving from 2018 to 2023.
For the past 15 years, Eshelman has helped lead the Roanoke Regional Partnership and the Roanoke Outside Foundation, promoting outdoor recreation as an economic development strategy. He said the region’s mountains, rivers and trails have become more than tourism assets; they have become tools for attracting businesses and new residents.
“We took for granted where we live—the beauty, the lakes, the mountains, the rivers, the trails—and we treated them like wallpaper,” Eshelman said. “But then we became intentional with them.”
Eshelman said investing in quality of life has helped distinguish the Roanoke Valley from competing communities.
“I always say quality of life is an economic sector,” he said. “When we invest in that, we see how it attracts companies like RINGANA. We see how it attracts people that can choose wherever they want to move to and live, but they’re choosing to move here over Asheville, North Carolina or Charlottesville because of that quality of life.”
That strategy has helped shape events including the Blue Ridge Marathon, GO Outside Festival and continued investments in parks, trails and outdoor recreation throughout the region.
“It’s not that Roanoke had a bad image; we just didn’t have an image,” Eshelman said. “What we’ve been able to do is show people these are our strengths as a community.”
Now, Eshelman hopes to bring that same approach to communities across Virginia through his appointment to the Virginia Tourism Authority.
“It’s really important that as decisions and policy decisions are being made at the state level that Roanoke has a voice and a say,” said Eshelman. ”I am very proud to do that.”
Eshelman believes the model that has helped transform Roanoke’s reputation can be replicated elsewhere.
“The work we’re doing here, this model, is replicable across other communities,” he said. “I think that whole ‘rising tides lift all ships’ mentality is really strong across economic development, across tourism, across our region and across the state.”
Despite Roanoke’s growing national recognition as an outdoor destination, Eshelman said the work is far from finished.
“We haven’t arrived,” he said. “We have a lot more that we can do. We have to put our foot down on the gas and do even more to kind of keep this competitive edge.”
As communities across the country compete for businesses, workers and visitors, Eshelman said he believes Roanoke’s greatest advantage has been in its own backyard all along.
Copyright 2026 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – A new study ranks Virginia fourth among the best states for retirees.
The study by home care agency Polaris Home Care analyzed social and economic factors, including crime rates, annual medical costs, housing costs, and state salaries. This analysis revealed an index score out of 100 for every state based on retirement accessibility.
Virginia received a score of 87.48/100.
Virginia performs well across key factors, notably benefitting from one of the highest average annual earnings of $68,597.
The agency says the state has one of the lowest violent crime rates at 208 incidents per 100,000 people and a total crime rate around 24% lower than the national average at 1,850.7 incidents per 100,000 population, highlighting the above-average safety levels offered in the state.
Idaho ranks as the most retirement-friendly state, with Arizona and North Dakota coming in second and third, respectively.
Complete rankings:
Rank
State
Retirement Index Score (/100)
1
Idaho
100.00
2
Arizona
90.67
3
North Dakota
90.48
4
Virginia
87.48
5
Alabama
86.34
6
Wyoming
84.42
7
Florida
83.77
8
Mississippi
83.56
9
Minnesota
82.98
10
Michigan
82.88
11
North Carolina
82.50
12
Kentucky
81.84
13
Utah
81.74
14
Nevada
81.67
15
Rhode Island
81.36
16
West Virginia
81.24
17
Wisconsin
78.93
18
New York
78.16
19
Hawaii
77.83
20
South Dakota
76.52
21
Colorado
76.12
22
Connecticut
75.82
23
Maryland
74.96
24
Washington
74.74
25
Indiana
74.32
26
Pennsylvania
73.93
27
Tennessee
73.73
28
Massachusetts
73.23
29
Maine
73.13
30
Iowa
73.07
31
Delaware
70.50
32
Arkansas
70.20
33
Vermont
69.22
34
South Carolina
68.94
35
New Mexico
68.43
36
Oklahoma
68.38
37
Montana
68.20
38
New Hampshire
67.28
39
Ohio
66.60
40
Georgia
66.35
41
Kansas
64.41
42
New Jersey
63.38
43
California
63.26
44
Oregon
62.86
45
Illinois
62.64
46
Louisiana
61.55
47
Nebraska
61.52
48
Texas
53.49
49
Missouri
49.69
50
Alaska
41.44
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 12, 2026, results for each game:
Pick 3
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 5-4-0, FB: 7
Day: 9-9-3, FB: 7
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 5-5-6-7, FB: 8
Day: 1-2-8-1, FB: 5
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 5
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 0-4-1-7-3, FB: 9
Day: 6-8-2-8-6, FB: 1
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash Pop
Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.
Coffee Break: 11
After Hours: 04
Prime Time: 02
Rush Hour: 07
Lunch Break: 03
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash 5
Drawing every day at 11 p.m.
01-12-26-39-43
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
Drawing everyday at 11:15 p.m.
12-21-39-46-48, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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