On the way back from the Chesapeake Bridge -Tunnel, we stopped at Fort Story to visit the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse located there. Fort Story is a military base that is home to a variety of U.S. Army and Naval Units in the City of Virginia Beach. Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia and the southern boundary of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Near the point where the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean meet, Cape Henry was the site of the first landing of the English colonists, who eventually settled in Jamestown, on April 26, 1607.
To visit the lighthouse, you must pass through the security gates of Fort Story, and it is required to show Photo Ids at a military checkpoint to enter. Our car was checked out as well, which makes sense to do, by very personable, polite and helpful security staff. After passing the check point, we drove to the Cape Henry Lighthouse visitor center. There was a good view of both lighthouses right from the visitor’s center parking lot. The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse is on the left and the new Cape Henry Lighthouse is on the right in the picture below.
