First walks in Virginia Beach.
In Virginia Beach, your dog is on a physical leash or lead in city parks and on streets, sidewalks and rights-of-way - apart from a few written exceptions - with six city dog parks for off-leash play and seasonal beach rules of their own. The city’s own rules and how we suggest starting a new dog’s first week.
The rules, in short
From the Virginia Beach City Code and the city’s dog-park pages.
- 1Parks, streets, sidewalks and rights-of-way: a physical leash or lead, held by someone who can physically restrain the dog - except the rural south end outside residential areas, and hunting, training classes and sanctioned trials (fine print)
- 2Off-leash play: the city’s six listed dog parks - five posted sunrise to sunset; Level Green’s dog-park hours are not posted online
- 3Scoop: other people’s property is off-limits; public property only if you remove it immediately
- 4License from four months - rabies vaccination first, tag on the collar
- 5Beaches have their own seasonal rules - resort-beach sand is off-limits in summer
- 6At the dog parks: leash on until you are inside - aggressive dogs leave immediately
Hours, exceptions & the fine print
Virginia Beach’s leash law makes it unlawful to let a dog onto any city park, public street, sidewalk or right-of-way - the public beaches excepted - unless it is “firmly secured by a physical leash or lead attached to a collar or harness and under the control of a responsible person capable of physically restraining the dog” (5-531). Breaking it is a class 4 misdemeanor, and animal control or police can issue a summons on the spot. The written exceptions: lawful hunting, a supervised obedience class or show, sanctioned field trials - and the rural part of the city south of the Elbow-Salem-Landstown-Princess Anne-Sandbridge trace line, except residential areas there (5-531(d)). Separately, a dog found running at large - roaming off its owner’s property out of a responsible person’s custody - is a class 4 misdemeanor too (5-530). The scoop law: urine or feces on someone else’s property without consent is unlawful, and on public property feces is lawful only if you remove it immediately (5-534). Beaches run on their own seasonal rules: in summer, leashed dogs may use the Boardwalk 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. but are banned from the resort beach sand (Rudee Loop to 42nd Street); north of 42nd and at Croatan and Sandbridge they are allowed before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m., leashed or under control if unleashed. After Labor Day until Memorial Day weekend, dogs are welcome on the sand any time, even off-leash - the Boardwalk stays leashed year-round (city Dog Friendly Parks & Beaches page).
The first week
The same calm start we suggest everywhere - on Virginia Beach’s streets.
- 1Leash, quiet streets, short and sniffy - calm hours, near home, ending before your dog is wound up. An off-leash area is not day-one material for a brand-new dog.
- 2Sniffing is the point - let your dog pause and sniff instead of focusing on distance. More on the sniff walk.
- 3Settle first, explore later - more on the first days: a routine for a newly adopted dog and a calm start to every walk.
The dog parks, for later
Once your dog has settled. The city lists six dog parks. Five are free and open sunrise to sunset per the city’s own pages; Level Green’s page posts no dog-park hours or fee yet:
- 1Bayville Farms Park - 4132 First Court Rd - 3 fenced areas for small and large dogs, agility equipment
- 2Level Green Park - 1520 Level Green Blvd - two fenced areas for large and small dogs
- 3Marshview Park - 120 Marshview Dr - 4 fenced areas with trees for cover
- 4Red Wing Park - 1398 General Booth Blvd - 1 acre, two fenced areas, agility equipment
- 5Salem Woods Park - 1525 Salem Rd - 1.72 acres in two sections for small and large dogs, with tree cover
- 6Woodstock Park - 5709 Providence Rd - 1 acre, two fenced areas, agility equipment
Six is Parks & Recreation’s own count on its dog-parks page - the city’s services page still lists five and has not added Level Green yet. Posted rules at every dog park: licensed and immunized dogs with collared ID, leash on until you are inside, no puppies under four months, no sick dogs or females in heat, no food, no children under eight, no unattended dogs, and aggressive dogs leave immediately - report bites to Police Animal Control (757-385-5000). On the map, five pins sit on the city’s own GIS park points; the Salem Woods pin is the general park anchor from the city’s park-property layer, not a verified access point. Everywhere outside the fence, the leash law applies again.
Pins mark the park or its listed access point, not the exact off-leash boundary.
Good to know
Worth knowing
Every dog (and cat) four months or older needs a city license - due when the dog turns four months and gets its first rabies shot, or within 30 days of moving to Virginia Beach (5-300, 5-304). One-, two- and three-year tags come from the city treasurer or vet agents: $7, $14 or $21 for a spayed or neutered dog ($10, $20 or $30 unaltered, with a vet’s certification needed for the altered rate); guide, hearing and service dogs are licensed free (5-301, 5-303). Rabies vaccination is its own requirement from four months, with the rabies tag on the collar whenever the dog is off your property (5-200) - and the license tag rides on a substantial collar too, because a dog without one is presumed unlicensed (5-307). Animal control is the city’s Police Animal Control unit (757-385-5000).
Sources
Sources: Virginia Beach City Code ch. 5, Animals and Fowl (5-200 rabies; 5-300 to 5-307 licensing; 5-530 at large; 5-531 leash law; 5-534 defecation): library.municode.com. Dog-park roster, hours and posted rules: Parks & Recreation dog parks and Dog Friendly Parks & Beaches (beach rules). Pins from the city’s official GIS: Points of Interest and VB Park Property layers. All verified November 2, 2026.
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