Grommet Island Park

Grommet Island Park at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk's 2nd Street entrance is a specifically designed inclusive playground — built from the ground up to be accessible to children of all physical abilities. This is not a standard playground with a single accessible swing added as an afterthought. The entire design considers kids who use wheelchairs, have mobility differences, or have disabilities that limit their use of traditional playground equipment.

For families who don't have kids with accessibility needs, Grommet Island is still worth knowing about: the inclusive design philosophy tends to produce playgrounds with more interesting, open-ended equipment than standard age-and-height-sorted structures. The surf and ocean theme woven through the design connects visually to the Boardwalk setting and gets kids who are already excited about being at the beach even more energized.

The Boardwalk location is the practical selling point for most families. The playground is at the 2nd Street Boardwalk access, which means you can transition directly from playground to sand to ocean without getting back in the car. For a family with a toddler who needs playground time and an older kid who wants to body surf, this setup accommodates both simultaneously.

Admission is free. The 2nd Street location is at the quieter south end of the Virginia Beach Boardwalk, away from the densest commercial strip. Parking is the main logistics challenge in summer — if you can bike, walk, or use the Boardwalk trolley, do it.

Best used as part of a Boardwalk morning: playground from 9-10AM, beach from 10AM-noon, lunch somewhere on the Boardwalk, done by 1PM before peak afternoon crowds and heat.