Not many things get me as excited as an adventure to a wild place, and False Cape State Park is one of my favorites. Everyone loves to go to the beach, to hear the hypnotic sounds of the waves breaking and receding, to get away from the norm.

I enjoy a beach away from the hustle and bustle, a beach with dunes and peace and quiet, as opposed to row upon row of umbrellas, chairs, and hotels. And when I tell people I'm going there, they say, "Oh, you must be going to the Outer Banks."

Most are genuinely surprised when I say I’m staying in Virginia. “There’s no beaches like that in Virginia,” they say. And they’re wrong. You just have to work to get there. But like some of the best things in life, the rewards are all the sweeter if you have to work for it a little.

A pelican along the frothy waves

False Cape State Park is unique in that regard, requiring overnight campers to bike, hike, or paddle to this salty slice of heaven. Vehicular access is not allowed through Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the beautiful biodiverse marshy bridge to get to this amazing state park. There is a tram offered for day visitors, but if you’re like me, nothing beats a sunrise on a beach, or a nice moonlit walk at night.

I had read a news article about an event some would describe as magical, fairy-tale like, or even surreal. There had been sightings on Sandbridge Beach, just north, of glowing mysterious waters days prior. An unexpected natural oddity that comes and go when the mix of conditions is just right, no one knowing if it’d last one night or weeks. I didn’t get my hopes up, but I really wanted to see some bioluminescent magic.

On our bike ride in and throughout our stay we were greeted by some of the many inhabitants of this special place.

I was tickled pink to see one of my favorite reptiles. Snapping turtles look prehistoric, and in some ways, they are, having not changed much in 215 million years, surviving the climatic ups and downs of geologic time long before dinosaurs even came on the scene.

Snapping turtles aren't as bashful as some turtles, more than able to protect themselves

Another reptile, a cottonmouth, is one of three venomous snakes found in our Commonwealth, and this one gently floated with the flow of the water adjacent to the trail.

Cottonmouths are also known as water moccasins

Another ancient creature, dragonflies, flitted and adorned our paths and we were thankful since they play an important role in nature, one of which includes eating mosquitos. 

Dragonflies begin their lives underwater, undergoing metamorphosis into adults with wings

Different dragonfly species showcase an array of colors

We didn't see the ghost cat, the bobcat, but we saw signs of this secretive mammal. A couple kittens have been spotted as of late.

Bobcat tracks lack claw marks, unlike those of a fox or dog

Sunrise on the beach is a grounding and beautiful way to start the day.

Sunrise at Barbour Hill at False Cape State Park

No four day adventure would be complete without the potential for rain, and we underwent quite a storm one afternoon, but as they say, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad preparation,” and our rain tarp was worth its weight in gold when a downpour came.

Blanca securing the kitchen rain fly at our campsite

In the hectic hustle and bustle of our lives, relaxation is an invaluable tonic and we relished the opportunity to unwind and rest in such a peaceful place.

Virginia State Parks provide a much needed avenue to unplug and recharge

I was amazed at how some animals range in coloration, this amphibian matching its habitat of pine needles rather well in a showcase of camouflage.

Notice how its coloration matches the newer and older dried pine needles

There is a wide diversity of birds around the ocean and bay.

An osprey, a master fisherman and raptor, flies towards its nest with a catch. They will readjust their fish and carry it headfirst for aerodynamic purposes.

Ospreys are sometimes referred to as sea hawks, more so on the West Coast

One morning before sunrise, we spotted a cunning dune fox in the low light of twilight as it sauntered along. Herons, ghost crabs, incubating sea turtle eggs, beavers, and other wildlife were spotted during our stay. 

Sea turtle nests are protected and rare near the northern terminus of their range in Virginia

During our stroll the first night, a waxing gibbous moon was illuminating the shore. We started noticing the surf glow a little, or was it just moonlight reflecting off the white surf? Upon closer inspection as twilight gave way to night and the moon set, when the waves broke just the right distance away, a shimmery fluorescent blue with hints of green glowed and curled with the breaking waves.

It looked like glow in the dark waves! Like blue fluorescent highlighters churning down the curl. I’ve seen some interesting sights in my young naturalist life, and this was one of the most fantastical and special natural phenomena I have ever witnessed.

Bioluminescent dinoflagellates are single celled algae that can produce light; little beacons of light, reminiscent of lightning bugs. Fireflies of the sea, or "fire plants" rather, gathered together by the tides, millions when tides and temperature conditions of the ocean are a perfect mixture resulting in a surreal optical experience. 

The organisms glow when agitated, and a breaking wave provides just what is needed to turn them on. I had to pinch myself to make sure this dreamy moment was real as we strolled along a seemingly endless dune adorned beach, neon glow-in-the-dark waves creating such a surreal gift of an experience. In certain sections as your footfall pushed the water out of the damp sand along the high tide line, fractured glowing lines shot out like glowing markers of your footstep.

Soak up the moment

I couldn’t capture the moment with my camera. But some things in nature are meant to be experienced, unable to be captured in megapixels (or mediocre cameras). I realized it was a telling moment for me in our capture-every-moment society. Sometimes you just have to soak up the moment as it is happening, letting the moment wash into your memory and life experiences, somehow too complex and organic and fleeting to view through a lens or subdue into pixels.

Nature has a way of reminding us time to time that life is for experiencing, and sometimes we should just breathe in the moment and put the camera down. That’s exactly what I did and it was freeing. We have two lenses built into our bodies and a never-ending memory stick of neurons in our brain.

That moment will stay with me forever. The intense neon glow of the waves, the sound and smell of the waves, the taste of sea spray, and the feel of the waves on my bare feet. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a primary experience enlivening all the senses will bring a smile to my face for years to come. And that is why I relish and respect the awe of wild places such as False Cape State Park. 

Learn more about False Cape State Park here. For information about primitive camping click here, and then call 800-933-7275 as reservations cannot be made online for this amazing park.

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You may also enjoy Adam's other article "A Trip to a Beach Where the Wild Things Are."