Plan Your Visit

After four and a half months crossing storm swept seas 144 weary Englishmen made land-fall in April 1607. They anchored their ships in the protected waters of the bay and landed a small party upon the shore. They built a wooden cross and planted it in the sand naming the place Cape Henry.

This is the first landing site of those adventurous Englishmen who, some three weeks later, established the first permanent English Colony in North America at Jamestown.

From this same site some 174 years later, citizens of a soon to be free and independent United States of America watched as a British fleet commanded by Admiral Graves engaged the French fleet of Admiral Comte deGrasse in a sea battle know as the Battle of the Capes. This French naval victory sealed the fate of General Cornwallis at Yorktown leading to his surrender with one third of the British contingent in America and the eventual end of the American Revolutionary War.

Cape Henry Memorial, a part of Colonial National Historical Park, is administered by the National Park Service. This quarter acre of ground marks the approximate site of the first landing of the Jamestown settlers in Virginia. A memorial cross of granite was erected in 1935 by the Daughters of the American Colonists to commemorate the site where a wooden cross was erected by those early adventurers in the spring of 1607. There is also a statute of Admiral Comte deGrasse, a granite memorial to the Battle of the Capes, a three-panel wayside describing Cape Henry's significance to America, and a walkway leading to the top of the sand dunes where one can overlook the Atlantic Ocean and the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. 

Directions

Located on the south side of the Chesapeake Bay, Cape Henry Memorial sits within Fort Story Military Reservation, 10 miles east of Norfolk and 3 miles north of Virginia Beach. From Interstate 64 take North Hampton Boulevard (U.S. 13) towards the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Then take Shore Drive (Route 60) South, the last exit before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Approximately 7 to 10 miles down Shore Drive turn into Fort Story Military Reservation at Gate 1 off Atlantic Ave. Do not take Gate 2, which is the first Fort Story gate you will see coming from Route 13. This gate is for official government traffic and you will be turned around if you do not have proper military ID.

Entrance to Fort Story is by visitor pass issued by military personnel at Fort Story entrance gate. Be prepared to stop and show your drivers license. Your vehicle may be inspected. The memorial is open all year without an admission fee. The Cape Henry Memorial site is unattended by National Park Service personnel, and there are no facilities or special services available. The National Park Service "Passport" book stamp for Cape Henry Memorial is located at the NPS Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center gift shop and when open  at the Cape Henry Lighthouse, operated by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA).

Fees & Reservations

There is no fee to visit Cape Henry.  The Cape Henry Memorial site is unattended by National Park Service personnel, and there are no facilities or services available.

Operating Hours & Seasons

Cape Henry is open year round.  It is recommended that all visitation be conducted between the hours of dawn to dusk.

Because Cape Henry is located on Fort Story Military Reservation it may be closed during periods of heightened National Security.  Be prepared to stop at the entrance gate and have your drivers license ready.  All vehicles are subject to inspection.

Contact Information

By Mail
Colonial National Historical Park
P.O. Box 210
Yorktown, VA 23690

By Phone
Visitor Information
757-898-2410

757-898-6346

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a NPS brochure available for Cape Henry Memorial?

ANSWER: The National Park Service has not re-published the Cape Henry Memorial brochure for several years. All stocks of this brochure have been expended. Currently there are no plans to re-print this brochure