The Pier at 15th Street: A Virginia Beach Landmark

The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier at the end of 15th Street has been on the oceanfront since 1950. It survived storms in 1962, 1985 and 2003 before its recent trouble. This is its history, drawn from two sources, and a clear note about what we do not know about its current status.

A wooden pier that kept coming back

The pier has operated at the end of 15th Street since 1950. Storms damaged it in 1962, 1985 and 2003, and its private owners, the Lachman family, repaired and reopened the wooden structure each time. The city’s franchise fee was $20,000 a year.

In 2018 the city invited bids for a new concrete pier of at least 880 feet. A public-private plan had the city paying as much as $25 million for the pier and new oceanfront parking.

January 2024

On January 27, 2024, a motorist drove off the end of the pier, and the pier was closed. As of April 2024, reporting said the reopening was delayed until further notice. A later account says the pier reopened in spring 2024. We found no 2025 or 2026 report, and hours, fees and length are not published, so do not assume the pier is open.

Why it is remarkable

It is a wooden oceanfront pier that survived at least three major storms. The next question is whether it will be replaced.

Connection to the waterway

The 15th Street pier is the oceanfront counterpart to the Little Island pier covered in the Virginia Beach pier and Rudee Inlet guide. Check the pier’s current status before planning a trip around it.

The oceanfront today

Virginia Beach’s other pier is Little Island Fishing Pier, on the ocean side of Little Island District Park, just north of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. VMRC’s page says it was completed in 2006. Hours are 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. from April 15 to October 31, and from 7 a.m. to a posted closing time the rest of the year. The page lists fishing fees of $8 for residents and $10 for non-residents, with weekly and annual passes, and parking of $3 or $5 a day. It names no species. Those fees come from a page with no year, so confirm them.

The 15th Street pier’s length differs by source: 650 feet on Virginia.org and 800 feet on Visit Virginia Beach. We do not give a length.

Rudee Inlet and the surf

Rudee Inlet is Virginia Beach’s only direct access to the Atlantic. One source says it averages 10 to 12 feet deep, with spots near 30 feet. Redfish are found under docks on moving tides, speckled trout come in spring, and flounder are caught. Kingfish run from Sandbridge to Assateague from May to October. We did not verify shore access or rules at Rudee Inlet.

What anglers can take from it

Call or check the pier’s own channels for hours, fees and rules on the day you plan to go, because we cannot confirm them. More stories from Virginia waters are in the Dock Tales index.

Sources and caveats

This tale uses Virginia Places, “Virginia Beach Fishing Pier” (last checked December 2018), and a WTVR report from April 2024. Both are dated, and the current status of the pier was not confirmed. The 2018 bid and funding plan may not have gone ahead.