VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — This summer, you might spot a new sky-high spectacle in the Resort City.
The Nautilus Observation Tower, located behind the Virginia Aquarium, will be open to visitors by mid-summer, according to planners with Outdoor Venture Group—who’s designing and building the project.
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The tower will anchor the new Owl Creek Landing behind the aquarium, planners say.
It’ll be hard to miss: planners say the tower will be 125 feet tall, set on 38 acres of woods. Visitors will get 360-degree panoramic views of the city and its coastline, planners added.
The tower will offer an “outdoor adventure” to visitors, planners say.
They say the tower will include the following features:
- An open-air observation deck that’s 12+ stories high
- The nation’s longest stainless steel slide that twists through the center of the tower. There will also be interior staircases.
- Education stations about trees and wildlife.
- The "Canopy Walk" that extends from the observation tower. This includes treetop trails, suspended 40 feet off the ground, and four treehouses.
- On the ground, there will be over a mile of walking trails around Owl Creek Landing.
The tower is fully ADA-accessible, planners say. They encourage people "of all physical abilities" to visit the tower.
While the tower and Canopy Walk are being built, you can catch sneak peeks of the progress by visiting The Adventure Park—which is the Nautilus Tower's sister attraction, planners say.
If you want to explore the tower once it opens, you’ll have to buy a ticket. Right now, it's unclear how much the tickets will cost. There will also be group rates and season passes available, planners say.
