Find your WanderLove on Virginia’s Eastern Shore!

Adventure is the destination. WanderLove is about reconnecting with what you love: the charming small towns, the calming waterside views, and the winding roads in between. Plan your next road trip at visitesva.com.

What is WanderLove?

Photo by Bayside Studios Photography

Wanderlust is defined as a strong desire to travel, but here in Virginia, we call that feeling WanderLove. As we begin to travel again, planning an epic road trip is a safe way to explore Virginia’s endless beauty, from its pristine beaches to the scenic curves of its storied mountains.

So crank up the music, hit the road less traveled, and feel free to get a little lost. Because the best part of a road trip isn’t the destination – it’s the adventures you have along the way.

Welcome to Virginia’s Eastern Shore!

Settled in the early 1600s, Virginia’s Eastern Shore developed relatively in isolation from modern America for hundreds of years. Before 1964, when the 23-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was built, it was a long ferry ride to mainland Virginia or an inconvenient car, rail or boat trip from points up North.

This unique origin has created a distinct culture, preserved much of our history, and made the Eastern Shore a place unlike other beach locales.

Our beautiful peninsula has more than 78,000 acres of national parks, preserves, refuges, and a national seashore. The ESVA is a popular outdoor recreation destination for fishing, boating, hiking and kayaking and is also an important birding hotspot along the Atlantic Flyway.

With the Bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, we have several public beaches, including Cape Charles town beach, Kiptopeke State Park beach, Tangier Island beach and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge adjacent to the Assateague Island National Seashore.

If that wasn’t enough, the Shore also boasts 70 miles of barrier islands, the longest chain of undeveloped barrier islands in the global temperate zone, and a United Nations International Biosphere Reserve.

At the northern end of the Atlantic side is the beach community of Chincoteague, famous for its annual wild pony roundup. Wallops Flight Facility, a NASA space launch base, is located right outside of Chincoteague. At the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay coast, the beach community of Cape Charles, a historic railroad town, is home to the Cape Charles Yacht Center, a superyacht service center. The town of Wachapreague on the Atlantic coast is a popular destination for fishing and guided trips out to the wild barrier islands. Onancock, a harbor town on the Chesapeake Bay, has a ferry service out of the Onancock Creek to Tangier Island, during Spring, Summer and Fall.

The best part? The Eastern Shore of Virginia is a short drive from major metropolitan areas like Hampton Roads, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and New York city. It is the perfect escape from the every day hustle and bustle.

What are you waiting for?

Coming up…

Discover the Eastern Shore and the best places to visit while you’re here! For the next six weeks, we will be featuring six different trails, including:

Fresh from the Water: Seafood

Breath of Fresh Air: Bike and Hike

Love and Learning

Lovin’ On the Water

Love on the Coastline

Sun and Sand: ESVA Beaches

Each week, learn about one of the trails with our videos, blog posts, emails, and specialized rack cards.

You can find links to everything ESVA WanderLove here.

If you want to pick up a rack card in person, you can get them at the Southern Gateway Welcome Center, the New Church Welcome Center, the ESVA Chamber of Commerce, and the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce.

We are so excited for you to join us on this summer adventure! Sign up for our email newsletter to get the first updates and follow us on social media.