4 Best Sights in Virginia's Eastern Shore, Virginia

Virginia's Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge occupies the southern third of Assateague Island, directly off Chincoteague Island. (The northern two-thirds, part of Maryland, comprise the Assateague Island National Seashore.) Created in 1943 as a resting and breeding area for the imperiled greater snow goose as well as other birds, this refuge's location makes it a prime place for birding. It also protects native and migratory non-avian wildlife, including the Delmarva fox squirrel, which inhabits its interior pine forests. A 3.2-mile self-guided wildlife loop is a great introduction to the refuge. Bike or walk it; it's open to vehicles only between 3 pm and dusk.

The famed Chincoteague ponies occupy a section of the refuge isolated from the public, but they may still be seen in the distance from a number of spots. Swimming, surf fishing, picnicking, and bicycling are all available on the island.

Formerly the Oyster and Maritime Museum, the Museum of Chincoteague Island chronicles the local oyster trade with displays of mostly homemade tools; elaborate, hand-carved decoys; marine specimens; a diorama; and audio recordings based on museum records.

At the southernmost tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, the unique Eastern Shore of Virginia and the Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuges—including nearby Skidmore Island—established in 1984, are among the most untrammeled havens for winged wildlife, resident and migrating alike, in the region.

Each fall, between late August and early November, a vast migration of monarch butterflies and songbirds descend by the thousands on these forests and wetlands in myrtle and bayberry thickets, grasslands and croplands, on their voyage south.

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Visitors Center fires the imagination with full-scale rockets, films on space and aeronautics, and displays on NASA projects. Although this was the site of early rocket launchings and NASA occasionally sends up satellites here, the facility now focuses primarily on atmospheric research.