# US 13: The Eastern Shore *two counties, four centuries, one road* US 13: The Eastern Shore is a ~90-mile back-roads route from Cape Charles to Chincoteague on US 13 and VA 175, driven in 1–2 days, that stays off I-95 (by an entire bay) through the Atlantic Coast. - **Drive:** Cape Charles → Chincoteague - **Distance:** ~90 mi - **Days:** 1–2 - **Highways:** US 13, VA 175 - **Avoids:** I-95 (by an entire bay) - **Region:** Atlantic Coast - **Themes:** Small Towns, History & Markers, Natural Beauty, Oddities & Roadside Wonders Virginia's Eastern Shore is a 70-mile afterthought the rest of the state can't reach without a 17-mile bridge-tunnel, which is why it still looks like itself: Cape Charles' railroad-boom beach town, courthouse records at Eastville said to be the oldest continuous set in America (since 1632), the 1680 port of Onancock, a NASA launch pad firing rockets over the marsh at Wallops, and the wild ponies of Chincoteague, penned and swum the last week of July since 1925, exactly as Misty promised. Markers: Eastern Shore byway signage; the refuge and NASA visitor centers carry the modern layers. ## The drive, segment by segment ### The Lower Shore *Cape Charles → Eastville · ~10 mi* The beach town's LOVE sign and golf-cart streets, then the ancient courthouse green. Stops: - **Cape Charles** (Cape Charles) · Small Towns — A railroad-ferry boomtown reborn as the Shore's beach town: LOVE sign on the sand, golf carts outnumbering cars, sunsets over the bay. - **Eastville courthouse green** (Eastville) · History & Markers — Court has met here for centuries, and the county's records, continuous since 1632, are said to be the oldest unbroken set in America; the clerk's office shows them off. ### Bayside Villages *Eastville → Accomac · ~45 mi* Onancock's wharf and creek, Accomac's debtors' prison, and the side roads to the water. Stops: - **Onancock** (Onancock) · Small Towns — A 1680 port town on a deep creek: the Hopkins & Bro. store on the wharf, galleries up Market Street, and the seasonal Tangier ferry at the dock. - **Accomac Debtors' Prison** (Accomac) · Oddities & Roadside Wonders — A 1783 brick cell that jailed debtors into the 1840s, kept as a tiny monument to a bad idea, in one of Virginia's best courthouse villages. ### To the Ponies *Accomac → Chincoteague · ~35 mi* The causeway past Wallops' launch pads to the island, the refuge and Assateague's light. Stops: - **NASA Wallops Visitor Center** (Wallops Island) · History & Markers — The other launch pad: Antares rockets and suborbital science have flown from this marsh since 1945. Check the schedule; a launch over the water rearranges you. - **Chincoteague & Assateague** (Chincoteague) · Natural Beauty — The refuge's wild ponies, the red-striped Assateague Light, and Pony Penning the last Wednesday-Thursday of July since 1925; Misty made it myth, the swim keeps it real. ## Tips and best time to go - Pony Penning week books the island a year out; the rest of the summer the ponies are still there and the lines are not. - Chincoteague salt oysters end the day correctly; check the Wallops launch calendar before picking your night. ## Worth a detour - **Kiptopeke's concrete fleet** — Nine WWII concrete ships sunk in a row as a breakwater off the state park beach; the strangest navy on the East Coast. - **Barrier Islands Center** — Machipongo's museum of the drowned island communities, whole towns that retreated from the rising Atlantic a century ago. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long is US 13: The Eastern Shore and how many days does it take? US 13: The Eastern Shore is about 90 miles and takes 1–2 days at a back-roads pace. ### Where does US 13: The Eastern Shore start and end? It runs from Cape Charles to Chincoteague. ### Which highways does US 13: The Eastern Shore follow? It follows US 13 and VA 175. ### Which interstate does US 13: The Eastern Shore replace? It avoids I-95 (by an entire bay), using US 13 and VA 175 instead. ### How many stops are on US 13: The Eastern Shore, and what are the highlights? 6 stops are mapped, including Cape Charles, Eastville courthouse green, Onancock, Accomac Debtors' Prison and NASA Wallops Visitor Center. ### When is the best time to drive US 13: The Eastern Shore? The atlas’s seasonal note for this route: “Pony Penning week books the island a year out; the rest of the summer the ponies are still there and the lines are not.” ## Connects with - [VA 5 & the Colonial Parkway](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/va5-colonial) — Richmond → Yorktown - [The Northern Neck](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/historyland-neck) — Fredericksburg → Irvington - [US 58: The Last Capital Road](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/us58-last-capital) — Martinsville → Suffolk --- Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/eastern-shore-13 Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/) Last updated: 2026-10-05