Wachapreague Town Marina

A town of about 260 people on the seaside edge of the Eastern Shore, calling itself the Little City by the Sea and, with more evidence, the Flounder Capital of the World.

The marina is the whole point. Behind it lies a maze of tidal creeks and salt marsh, and beyond that the Virginia Barrier Islands — a chain of undeveloped, mostly uninhabited sand islands with no bridges, no houses and no people, protected as one of the largest stretches of wilderness coastline left on the US East Coast. Charter captains here run fishing trips, birding cruises and drop-offs on islands where you can spend a day collecting shells or sand dollars and see nobody at all.

Practical: a public boat ramp, docks and ample parking; charters need booking ahead. There is little in town beyond a couple of places to eat and the seawater research laboratory on Atlantic Avenue. Come for access to the water, not for the town itself.