GO ESCAPE MID-ATLANTIC 2020

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USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

VIRGINIA | EASTERN SHORE

Assateague Island GETTY IMAGES

The Hidden Shore Remote stretches of sandy beach are just part of region’s allure

By Ken Perrotte

L

ISTING NOTABLE MIDATLANTIC BEACHES is often

a roundup of the usual suspects: Virginia Beach; Ocean City, Md.; Rehoboth Beach, Del.; and any of a dozen spots on the Jersey Shore. Then there is Virginia’s Eastern Shore. At the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, it’s a place somewhat off the beaten path even in 2020, with landscapes seemingly lost — or at least lagging — in time. Here is a look at three such destinations:

ASSATEAGUE ISLAND Assateague Island stretches 37 miles along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. The Virginia district is managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Beachgoers can marvel at sunrises over the Atlantic Ocean while sometimes glimpsing Assateague’s wild horses, made famous in the children’s book, Misty of Chincoteague. Exiting the main highway, drivers pass NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and cruise through the historic island town of Chincoteague and past the iconic Assateague