America's Best Little Beach Towns

Chincoteague, VA

This small, serene island just off the Virginia coast is the gateway to the 37-mile-long Assateague Island National Seashore—a nature refuge that’s home to wild ponies, herons, woodpeckers, and foxes. It’s accessible to boaters and via car over the Route 175 bridge.

Stay: A Victorian-era home has been turned into Miss Molly’s Inn, a seven-room B&B that offers high tea in the afternoons.

Eat: The Seashell Café is a welcome destination after a long day on the beach. Fill up on clam chowder and platters of fried Atlantic shrimp and Chincoteague oysters. —Tom Austin

America’s Best Little Beach Towns