Located mere steps away from the Laydbug’s front door, this 445-acre preserve encompasses woodlands, forested wetlands and extensive salt marshes. These communities provide habitat for a variety of coastal species. Waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds forage in the salt marsh for mussel, snails, fish and crustaceans. Diamondback terrapins and clapper rails are common on the mud flats. The woodlands provide excellent resting and foraging habitat for migratory songbirds. Warblers, orioles and other migratory songbirds utilize the abundance of trees and shrubs to rest and replenish energy reserves before crossing the Chesapeake Bay.

Those eager for a quick leg-stretcher hike after crossing the 17.6-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Virginia’s Eastern Shore will want to look to the Butterfly Trail.

This easy coastal trail is located at the 1,123-acre Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, which sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay.

The Butterfly Trail can be accessed from the wildlife refuge’s visitor center. There is also a connector trail from the bridge-tunnel welcome center, just off U.S. Route 13.

Situated at the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, the refuge is an important stopover for migratory birds. The area also has a military history that dates back to World War II.

Rated: Easy

Length: Less than a mile

Type: Out and back

This preserve is found on the Bay side of the Eastern Shore. Its 29 acres feature coastal beach, dune, and maritime forest habitats. The preserve provides habitat for the federally threatened northeastern beach tiger beetle (Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis). Coast bedstraw (Galium hispidulum), an herbaceous plant, grows on the dunes at the interface between open grassy areas and shaded areas where shrubs and trees dominate. During fall migration, the forest abounds with migratory songbirds and raptors resting and feeding before continuing their journey across the Chesapeake Bay.

A long boardwalk takes visitors through several natural communities, including a globally-rare Maritime Dune Woodland, and ends at a low bluff overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. There is no beach access. Due to the sensitivity of the habitat, access to the beach is restricted to researchers and land managers.

Rated: Easy

Length: 5 miles

Type: Out and back

The Southern Tip Bike & Hike Trail runs parallel to the approach for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel for a total of 5 miles at the southern end of Virginia's Eastern Shore. Although never more than a stone's throw from busy US 13, the trail offers a sense of seclusion as it winds through forest and adjacent agricultural fields.

The trail connects the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Widlife Refuge with Kiptopeke State Park, so flora and fauna are always in abundance. Hikers and bikers can also sneak glimpses of the Chesapeake Bay along their trek, provided they are not too busy reading the interpretive signs dotting the trail's route.

The paved trail, which was built on the bed of the old Cape Charles Railroad, is just the beginning of a longer proposed rail-trail extending north. At present, the trail reaches Capeville Drive (Rt. 683).

The 298-acre Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserve in Cape Charles, Virginia is home to an easy 1.3-mile out-and-back coastal hike on the Beach Trail.

This hike guides visitors through a migratory songbird habitat and highlights three restoration zones: coastal grassland, coastal shrub and maritime forest.

It’s okay to wear sandals on this hike on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The last 0.2-miles are soft sand, so you may be glad to skip sneakers or hiking boots.

The Beach Trail, which leads to a sandy beach, is one of three trails at Savage Neck Dunes. The other two short trails are the Field Loop and the Woodland Loop.

Brownsville Preserve is the headquarters of The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Coast Reserve. In addition to year-round birding, the diverse habitats of marshes, forests, thickets, grasslands and tidal creeks offer ample wildlife viewing opportunities.

A kiosk with trail maps and information marks the beginning of the three-mile trail. (An audio tour for the trail may be downloaded from the TNC website.) The trail meanders through woodlands, where breeding songbirds are abundant in the summer months and concentrations of migratory neotropical songbirds can be found in the fall. At the edge of the grassland area, you will find an extensive view of salt marsh where herons, egrets, seaside sparrows, marsh wrens, clapper rails and fish crows can be seen year-round.

A screen-front shed near the pond and a grassy field is used for organized educational programs and can provide a good break spot. An elevated observation platform looks out over the marsh offering a different perspective on the extensive Spartina marsh with its meandering tidal creeks and provides an excellent vantage point for viewing shorebirds in Spring and Fall. In addition to birds and other wildlife, this site is excellent for butterfly viewing. Please return to your car using the same trail.

This preserve protects a globally rare sea-level fen – one of only four in Virginia. Sea-level fens are open, freshwater wetlands located between uplands and wide, Oceanside tidal marshes. Natural springs at the upland edge provide fresh groundwater that sustain the freshwater wetland vegetation. In addition to the fen, the preserve contains 350 acres of migratory songbird habitat, 220 acres of which were restored from former farm fields.

Although visitors may not access the fen itself, due to the sensitivity of the habitat, the preserve offers visitors two walking trails through its restored migratory songbird habitat. One trail leads straight from the parking lot to an extensive saltmarsh overlooking Gargathy Bay with views of Metompkin and Wallops Islands. While at the marsh watch for shorebirds and winter waterfowl. Along the way are the former farm fields, planted in native shrubs and oaks to provide migratory songbird habitat, as well as breeding habitat for resident birds.

The other trail loops along White’s Creek and back to the parking lot, with an option to turn left towards the marsh. The creek provides abundant foraging habitat for wading birds.

Some of the commonly observed bird species at the Natural Area Preserve include northern bobwhite, greater yellowlegs, various gulls, great blue heron, great egret, northern harrier, bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, belted kingfisher, northern flicker, various sparrows, and eastern bluebird. Winter waterfowl include snow goose, American black duck, bufflehead, and hooded merganser.

This county-owned nature preserve contains diverse coastal plain habitats and is located adjacent to an old, capped landfill with a renowned birding history. A flat, 1.4-mile mowed out-and-back trail travels east through an open scrub-shrub habitat, eventually leading to a mature woodland with a hard-packed dirt trail. An elevated boardwalk winds through the woodland, terminating at a seaside overlook platform with a view of Brockenberry Bay, a marsh, and mudflats at low tide. A short spur off the main trail, near the parking area, leads to a freshwater pond with a photography blind. (Both the boardwalk and the photography blind have ramp access.)

The scrub-shrub habitat and pine woodland along the main trail are good places to find songbirds year-round. Look for woodpeckers, common woodland denizens, sparrows, and in the fall, migratory warblers. During low tide, a variety of shorebirds may be seen from the seaside overlook, including willets, whimbrels, oystercatchers, and various peeps. (For the best view of these shorebirds, use a spotting scope.)

Much of the birding lore associated with this property relates to the freshwater pond, which supports a rookery of yellow-crowned and black-crowned night-herons and attracts a diversity of migratory birds in Spring and Fall. Look for wading birds, gulls, vultures, bald eagle, belted kingfisher, and in the fall, abundant migratory warblers around the pond’s edge. During the winter, a diversity of waterfowl may be seen. The pond is also renowned for attracting the occasional extraordinary vagrant species. A gray heron was photographed here in November of 2020, only the second record of this European species in the continental U.S., and a Lucy’s Warbler, a Southwestern U.S. species never previously recorded in Virginia, was found in January 2017. In addition to the birds, the Preserve’s diverse habitats also provide viewing opportunities of butterflies, dragonflies, and other wildlife.