Tucked near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay at the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, the historic town of Cape Charles, Virginia, has gone through major transformations over the years. The once booming railroad and ferryboat depot fell into decades of hard times before finding its stride as one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most authentic, laid-back beach towns, especially for an autumn weekend getaway.
Today, airy bed-and-breakfasts with porch swings and cold pitchers of lemonade sit near a restored downtown with eclectic restaurants, shops, and cultural attractions. Come October, the sweltering heat of summer has faded into dreamy days that are still warm enough to swim but too cool for the legions of carnivorous bugs.
Plus, it’s migrating bird season, too. Here’s how to spend a long autumn weekend looking for dolphins, sampling spirits, and enjoying the vast expanses of a littoral paradise when nearly all the tourists have left.