VDOT Signs Help Guide Visitors Along Eastern Shore’s Growing Heritage Trails

As Accomack and Northampton counties highlight their historic sites for America’s 250th anniversary, the Virginia Department of Transportation is reminding travelers that traditional highway signs remain an important part of navigating the state.

That is especially true on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where visitors often leave U.S. Route 13 and travel rural secondary roads to reach museums, historic communities and other attractions. Cellphone reception can also be limited in some areas, making roadside signs and printed directions valuable backups to navigation applications.

Signs directing motorists to cultural and historic destinations are part of VDOT’s Integrated Directional Signing Program. The statewide program includes more than 5,600 Supplemental Guide Signs, along with signs identifying businesses, essential services, tourist destinations and other points of interest.

The signs use different background colors based on the type of destination. Brown signs direct motorists toward recreational, historical and cultural attractions. Blue signs identify tourist information centers, police facilities and Department of Motor Vehicles offices. Green signs are used for schools, colleges, government buildings and similar facilities.

The program has particular relevance as Accomack and Northampton counties promote local history through the Eastern Shore Heritage Trails.

Northampton County’s offerings include the “Revolutionary Shore” tour, which takes visitors along former stagecoach routes, coastal communities and locations connected to military activity, religious freedom and the American Revolution. The county also offers the “Landmarks” trail highlighting African American historic sites.

Accomack County tours include “Be Free! Rebel On!” through the middle Shore and “Revolutionary Fare” on the upper Shore. The tours connect visitors with museums, historic buildings and communities that illustrate the Eastern Shore’s role in the founding and development of the country.

Northampton County’s online guide to the Revolutionary Shore tour cautions visitors that cellphone reception is limited in many areas and recommends keeping paper maps available. That makes clear and properly maintained directional signs particularly useful for travelers unfamiliar with the Shore’s rural roads.

VDOT said Supplemental Guide Signs may be installed along limited-access, primary and secondary highways. Eligible destinations include historic buildings and districts, museums, parks, courthouses, government offices, educational institutions, military facilities and other locations of public interest.

Under state program requirements, a participating facility generally must be open to the public during its normal operating season and located within 15 miles of the initial sign. Space is limited at intersections, with no more than two destinations normally displayed on each sign structure.

The broader signing program also includes blue logo signs for gas, food, lodging, camping and attractions; tourist-oriented directional signs for qualifying businesses; signs using generic symbols for essential services; and Virginia’s familiar silver historical highway markers.

VDOT officials said the signs are intended to supplement modern navigation technology, not compete with it. Drivers are encouraged to set their route before beginning a trip, keep their attention on the road and use directional signs to confirm turns and destinations.

More information about obtaining or maintaining a tourism or directional sign is available through VDOT’s Signs for Business and Tourism webpage.