Searching for seashells is always exciting on the beaches of Virginia. Thousands of individual seashells are found, with species ranging from the giant Queen Helmet, to the Scotch Bonnet to the spiraled, purplish brown Lightening Whelk to the perennial favorite, the keyhole Sand Dollar. Winter and early spring are the best times to look for seashells but shells can be found year round along the Virginia coast.
Assateague Beach is in the Chincoteague Refuge and operated by the National Parks Service along with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the state of Maryland. Beach rules permit only one gallon of unoccupied shells per visit to be kept, and these shells cannot be used for commercial purposes. The varieties of shells common here include the Northern Quahog, Angel Wing, Atlantic Bay Scallop, Lightning Whelk, Knobbed Whelk, Slipper Shells and Sand Dollars. Occasionally, live Lightning and Knobbed Whelks can be found in the shallow waters.
Assateague is one in a series of barrier islands on the lower part of a peninsula that juts out between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay.
The best shelling is found in areas without crowds, which explain why the beaches in False Cape State Park are so productive. While the park offers 12 primitive camping sites, the majority of visitors are at the park for just the day. Many visitors take advantage of the tram at Little Island Park in Sandbridge--the park itself is inaccessible to normal vehicular traffic. The tram provides transportation for visitors beginning on Memorial Day weekend and continuing through October.
False Cape State Park is in southern Virginia and is a one-mile-wide barrier spit between Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Shelling is available along any of the beaches, and is best after a storm.
Although modern amenities are sparse, the park does offer special programs in conjunction with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the Virginia Marine Science Museum and Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The classes, which would be of interest to shell collectors, vary according to the time of the year.
The beaches of Hampton Roads--Tidewater, Virginia, feature some of the best shell collecting along the mid-Atlantic coast. The shells found here include Moon Snails, Ocean Quahogs, Knobby Whelks, Scallops, Channeled Whelks, Periwinkles and Angel Wings.
The best time for shell collecting here is in the cooler months, since there is less competition among beach goers. Storms that blow in from the east are also productive. Low tide is a particularly good time for shelling, since the receding waters leave the shells stranded. Also, look for low stretches of beach where the water can wash farther up on the sand. This wave action leaves small patches of the beach covered with fragments as well as whole shells when the water recedes.
The beaches here often yield items in addition to shells. Shark's teeth, ray and shark egg cases, starfish and horseshoe crab egg cases are also found. Occasionally a lucky shell collector stumbles across gold or silver coins, presumably washed in from an old shipwreck off Virginia.
