Hampton Roads Area, Virginia

For the uninitiated, the name might be a little misleading: Hampton Roads is not a highway system. A “road” in the nautical sense is a place where ships can safely anchor. Hampton Roads is a body of water and a land mass in southeastern Virginia, a section of Tidewater Virginia and a coastal plain including Norfolk and its surrounding towns. The name originated when the region was a struggling British outpost nearly 400 years ago—and the name stuck. For tourists, the origin of the term doesn't matter. Hampton Roads by any name is a great place to drop anchor. [ more ]