Port Isobel East. Photo by CBF Staff

Port Isobel Island Study Center

Directions | Port Isobel East Program Overview (PDF)
Apply for a Port Isobel Trip | Forms for Teachers and Parents

Port Isobel is a 250-acre island east of Tangier Island. It is the southernmost point between the Tangier Sound and the Chesapeake Bay proper.  Referenced on nautical charts as East Point Marsh, this Virginia island was named Port Isobel to honor the wife of one of its residents. In the 1800s, it was inhabited by families from Tangier Island, but rising sea levels in the 1920s forced them to abandon their homes. The majority of the island was donated to CBF in the late 1980s, when it became one of CBF's five island education centers.

PORT ISOBEL EAST—CENTER AND BOATS

All buildings have electricity, central air, and heating systems, and Clivus Multrum composting toilets that use no water or chemicals. The dorm and the conference center were architecturally adapted from working barns in Pennsylvania to become some of CBF's first environmentally friendly buildings. Facilities include a full kitchen with a stove, microwave, refrigerator, and oven.

Maximum capacity is 30 people (includes students and chaperones): one room with two beds, four with four beds, and two with six beds. Boats include 11 canoes; a 24-ft. Carolina skiff; and the Loni Carol II, a 40-ft. Chesapeake Bay workboat.

PORT ISOBEL WEST—CENTER AND BOATS

All buildings have electricity, central air, and heating systems. Facilities include a full kitchen with a stove, microwave, refrigerator, and oven.

Maximum capacity is 22 people (includes students and chaperones): two rooms with six beds, one room with eight beds, and two rooms with one bed. Boats include 10 canoes; a 24-ft. Carolina skiff; and the Loni Carol II, a 40-ft. Chesapeake Bay workboat.