Assateague Island is one of the most popular places in the United States to see wild horses, and they’re not shy! It’s a fantastic place to go camping on the beach and watch as the horses run and play through the campsites. If you’re not a camper, you can also stay nearby and visit the island for a day or two.

The Assateague Island Horses

But before we jump into camping, why are there so many horses on a random island along the Atlantic coast of Maryland and Virginia anyways? A recent discovery is giving some credence to a backstory that was originally thought to be purely fiction.

A postdoctoral researcher at the Florida Museum of Natural History has discovered a very old horse tooth. Like hundreds of years old. Yes, you read that right. That horse tooth belonged to a horse from the Iberian peninsula brought over to the United States by Spanish explorers.

However, it also has a genetic match to the wild horses on Assateague Island, meaning they could be the descendants of the original Spanish horses. For more, please read the phenomenal children’s book "Misty of Chincoteague.”

Getting to Assateague Island

Okay, so you officially think the island horses are cool and would like to visit them. How do you get to them?

Assateague is an island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia in the United States. The island is connected to the mainland by highway bridges, so regardless of how you get to the area initially, you’ll need a car to go to the island. The closest city to Assateague is Ocean City, Maryland, which you can fly into and rent a car to drive the approximately 30 minutes to the island. If you’re close enough, I highly recommend the road trip route though.

Assateague Island has two different parks you can visit, the Maryland State Park and the National Seashore. Both parks have camping and beach hangout spots. Camping fees are a little higher for the National Seashore than the State Park, but it also comes with more (and ocean-side) campsites and additional amenities. We camped in the National Seashore, so most of the information in this post is specific to that experience, however the State Park camping experience isn’t terribly different.

Camping on Assateague Island

Making Reservations & Picking Your Site

If you want to camp on Assateague Island during peak season, you must plan in advance. Campsites become available for online reservations six months in advance of the stay dates, and they book up FAST! Definitely mark your calendar for six months out from the date you want to start camping, and log on early that morning to make your reservation, particularly if you are staying for weekend dates.

Most sites cost $30 a night to camp at, with the group sites being $50 a night, plus the $25 park entry fee that is good for 7 days. Campsite costs are paid when you book them. When you get there you’ll pay the entry fee and then stop at the park ranger office to check in for your site.

Dates in the middle of the week are less popular, so you have a little more leeway. And if you’d like to visit during off-peak season, sites are first-come, first-served, with no reservation system.

The National Seashore has ocean-side (read beach) campsites, bayside campsites, and backcountry sites. There are ocean-side and bayside drive-in sites that can accommodate trailers and RVs, but there are no electrical or water hookups. Ocean-side walk-in sites are tent-only. There are also specific group sites you can reserve for groups larger than six people.

Every site has a picnic table and a fire pit. Each group of sites has a set of chemical toilets and cold water showers, as well as a water pump with clean drinking water for you to refill. Parking is on-site for drive-ins, and there are parking lots for different groups of ocean-side walk-in sites with walkways connecting the lot to the site grouping. You’ll have to make a few trips back and forth from your car to get all of your stuff into these sites, but it’s not a very long walk.

What to Bring for Camping

When we camped at the National Seashore, we had a beautiful, sunny beach campsite. It turns out we were less prepared than we thought and suffered the sunburn and heat exhaustion consequences, so learn from our mistakes and pay special attention to this list of what to bring:

The camping basics (tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads (seriously, sand is not comfortable to sleep on), camping cookware, food, lots of water, clothing layers, etc.)
Special tent stakes for sand if you’re staying at an ocean-side site (we used these ones)
Something to create your own shade - a table canopy or a beach umbrella - trust me
Sunscreen, and lots of it
Bug spray - more than you can ever imagine needing - because the mosquitos are insane
A bathing suit!
Good walking shoes
Horse-proof food storage (if your coolers don’t lock, you’ll have to keep them in your car at night)

DO NOT bring campfire wood from outside of the immediate area. There are lots of places as you get closer to the island where you can purchase firewood, or there’s a camp store in the park that you can get it at. Honestly, the camp store firewood was better and cheaper, so I recommend you just get it there after you arrive. The camp store also has a bunch of odds and ends for anything you forget or run out of, like the enormous amount of bug spray you’ll want. And ice cream!

Things to do on Assateague Island

There's a lot to do on Assateague Island for those who like to explore the outdoors.

Hiking

First off is hiking. There are three curated hiking trails on the island called the life of the forest, the life of the marsh, and the life of the dunes. As their names imply, each one explores a different ecosystem that you can find on the island and the wildlife that exists in it. Each trail is less than 2 miles long and is well built out, including with some bridge areas that go out over water and lots of educational signs along the way. There are also a lot of other walking trails around the island and along the beach.

Biking

There is a long bike trail that runs along the Maryland and Virginia sides of the island (you can also walk it if you don't have a bike). Going along this trail is a great way to scout out the horses during the day, especially if you're only visiting for the day and not camping.

Kayaking

For those who love water sports, you can kayak or canoe on the bayside of the island. You can either bring your own kayaks or rent them from Assateague Outfitters at the camp store near the launch point. If you're interested in a more educational experience, you can also book a kayak tour that goes around Assateague and Chincoteague Island, seeing the different wildlife, learning about the history of the horses, and even getting a view of the Assateague Island lighthouse.

The Beach

Of course, you can just (and should) hang out on the beach! It runs the entire length of the island and is directly connected to a lot of the campsites. There is also a public beach in both the National Seashore and State Park open to anyone even if you're not camping. You’ll see a lot of people fishing and digging for crabs as well as just enjoying the waves.

For the Kids

The National Seashore has all kinds of fun ranger-guided programs throughout the season for kids to learn about and interact with the island. You can find the schedule for those programs here.

What to Eat

I LOVE cooking over a campfire, so I highly recommend you do that. Bring ingredients for campfire nachos, hot dogs and hamburgers, home fries and sausage, smores… really there’s all kinds of creative campfire meal recipes.

Just make sure you pay attention to your food storage. You are NOT allowed to feed the horses on the island, and they WILL come peruse through your site and see what you have to offer. They know when dinnertime is. When people down the beach from us saw the horses coming, they’d start a chain of yelling down to your neighbors as a heads up. Everyone would grab their food and put it in the conveniently provided cubbies under the picnic tables, and wait and watch as the horses made their way down through.

If you would like to have some of your meals made for you in a non-campfire fashion, there are a lot of options outside of the park in nearby Berlin and up in Ocean City.

When to Visit Assateague Island

Assateague Island’s campsite reservation system runs from March 15 to November 15, with peak season being from May to August. The summer season is hot, both in demand and temperature, so if you want to go then get your reservations early.

The cusp seasons (particularly September and October) are a really nice time to visit for good weather without quite as much of a crowd. If you’re into winter camping, sites become first come, first serve from November 16 to March 14.

Other Places to Stay

If you’re not into camping and just want to do a day trip or two to the island, there are a lot of hotels and vacation rentals north of the island in Ocean City, Maryland and in the town of Chincoteague on the Virginia side of the park.

There are also a lot of Airbnb’s along the coast across from the island, including a couple of very cute houseboats!

Assateague vs. Chincoteague

Assateague island spans across the Maryland and Virginia state lines. There's an additional little island off the Virginia end of Assateague called Chincoteague. Chincoteague is home to its own wildlife refuge and a small town. It’s also known for the annual pony swim. As a part of population control for Assateague Island, every year there's an organized crossing of the ponies where the horses are swam from Assateague Island over to Chincoteague Island. Some of the horses are then rounded up and auctioned off to new homes to maintain a healthy population of wild horses on the island.

Samantha Linnett is a travel planner, writer, and content creator with a passion for sharing local experiences from around the globe.

She practices social impact travel, exploring and supporting local communities, economies, and ecosystems in mindful and respectful ways. She's a local government nerd and values local, cultural experiences over tourist attractions or luxury travel (but that’s not to say she doesn't do those too). She's currently based in Washington, DC, soaking in some sunshine with her fiancé and three cats after spending 8 years in-love with a very snowy Syracuse, NY.

Find her work here on Trusted Travel Girl, on Fodor’s, on her own travel blog, and on Instagram @discoverwithsam. You can also hire her to plan your next trip!

The Ultimate Guide to Camping at Assateague Island National Seashore