The only bad thing about our visit to Assateague Island National Seashore was that we didn’t have more time there. After a couple of busy weeks in Boston and Cape Cod, it was a really nice change of pace. There’s so much to do and see on the island. It all involves nature, hiking, biking, the beach, the bay, and those wonderful horses.
We barely drove onto the island before we saw our first horses. It was also common to see sika, small oriental elk. Birds were abundant. We saw saw a variety of marine life from horseshoe crabs to jellies as we walked the beach and hiked through the Marsh and Maritime Forest Trails.
If you go:
Obey park rules. The National Park Service makes it very clear that the horses are wild. Each year, people are badly injured by them and horses get killed. We continuously saw people disobey the rules by getting too close and even touching the animals. It puts other tourists and the animals in danger.
Part of the island is run by the National Park Service and part of it is a State Park. There is camping at both locations. We stayed on the National Park side on Chincoteague Bay which we liked very much. There is also camping on the Atlantic.
This is a great park for kids because there are two things most kids love: water and sand. The trails are not difficult and there’s a lot to see. There are paved bike paths. They can pick up a Jr. Ranger booklet at the Visitor’s Center or Ranger Station. The Visitor’s Center has mostly interactive displays and a touch tank featuring marine life.
For more on our visit to this amazing place, please see: https://www.facebook.com/wildlifeonthego/posts/1933810833557469
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