Family Visit to Assateague National Seashore

Family Visit to Assateague National Seashore

Two great forces collided earlier this summer: 1) we bought a used pop up camper and 2) I desperately wanted to go to the beach. I spent hours on my trusty handheld device researching places and ideas, especially in a COVID-world, that might work. I was looking for magic. When I couldn’t find magic pre-made, I decided I would make my own. I wove and crafted and spun and made myself dizzy until I was sure I had created the perfect potion.

We drove up the Eastern Shore from Richmond, into Maryland, and visited Assateague National Seashore and Chincoteague Island as a family.

Have you ever worked so hard at planning a vacation you ended up just over-thinking? Have you ever done so much research you just knew what it would all be like then were totally confused when everything was opposite?

Travelling. It is full of surprises and opportunities to check expectations and goals.

We’ll share more about our trip in its entirety in a follow up post, I am still processing what I want to say.  But the section of the trip that was our visit to Assateague was absolutely lovely (although not without its snags as well).

 

I was drawn to Assateague Island because, again, BEACH, and it’s within the national treasury. While not a National Park, it is a National Seashore. So it counts in my book. 

We went on a hot summer’s day mid-week, during the Coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has forced Americans outside more than ever, and the national parks services are certainly bearing the brunt of that. Demand is higher than ever for campsites and space in our nation’s most visible and lauded outdoor spaces.

Assateague has one main entry point in Maryland via a two-lane road. There is another entrance on the Virginia side, yet there isn’t an actual road to drive on there, and the Maryland side is much larger (more below). When visitors descend on the seashore, it is a wait.

You know how this goes: the kids are excited in the back seat then tired of waiting.  The adults listen to kids complaining, also irritated with the wait, and wonder if this is all worth it. Family trips – they’re the best.

Assateague-Island-Horses

We eventually made it through the visitor’s kiosk and check-in using our National Parks pass. Assateague is one of 112 national park services that charge to get in. The entry fee for this park isn’t small. It is $20/vehicle to get in. 

And something to know: that $20 only gives you access to a small fraction of the entire seashore. 

To really access the entire area, you need an OSV (over sand vehicle) permit. Yet an OSV is $70 to be on only the Virginia side of the park, and $90 to use both the Maryland and Virginia beaches (and, again, we entered at the Maryland side given that the Virginia side is immediately an OSV permit situation, while the northern entrance had a good portion of pavement to allow folks to get into the park). We found this pricetag prohibitively expensive for one day of visiting Assateague, even though our truck was raring to go. 

After living in North Carolina at the beach, we used to love driving out Fort Fisher beach and finding a remote space of sand and waves just for us. We thought we would do that at Assateague, but the pricing structure is such that purchasing an OSV permit is only useful if you plan multiple visits.

We drove  into the park and down to the South Ocean Beach parking area and blessedly found a spot right away – parking was quite competitive.

And this, this was the moment it became worth it. Because right next to the walkway were wild horses chomping on the dune grass. They were stunning, stinky, glistening, bloated, and beautiful. When a farm landscape and the sandy dunes combine, there is something primal and wild about the feeling.

We’d been to beaches with horses before (Corolla is worth a visit for families), but I don’t tire of it.

Of course, our children squinted at the horses on the beach, said “cool, Mom,” then went immediately to the surf, where they played for hours.

Fortunately, the beach at Assateague is truly spectacular. While partial to the clear waters and perfectly undulating waves at Wrightsville Beach, we found this beach to deliver. There was plenty of space to spread out.

Dogs are allowed, although we didn’t bring ours, which made for a fun atmosphere.

Assateague Island National Seashore

We lazily spent the day on this beach – watching the horses roam their terrain. Mind you, we also saw the horses mating, so this could be a great National Geographic/Animal Kingdom moment the whole family! (#roadschooling ?)

These horses are wild and, while comfortable enough to be on the beach when humans also are, they are also skittish and not interested in being approached. If you’ve ever been around horses, you know that when their back foot is on its toenails, they are ready to kick you – and HARD. So steer clear of the horses. Take photos from afar.

We didn’t want to leave Assateague National Seashore. 

There are two campsites in the area: Assateague National Seashore campsite as well as a Maryland State Park campsite. Both of which fill up exceptionally fast. 

Also, after camping at Carolina Beach, we realized we don’t enjoy camping in sand. We absolutely love the fine grains of powdery stuff for a day of lounging support, but we like to live it behind and outside the camper when we get into our beds.

While I wish other parts of the island were more accessible and we could have explored more (bikes would have been fun; hiking would not as this was hot, sticky, sandy hot hiking that we tire of quickly), we still were glad we went.

Sitting there on the beach, horses in my view, kids throwing the blue water of The Atlantic on each other, I felt as though I had done it. 

I had created the magic.

Learn more about Assateague Island and National Seashore at https://www.nps.gov/asis.

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