Assateague State Park

   I am not doing these posts in any order. Just what I feel like writing and what may be of interest to people. With that said, I am writing about Assateague State Park which was the last night of our trip. I feel a few people may want to know the logistics of the place. So here we go.

   The word Assateague gets used a lot. There is an Assateague Island, Assateague State Park and a National Seashore.  Both the state park and national seashore are on Assateague Island. You cross a bridge to get to the island and in front of you is Assateague State Park. To the right is the road to the national seashore. It is all very well marked. 

  Assateague Island is world famous for having wild horses (big ponies or small horses). Legend says they got there from a shipwreck where they swam to shore. More likely they were set loose to breed so settlers could have a supply of horses to ride and work. Either way, the horses are the main attraction at Assateague Island. They were the only reason we went there. I have wanted to see these wild horses since I watched a documentary about them when I was a kid. 

   We got to Assateague Island at 3:30 pm. We had reservations for Tuesday night at the campground at Assateague State Park. As we crossed the bridge we saw horses as we reached the island. We could not stop because it is a no parking area and it is strictly enforced.  We set up our tent and worked our way down the island. 

   There are a couple of views of the marsh from the road. At one of the views we could see a band of wild horses way out in the marsh. I took a couple photos and hoped we would see some closer. Another mile down the road lead us to the gate for the Assateague National Seashore. The cost is $25 and it is good for a week. We only had the rest of the evening so we were not going to pay twenty five dollars for a couple of miles of driving. So we parked our car at our campsite. You are not allowed to park near the bridge as I said, but you can walk there. There is a nice pedestrian path right along the roadway. It goes over the bridge and on top there are even spotting scopes. 

 

 The walk from our campsite to the bridge was about 15 minutes. When we got there the horses were feeding on both sides of the road. We watched them for half an hour. During that time rangers came by four different times to kick people out that were parked along the road. Luckily for us, we could stay and enjoy the horses.  After about a half hour of watching six wild horses feed we went back to the car. 

   We went looking for the band we saw earlier in the marsh. We drove back down the road to the National Seashore gate but didn't see them. So we drove back up into our campground. The campground is huge with over 300 sites. It must be well over half a mile from start to finish. So we drove down each of the loops hoping horses would be somewhere in view.

   Near the very end of the campground I saw a horse up on a dune. I drove into that loop and there were a few more with it. We parked the car at a site that wasn't occupied and got out. The horses were right in the campground feeding on the beach grass. We watched them until almost sunset. There was a colt with its mother. He was very playful running around like an idiot. We went and nursed off of his mother twice while we were watching. It was absolutely fantastic seeing these wild horses so close. 

 

 After about an hour we headed back to our campsite and went to the beach. The beach was just over the dunes from the campground and we hung out there until dark. The next morning was the last of the trip. We were off to Bombay Hook after packing up our very wet tent.

Logistics-  The cost to stay at the state park campground was $34.75. It is $30 a night to stay at the national seashore. There is one road that goes down the island. The north end of the island is state park land, the southern end is the national seashore. To go to the state park for a day, you have to pay for parking. The state park does not allow early check ins for camping so there is no point getting there until 2 pm unless you want to pay to park. 

   As I said it is $25 to go to the national seashore. I suspect you still have to pay this entrance fee even if you camp there. We did not have the time to cover both the park and seashore so we did not waste our money. 

   The beach is absolutely gorgeous. We could see for miles in both directions. The sand is hard packed and easy to walk on once you get over the dunes.

   As for the horses, I suspect they are a sure bet. Its tough to hide when you are over six feet on an island with little forest. If you go you should see some. We only had six hours of daylight when we got to Assateague. I do wish we did have a few more hours but I think one or two days max, is plenty on the island to see it all. 

   As my friend Marge told me, there are Brown Thrashers everywhere. Right before dark we took a walk and heard a frog species I didn't know. We could also hear a Chuck Will's Widow calling from our campsite but we got pretty close to it on our walk.  More photos below of these majestic animals.