Assateague Island National Seashore

Visited: 5 - 8 November 2024

Nights Stayed: 3

Assateague Island National Seashore is located along the Atlantic Ocean in Maryland and Virginia. The 37 mile(60 km) long barrier island has over 41,300 acres of land and water within it's boundaries. The island was founded as a National Seashore in September 1965 and is divided into three areas, Assateague Island NS is managed by the National Parks Service, Assateague State Park is managed by Maryland Parks Service, and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is managed by US Fish and Wildlife Service. There is no vehicle access between the Maryland and Virginia districts on the national seashore.

The Maryland side is where we camped for three nights. The park is open year round and  includes a total of 148 campsites all with no hookups. We came prepared with a generator and our camper has a solar panel.

The main goal of coming to the island was to see the wild horses of Assateague Island. These horses are feral animals and are managed as a wildlife population. They have survived the scorching summer heat, brutal wintery storms, horrible mosquitoes, and poor food quality. Where did these horses come from, well there are no known records. Two stories exist, one they are the survivors of a shipwreck off the coast and the second they are the descendants of horses that were brought to Assateague in the late 17th century by mainland owners to avoid laws and taxation on livestock. Which ever one is true they are here to stay.

The horses roam the pine forests, salt marshes, and the beaches of Assateague Island. However, a fence divides the two herds at the Maryland and Virginia state line. The Maryland horses with a population of 80-100 are managed by the National Park Service and are free to roam. While the Virginia herd is owned and managed by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company with a population of 150 animals. They are corralled in a 14,000 acre pen.

Our campsite

On the Maryland side the horses are free to roam throughout the campground

Travelling around the island one does not have to look very far to see how harsh it can be. The salt marshes, wind, and lack of grasses possess difficult living conditions. However, other wildlife also survive on this island.

I rescued this little guy from being hit by vehicles

Sitka Deer

Visitors Center at Chincoteague - Virginia

The Assateague Lighthouse circa 1867

Corralled horses on Chincoteague

More horses of Assateague Island...I never got tired of watching and photographing them.

A horse traffic jam...it's all about them not us

Heading South

Well, it's that time of year again where we pack up the 5th wheel and head south. This year the magical date was 1 November and the place is Bonita Springs, FL. Yes, our park took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma but they reassured me it's open for business as per usual.  

We moved into the 5th wheel the day before we left. That gives me time to winterize the park model and do the final cleaning. Normally I have the winterizing done in an hour. This year it took almost 5 hours. Let's just say different place, different things to go wrong.

We crossed the border at Fort Erie Peace Bridge. All of our ducks were in order so we were through in a matter of minutes. It started raining as soon as we crossed and didn't let up until Morgantown, WV our first stopover. We were noticing that many of the trees had not yet changed. We're hoping the leaves in the higher elevations are colourful this year.

The second days drive did not disappoint. The fall foliage was beautiful. Unfortunately it was rainy and overcast, but still breathtaking. Our climb was just over 3,000 ft at this point and the leaves are still on the trees. How unusual. We arrived at Fort Chiswell RV Park in great time, the sun was shining, the temperature was in the 70's, the shorts came out, and the pups are all pooped out from a long walk up and down the hillside. Life is good. Again a single night stopover.

The next day we woke to fog so we waited an extra half hour and it was like magic. The fog lifted, the sun was shining, the dogs are packed in the truck, and away we go. Oops forgot Susan. Here she comes 😓

When I was in Myrtle Beach last season I received a gift certificate for 2 free nights of camping at Barnwell State Park in South Carolina. It's not really out of our way so we decided to take advantage of it. More on that later. Coming down out of the mountains is always breathtaking. There's about a 7-10 mile descent out of Fancy Gap, about 2500 ft drop in elevation, and 10 degrees difference in temperature. Amazing.

We arrived at Barnwell State Park in great time, stay tuned for my blog on this great park.