Mid-Atlantic - Virginia

Assateague Island National Seashore

A Karen Brown Recommendation

Eight miles south of Ocean City on Route 611 is the northern end of Assateague Island National Seashore. This 37-mile-long narrow spit of land is a wildlife refuge and also the home of the Chincoteague ponies. The National Park Service has a visitors’ center where you may obtain information on the seashore activities here like fishing, crabbing, swimming, and camping.Continue southwest on Route 113 then south on 13, crossing the border of Maryland into Virginia and turning east onto Route 175 for the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. From the refuge parking lot, where there are National Park Service and Wildlife Refuge centers, you can take a tram into the southern end of Assateague Island National Seashore. Walk along the shore in this peaceful and often isolated park watching the shorebirds dodge the waves and listening to their cries. This is an area for serious birdwatching and a checklist is available at any of the visitors’ centers.On Assateague back country, camping is available on either the bay or ocean sides of the island—though the “ocean” camping is still 4 miles from the ocean itself. The island is well known for its wild ponies. If you have children, share with them the book Misty of Chincoteague and the delights of pony-penning. This event is held on the last Wednesday and Thursday in July when the young foals are rounded up to swim across the strait between Assateague and Chincoteague before being auctioned off to eager buyers.

Located along this Karen Brown Itinerary:

Delmarva Peninsula

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