Assateague Island

I live not too far and camp at the shore a couple times a year. I've never camped at Assateague and just don't understand why its so popular. I've visited friends who were there and it looks miserable! The national park has no electric and you couldn't PAY me to bake on that beach with all the bugs and no AC. The state park is better, but I just don't understand the appeal.

Cape Henlopen State Park, on the other end of that beach strip in Rehoboth is MUCH nicer in my opinion. Full hookup state park, surrounded by pine trees so you have shade in the summer, easy access to a gorgeous beach area, easy access to Lewes (beautiful Victorian town with some shops and restaurants) and about 20 minutes to Rehoboth Beach which is a very nice beach town with stores, snacks, restaurants, breweries, outlets, etc.

Clearly I prefer the Delaware beaches to the Maryland side.

The SP has the hookups but is in very high demand & out in the wide open. The National seashore, dry camping, is far nicer. The beach side of the road is mostly open but the bay side has many sites private, well separated & in the trees.

We have not been in the area at the height of the season, don't think we'd like that, but even shoulder season the bugs rule.

Bring about a gallon of DEET per person, the skeeters are brutal! If you're on the beach, and the breeze is coming off the water, you're ok, but otherwise they make for quite the unenjoyable experience.

We stayed at the koa....it was a typical koa, but we had a great view of the lighthouse from the site. Only problem was, we really couldn't enjoy sitting outside too much. Did I mention the skeeters?

The 50 or so electric sites Allow dogs however those sites book up pretty much as soon as they become available. There are around 100 sites that allow dogs but don’t have electricity. I also considered picking up an EU 2000 when I stayed there in August last year for a few days but we survived with our 300 W of solar. The steady breeze off the water made it quite Enjoyable.

You can also stay in Chincoteague and access the south end of Assateague Island through the National Park. No pets allowed in the National Park, though.

We stayed at Pine Grove campground on Chincoteague this past fall, full hookups, shady sites, a short drive from lots of cool stuff. About 45 min drive to get to the north end of the island from Chincoteague. There is a KOA and amusement park near the access to the north end of the island.
We left our pup in the camper one day, took him to the state park up north the next day, which is how we found out it was a 45 min drive to get to the north end, didn't do our homework on the National Park pet policy.

Tom's Cove campground on Chincoteague Island has waterfront sites, on the inlet, but reservation system is a little old school, have to mail in a check.

Tough to get an actual spot on Assateague Island, spots go very quickly when they come online.

Assateague State park, in Maryland. Water and electricity, pets allowed, even on some beach areas, but be careful, wild horses do come into the CG, and some dogs get antsy.
Check the NASA website for Wallops Island launch dates, and you may be able to catch one of those on the same trip.