Assateague Island

[2012Oudoorsman]

I'd like to plan a trip here next year but struggling to find something that works for us. We would be going with another camper. Neither of us are set up to dry camp and do not want to try to. We would need electric. Sewer would be nice but I have 2 black tanks and can go a minimum of a week without issues. I would also need a pet friendly destination.

If I didnt have a home generator I'd think about buying one of the cheaper inverter ones but that would be a waste for one trip.

Being a popular destination I figured a lot of people on here have visited and figured this area out already.

Anyone have any good locations close by that they can recommend? Thanks in advance.

[Crabbypatty]

In July Chincotegue has the pony swim fair and auction. We stayed at Toms COve full hook ups and the ponys swim right by it. Then they parade the wild ponys in the street. Its quite a site. We drove to Assategue which isnt that far and site seeing and went to the beach for the day. Lots of fun

[Ralph_Cramden]

2gypsies wrote:
Here's an excellent recent writeup on Assateague and a review of the state park:

https://wheelingit.us/?s=assateague

"The biggest dings? All sites here are very open (no trees or such) so there’s not much privacy, plus there are quite a lot of painful grass stickers/burrs (hard on bare feet and paws) as well as pony poop (the ponies regularly walk thro’ camp & leave souvenirs), so hanging around on the grass by your site can sometimes be a challenge."

I guess it would of been better if the state of MD planted a bunch of trees on the barrier island where they don't grow naturally, ripped out all the native vegetation that has a burr, and picked up the horseshit LOL.

[2gypsies1]

Here's an excellent recent writeup on Assateague and a review of the state park:

https://wheelingit.us/?s=assateague

[Ralph_Cramden]

Expect Assateague camping to be problematic for the foreseeable future, at least where the State Park is concerned. Knowing the way Maryland tends to do things its a moving target, as a few months back the story and schedule were different. Expect it to change again, and again, until its complete. Add in a noreaster or two over the winter, or when they are actually doing the renovations, and expect it to change again. This project will result in a net loss of about 7 sites overall.

Another thing about Assateague state park is use of generators. Even with the quietest one made all it takes is foir another camper to complain and they will make you shut it down, and keep it shut down as long as you are there if the complainer keeps complaining. The reg is worded thus, and two years ago we were forced along with 3 others to not use our generators to recharge batteries during the day by a couple of busy bodies who went crying to the ranger station everytime someone fired one up. Everyone was a quiet inverter. The ranger admitted he thought it was BS but his hands were tied.

Are generators allowed?

Generator use is prohibited during quiet hours 10 pm- 7 am. Outside of quiet hours, generators must be operated at a sound level that is not annoying or disturbing to other park users. You may be asked to turn a generator off or limit use based on sound levels. Failure to comply may result in a citation. (COMAR 08.07.06.20)

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Assateague State Park Campground Project Postponed - posted 11/27/2017

The Assateague Campground Improvement Project, which includes campground realignment and dune restoration projects, has been postponed until October 2018 - Spring 2019. Due to this construction project delay, the campground configuration will not change during the 2018 camping season. Thus, we must transition current reservations back to comparable sites within the existing campground configuration.

How will this affect the 2018 camping season?

The vast majority of campers with 2018 reservations will have the same site and will simply receive a revised site name and/or loop letter. A small number of campers with reservations at sites that were expected to change substantially or be newly added will be contacted by our reservation service provider to identify an alternative site that best fits their needs. All campers with existing reservations will be sent a revised confirmation letter confirming the changes.

Additionally, due to the project start date, campers with existing reservations from October 8, 2018 through October 28, 2018 in the affected loops will be contacted by our reservation service provider to identify an alternative site that best fits their needs.

Can I adjust, view, or change my reservation?

Assateague State Park reservations are currently closed to facilitate the transition of existing 2018 reservations to the existing campground configuration. Campers may not cancel or modify a reservation or make new Assateague reservations until Monday, January 8, 2018 at 9 a.m.

How will this affect the 2019 camping season?

Changes in campground configuration will impact reservations being made for the 2019 camping season as the names and numbers of many of the camping loops will be changing. Please refer to the additional information provided for maps of the campground layout and new campground letter/numbering system. Additionally, affected camping loops will be closed for reservations in early 2019 pending completion of the project.

Will reservation holders get a new confirmation letter?

Campers with existing reservations will be sent a revised confirmation letter that reflects changes to their reservation. Please bring this revised confirmation letter with you when you check-in. If you need to cancel or modify a reservation or make a new reservation, please do so when Assateague reservations re-open on January 8, 2018.

Can I find out more about the project?

Many of you have seen the impact storms, high tides, high winds and erosion have on the park’s vulnerable beach areas. This project is part of our efforts to adapt to changing conditions and look for sustainable and resilient park management approaches. See the link below to learn about the history and purpose of this project.

Please continue to monitor our Assateague State Park website for future updates. We greatly appreciate your patience and interest in this project and look forward to providing you wonderful camping experiences on Assateague Island for many years to come.

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Assateague State Park Campground Improvement Project

Assateague Island is an always-changing barrier island; each time you visit, you will experience something different as the ocean, winds, and sands continue to move. More and more, these natural factors along with higher tides and more intense storms have resulted in regular damage to the dunes that protect the infrastructure and natural resources at Assateague State Park.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Maryland Park Service have been studying the stability of the dunes at Assateague State Park over many years. In response to these natural factors as well as measured effects of climate change including mid-Atlantic coastal sea level rise, Assateague State Park has undertaken this plan to increase resilience to coastal erosion and storm events. The project will provide for anticipated dune migration and add to dune stabilization while maintaining a safe and enjoyable camping experience for visitors and protection of infrastructure and facilities.

Phase I

Phase I of the Assateague Campground Improvement Project will include the relocation of five campground loop roads, shifting them 20 to 100 feet westward away from the primary dune; loops affected are: C, D, E, F, G, and H. Work will include the relocation or elimination of several campsites located at the eastern-most part of the loop. This strategy will allow space for migration of the dune westward while still maintaining access to each camping loop. In addition, the plan calls for the creation of a small number of more primitive, walk-in style campsites on the southern portion of the current J Loop camping area with a small parking lot adjacent to Bathhouse #9. The total number of campsites will be 342.

Phase II

Phase II of the Assateague Campground Improvement Project will be stabilization and reinforcement of the current dune system through the addition of sand to the western side of the dune. This will broaden the dune and create a more stable and resilient profile that has been developed from an analysis of historical data on erosion rates, tides, waves, and storm surges. Additional measures include renovations of crossovers, planting of stabilizing dune grasses, and installation of dune fencing on the west side. These measures are an effort to add stability and strength to the current dunes and provide protection from erosion, higher than average tides, intense storms, and storm surges.

Due to the project postponement, the campground realignment and dune stabilization projects are now scheduled for fall/winter of 2018, to be completed prior to Memorial Day 2019. Changes in campground configuration will impact reservations being made for the 2019 camping season as the names and numbers of many of the camping loops will be changing. Please refer to the additional information provided for maps of the campground layout and new campground letter/numbering system. Additionally, affected camping loops will be closed for reservations in early 2019.

View the Assateague State Park Campground Map with new campground configuration.

View the Assateague State Park list of campsite re-alignment assignments.


Please continue to monitor our Assateague State Park website for future updates. We appreciate the patience of all of our campers and your interest in this project. Our goal is to provide a high quality camping experience on Assateague Island for many years to come.
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[bucky]

For commercial FHUs nearby there are 3 others not yet mentioned. Frontier Town is on 611 just north of the MD and Fed parks. Fort Whaley is on RT 50 about 15-20 minutes away, and there is another one on RT 113 30 mins or so away to the south. Can't remember the name of that last one, something Resort. Have fun.

[All_I_could_aff]

All this talk is really making me want to plan another trip there. Being “nearby” isn’t the same as waking up, brewing a pot of coffee, and enjoying it while watching the pony’s walk by.

[GeoBoy]

We stayed at the Castaway RV Resort and campground in Berlin, MD. There is also a Jellystone campground in the same area.

[Lantley]

Spoon I agree DE Seashore while great, is nothing like Assateaque. The ponies make Assateaque a very unique place. The Assateaque experience is like nothing else.

[spoon059]

Lantley wrote:
I prefer DE Seashore park for full hook up beach camping.

Having a herd of wild ponies come right through your camp site is a very unique experience.

I love Seashore State Park, prefer the north side though. I didn't mention this park because the experience is nothing like Assateague, in my opinion. (Maybe that's why I love it so much!!!)

[ToddD]

2012Oudoorsman wrote:
Thanks!

Have a couple more questions.

We will be coming from Maine and NY both with young kids. If we can shorten the trip by an hour that would be great but I don't want to be traveling an hour each day either to see things.

It looks like the State Park is to the North but the fully hookup campgrounds are more towards the South. Are the sights/wild animals more towards the south or does it not matter?

You'll see ponies on both ends of the island. However, here's the differences:

On the north end, it is the Assateague herd, which are 100% wild, there is only observation by park staff, no veterinary or other domestic interventions. And there are a lot of those ponies wandering around among people, most likely looking for food, which they do get from people of course, despite the instructions not to feed or touch the ponies. By the way, their fat bellies are not from being well fed, they are bloated from the high salt content in their diet (salt water penetrating most of the vegetation). Easy to come across lots of ponies up close and personal up north.

On the south end are the Chincoteague herds. These ponies are actually a funding source for the volunteer fire department on Chincoteague island. The firemen and women are also known as the Saltwater Cowboys because they actively maintain the herds and once a year round them up and drive them south on the island to force them to swim across the inlet for auction (the Pony Swim, the fund raising). Besides when rounding them up, these ponies are a bit harder to get up close and personal with (at least in my experience). You will see them in the National Park, but they don't seem to mingle with the people as much as the Assateague herd.

http://www.chincoteague.com/pony_swim_guide.html

Again, no pets in the National Park on the south end of the island, so if you want to overlap with the Pony Swim in July, you'll have to leave the pets at the campground or watch the event from the Chincoteague island side of the action. As soon as you get across the inlet bridge to Assateague Island, you're entering the National Park.

[jplante4]

Moved from General RVing

[kerrlakeRoo]

2012Oudoorsman wrote:
Thanks!

Have a couple more questions.

We will be coming from Maine and NY both with young kids. If we can shorten the trip by an hour that would be great but I don't want to be traveling an hour each day either to see things.

It looks like the State Park is to the North but the fully hookup campgrounds are more towards the South. Are the sights/wild animals more towards the south or does it not matter?

If you specifically want the ponies and the Sika in the area, Assateague state park will have both right there, as will dry camping in the NWR.
If beach access period is the issue , either direction is ok, If you want to day trip to visit other areas, Wash DC, Baltimore, Va Beach are all about 3 hours away.

[jplante4]

2012Oudoorsman wrote:
Thanks!

Have a couple more questions.

We will be coming from Maine and NY both with young kids. If we can shorten the trip by an hour that would be great but I don't want to be traveling an hour each day either to see things.

It looks like the State Park is to the North but the fully hookup campgrounds are more towards the South. Are the sights/wild animals more towards the south or does it not matter?

It might be doable in one (long) day from NY, but from Maine you'll need at least 2 days (3 would be better). From NY I'd do TZ Bridge to the Garden State Parkway to I-95 across the Delaware Mem. Bridge to US13/DE13 south. Take a left at Salisbury.

On Assateague itself, the national park is south of the state park and has no hookups. The reason to do the national park was serenity and being basically on the beach. We're on Cape Cod and have watched the amount of beach accessible to normal people shrink over the past 40 years. It was nice to have a beach with no development at all. It reminded us of old Cape and brought back the feeling we had when we vacationed here.

But alas as with almost everything nice under government control, Assateague National Park is changing. They ran out of funds to constantly dig out the ocean side sites after the sand covered them so they are abandoning the ocean sites and moving those loops across the access road. The result will be less ocean breeze, more bugs and a thoroughly miserable experience.

I've enjoyed the DE beaches as well and will probably not go back to Assateague. There's a new KOA on Chincoteague, if you don't mind KOAs.

[2012Oudoorsman]

Thanks!

Have a couple more questions.

We will be coming from Maine and NY both with young kids. If we can shorten the trip by an hour that would be great but I don't want to be traveling an hour each day either to see things.

It looks like the State Park is to the North but the fully hookup campgrounds are more towards the South. Are the sights/wild animals more towards the south or does it not matter?

[Lantley]

spoon059 wrote:
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.

Assateaque popularity is created by easy access to the beach and the wild ponies.
I have sort of gravitated to the DE beaches as well. I prefer DE Seashore park for full hook up beach camping.
Demand is the biggest issue with Assateaque. It is a great place and a great experience. However there just aren't enough sites with electric to meet demand. In the heat of the summer it's way to hot for me to be without electric unfortunately electric sites tend to all be booked up a year in advance.
Frontiertowne and Castaways are 2 very popular private CG's close by that you could use to take a day trip to Assateaque. The down side is staying close by is not the same as staying in the park.
Having a herd of wild ponies come right through your camp site is a very unique experience.