Family activities near Assateague Island/Ocean City

[michigansandzil]

We have a campsite on Assateague Island for 5 nights this August.

I've never been to the area, so I'm looking for potential activities for us to do. Staying on the island, we should have plenty of beach time and we'll want to get out to check out the area a couple of times.
Our kids are 12, 10, and 6 and we enjoy just about everything.

So far I have potential choices of visiting the Ocean City boardwalk, ferry from Lewes DE to Cape May, and if we want to drive far, visiting Fort Delaware.
We probably won't decide what to do until the day of, but it will be nice to have some options.

Thanks.

[Wishbone51]

We stayed at Chincoteague (Tom's Cove RV Park) and kayaked to Assateague a couple of years ago.. Fantastic place to go. We also saw wild ponies. Friendly, but we didn't get too close. The Chincoteague museum is a fantastic place to go to get a bit of the history. Watch out for the mosquitos in the summer. Most vicious buggers I've ever seen.

[Scooter86]

We did a week at Assateague National Seashore a few years ago. Some of the highlights were the ranger led programs, mini golf and boardwalk in Ocean City, farmers market and an afternoon in Berlin. Mosquitos were pretty bad when we were there, so we didn't use our bikes at all. Good news is they didn't follow you past the dune, so beach time was nice. My kids were about the age of yours now. I think the most fun they had was chasing those silly little ghost crabs around at night.

[Veebyes]

X2 on the Salisbury zoo. A very good small town zoo.

A stretch but within the possibilities of a day trip, St Michaels & the excellent maritime museum there. Have lunch at the Crab Claw, right on the water. No McDonalds in St Michaels or anywhere near. It is that kind of town.

[All_I_could_aff]

Michigansandzilla... I really hope you and the family do take the ferry over to cape may. If I recall, seeing dolphins was a big deal for the kids, and that is extremely likely on the ferry.

[Lantley]

There is a neat zip line at Frontier Town and a Zoo in Salisbury.

[D___M]

CloudDriver wrote:

P.S. Just because the horses seem tame doesn't mean that they are, as the rangers will advise when you enter the park.

Don't try to touch them or hand feed them. THEY BITE AND KICK!

[Magua]

spoon059 wrote:
Rehoboth Beach to your north is a much more "family friendly" boardwalk than OC. Lots of alcohol and young kids making stupid decisions in OC. Rehoboth has good food, a clean beach, a nice amusement park and fun shops. Great safe fun place to walk around.

Lewes is also a great little town. Lots of restaurants and cool shops, historic houses and family friendly walkability. We love Lewes.

Cape Henlopen State Park is also up at that little corner and our family LOVES it. It costs a couple dollars to get in but has great bike trails, a restored WW2 army base and observation tower you can climb and look out over the ocean and coast.

I could have written every last word of this! Agree...Rehoboth is FAR better for families than Ocean City. As an 18 year old living in OC, MD for the summer it was mecca...as a mom...there's no way I'm taking my kids there. Lewes is a GREAT town and Cape Henlopen is my favorite beach in the Mid-Atlantic.

ENJOY your trip!

[spoon059]

Sure is worth bringing your bikes. Lots of flat terrain and roads to ride on. You can also take them to Ocean City, Rehoboth, Cape Henlopen, Lewes, etc. Lots of bike trails out there.

[michigansandzil]

CloudDriver wrote:
Just remembered one additional heads up about Assateague. The horses may be wild (sort of) but they are used to being around people and like people food. Don't leave anything that looks like or smells like food outside your vehicle when you are away. And yes, they do know how to open coolers. The woman in the picture was trying to chase them off, with little success until others in her party came to help.

P.S. Just because the horses seem tame doesn't mean that they are, as the rangers will advise when you enter the park.

Can't wait to have stories that begin with, "Remember that time when the wild pony......" From the stories I've heard, they sound like an overgrown raccoon!

Thanks for the advice on ticks. I'll try to keep the kids out of the grass.

Can anyone verify if it's worthwhile for us to bring our bikes while we're here?

Thanks for the info!

[CloudDriver]

Just remembered one additional heads up about Assateague. The horses may be wild (sort of) but they are used to being around people and like people food. Don't leave anything that looks like or smells like food outside your vehicle when you are away. And yes, they do know how to open coolers. The woman in the picture was trying to chase them off, with little success until others in her party came to help.

P.S. Just because the horses seem tame doesn't mean that they are, as the rangers will advise when you enter the park.

[RICKIM]

These little guys will sneak up on you also.....

I also recommend Rehoboth Beach for a visit. Take a walk down Penny Lane while your there.

Take a ride into Berlin. There's a nice little ice cream shop/soda fountain the kids will love, and you can kill a few hours walking around this quaint little town.

Have Fun
Rick

[tbred]

Great info, we are heading there the first week of June. Concerned about ticks as well, we will have 3 dogs and they may be tick magnets.

[Veebyes]

At Assateague the attractions come to you.

Sitting alone by the campfire one dark night had one of the horses come right up behind me. Didn't hear a thing till it gave one of those loud horse breathing sounds. Nearly had to go inside & change my shorts. It was that close.

[spoon059]

Rehoboth Beach to your north is a much more "family friendly" boardwalk than OC. Lots of alcohol and young kids making stupid decisions in OC. Rehoboth has good food, a clean beach, a nice amusement park and fun shops. Great safe fun place to walk around.

Lewes is also a great little town. Lots of restaurants and cool shops, historic houses and family friendly walkability. We love Lewes.

Cape Henlopen State Park is also up at that little corner and our family LOVES it. It costs a couple dollars to get in but has great bike trails, a restored WW2 army base and observation tower you can climb and look out over the ocean and coast.