Monday, March 16, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
ASSATEAGUE ISLAND CAMPING
Assateague Island is a 37 mile barrier island off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. Its very popular partly because of the roaming bands of wild horses (called ponies because of their stunted growth). The camping parks (NP and SP) are in the northern part of the island, so they are in Maryland. Assateague is about 11 miles south of Ocean City, and about a world away. If you get bored with the solitude at Assateague you can motor 11 miles north to get a dose of touristy honky tonk at Ocean City, MD.
Beach camping is extremely weather dependent, especially at Assateague. A VW club called the Full Moon Bus Club (which is worth checking out) used to have an Assateague event called the Pony Pitch, but seemed to pick the absolute worst dates to have it. What may have been the last FMBC Pony Pitch was totally marred by horizontal winds from what seemed like a Nor Easter. So the best plan would be weather dependent, where a go or no go decision could be made close to the planned date. So much for planning ahead, but after season camping may allow this flexibility. One of these parks (not sure which one) allows two camping units per site, for anyone interested. Except for one loop in the SP which has electric and is wildly popular, no sites at either park have hookups.
Camping at the Maryland State Park and the National Park are on the northern end of Assateague, not Chincoteague, which is Assateagues sister island 37 miles to the south,. Bikes are a great idea for exploring Assateague, since it is so flat. The National Park campground which is a couple miles further south than the MD State Park on Bayberry Drive has three great but easy trails (Life of the Marsh, Forrest, and Dunes) that are well worth exploring. How Assateague almost became another Ocean City is revealed by two signs, one at the top of the Verrazano bridge to the island (it has a pedestrian walkway with great views), the other on the life of the Dunes trail where you will actually walk on the remnants of Baltimore Blvd which was going to be the main street through Assateague. Resourceful sea gulls now use Baltimore Blvd asphalt to break clams open by dropping them from above
I believe Assateague Island provides the best beach camping on the east coast, with some sites only separated from the Atlantic ocean by the primary dune. The northern end of Assateague Island which is accessed via the Verrazano bridge offers plenty of wild horses and other wildlife, and is served by two campgrounds. The first is the Maryland State CG, and a little further south is the more primitive National Park CG. Either can be reserved in season via Reserve America. I've posted several times about Assateague off season, when there are few salt marsh mosquitoes to pester, and thought it might be a convenient informal rally point for middle Atlantic campers.Since the weather is going to be a major factor in how much you enjoy the island, I like to reserve only when I'm fairly sure, which makes long range planning difficult. The island is primitive, wild, and always changing, but only 11 miles south of Ocean City MD, a major beach vacation spot. Driving 11 miles south form the boardwalk, carnival rides and ferris wheel of Ocean City, lands you at Assateague, a world away
If you're planning a camping trip to Assateague Island, and post in the comments area, other beach lovers may decide to join you. Also if you have hit perfect weather with very few bugs, post here and give your Assateague bug report. In the past the island proved too harsh for Indians to inhabit, so we adventurous campers should stick together. Thanks.
Assateague Island is a 37 mile barrier island off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. Its very popular partly because of the roaming bands of wild horses (called ponies because of their stunted growth). The camping parks (NP and SP) are in the northern part of the island, so they are in Maryland. Assateague is about 11 miles south of Ocean City, and about a world away. If you get bored with the solitude at Assateague you can motor 11 miles north to get a dose of touristy honky tonk at Ocean City, MD.
Beach camping is extremely weather dependent, especially at Assateague. A VW club called the Full Moon Bus Club (which is worth checking out) used to have an Assateague event called the Pony Pitch, but seemed to pick the absolute worst dates to have it. What may have been the last FMBC Pony Pitch was totally marred by horizontal winds from what seemed like a Nor Easter. So the best plan would be weather dependent, where a go or no go decision could be made close to the planned date. So much for planning ahead, but after season camping may allow this flexibility. One of these parks (not sure which one) allows two camping units per site, for anyone interested. Except for one loop in the SP which has electric and is wildly popular, no sites at either park have hookups.
Camping at the Maryland State Park and the National Park are on the northern end of Assateague, not Chincoteague, which is Assateagues sister island 37 miles to the south,. Bikes are a great idea for exploring Assateague, since it is so flat. The National Park campground which is a couple miles further south than the MD State Park on Bayberry Drive has three great but easy trails (Life of the Marsh, Forrest, and Dunes) that are well worth exploring. How Assateague almost became another Ocean City is revealed by two signs, one at the top of the Verrazano bridge to the island (it has a pedestrian walkway with great views), the other on the life of the Dunes trail where you will actually walk on the remnants of Baltimore Blvd which was going to be the main street through Assateague. Resourceful sea gulls now use Baltimore Blvd asphalt to break clams open by dropping them from above
I believe Assateague Island provides the best beach camping on the east coast, with some sites only separated from the Atlantic ocean by the primary dune. The northern end of Assateague Island which is accessed via the Verrazano bridge offers plenty of wild horses and other wildlife, and is served by two campgrounds. The first is the Maryland State CG, and a little further south is the more primitive National Park CG. Either can be reserved in season via Reserve America. I've posted several times about Assateague off season, when there are few salt marsh mosquitoes to pester, and thought it might be a convenient informal rally point for middle Atlantic campers.Since the weather is going to be a major factor in how much you enjoy the island, I like to reserve only when I'm fairly sure, which makes long range planning difficult. The island is primitive, wild, and always changing, but only 11 miles south of Ocean City MD, a major beach vacation spot. Driving 11 miles south form the boardwalk, carnival rides and ferris wheel of Ocean City, lands you at Assateague, a world away
If you're planning a camping trip to Assateague Island, and post in the comments area, other beach lovers may decide to join you. Also if you have hit perfect weather with very few bugs, post here and give your Assateague bug report. In the past the island proved too harsh for Indians to inhabit, so we adventurous campers should stick together. Thanks.
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