Chincoteague and Assateague

Chincoteague and Assateague are barrier islands on the east coast. In addition, Chincoteague houses the main city, which has places to stay and numerous restaurants. Alternatively, Assateague stretches from Virginia to Maryland and is predominantly national seashore.

Assateague and the wild ponies

Part of the national park service, Assateague National Seashore is large and stretches numerous miles between Virginia and Maryland. The biggest draw to the area are the wild ponies. The theory is that a Spanish ship sank nearby and the ponies on board swam to shore.

We scheduled a tour in the visitor center for the following day. The tour took us up the coast to about the Virginia border. Additionally, you can see the horses from the main roads in Assateague, although probably not as many. Also, we saw a lot of birds on the island. Unfortunately, I’ve become a much better photographer since then and my bird photos weren’t great back then.

Lastly, the best beach in the area is located in Assateague on the Atlantic side. If you are there during a summer heat wave, the beach is a nice place to hang out with some breeze off the ocean.

Chincoteague

Chincoteague is both an island and a town. We stayed on the island for a week. The surrounding area has a decent amount of restaurants, ice cream shops and some fun food trucks. From Chincoteague, we traveled to Assateague to take a guided tour, nature watch and visit the beach.

Some people may be familiar with the novel, “Misty of Chincoteague”. I read this before our trip and my daughters enjoyed it. Additionally, it gave them a little history of the area before arriving. It is fun to read about “Pony Penning Day” and you can attend the festival in person where the town rounds up some of the wild ponies (as population control) and auctions them off. It is held in July and is approaching the 100th anniversary.

We found a stable on Chincoteague where you can take a short ride in the pen. Additionally, we did a pirate ship adventure tour. Unfortunately, I read that the owner passed away in 2018 and the tours are no longer offered.

ALSO CONSIDER VISITING THESE NEARBY AREAS

Check out some of the other sights in the Mid-Atlantic Region, such as our capitol, Washington D.C.