Wow!  What a beautiful weekend!  I would recommend Assateague Island as a wonderful trip for anyone who loves the ocean, beaches, wildlife and camping.  Here are a few things that I learned…

http://www.nps.gov/asis/ (definitely go to the National Seashore on the Maryland side rather than the State Park)

1.      Book a campsite as far in advance as possible – I was lucky to get a “no show” site – they are booked solid for the rest of the summer (so they said).

2.      Get an Oceanside site if possible, but make sure you have tons of those big yellow plastic pegs to tie any tent down, because the wind can be wicked strong.

3.      If you like quiet camping, go for the walk-in sites (no cars, RVs, or generators allowed).  If you can handle hiking 4 miles… the backcountry sites are supposedly spectacular (I didn’t make the trek.  The sites are pretty close together and not very private (Bayside sites have more trees and bushes between the sites).

4.      There is a $10 fee per vehicle to enter the park (good for 7 days) and then it is $20 per night to camp (I think that is for the whole site not per person).

5.      There were practically no bugs, but there was a strong breeze, so a screen tent for eating would be a good idea and watch out for ticks.

6.      The horses are EVERYWHERE.  They are feral horses (formerly domesticated that have been wild now for over a hundred years).  They hang out at the campsites looking for water and food (and one was right outside the loo one time – eek!).  You have to watch where you step (eeew) and watch for horses on the beach, on the road, and even in the parking lots. People obviously feed them and I saw people petting them, but they are wild horses – it is actually ILLEGAL to do that and the rangers patrol all the time.

7.      Obviously keep your food secure – horses can get into it.

8.      You have to be careful about what firewood to bring in (check with rangers before coming – or the website).

9.      TONS of birds ( I saw a gazillion different kinds, but I’m not a bird watcher, so I only know the names of a few like egrets, gulls and sandpipers).

10.   I saw wild deer too! …and a toad got into my tent somehow – hee hee. 

11.   Campsites on the ocean allow you to walk onto the beach, but otherwise you would need to bike or drive.

12.   Parking at the beaches fill up by 10am, so get to the beach in the morning… I then rested and ate lunch in the middle of the day and went back to the beach later around 4 or 5 pm and there were WAY less people.  Very peaceful. Oh and the campsites were very quiet in the middle of the day so it was a great time to nap J.

13.   Ya – one more warning about the horses… they pee and poo all over, so be very careful where you put your tent (one peed right on my fire pit – good thing I didn’t plan on having a campfire).

14.   There are three little trails that are perfect for short walks and of course you can hike for miles and miles along the beach.

I am hoping to take Martin there in October when it is off season.  Hopefully we can get a site and there will be fewer bugs and fewer tourists with giant RVs!

Here is a link to my photos from the weekend… http://www.kodakgallery.com/notallwhowanderarelost/main/assateague_island