Summary of Assateague Island National Seashore
Assateague Island National Seashore
Ocean City, MD
410.641.1441
Assateague Island is Maryland’s premier natural attraction. A barrier island constantly reshaped by persistent waves that raise sands from the gently sloping ocean floor, it totals 18,000 acres, including its southern portion, which lies within Virginia. It parallels Maryland’s coastline for 24 miles, and is separated from the mainland by Chincoteague Bay.
Visitor centers are operated by the National Park Service on both the Maryland and Virginia ends of the island. The Maryland center features beachcombing exhibits and a museum store.
In fall the poison ivy—vital to the island’s ecosystem because its roots knit the dunes together— turns a brilliant red and sets this Atlantic island aflame. Fall also sees an end to summer crowds, and the island’s infamous mosquitoes make way for the stunning monarch butterflies that make the island one of the stops on their annual migratory route.
Assateague’s famous wild horses roam the marshlands. Descendants of domestic horses, they have reverted to a wild state and are actually the size of ponies, most likely due to their harsh environment and poor diet—almost 80 percent of their feed is a coarse salt marsh cord grass mixed with American beach grass. Their distinctive, bloated appearance is the result of a high concentration of salt in their diet that causes them to drink twice as much fresh water as domestic horses.
Assateague Island is home to nearly 300 species of birds. A bird checklist can be obtained from the visitor centers. Through spring and late summer, sandpipers and other shorebirds probe the wet sand for food; Assateague’s shallow bays are home to egrets and herons. Waterfowl, snow geese, black ducks, and mallards all escape harsher winters to the north on Assateague Island.
Camping on the beach is permissible, and nothing can beat an Assateague Island sunrise. But come prepared—mosquitoes can be horrendous from mid-May to October and high winds can send even the best-pegged tent soaring.
An abundance of lodgings can be found north of Assateague Island at Ocean City.
Away from the beaches, a number of half-mile trails wind through lesser-known marshes, forests, and dune environments.
The natural beauty of these areas prompted National Geographic magazine in 1996 to list Assateague State Park as one of the 10 best in the United States.
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