Assateague Island Natl Seashore, MD/VA

Text: Tony Pisarra

Assateague is a windswept barrier island that offers many opportunities for seashore recreation and nature study along its thirty-seven miles of MD/VA coastline. Ocean swimming, camping, bayside canoeing, crabbing, clamming, hunting, surf fishing, and off-road vehicle use are all popular.

Assateague Island became part of the National Park System in 1965. The park's land and water boundaries encompass over 48,000 acres in the states of Maryland and Virginia.

The famous wild horses roam throughout and share beach to bay habitats with a host of other animals, including over 300 species of birds.

The island's bayside Chincoteague Canoe Trail provides shallow, open water paddling and primimitive camping along 14 miles of the Chincoteague Bay coastline and provides an excellent opportunity for novice and intermediate paddlers to experience oceanlike conditions in a safe environment.