We camped at Assateague towards the end of October and we did not choose our weather very well - I won't let that affect this review as the fact that we picked a site in the dunes right next to the Atlantic when a storm was blowing in should in now way detract from the beauty of this place! It's primitive camping, so no hook ups. There is water available to fill your tank, a dump station, and generators are allowed in set hours, so if you're up for that then it's all good. There are also cold water showers and toilets but we didn't use them as we were fine with our water pump. We didn't make a reservation. When we arrived the ranger told us to drive around the loops, pick a site we'd like and come back to tell him which one we wanted. We duly drove off, checked out the empty sites, came back and told him which one we'd like. Then he told us that was reserved (he hadn't mentioned this, and there were no labels on any of the empty sites). I'd clocked a few others so suggested those. Also reserved. Long story short, we asked him to show us on a map which ones were not reserved and we picked one. It would have been a lot easier if he'd just told us this the first time, so maybe bear this in mind if you're driving up and ask. Anyway, it's a really stunning location, there are lots of sites in the dunes, really near the ocean, and we'd love to come back in better weather to really make the most of it. There are some nice boardwalks and the beach is long and beautiful.
Explore Assateague Island National Seashore in 360°
This campground has a full virtual tour with interactive campsite markers. Walk through every loop, inspect individual sites, and see the views before you book.
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✅ Amenities & Features
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📖 About This Campground
Assateague Island, famed for its wild horses, lies off the Delmarva Peninsula on the Atlantic Coast. This barrier island is a constantly shifting ribbon of sand, altered daily by powerful wind and waves.
The Assateague Island National Seashore, Assateague State Park, and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge each manage and protect this unique, diverse strip of land.
Amenities include vault toilets, drinking water, and unheated showers for rinsing off sand. Water in the campground is available when temperatures are above freezing, and year round at the dump stations.
The island can be accessed from the northern route in Maryland or the southern route in Virginia, but there is no through road from one end of the island to the other. Access to both Maryland and Virginia entrances are reached by bridge over mainland routes.
Assateague is a 37-mile long barrier island on the Atlantic Coast of Maryland and Virginia. The terrain is a mix of sand dunes, maritime forests and salt marshes, and is just a couple miles wide at its broadest section. Two herds of wild horses inhabit the island. The Maryland herd roams freely in part of Assateague Island National Seashore. The Virginia herd roams in large fenced areas in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The horses are descendants of late 17th century horses brought by colonists attempting to avoid livestock taxes. They now thrive among other wildlife including sika deer, ghost crabs and migrating birds like the great blue heron and snowy egret.