Camping at Assateague State Park-My Favorite Dream Place

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Ponies at Assateague State Park

Assateague State Park

4/7 Stars for Assateague State Park

I love this place. With it's wild ponies, brilliant sunsets, and frolicking dolphins, it is truly magical. When I want to feel that I am in a whole other world (but really only 3 hours from D.C.), I go to Assateague State Park.

Getting to Assateague State Park is a straight shot down Rt. 50, but depending on when you leave, it could take you 2.5 hours or 5.5 hours....or more. It's best to try an avoid rush hour, if at all possible. Once you survive the first hour or so and get over the Bay Bridge, the water becomes plenty, the strip malls turn into corn fields and I start to breathe. My favorite part of the whole drive (besides all of my other favorite parts) is going over the Verrazano Bridge to get to Assateague Island, and seeing the calm, twinkling bay water edged with swaths of emerald green marsh grass. At this point, I know I have arrived to my happy place, and if I am lucky, there are some ponies on the shoulder to boot. Happy. Happy. Happy.

That all being said, MY DOGS are also my happy place, but bringing them to Assateague can be A LOT: It's hot. It's exposed, and there are a lot of Scary Things. 

For some dogs, it would be fine. My husband and I took our trusty lab here in the past (before we owned our reactive pack), and he enjoyed the beach and he did not lose it over the ponies or the other dogs around.

We have ALSO taken the reactive pack when they were a group of 3, with friends who also had dogs and we survived...BUT my nerves were wound up the whole time trying to watch all of them, the ponies, the other dogs, and kids on scooters, the cooler, the snacks, etc., etc., etc. It kind of defeated the purpose of camping (relaxing). This campground would for sure be too much for Mabel, the 4th member of the pack, and the most reactive.

Ponies walking down the beach Assateague

A weekend camping at Assateague State Park goes something like this:

• Check in at the ranger station right before it closes after your 3 hour drive from, D.C. Listen to rules about the ponies. and receive the highly coveted gate code.

• Find your campsite in the dark and hang on to dear life when you open the doors for your dogs.

• Let the dogs sniff around and then hook them up to the picnic table while you set up the camper or tent, fight with spouse, finish setting up camper/tents, retrieve dogs from picnic table and take a smol walk down the campground road to empty bladders for the night.

• Enjoy late night fire and ocean breeze. Feel good about making the time to go.

• Attempt to sleep while ponies stampede through your campsite looking for food and upsetting the dogs.

• Wake up in the morning to what feels like sun lasering a hole through your tent and into your brain.

• Walk over the dune and walk dogs on the beach. (Avoid walking around the campground or on the path, as both are pretty crowded.)

• Go back to campsite and enjoy breakfast and coffee.

• Pack up sun cabana and blankets and enjoy a day on the beach while your dogs bark at other dogs.

• Head back to campsite to enjoy dinner, fire, and ocean breeze while dogs relax next to picnic table/fire pit. Pray ponies do not come to raid your dinner spread.

• Repeat.

I can feel my mind clearing just thinking about it.

The good news about Assateague State Park is that the rangers are constantly lapping and reminding people to keep their dogs leashed. One year, our friends arrived late one night and let their lab hop out of the car, only to be told six seconds later that the dog needed to be leashed. The rangers are RIGHT THERE. Normally I don't want anyone up my ass about the rules, but when I am traveling with the pack, I do, unfortunately, need the leash laws enforced.

For Assateague, I recommend only bringing the calmest of your pack and only bringing one dog per handler. There's just too much going on. Also remember to pack your shade tent and travel in the shoulder months, as it is very exposed and gets very hot. There is a new electric loop, so if you have a temperature controlled RV, that could extend your season.

We give the experience of camping at Assateague State Park a 4/7.

Assateague State Park: 4/7

	Car camping accessible
	Decent space at site You will get to know your neighbors and their dogs and their babies and all of their snore types. There's very little vegetation separating the sites.
	6-8 ft. wide/emptyish walking trails accessible from campground. The walking path is skinny and full of joggers, walking families, kids on scooters, people on bikes,etc. It's hard to move off of the trail because of the sand spurs. It's best to walk along the beach.
	Rangers enforcing leash requirements.
	Site cleaned prior to arrival. The sites are always clean and well-cared for by the camp hosts.
	Quiet/lack of busyness Nope! Very busy. Ponies, dogs, beach, scooters, kids, etc...all at once. It's quiet at night but even then the ponies are running around making a fuss.
	Fire pit on site

Assateague State Park is an other-worldy place, but travel with caution when bringing your reactive dogs. We have found it best to rent a house and leave them there while we enjoy the beach. (If you would like house recommendations, stayed tuned!)

Traveling to Assateague State Park with your dogs? Leave a comment below and let us know how it went!

----------------Favorite Products From This Trip--------------

At least we had some fun, new toys to try for this trip.

Beach Cabana. As annoying as it is to set up yet another accoutrement, this one is necessary for a beach day with the dogs. Unlike us, they do not want to sit in the sun all day roasting like weenies. This helps keeps things a bit temperature controlled and it also blocks some sight lines so that the dogs can see fewer people/things to react to.	Coleman Grill (with wind blockers) Man did I feel fancy when my husband upgraded to this grill. The wind blockers are necessary for beach camping, as the morning breeze will blow out the gas flame faster than an impatient toddler in front of their 3rd birthday cake candles.