Best Equestrian Camping near Bethany Beach, DE

Park Name-Delaware Seashore State Park

Date of Stay-June 2018

Site-237

This is one of favorite local parks! The location (in between Dewey/Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach/Ocean City, Maryland) is PERFECT. You have close access to miles and miles of touristy beaches and uninhabited beaches. From the campground you can walk less than a 1/4 of a mile to get to the beach.

Even though this park is run by The State of Delaware or a subsidiary agency the park is well maintained, the sites are level. All of the RV sites are full hook up and level. If you have a larger vehicle make sure you bring your “A” game when it comes to parking and pulling out as the interior roads are a little bit tight.

Even though they don’t have the staffing levels of a KOA…there was always someone “official” around who could answer questions or help out if needed.

If you are able…try to book a site on the newer side (sites 400-480)…the sites are WIDE and DEEP

Our first time camping here was in 2019 and we loved it! The weather that time was perfect! Last year and this year, the weather was terrible. This year it rained and was cold. Fire pits are not allowed at your site and the wind is such that you can’t sit outside when it’s chilly. The campground itself is nice. Full hookups, walking distance or short drive to 2 restaurants, though neither is dog friendly, walk to beach and also a dog beach. If the weather cooperates and you love the beach, this might be for you! Otherwise, skip it and find something inland. Site 235 was and end site with views of the bridge, at least when the fog lifted there was a nice view. Close to Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Fenwick, Lewes, and Ocean City isn’t too far away.

I spent 5 days 4 nights on the shore of Assateague. As an equestrian this was a once in a lifetime adventure. Feral chincoteague ponies everywhere you look! Both towns of chincoteague and assatesgue lean into the horse craze, they have equestrian stores, riding barns, and horse museums just about everywhere you look. During the summer there is an annual “pony swim” where the wild ponies are rounded up and swam from one island to another so they can be sold. I cannot speak from experience but from what I learned from locals this event brings in over 50,000 people. You will need to plan around this if you wish to avoid crowds, although this location seems to be heavily populated all year round, don’t let that discourage you.

Side note- the crabbing is amazing among the local marshes!

Okay, so in the past we’ve driven by this place and wondered who would camp in that parking lot?! We since bought an RV and thought, let’s try it out. We LOVED it! So it is a parking lot of campers but we didn’t sit around the camp. We had a site at the end of the loop facing the water so we couldn’t really see anyone else. It’s a short walk to the dog beach and a little longer walk to the guarded beach. We walked to the marina, a little store there had the nicest staff member. There was a small deli/seafood counter in marina shop and a restaurant on site where we ate dinner. The beach has a water front restaurant The Big Chill that we had drinks at while watching the surf. It was mid May so we weren’t swimming. The view of the lights up bridge over the inlet was spectacular! We stayed on the north side but if you want to walk to guarded beach easily, stay south side of inlet. There was a small store on that side. There is fishing allowed on the inlet and north side beach with DE permits. We drove a short distance to Bethany Beach, and Rehoboth and Fenwick are close too. We’ve already booked the same site for next year! Plan 9-12 months ahead if you want to stay here. It fills up fast. I reserved our site a month out but it had to have been a recently cancelled site because it was the only one available and it was the best site on the north side in my opinion. Same site was already booked for next year same weekend in May but I set up a notification and when it became available next May, I snatched it up!

Last minute I booked this place for a friend and me to stay for 2 nights to go to the beach. The beach is in walking distance of the camp site as well as fishing, surfing and other activities in the area.

It’s between Bethany Beach and Dewey Beach. We like going to Rehoboth Beach and that was only a 10min drive.

I picked site #087. Right across from the Bathhouse w/ a fence and some high grass between the site & Guardhouse.

The sites are butted up right next to each other, but are fairly big. Many people had reserved sites together & created a “base camp” which looked like the right way to go!

Both buildings were well lit at night, but didn’t really bother us because of high grass and leaving the front & back windows open 1/3 of the way.

This is a very family friendly place & everyone seemed to be in the “Active” community & there with kids & dogs. There is also night fishing in the inlet.

With that being said, I would make sure to bring EARPLUGS and SHOWER SHOES!

The only “complaints” we had were as follows:

1. By the end of the day the bathrooms/showers were a little gross.
2. No open fires at your site for safety reasons (totally understand) & there are communal places provided for open fires.
3. Need to bring propane cooking devices if you want to cook at your site (we ate out every meal lol).

All in all we enjoyed staying here and most of the people were supper nice. Check-in and Check-out were supper easy and you could come and go as you pleased.

Beautiful scenery, love the wild horses. Just be careful opening the door, I've been greeted by a few horses!

Great being able to take your horse and ride the beach. Great camping, riding, fishing or just walking the beach and there is wildlife of all kind. The wild horses are all over the island and have on occasion come into the campsite. Weather can be really really cold or really nice in November. (personal horses only allowed to camp on the island from Oct to April 14.) Great place to visit.

Great spot for a secluded and quiet experience. I have seen horses everytime I have camped here. We always go during the winter or early spring months to avoid the bugs as they are awful during the spring and summer. Do not feed or pet the horses!

It was a 5/5 star experience. When I got onto the beach, I thought it was pretty but as I looked around, I saw the most majestic creatures ever, the wild horses roaming the sandy beach. It was an experience I would never forget. I would recommend it to horse lovers.

The island is beautiful and the horses are cool to see. It's a bit sad how the horses aren't really wild and more come to humans for food. The wind was the only issue, we couldn't leave the tent without it blowing away in the wind. Definitely would return and maybe make a trip out of it.

Horses will roam right into campsite.

Camping on the beach with wild horses

This campsite is like no other I’ve ever been to. If you don’t mind wild horses joining you for dinner and trekking around your campsite at night, then this is your place!! The beach is absolutely gorgeous and so is the scenery. If a crowded beach is not your thing, it gets less crowded as you walk away from the boardwalk. Please be kind to the horses and if you see an injured one, let the Park Rangers know immediately.

No hookups but wow the views! And if course the wild horses are amazing.

Beautiful national seashore.. beautiful beach. Biting flies, biting gnats, biting mosquitos. You will get eaten alive! Watch for the horses. May is mating season.

The beach was beautiful, and you can camp roughly 100 yards from it. Many campsites available, and you can actually see the horses

Crazy mosquitoes in the summer. As the deal with any national seashore in the summer. Sand in the toes, wild horses on the beach. Amazing!

We camped in the walk-in sites toward the end (south side) of the ocean side sites. You park along side the road and walk on a boardwalk to your site. Depending on site, you will have to walk on sand to get there as well. Bring a beach wagon!

Toilets are vault and showers are cold water beach showers (not full closure- open on the bottom) which would be fine in the summer but were a bit chilly when we went on a cool few days in April.

No dish washing station- to be expected- but we witnessed a few pple washing dishes under the water source and dumping there - making for a large puddle of gross water- not cool.

Some sites are on the beach, and you can position your tent to be on the dune looking at the water- some are inland a bit more but still a very short walk to the beach. Some you camp on sand (obviously) some of the inland sites have intermittent grass. I’ve heard bugs are bad in warmer months (naturally)- no mosquitos when we were there in April.

We drove through the bay side camp sites and these looked great too- the calm-watered bay side looked nice for wading & playing for small kids. There is some shade here vs none in ocean side. It’s a short walk or drive to the ocean.

BRING STAKES FOR SAND AND GUY YOUR TENT. I witnessed many collapsed tents while I was there. One sun shade that flew away.

Wild horses = piles of horse poop everywhere. Wasn’t a problem, just walk around them. Keep snacks in a locked cooler. The horses came for my 3 yo who was eating snacks while loading up the car. They aren’t messing around!

We saw many horses on ocean side & bay side. Watch out for a brown pony named Chip. The rangers & volunteers were very friendly & great at keeping tabs on the horses.

The beach shack store across from the ranger station near the entrance offered a surprisingly large selection of items.

Chemical toilets, no electricity. Wild horses are everywhere. Put food and toiletries in car. Beautiful beach on both bayside and Oceanside. Awesome kayak rentals.

There are two sides. Bay and Ocean I reserved a drive in ocean front site just over the dunes. No showers, just toilets. The horses do run through the camp and on the beach so be sure to lock up your coolers. Some people in the site across from me had some uninvited guests while grilling. The horse fly bites are painful. Mosquitoes as usual-annoying. Invest in good repellents. Windy. Had to use guy lines on tent to keep from blowing over. I went in June and it was hot even with the ocean breeze. Dogs are allowed on the beach and in campsites but not on the trails. Don’t forget fly repellent for them!

This place is beautiful plus there are the most amazing wild horses and sand dunes. We love to camp here but it gets very windy at times. Will keep going over and over!

Many people do not realize there is a wide array of wildlife on Assateague because everyone is so obsessed with the horses. Specifically the birding on Assateague is phenomenal. Oceanside camping is very neat, but it fills up fast. The sites are close to bathrooms (I believe the national side has pit latrines). There are also showers, albeit cold. The sites are a decent size but be advised, they are completely sandy. You WILL get sand everywhere and it is unavoidable. Expect it so it does not put a dent in how wonderful the trip will be. The Oceanside sites are a dune away from the beach. Use the walkways to gain access to the beach as the dunes are protected and you will get fined for taking a shortcut. As many of the reviews advise, there are mosquitos. A lot of them. There are also biting horse flies. However catch the island on a breezy day and the breeze takes care of them. One of the best parts about Assateague is all of the activities you can do. There are bike paths, kayak rentals on the bayside, bay fishing, ocean fishing, crabbing, etc. The worst part about Assateague are all of the tourists who stop in the middle of the road to view the horses, blocking traffic and causing back ups.

This place is such a cool park. The beach is great, although definitely be wary of the mosquitoes. Especially at night.

The wild horses are really what people come for, and they are definitely worth the visit!

For hardcore campers!! I accidentally booked the bayside campsite vs the seaside campsite and we had a very tough time. We have been camping here on and off for the past 10 years on the Seaside and it is one of my favorite beach camp sites but stay away from the bayside campsite on the bayside.

The biggest problem for us was there was absolutely no breeze or wind on the bayside, The camping spots are in a wooded area so you do get plenty of shade but the trees block any wind blowing in from the ocean. No breeze or wind means dealing with tons of flying biting insects...constantly. And I mean lots and lots of horse flies.

And for some reason I think the wild horses are more active and more aggressive on the bayside vs when camping on the beach, just my personal experience. Our camp was raided every every night and day, even when we had horse proofed all our food and our campsite. I ended up storing all our food in our tents inside lockable bins.

Most of the people I saw camping on the bayside had RV, which is the only way I would come back to the bayside.

Read my other review for seaside assategue camping for some helpful tips.

I was really looking forward to this trip. We stayed on the Bayside of the campground. Our site was close to the bathhouse, which was modest with cold water and vault toilets. Fresh water pump was nearby, as well.

Based on the reviews, I was expecting a beach camp out with the ambience of wild horses running along the shore. Sand between our toes. Fire cooked meals. Idyllic... Sadly, that’s not at all what we got.

We arrived late to meet some friends before setting up camp. We were supposed to have dinner with the them. But dinner was delayed — VERY delayed — because of horses. A small herd of them (around 8) decided to hangout in our campsite waiting for their meal. This meant we couldn’t get ours. As soon as any food would come into ‘nose-shot,’ they would start advancing on us. We waited over an hour for them to lose interest and move on to the next site. We went through this for every meal. It became a real hassle.

It’s obvious other campers have not been so responsible with their food in this area. The standard is to hide all food as soon as you see the horses. This mean storing anything with a scent in your closed vehicle or in the “horse box” under the picnic table. With the way they would wait for us to pull food out, it was very apparent other campers allowed them to have a free-for-all previously. And no amount of noise shooed them off. If anything, it made them more aggressive and we had to watch them closely.

A little while later, we finally settled in and set up camp after having our “dinner” in the confines of our car. Dinner was snacks since we couldn’t cook anything. Placing anything on the fire or stove was like a beacon to the horses.

The next problem we encountered was the mosquitoes — they were everywhere and in hoards. No matter how hard you tried, there’s no keeping them out of the tent. We left a day later covered in bumps, most from throughout the night.

One good thing was the cooler temps meant no horseflies. On a previous beach trip, we were swarmed and covered in bites within minutes of exiting our car. Be prepared because bug spray does very little.

Let’s also not forget the “stickers” — little burr-like plant pods that are all on the ground and stuck to anything and everything, especially skin. These stung bad.

Once settled in for the night, we dealt with the wind flapping the tent pretty wildly at times, horses neighing almost constantly and coming awfully close, and two raccoons fighting on the edge of our tent. A restful night was not in the cards there.

The only good thing was the location. We were a short walk away from the beach. The kids and I at least enjoyed that part.

I was beyond disappointed and cancelled my upcoming trip for the following month as soon as I got home. I don’t know if the experience was different Oceanside, but i will never be staying Bayside again.

Love staying here. beautiful sunsets you can see right from your tent and walking on the beach at night is amazing. Clean facilities. Horses can get in your stuff so make sure to put it away in your car