Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Assateague Island National Seashore

Whether you love camping in your RV or a tent, Assateague Island National Seashore is an incredible place to visit. From the docile wild ponies on the beach, to the gorgeous sunrise every morning, to being able to see the Milky Way with the naked eye, there is no shortage of sights to see here. The showers and bathrooms on campsite are clean and comfortable, and the rangers are amazing and helpful. At night, there are hundreds of ghost crabs to see scurrying about. You can also spend a day in Ocean City, Maryland or head down to Chincoteague for the best ice cream you'll ever have! Arguably the best camping trip I've ever been on.

We don’t always pick campgrounds for their spacious sites and scenic views. BUT we do pick them based on the outdoor activities we can do from the campground itself via bike riding or walking. Since we don’t bring a car location is very important to us.

This private campground is in a fantastic location. Waking distance to stores, water slide park, kayaking, fishing/crabbing from bridges and Biking distance to Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge & Assateague Island National Seashore . There is even a complimentary trolley that will take you to the beach during the “in season”.

You can rent kayaks and bikes from this resort. There is a pool, jumping pillow, and playground. The water park adjacent cost an additional fee. They have 3 day passes and after 3pm packages. (You May also get a discount from KOA front desk)

The campground- tight and efficient with a lot of options for staying here from little cabins safari style tent cabins, rental Rv’s, grassy tent area to full hook up rv sites. We had a premium RV site and since we were here off season in late April- the campground was not super busy. Just expect that you will be in very close proximity of your neighbors and it will be loud and boisterous in the evening. Our solution?? Hike and Bike all day so you are exhausted. That way after dinner and a couple of glasses of wine... you really don’t care.

We came here specifically to experience the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Assateague Island VA National Seashore and the parks did not disappoint. We biked and hiked the the parks but you can easily enjoy a lot of the sites via car. Just know that pets are NOT allowed. There are Ubers in this area. Here is a link to the trail and park map.
https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/Region_5/NWRS/South_Zone/Chincoteague_Complex/Chincoteague/Chincoteague%20Refuge%20Trail%20Map%20(1).pdf

There is a fee of $10 per car for 7 day pass. Bikers and Pedestrians get in free. (The fee gets you into both parks).

Happy Camping! Pamela and Keith

This is our favorite campground! It is close enough to ocean city we can enjoy the beach daily but far enough to relax in the woods! This campground is the small sister campground to frontier town. They have a free shuttle bus to provide transportation to assateaque island, frontier town, and ocean city. Campers here are eligible for discounts at frontier town as well! We tent camp but there are RV sites and cabins as well. There is an arcade, camp store, heated pool, playground, dog park, and mini golfing! The main pavilion has rentals for recreational equipment at no extra cost (hula hoops, balls, etc.) There are also themed weekends and scheduled activities throughout the week! The bathhouses are cleaned many times a day and the showers are spacious enough. The staff here is friendly and welcoming. Each tent site is far enough away from the other that you feel spread out and private. This is definitely a place I recommend to friends and family.

Wild horses, wide, clean stretches of beach, safe surroundings, close to town. This is the best beach camping in all of Maryland. Pros:

• the beach is wide with plenty of room to stretch out and is much cleaner than that of OC and surrounding beach areas
• the wild horses walk right up to your site!
• almost glamping- water pumps, outhouses, showers on each loop- much appreciated after days of sand, sun, and sweat
• pet friendly
• fire rings at each site, bonfires on the beach

Cons:

• it's expensive! Sites average $30 per night AND each car is $20 to enter the park
• reservations are practically mandatory- they book fast with little vacancy
• this is a barrier island- mosquitos are legit. Bring bug spray with DEET. You should also expect little protection from the sun, so a canopy shelter may be helpful
• lack of privacy- each site is only several feet from the next. Take a look at the map and book large group sites or several in a loop together for friends

I stayed here for two nights during the week in late April 2019.

The weather in late April was generally OK, other than the wind.  The wind was so strong that none of my tent stakes would stay in the sand, and when I was finally able to secure a stake by putting something heavy on it, the wind ripped my guy rope.  Brutal.  I couldn't even start a campfire because the firepit was downwind and very close to my car and tent, and I didn't want them to go up in flames.

I guess the wild horses are OK, but I didn't find them particularly interesting.  They are definitely not very shy--one of them stuck his nose right in my tent.  

I had my dog with me at this campground--IIRC the campgrounds in this park in VA are non-pet friendly, but the campgrounds in MD are pet-friendly (but I might have that backwards, so check their websites to make sure!).

Plenty of room for big rigs. Sites are spacious and roads are wide. Hookups work great and it has the best wifi I've ever seen. Hotspots throughout the park. It is on the Rehobeth Bay. They have sites on the bay or on the shores of the lagoons. Restaurants, bars, pool, beach, dog park and beach, game room, well stocked store, the list goes on and on. We had to cancel this years trip there but just took a day trip and stopped in. They are still adding amenities throughout the park. The staff is excellent. Golf cart, kayak, and bike rentals are available. This is an excellent park to bike ride and kayak in. Just outside the campground is a public boat launch into the bay. It's a neat place to sit on the docks and watch the boats or fish. Crabbing and clamming can be done right at the campground. The offer a shuttle to Rehobeth Beach which is a great idea because the parking at the beach is limited.