Oceanside Assateague Campground — Assateague Island National Seashore

I grew up here and the beach camping is awesome if you have a self contained vehicle that is 4x4.  A permit is required but it's for 12 months.  Beware if the wind is out of the west the bugs are vicious.

Assateague National Seashore on the Maryland side offers an incredible experience. 

Along with soft sand, balmy breezes and coastal views, wild horses wander the park at will.

We chose a campsite that did not require hiking onto the sand to reach. This made setting up camp much easier as no carrying was involved. We were early enough in the seasons that the mosquitoes hadn't kicked in yet, so it was an enjoyable stay. 

The restroom facilities are primitive. with a dump toilet, and exterior showers with warmish water. To turn on the shower water, one has to hold down a line to get it to run.

There was a good mix of tents and a variation of camper trailers on both the oceanside and bayside camp areas. The camper trailers are boondocking as no hookups are offered at this campground.

I find the restrooms on the bayside to be better, but in the warmer months, be prepared for lots of mosquitoes in that area.

The horses do their rounds in the morning for breakfast and in the evenings for dinner. DO NOT FEED THE HORSES  ! They are rather aggressive and persistent. KEEP ALL FOOD LOCKED UP IN YOUR CAR! They are Houdini's and have no trouble opening up any types of coolers with either their mouths or their hooves. There is a storage cubby below the picnic table - use it. 

The best way to shoo them away from your campsite is to bring a metal water bottle with small rocks in it. Shake it at them and they know to move along. It's what the rangers use to get them to move.

To reserve use recreation.gov

Beautiful spot on the beach. Wild ponies visit your site. They’ll get into everything so make sure you have everything put up and away lol. The beach is a short walk from your site. Beaches are clean and beautiful. Bathrooms are quite nice with great showers and hot water. Short drive to OC beach and boardwalk.

You can't literally walk a couple of hundred yards over the sand dunes to the ocean. There are pit toilets and outdoor showers available nearby.

This is what beach life should be. No crowds. Sound of waves. Not traffic. No generators. Wildlife all around. It can get windy, but it keeps the bugs down which is good. If it’s dead calm, you’re going to deal with mosquitos and flies.

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

So, my trip was just an unluck experience. It was quite literally the worst camping experience I've ever had. I definitely had such a bad experience that I'm not coming back again..which is a shame honestly.

The place is beautiful, absolutely stunning. The beach is well maintained, the park is as well, and the hosts and park rangers aren't bad either.

My experience was because of the weather. I had been looking at the weather for this area for 2 weeks and everyday until I went, I thought I was prepared...you could not have been prepared for this crap.

The weather went from sunny, to extremely windy, so bad that our tent nearly ripped out of the sand.. it definitely almost crushed us.. I bought tent stakes ahead of time, my friend did not and his tent flew away a couple of times too.

It also went from 64 degrees to 34 and at night we saw our breath and I could not stop shivering.

Again, I was prepared for the cold, the wind, the rain...our weather fluctuated so much that even the rangers weren't prepared for it.

If you go here, go in the summer...just don't come at all in the early or even late spring.

The wind will be trash, buy the tent stakes. Just do it. You want the ones that spiral into the ground.

I did see some horses, and if I had slept better I might have had a better experience. Mine was, again, just an unlucky set of circumstances that myself and the other campers there that day all experienced.

Oh, there are showers, toilets (hole in the ground), water spout, fire rings, picnic table with storage underneath it.

I will never do this again, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't camp there! Definitely a bucket list check off for me.

Love the area. Park has outdoor showers but they are nice even without warm water.

Mid March, upper 50s and 15-25 MPH winds. It was cold and there isn’t a lot of protection from wind. However, the site is beautiful and close to the beach. No bugs for us with both a day of sea breeze and land breeze. We did get visit on first night from horses. Vault toilets but very clean. Shower facility was closed (probably not open until warmer). Biggest site complaint is they use fire pits that are taller with double ring. Tough to get warm in the wind with your fire elevated and the pit unable to radiate heat. Try to get a site closer to the boardwalks if you really want the sandy camping experience. Oceanside Loop 1 site 2 is a grass “yard.” Still nice but May be buggy in summer with standing water.

A very unique place to camp, ride bikes, enjoy the beach and see wildlife all in one place! Pit toilets and cold showers are clean and spacious. Make sure to have all food containers locked up as the wild horses are not shy in trying to take food. Ghost crabs are the cutest!!

We camped in Site B35 on the Bayside, it was a large site with a little bit of shade.  An easy drive from Ocean City, MD.   The Campground bathrooms were ok, they have a composting toilet and a cold shower, always nice to have a bit of running water.  We did not get a visit from the horses the night we were there, but we did see them along the roadside in and out of camp.  Even though all campsites were full the 3 sites immediately around us were empty, which made for a super peaceful quiet night to gaze at the stars.  It was breezy and surprisingly comfortable for mid-July.

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.

We saw several wild horses during our stay, mostly near the roads, so we didn’t have issues with them at our campsite. We had an amazing unobstructed sunrise view directly from inside the tent. The sites weren’t too close together but you could see and hear other campers somewhat. Sand is quite comfy to sleep on. There was a boardwalk from the parking area to the sand and then we had a short incline to get to our site. Nice fire pit with grate and a picnic table at each site. The picnic tables had doors at each end and were encased underneath in order to provide a safe place for your food items. Check in and out was easy. We went when it was still quite chilly at night and there were no bugs to deal with yet.

We camped in the Oceanside loop B. Right on the beach, but big dunes between sites and the ocean. Wild horses meandering through daily. Some sites are more private than others- some not private at all, so carefully review the map and the images when booking. Pit toilets were very clean and maintained daily, cold water showers only. Very friendly and chill vibe. Amazing stars, beach and bay. We will be back!

Snagged site 55, which was a walkin and beach front campsite for 4th of July weekend. You park down below and then walk through the dunes past some campsites and into a giant open area with lots of tent sites. There's little to no privacy so get ready to be friends with your neighbors. There's also no shade in these spots and it's actually kind of hard to know where your site is because there aren't any real boundaries. Location to the beach was amazing and we saw numerous horses on the beach, especially during sunrise. The crowd was pretty rowdy during 4th of July weekend.

The mosquitos are no joke. Walking from the car through the shrub bush section to get to the site was absolutely brutal. Hundreds of mosquitos will descend upon you. We camp all the time and have never experienced mosquitos even close to this level. We heard a rumor that there are less on the State Park side so we'll try that next time. It's an awesome site but the mosquito situation makes it quite miserable.

This oceanside campground provides ever changing, many once in a lifetime, scenes.  As the tides change, so does the beauty that is very possibly only found here.

The tent sites are large and very easily accessed, some primitive, some with utilities, water and electric

There is a camp store, and small restaurant , as well as bathhouses, located where daytrippers find parking and dune crossing.

Many activities within the park and many more just a few miles away, in Ocean City.  Very family friendly place to visit but can be just as cozy for a couple.

Be sure not to miss the wild ponies, who gather frequently along the beach and all throughout the park.

Rates are very reasonable and quite modest. Definitely a camper's delight

Great place to Camp on the beach. The ones closest on the beach are on top of a dune with clear view of the ocean. The ones further back are lower but out of line of the direct winds. There's basic toilet and showers, a fire ring and picnic table with storage underneath. The wildlife including the ponies will get close to you. Buy stakes made for sand.

Assateague National seashore is a beautiful place to visit ! The beach is clean and you are sure to see the grazing ponies somewhere during your visit . We seen a group of ponies on both sides of the road as we were coming over the bridge to get into the park . Many other encounters of ponies while driving around looking for a parking spot and we even got to see them near the beach . Parking was a little hectic and seemed to be very crowded when we went. Other than that you will have a fun time most definitely!

I love this place. It’s hard to get a spot here tho you have to book early! Water was cold the bathrooms wasn’t very clean! I stayed ocean side walk in. We park and drag all your items in for tent camping. FYI you can have a fire right on the beach!

**Camping at Assateague State Park **

Assateague Island is a national park located in Maryland that offers plenty of beach camping and hiking trails. I decided to camp on the Oceanside walk-in which is means that we had to walk from the parking lot about 200 ft to our camping area. They also offer camping areas you can drive up to as well as areas that are on the bayside of the beach. Our reserved spot on the beach included a fire ring and a picnic table and the perfect beginning to a great week of camping. During our time we were able to do some hiking along the 37 mile long park, kayak on the ocean, and Bay, see some wild ponys that rove the park, and enjoy the very clean facilities that the park offered. The Island is not far from Ocean City either if you wish to go to the Board walk which we did experience one night. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to camp along the water and listen to the waves hitting the shoreline however booking must be done in advance as reservations fill up very fast every season. 

Link: https://www.nps.gov/asis/planyourvisit/marylandcamping.htm

**Ice mule Pro XL **

The Icemule Pro XL was great at what it was advertised for, which is keeping items cold. My Icemule was able to keep all the ice in its solid state for about 16 hours while sitting on the hot beach(90+ degree Fahrenheit) before melting to ice cold water. Once melted though the water stayed ice cold for roughly 30 hours. This was great because I didn’t have to refill the ice every day. The cooler was very popular with the crowds as multiple beach goers and friends would stop and ask me where I got it as they thought the design and concept of having a wearable backpack cooler was very neat. While the cooler did its job and the design was a good concept I found that it was very heavy when filled to its max. I do not believe that ordering the Icemule XXL would be realistic based off of this. Another issue I found was that packing drinks had to be done logistically in that you would have to put drinks, then ice, then add more drinks, and ice on top of that. Instead of a normal cooler where you would pack all of the drinks then pour the ice on top. This was an issue because many of my friends wanted to add some of there drinks to the cooler after I had already added the ice. None the less the drinks still stayed cool with the coolers cooling material. As mentioned I used this product while camping on the beach for a week and then used it again while watching some fireworks on the 4th of July and while the cooler did hold up the coolers back pack straps already had torn after about 10 uses. One final thing I found unfortunate was how the cooler closed. In my personal opinion Folding the opening of the cooler and buckling it was very tedious and many of my friends who used it wouldn’t go through the trouble of closing it. A regular cooler is easy to close in seconds where this takes a little more time and work. In the end it is a good cooler if you are looking for something portable and hands free but it is not something to use if you don’t have a strong back. 

Link: https://icemulecoolers.com/products/the-icemule-pro-x-large

At the 2 camping loops, Each site has a table and fire ring. Sites are level and have a paved area. Easy to back into. Not much as far as privacy and the bathrooms are pretty basic.

There is only one campground in then Assateague park and it's right on the beach. Get ready to get sand everywhere. Be sure to check the forecast before you go because if it gets windy you'll be sure to feel it. I visited in later October and there were very few campers but I imagine the campground fills up in warmer months. The park is small to there are just a few one-way roads leading in and out.

The campground was two loops with drive-in sites as well as walk-in sites that are more removed from the road. There are also cold water showers to help with some of the aforementioned sand.

You'll surely see at least a few ponies on your visit as well as other great wildlife. If you have the time I highly recommend taking the drive over to the Chincoteague side (about an hour) and exploring there. I rented a bike from the Bike Depot and rode it into Chincoteague for a few hours.

Plenty of places to explore. Several trails to walk or bike. Be prepared for the bugs depending on the season. Some years we've had no issues, some years the flies were bad. The mosquitos are kept at bay with bug spray are citronella candles. The closer to the ocean the better you are. Definitely bring a canopy as obviously there is no shade Oceanside. The Ponies are giant trash pandas. They're smart and can open latches so do bring bungee cords, kayak straps, or ratchet straps to lock all of your food in cases or coolers. Check out the awesome views on the bayside trails. There is an app you can use to identify the ponies. The showers are cold but at least there is running water. Bathrooms are mostly clean and just a short walk from most campsites. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit. After dusk you can do beach fires as long as they're below the high tide line so they wash out.

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!

Camped here overnight, it rained which always sucks. Everything was wet and cold and sandy. We had visitors in the middle of the night, some wild ponies wanted to check out our cooler. Crabbing on the bay was successful but cooking them on the little tiny coal grill at the campsite proved more difficult than expected. It was more expensive to stay than I expected also. Camping on the beach, never again.

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 is really neat to be able to camp right on the sand dunes and by the beach but prepare for lots of wind. Check the weather a lot because the storms roll in quickly. Facilities are simple but fine enough. The stars are night sky are gorgeous if it is clear. It can get pretty cold so be prepared for that.

It’s beautiful here, horses are cool, beach is great, but the bugs stink! Bring some deet it’s the only thing that works! No electric and generators are only allowed until a certain time at night. We’ve been twice so I guess you could say we liked it :)

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.

Amazing views and very peaceful. Gorgeous wild horses and the sound of the ocean was so relaxing. My only problem was the mosquitos! They were horrible and EVERYWHERE. The beached areas didn’t have as many but as soon as you get off the beach past the bushes and trees they’re horrible. The showers are ice cold and are just stalls outside so you’re showering in freezing water while mosquitos are attacking your naked body. ugh. Honestly though, it’s worth it to see these amazing views. I will definitely be coming back, but I’ll probably choose a campsite on the beach next time rather than right off the beach.