Assateague Island National Seashore Oceanside Campground

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.

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.

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 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!

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.