Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge — Attraction in Assateague Island

The visitor center is great. It has educational exhibits , movies, gift shop, very nice and clean information desk was very helpful. Binoculars can be borrowed,... here is the rub. Assateague island has a VA and a DE side north vs south half and apparently the wild ponies are given a little bit of different level of free range. The ones here in the Chincoteague side has less human incounter. So they tend to be very far away and can be viewed in a few places and without binoculars well... a blimp... my sister had pictures of the ponies very close up by the Assateague side...

Now here is why and I ask you don't forget bugspray... they recommend the woodland trail to see them. The trail itself is very cool. We were lucky and saw a rat snake a couple feet away from us a weird interesting red bug among many. .. but we also was a buffet for very hungry mosquitos... we had a child and a tot so after about $3 per bit between me and my husband(park is $20 for a weekly pass) we rushed back to the car after hearing there's even more towards the clearing area that was recommended. And the ponies are about the same distance away from there as you are able to park and view as you enter in after the visitors center...

Later at a gift shop in Chincoteague. .. it was plain how popular mosquitos are based on tourist shirts...

Please do not venture into the trails without bug spray water bottle etc... think we only managed 15 minutes in before getting bit alive...and rushed back. Our kids did...

We got started off on a bad foot. A friend bought an extra pass and gave it to us. When trying to visit the beach our first day, long story short, the young women that checked the card confiscated it. No warning at all. The card wasn't even signed. We had to buy another, which wasn't a big deal, so much so that we bought the annual, knowing we won't be back after this week, because they obviously need the money more than us. The whole experience was very uncomfortable and handled poorly, telling us we did something "super illegal". We had zero issues the remainder of the week, and everyone else was nice and informative. We only saw that person once more while leaving for food, and the line in was way backed up, so we decided to not even come back. Besides that the bugs are really bad of course, the beaches crowded, and a bit littered but not too bad, and the waves are decent enough for boogie boards. The showers were always pretty backed up, but that's probably because they barely worked, except near the end of the lot. Nothing really that bad, but not anything spectacular either. The town is a nice small beach town, and there were plenty places to try and eat for a week. There is plenty of wildlife to see, and a ton of birds. This place has the most aggressive seagulls on the planet. I watched sandwiches ripped from children's and adults hands, multiple times a day. We went for the kids to go to the camp, and they had a good time, so that's what...

It's the first time we visit Chincoteague. There is many little shops on the main street and an outdoor waterpark. I think it will be a great spot for family vacation. However, we only came here to see the wild horse this time, luckily we got in with the national pass from my son for free. Otherwise, it will be $10 for a day pass.

After we arrived the visitor center, we saw many cars at the beach area, we choose to checkout the woodland trail first, hoping to see some wild horses. It was supposedly be a 0.5 miles walk to the pony overlook but we were surrounded by millions of mosquitoes on our way in but didn't see any horses. Then we went on to the wildlife loop per the park ranger suggested, which opens after 3pm. The drive was around 3 miles and we didn't see any wildlife there either. It was a disappointing trip to the Assteague Island that we didn't see anything but mosquitoes!

One last note for this trip is that our friends was locked out of his car so we were helping him to look for the locksmith and towing service. Luckily we find one nearby who could come in 40 minutes, he arrived on time and charged $60. Highly recommended his service if you need one. By all mean, good luck with your trip to the Assateague Island. Hope you will have an easier...