NAME: Assateague Island State Park and National Seashore
STATE: Maryland & Virginia
DISTANCE FROM NYC: 6hrs
Assateague Island is a 37-mile (60 km) long barrier island located at the State of Maryland and Virginia seashore by Atlantic Ocean. A part of this barrier island is a State Park and the other half is a part of the National Park System. What you can expect here, is a nice sandy beach, with camping place, and most importantly “wild” horses all over. These feral horses is alternately known as the Assateague horse in Maryland and the Chincoteague Pony in Virginia. You can see them sometimes on the beach sometimes you find them in the parking lot or walking on the roads. They are very friendly horses, they walking up to you however you not suppose to touch or feed them. The island also contains numerous marshes, bays, and coves, including Toms Cove.
Large populations of birds inhabit the island, including American oystercatcher, great blue heron, and snowy egret. There are over 320 species that are known to inhabit the island during some portion of the year.[15] These include gulls, terns, and other shorebirds along with raptors, waterbirds, and waterfowl. The piping plover is a threatened species that nests on Assateague
I’ve been here a several times because it’s a good place to let the steam go out, and just calm down. To watching the birds and the horses at walking on the beach is so relaxing.
When I’m get hungry I always can visit Ocean City, which is pretty close here. They have a pretty nice ocean Boardwalk similar t Atlantic city or Coney Island, with a lots of gift shop and restaurants right on the boardwalk. I find the hotels way too expensive, so I never stayed spent a night in town, but I guess its worth to stay.
