Assateague Island Backcountry Camping

Assateague is a great place to camp and experience wildlife. I saw another reviewer say theyve never had an issue petting the wild horses. This is extremely dangerous and stupid. Tourists get injured, fined, and even jailed for messing with these horses every year. Please enjoy the area and leave wildlife alone no matter where you are!

bring bug spray and water. Water is heavy. canoe in and walk about 1 mile to the Little Levels campsite. Otherwise, walk the 4.5 miles in soft sand.

If you want to camp on beach, make sure your car can handle the deep sand! They say don't pet the wild horses, but I've never had a horse freak out if I tried to pet them!

There's a lot of bugs that come out at night so keep that in mind

If you want the beach completely to yourself, backpacking into Lower Levels or (to get out of the wind) the first bayside campsite is a fantastic experience in the winter. It's cold and windy, but if that doesn't scare you away, the horses are abundant, the stars are out, and you can find fox tracks among the dunes. A local brew from Burley Oak to end the trip just seals the deal.

You can choose to hike in or offroad.

Stayed over Memorial Day weekend 2015. First come first serve on campsites so found one available for two nights at the 'pine tree' campsite. My advice is check the weather and wind direction when going backcountry as these can effect the bug situation greatly. Lots of ticks at this location. Be prepared to get a solid leg workout if backpacking for a distance down the sand. Overall, if the conditions are right, it is an incredibly underestimated spot.