As Northern Virginians, we are blessed to be in driving distance of mountains, beaches and other natural beautiful landscapes. One plus of being in quarantine for three months is that it has encouraged us to spend more time in nature (at a safe social distance, of course). Last weekend, we went on a last-minute day trip to Assateague Island with our friends Moose, Ish and Kulsoom.
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If you’ve never been there, Assateague is a 37-mile long island along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. It’s a national seashore and most of the Maryland side is managed by the National Park Service. The island is also home to wild horses. We were lucky to catch a glimpse of them as we were leaving the island 😌
Begad has visited the island before, but this was mine and everyone else’s first time seeing it. It lives up to expectations. It’s a beautiful beach and we found it to be much quieter than other nearby beaches.
The entrance fee to the park is $25 for the day or $45 for a whole year. We went with the latter option since we see ourselves visiting again soon. Our friends and us have 4×4 vehicles, so we purchased an OSV (Over Sand Vehicle) permit so that we would be able to drive and park on the beach itself. We paid $90 for an annual day use permit, which allows you to be on the beach from 5 a.m. to midnight.
If you do plan on visiting and want to go with the OSV option, know that there can only be 145 vehicles on the beach at a time, so you may have to wait to get in if you go on a busy day. We went in at capacity and we were still able to get a generously spaced section of the beach.
We set up our area with an instant pop-up tent and some folding chairs. We brought a cooler, grill and our own food, drinks and utensils with us. There is nothing but other people and nature in the immediate proximity, so it’s important that you bring everything you would need in your car.
The next time we go, we plan on also bringing tiki torches (because there are biting flies that are very annoying and invasive), a table to put food on, campfire wood (for an easier bonfire) and walkie talkies (there’s no cell reception on the island).
Assateague Island was about a 3 hour and 30 minute drive from home, but it was definitely worth the trip. We had a great time enjoying our little section of the beach and we ended the day watching the gorgeous beach sunset.
If you plan on going and have any questions, visit the official website here or leave us a comment below!
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