Assateague Island National Seashore
Maryland, Virginia
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
6.7 h fully dark
Crowds
high
Open today
Open
Entrance
$25
OSV Status
6/8/26 MD open to State Line. VA South OSV fully closed. The VA North OSV fishing mile is open to 12 vehicles.
Administrative Closure of Areas due to Nesting Shorebird Season
Effective 4/2/26: The closure includes the following areas within the boundary of the National Seashore : * North End * All island interior beach habitat along the northern section of Assateague Island National Seashore (north of Assateague State Park) is closed to all entry between KM 0.5 - KM 9.5. * The island interior beach habitats between KM 21.8 - 22.8 and 23.5 - 24.5 of the MD OSV Zone are closed to all entry. This includes habitat from the existing OSV boundary west to the vegetated shrub line.
Official NPS alert →Want to live on the edge? Visit a place recreated each day by ocean wind and waves. Life on Assateague Island has adapted to an existence on the move. Explore sandy beaches, salt marshes, maritime forests and coastal bays. Rest, relax, recreate and enjoy some time on the edge of the continent.
Activities
Topics
Entrance fees
$25.00 — Entrance - Private Vehicle
$20.00 — Entrance - Motorcycle
$0.00 — Entrance - Per Person
Hours & seasons
Open year round, 24 hours a day.
Generally open:
winterspringsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 4106411441
✉ asis_information@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Typical crowds: high
Weather now: ☀️ Clear, 77°F
🌫️ 78°/76°
☁️ 78°/76°
🌦️ 91°/75°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
11%
Feb
12%
Mar
19%
Apr
32%
May
43%
Jun
79%
Jul
100%
Aug
89%
Sep
51%
Oct
32%
Nov
25%
Dec
10%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Things to do
See the Wild Horses in the Maryland district · 40 ft gain · Seeing the horses is something one person may only spend 10 minutes doing while other may spend they entire day watching the horses. The time spent is up to you!
See the Wild Horses in the Virginia District · 1 mi
Surf Fishing on Assateague · Surf fishing is an activity that can be done for an hour or all day. It is completely up to you!
Bird at Toms Cove
Crabbing at Assateague Island
Ranger-Led Programs at Assateague
Campgrounds
Back Country Camping - Green Run · 1 sites · first-come · dump station
Back Country Camping - Little Levels · 1 sites · first-come · dump station
Back Country Camping - Pine Tree · 1 sites · first-come · dump station
Back Country Camping - Pope Bay · 1 sites · first-come · dump station
Back Country Camping - State Line · 1 sites · first-come · dump station
Back Country Camping - Tingles Island · 1 sites · first-come · dump station
Bayside Drive-in Campground ↗ · 22 sites · dump station
Horse camping ↗ · 2 sites · dump station
Oceanside Drive-in Campground ↗ · 16 sites · dump station
Oceanside Group Campground ↗ · 5 sites · dump station
Oceanside Walk-in campground ↗ · 62 sites · dump station
Visitor centers
Assateague Island Visitor Center
Herbert H. Bateman Educational and Administrative Center
Maryland District Ranger Contact Station & Campground Office
Accessibility
11 accessible campground(s)
7 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Assateague Island National Seashore — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
Passport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Assateague Island Visitor Center
🎫 Herbert H. Bateman Educational and Administrative Center
Places to see
MD - Life of the Dunes Trail
audio
MD - Life of the Forest Trail
audio
MD - Life of the Marsh Trail
audio
VA - Lighthouse Trail
audio
VA - Swan Cove Trail
audio
VA - Wildlife Loop
audio
VA - Woodland Trail
audioAudio & media
🎧
🎬
🖼
Learn more
Recipients of the 2012 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards
2014 annual report on sea turtle monitoring at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) is a 60km long barrier island off the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland, while the southern third is in Virginia. ASIS one of two NER coastal parks with a highly developed water-quality monitoring program, through a joint effort among many federal and state partners. The park boundary encircles the NPS holdings...
Horses at Assateague Island National Seashore are managed as a wildlife population. Regular monitoring of population dynamics is necessary to support the long-term fertility control program that was initiated in 1994 to reduce the numbers of the Maryland herd, and now, management of the population close to the goal range of 80-100 individuals.
Horses at Assateague Island National Seashore are managed as a wildlife population. Regular monitoring of population dynamics is necessary to support the long-term fertility control program that was initiated in 1994 to reduce the numbers of the Maryland herd, and now, management of the population close to the goal range of 80-100 individuals.
2025 Update! Horses at Assateague Island National Seashore are managed as a wildlife population. Regular monitoring of population dynamics is necessary to support the long-term fertility control program that was initiated in 1994 to reduce the numbers of the Maryland herd, and now, management of the population close to the goal range of 80-100 individuals.
2026 Update! Horses at Assateague Island National Seashore are currently managed as a wildlife population. Regular monitoring of population dynamics is necessary to support the long-term fertility control program that was initiated in 1994 to reduce the numbers of the Maryland herd, and now, management of the population close to the goal range of 80-100 individuals
Does your family use olive oil? Many things that we use in our homes today have their origins in the Old World. When Spanish explorers and colonists came to the New World, they brought many things from their homes, and ways of using those things.
Ranger School
Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.
How Assateague Island National Seashore connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
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