Wild ponies, an expansive national park, and a quaint little beach town on the border of Virginia and Maryland. That’s Chincoteague Island in a nutshell. With easy access to Assateague Island and a National Wildlife Refuge there are plenty of outdoor activities at your disposal. Best of all, you have to opportunity to see wild ponies in their not so natural habitat. Legend has it, these ponies wound up on Assateague Island when a Spanish ship was shipwrecked along the island releasing the horses ashore. They are not native to the island so the ponies sometimes have a hard time finding nutritious food on the island. Hence why they are called ponies, instead of horses, as they don’t grow to their full potential. These unique islands are just a 4-hour drive from New York City so this trip can easily be done on a long weekend and the weather is still hot enough to enjoy the beach in the Spring and Fall. Saddle up, and follow my weekend guide to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands.
Getting There and Pit Stops
Being car-less city-dwellers, we always rent cars for our nearby weekend getaways. To our surprise and serendipitously perfect to go along with our trip, we got a convertible Ford Mustang to start our trip off to the wild ponies.
After driving for two hours from NYC, we got hungry and decided to stop in New Castle, Delaware, a quaint town on the water. We took a little walk and stopped at Jessop’s Tavern, an old-fashioned American Tavern with historic charm. This place had great sandwiches and apparently the largest Belgian beer selection in Delaware. Make sure you try the Jefferson brew. After lunch, we stretched our legs around Battery Park, a town full of historic American buildings.
On the way into and out of Chincoteague, you’ll pass by a NASA base, to spark your outer curiosities, and beautiful creeks leading to the island. On the way back to NYC we stopped in Odessa, Delaware and had lunch at Cantwell’s Tavern. This was also a very cute town with historic charm. We had some great burgers and American fare and continued driving.
Stay at the Marina Bay Hotel
The Marina Bay Hotel offered a great location, comfortable beds, and a spacious room that will provide space and rest for your excursion filled weekend. You’re right in town, with ample parking, and walkability to restaurants and shops. They also provide a good breakfast bar and water in the lobby 24/7 so you can stay hydrated and be ready to go for early wake up times.
Kayak to the Wild Ponies of Assateague
Make sure you book a guided kayak tour with Assateague Explorer on one of your full days. This was one of the highlights of our trip. You will meet your guide at Memorial Park where they will bring a truck full of kayaks to you. We were with a small group of about six people, so the tour was intimate and gave us a chance to learn from our guide.
If you prefer to have a one-person kayak call ahead and request that. Anthony and I shared a two-person kayak mainly because there wasn’t enough one-person kayaks for the group, but it actually worked out for us because it allowed us to take pictures without falling behind and each of us were able to take breaks.
This tour was about three-hours long. We kayaked along the shore of Assateague passing by some bountiful oyster beds. However, shuck at your own risk because these oyster beds are privately owned. After paddling for about 30-45 minutes we caught a glimpse of the wild ponies. They were roaming around the sand bars looking for some grass to feed on. As the story goes, these ponies are not native to Assateague, so they struggle to find nutritious food on the island. They mainly eat grass along the marshes and sand bars so it’s easy to find them along the shore. We kayaked up to a beach that you can only reach by boat or kayak and got the opportunity to see the ponies up close. They were magnificent to see in person. I had never been so close to a wild pony before and this was truly a unique experience. Make sure you don’t touch the ponies though. Messing with animals in their habitat is never the way to go.
After we spent some time taking photos of the ponies and basquing in their majesty, we started kayaking back to Chincoteague. On the way back, our guide took us to the area where the Chincoteague fire department wrangles up the horses and crosses them over to Chincoteague. They actually auction off the ponies to raise money for the fire department and local charities. This event takes place every summer at the end of July, but I’m not sure I would recommend that. We went there for Memorial Day Weekend and as Chincoteague was pretty active, it wasn’t overcrowded with tourists, as I suspect it would be for that event.
Go to Assateague Island National Park
This sprawling park is about a 10-minute drive from Chincoteague town. There is a $20 fee for admission for one car including all passengers, which is valid for 7 days so hold on to that pass if you want to go to this park multiple times. If you plan on spending several weekends here, you can also get a yearly pass for about $40.
There is a plethora of things to do at this park. You can go to the beach, take a hike along various trials, or catch a sprawling view of the park from the top of the lighthouse on the grounds. We started off at the beach. With powdery white sand and not a building in sight, it was hard to believe we were on the eastern seaboard. Take a dip or a walk and start off your adventure with an ocean breeze. There is also a nice sand bar right near the parking lot of the beach that’s a great walk with water shoes.
If you’re keen on hitting the trails, make sure you bring strong bug spray and spray everything! Anthony and I put on the standard bug spray, but that didn’t work very well on a hiking trail along a pond. We were attacked by a pack of mosquitos there. Stop by one of the rest area buildings along the road and pick up some trail maps before you hit the trails.
Whatever you do, make sure you go to the lighthouse. We had to wait in line to go up there for a couple of minutes but it was well worth it. You need to walk up a good amount of steps and when you reach the balcony on top of the lighthouse, you can take in the 360 degree views up there and walk around the perimeter of the lighthouse so you can see Assateague from every angle.
Where to Eat and Drink
If you’re looking for a great wine selection and fresh seafood, look no further. We ordered some delectable oysters and the seafood feast, which included flounder, oysters, clams, shrimp, and scallops, and we were stuffed.
AJ’s on Creek was a nicely intimate dinner experience. With a great selection of seafood, we sampled the oysters Rockefeller, crab cakes, and crab imperial and had ourselves a great American summer seafood experience.
This is a great place for lunch or dinner. When we went, there was live music playing outdoors, and we enjoyed the lagoon view from our comfy Adirondack chairs. They had a great beer selection but don’t forget to order yourself an Orange Crush, it’s a local treasure.
Make sure you check out the local brewery, located in the center of the island. Black Narrows had a great IPA and Stout. You can sample all of their beers for around $2 each. You can also get food at the place next door and eat it at the brewery if you decide to go there for lunch or dinner.
Island Creamery is a must. This landmark ice cream shop is also a local treasure, which shows by the line out the door. But their wide selection of unique and fresh ice cream flavors is worth the wait.
Mr. Whippy is also a great ice cream spot. They’re known for their soft serve and they whip up some great cyclone-esque soft serve ice cream mixed with your favorite candy, topping, etc.
If you’re looking for organic fair trade coffee and a nice muffin or pastry in the morning look no further. This was easily the best coffee on the island, plus there’s a nice shop inside with cute home goods and clothes so you can sneak in a shop.
As the name suggests, Chinoctiki is a cute bar in town that makes the best Orange Crushes. They make them with fresh squeezed orange juice so they are fresh to death.
Meli On The Move 