Beautiful! Love this place and hope to go back. Going in the off season made for a quiet, peaceful trip with not many others about. The beach is a great place to watch the sunset. Take note that the lighthouse is closed. Of course you in can see it but cannot go up.

Chincoteague will always have a special place in my heart. It did ever since I was a young girl reading about the ponies, and then after being stationed there for four years, the people and natural beauty of it just made it more special. The beaches are clean, the parks are gorgeous. It is always one of my favorite places!

This was an absolutely amazing vacation spot and it has an amazing beach spot, the view and swimming of the ocean was an absolutely amazing experience to have done, the beach has a shower area you can use to clean off as well as changing rooms and bathrooms on the beach, the island also offers a fishing spot for the ocean that is separated from the swimming spot. The wild life here is also amazing with different species of crabs, jellyfish, birds, and fish all throughout the beach. You can walk the beach all day (which we did) and it is an amazing time, and the shells you can find on the beach are awesome although the best ones are found just off the beach in the ocean. The island also has great souvenir stores, as well as a wide variety of sea food restaurants as well as more plain food if your more reserved. The island also offers a fun light house that you can take a trail to get too! There's also a great view of the ponies as you drive out to the island. Me and my Wife loved visiting the island and had an amazing time while we where there and are looking forward to going back to visit and we are sure that any one who visits would love there stay there!!!

Kudos to the Virginia side of this island in ensuring and protecting these beautiful wild ponies from the intrusions by those few but destructive ignorant human tourists who are allowed to get too close to these ponies on the Maryland side of Assateague Island. The Virginia Rescue Fire Company and staff who look out for and watch over these ponies know how to protect them properly. Maryland staff take note...there have been far too many tourist abuses especially lately to these wild ponies because you fail to provide barriers between the ponies and 'some' totally ignorant tourists harm them. The poor horse 'Chip' story being separated from his family because tourists kept inciting him is one case in point. The shameful tourist who hit another pony in the head with his cooler is another. These wild ponies depend on us to offer supportive love and care. We humans need to remember that we are all one. What goes around, comes around. Zoom in to see these amazing wild ponies, with two recently born foals, and the brown horse soon to birth hers.

An amazing place to enjoy the great outdoors and the beach! Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to enjoy nature, view wildlife, and enjoy outdoor recreational activities. There are many hiking and biking trails on the island and many waterways to kayak as well. The education center is a nice place to get information about the island and to plan your activities from. Passes can be purchased for the day(10$), week (25$), or annual (45$). The rangers and other staff were very friendly and informative. A great place to view wildlife such as migratory and shore birds, deer, squirrels, and probably the most noteworthy the Assateague ponies.

Always wanted to go here since reading Misty of Chincoteague. Such a picturesque place! Loved the town, nature preserve, beach, all of it! You’ll definitely see some ponies if that’s what you are looking for!

Bug spray!!!! If you walk any of the inland trails you will need bug spray. The mosquitoes are huge and hungry. Never seen so many! The seashore has beautiful, fine white sand—miles and miles of it.

Beautiful beaches. Very family friendly. Not a long walk from your car to the beach. Only 10 dollars per car to get into the park. The horses are beautiful and so whimsical. My toddlers loved coming here. We will definitely be back.

I love the area. Recently, I've been visiting quite a bit lately trying out new restaurants. Enjoy seeing the ponies. Candy shops are great. Views of the waterways are nice as well. This visit I saw the light house that is going to be re opened.

Beautiful place to visit. Quiet, easy trails. Loved seeing the wild horses. Beautiful sunset while walking the trail.

The wooded walk along the paved trail, with the occasional cyclist, was filled with squirrels, colorful birds and mist in the morning hours. As cranes, ducks and other birds fed the waters we walked by, we couldn’t help but be enchanted by the beauty and wonder of it all…carried in our memories.

There's so many things to see in this park between the ponies and the wilderness trails and the beach. The over sand vehicle area is my favorite part. If you plan to spend the day during the in season I would recommend arriving early the park gets crowded quickly and a line of cars tends to form at the gate.

There was a very large amount of birds. It was actually really cool to see them fishing and stuff. We saw the horses both days we went, though they were far away. We went on a really nice walk here. On one of the beaches we went to, there were hundreds of tiny little crabs disappearing and reappearing into their little holes in the sand. It was great.

We took a boat tour to hopefully see the ponies. And, We did! It was a beautiful day that started out looking like rain. We also saw a few pods of dolphins. Our guide, Captain Jake was awesome! We are so happy we booked our tour with the Salt water tour company. It was an overall great day!

We've been to many wildlife refuge centers in our day and, while we wanted to like this one, it was a bit of a disappointment. The folks at the desk ignored us, not even making eye contact when we walked in and around. The interactive displays were interesting, but way too many were not functioning. We got no sense of whether there were programs that the refuge center was running. Many refuge centers will educate the public and engage with them to raise awareness and so on. However, we did not see anything like this here. The refuge center is tucked away on Assateague Island, which you need to pay to enter. We happened to bike ride in, which is free, and I am glad as I would have been upset to have paid the entry fee in order to come to this refuge center. Note...the mosquitos on the bike trail are absolutely, positively scary. It is now 4 days later and we are still scratching the huge welts all over our bodies 😞. This is certainly not the fault of the refuge center, but something to be aware of!

We saw lots of wildlife: horses, rabbits and squirrels, each multiple times! It wasn't very crowded late August on a Sunday afternoon either. The hiking trails were nice as well.

This time of year, early fall, is an excellent time to visit. The weather is a comfortable high 70's, and crowds are minimal. Shops do close early and may not be open every day. But, the relaxing atmosphere is worth any of that.

Much more of an aquatic wildlife park with famed wild ponies. Clean and well organized. The park has different entrance fee based on single or weekly admittance or membership. Family friendly and a good spot to get away from the daily grind.

I was on Chincoteague Island, walked around, drove around. I encountered some marshy and natural areas, but as far as a Wildlife Refuge, this is actually referencing an area on Assateague Island, the barrier island, around the Wildlife loop, that encircles what is known as the Snow Goose Pool, a watery, marshy area. People drive around the loop to hopefully catch a glimpse of the wild horses that live here, but they steer clear of the road- far away. As opposed to the Maryland end of the island where it is commonplace to see horses on the road. It is a very scenic area teeming with vegetation, birds, and even foxes. An unspoiled area that is being protected and it's awesome to have access to it. If you live in a big city, this is not something you're accustomed to seeing. Awesome stuff.

Each time we visit, it’s a whole new experience. As luck would have it, we had planned our vacation months in advance. Apparently so did Tropical Storm Ophelia. We arrived Thursday, September 21, and TS Ophelia was due Friday night. We went to the Atlantic Ocean / Beach to watch the waves come in. They were huge! The park service hadn’t closed off the beach yet. We visited the beach on Saturday and it was all closed off. One could see the waves hit the beach just from the vehicle. It was a beautiful sight.

Went to check out this lighthouse in memory of my mother in law who was an avid lighthouse lover. The drive was pretty fun getting there. A lot of sights to see. Now the lighthouse is on a wild life reserve. There is a 10 dollar fee to enter the wild life reserve. It is an all day pass though so if you leave you can come back till it closes for the day. The light house is a short drive and is on the right. Attached is an unfortunately small parking area. There are restrooms in the parking area as well. But be prepared it is a very basic restroom. No running water. When we parked there, there was a map that showed where the lighthouse was. It is a short walk through the trees and up a slight hill. Word of advice. BRING MOSQUITO REPELLENT! They are everywhere! When we got to the lighthouse it was a beautiful sight. The brickwork is awesome. The colors made it look like a giant candy cane. There is a park worker in the lighthouse and they count people going up the lighthouse. There are 175 steps up to the top of the lighthouse so be prepared for a bit of a climb. Overall had a good time here. Plus we got to see some wild horses out in the fields😊

The mosquitos are out of control. We sprayed with Off and didn't seem to make a difference. The trails are paved and well kept. The beach access is plentiful. The area is clean and can get busy.

We visited on a weekday summer morning. Thanks to tips from the park ranger, we were able to see 2 groups of wild horses grazing in the marshes as we drove along Beach Road. The horses are fenced in a large enclosure for their protection. It was cool to see shore birds and egrets relaxing on trees and fences near the horses. We also hiked the Woodland Trail but did not see any horses there. The Lighthouse Trail and the 2 visitor centers are well worth the time as other stops.

Love our national park service. The 80 parks annual pass is the best deal in town. I can visit the ponies whenever I want and...free sunsets and mosquito bites!

The beach is a relief from the mosquitos. The trails inland are to be done only if you are bathed in mosquito repellent. I have been to many tropical jungle places that are not as bad as this.

Always a nice place to visit. Lots of fun things to do. walking trails and beach, watching birds and wild horses. There’s a lighthouse and visitor center. It can be crowded on weekends. Try early mornings and evenings to avoid crowds and see more nature.

As others have said, unspoiled beaches, wetlands and trails to walk and bike. Hours are 5a-10p all for a mere $10 entry fee. The ponies were spotted grazing at 7pm on a Friday evening. Birds are plentiful as are mosquitoes so BRING BUG SPRAY (and sunscreen!).

Came for the southern corral and it was an amazing experience for the whole family.!! We also visited Tom's cove and the wild life loop.

Love walking around the area. The service road up to the beach is a fun walk and in the fall is almost completely free of any other people. Just remember to bring bug repellent, even if you think it's too cold.

We had an amazing vacation.... Such beautiful things to see, everywhere you look... From the houses to the views of the bay, to feeling the power of that ocean.... We will most definitely be back in the very near future!!! All the locals seem to super friendly and always helpful...

This beach is very unique because there are sand bars, 100 feet out into the ocean, that actually break up the large waves and offes a safe swim into the Atlantic. Lots and lots of bike trails. Wild horses can be seen near the bay side. Awesome place to take the family. (Dogs are not allowed in this park.)