places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Berlin MD
The Park
The first European settlers - a band of four men - came to Assateague in 1688. At times more than 200 people survived on the shifting sands, fishing or clamming or growing what crops they could. In 1833 the first lighthouse was built but ships still ran aground, including the Dispatch, the official yacht of five American presidents. The cruiser was ruined beyond repair when it reached the shore unscheduled on October 10, 1891. Assateague was connected to the mainland until 1933 when an August hurricane tore open an inlet to the Sinepuxent Bay that now separates Assateague from Ocean City. A bridge to the mainland opened in 1962 and in 1965 Assateague Island became a national seashore.
The Walks
Dogs are not allowed on the three short channel-side nature trails and can not go on lifeguarded beaches but that leaves miles of wide, sandy beaches to hike on with your dog any time of the year. Drive to the furthest parking lot from the entrance gate and head up the boardwalk across the dunes. Make a right and ahead of you will stretch hours of unspoiled canine hiking in the surf and sand. Although the national seashore is within a few hours’ drive of tens of million of Americans don’t be surprised if you have most of this beach to yourself and your dog - especially in the off-season.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Sand
Workout For Your Dog - Yes, hiking in sand is tough
Swimming - Absolutely - but pack your own sticks for the dog; not much driftwood stays on the beach
Restrictions On Dogs - Yes in campground but no on the nature trails, the sand north of the national seashore in the adjoing Assateague State Park is off limits to dogs
Something Extra
Assateague Island is the famous home of the free-roaming “Chincoteague Ponies,” a present-day reminder of Assateague Island’s past. Although no one is certain when or how the ponies first arrived on the island, a popular legend tells of ponies that escaped a shipwrecked Spanish galleon and swam ashore. However, most historians believe that settlers used the island for grazing livestock (including ponies and other farm animals) in the 17th Century to avoid fencing regulations
and taxation. The ponies rule the island and you can see them on the roads or even meet them in the surf.
Phone - (301) 874-2024
Admission Fee - Yes, good for 7 days
Directions - Berlin, Worcester County; north entrance is at the end of MD 611, eight miles south of Ocean City. When coming on to the island turn right and avoid going straight into the state park. No dogs allowed there.
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