Assatague Island National Seashore

[bzymom]

Hi,

Well plans arwe beiining to take shape, it looks like three days in Williamsburg/ Jamestown /Busch Gardens area.I just need to decide what are the must see's in Jamestown and Yorkstown and how long those two will take. What do we want to make sure to see?


Next up we had planned 4 days at Virginia Beach - First Landing State Park. Now some folks have said we must see Assatgore National Park and the wild horses................................so now I am confused, we cant do both or can we.These same folks have told us that Virginia Beach is akin to a carnival town, (dont kill the messenger!) So, now my newest dilemnia is which way to go. We will have a total of 20 days - four of them travel...................its a long drive from WI

The last leg of our journey will take us to the OBX. The final destination / campground yet to be determined.

[Gone-Camping]

In the Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown area (Historic Triangle) you should give yourself about 3 days, one day for Busch Gardens, maybe a second day for Watercountry USA (if you have kids) then a full day on the historic triangle, which the three area's are connected via the Colonial Parkway. Start at Jamestown, visit the ships and the fort, then head to Williamsburg (the biggest of the three), there are several period buildings, forts etc worth visiting. Then spend a few hours at Yorktowns Victory Center. That museum is relatively small, but well worth the visit. I believe you can get one ticket to cover all of these places (including Busch Gardens and Water Country).
 
Then head for Va Beach, I wouldn't spend more than one or two days there, it's usually crowded, and very busy. However, now that summer is over, it'll be quieter on the weekdays. There is only so much beach you can do before getting burned up anyway. The boardwalk is nice, but once you've walked it a couple of times you'll have seen it all. Va Beach's biggest draw is probably cruising the strip, teens in cars by thousands. The city has gone to great trouble to stop all this, by limiting travel on Atlantic Ave to 2 passes in any 3 hour time, plus they have cameras and stuff everywhere (big brother is watching)...
 
Head across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) for Assateage after that, spend a couple of days there. I've never been there, so can't tell you much about it, but I know they have wild ponies there...but they have wild ponies in Corolla Beach NC too!!! The CBBT is an interesting drive in itself, you can't see the other end! It's 21 miles of bridge-tunnel network, and a hefty toll ($12 for car only...add extra for trailers)...
 
BTW, Cape Hatteras National Seashore is only about 2 hours or so from Va Beach, might be worth checking out too!!!

[bzymom]

Thanks for the information on The willilamsurg area? can youreccemned good places to eat? while driving the colonial parkway?

I have been reading quite a bit about the night/ghost walks....have you heard any buzz on which is better?


If we go to Assotagore, we will miss First Landing State Park..is it worth the trade off?


If we do that ( skip First Landing, we would probably go Williamsburg, Assastogore, Cape Hatteras.................

[tlhdoc]

Where are you starting at?  Assateague is north of Williamsburg and Cape Hatteras.  It would make more since to go there first or last.  

Assateague Island is in Maryland and Virginia.  The MD end of the island has the National Sea Shore and a State Park.  The horses wonder freely in the MD end of the island and you can camp in either of the parks.  The VA end of the island in about an hours drive south.  You go through Chincoteague VA to get onto Assateague Island.  Assateague is a Federal Wild Life Refuge in VA.  The horses there are owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Co. and are fenced to keep them in certain areas.  There isn't any camping on Assateague in VA but there is camping on Chincoteague Island.  If you want to see the wild horses I recommend that you go to the MD end of the island.  Both ends of the island are nice and Chincoteague has a lot of small shops.

We camp there a couple of times each year if you have any questions about the park.

[Gone-Camping]

Not sure about anyplace to eat along the Colonial Parkway, that is a National Park Service roadway, no commercial business, no commercial vehicles etc... However, at any point along the Parkway you are only minutes away from civilization, and Williamsburg has too many great places to eat to mention here.

[Unregistered]

We are coming from the land of cheese, brats and beer - Wisconsin. I'm not sure which way to go- which way to start first - orginally we were going to go to Williamsburg, then First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, then the Outer Banks. Now my curiousity has been peaked by Assateague, we would like to spend 1-2 nighs camping on the MD side on the beach at the national park...............How is the camping on the MD side? is it true you park righ ton the beach? This would be a new experience for the teens in our famiy.any information would be helpful... as I try to decide whether or not this additional side trip would be worth it. Thanks,,Nancy

Where are you starting at?  Assateague is north of Williamsburg and Cape Hatteras.  It would make more since to go there first or last.  

Assateague Island is in Maryland and Virginia.  The MD end of the island has the National Sea Shore and a State Park.  The horses wonder freely in the MD end of the island and you can camp in either of the parks.  The VA end of the island in about an hours drive south.  You go through Chincoteague VA to get onto Assateague Island.  Assateague is a Federal Wild Life Refuge in VA.  The horses there are owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Co. and are fenced to keep them in certain areas.  There isn't any camping on Assateague in VA but there is camping on Chincoteague Island.  If you want to see the wild horses I recommend that you go to the MD end of the island.  Both ends of the island are nice and Chincoteague has a lot of small shops.

We camp there a couple of times each year if you have any questions about the park.

[tlhdoc]

The National Park has four camping areas.  A group campsite for organized groups.  Bay side drive-in, which is on the bay side of the island.  Ocean side walk in, which is for tenters and Ocean side drive in which is for tents or RVs.  We camp in the ocean side drive in section of the campground.  There is one big sand dune between you and the ocean.  You are not on the beach, but you are right next to it.  There are board walkways that go up over the dune to the beach.  The down side to the National Park is that they only have cold water showers and chemical toilets.  If you can handle that then the camping is great.  You can go to the beach, have a campfire on the beach or on the bay side you can canoe, clam and crab.   The horses and seka (european elk, that are smaller than whitetail deer) come right into the camp sites.  There are different bands of horses and sometimes you get to see some action between the stallions.  It is worth taking a day trip to the VA end of the island, especially if you like birding.

[bzymom]

Thanks, you have been very helpful. It sounds like we want to be on the MD side...............now, are the bayside sites right on the bay? or are they sperated by dunes I guess in my mind I was picturing driving right  onto the beach and camping. We have a 2 canoes , can we use them onthe bay side? Where will we have a better chance of seeing the horses. We will be comig late July ( barring ay hurricanes) will they be deep in the marsh grass trying to escape the heat?

We are coming from the land of cheese, brats and beer - Wisconsin. I'm not sure which way to go- which way to start first - orginally we were going to go to Williamsburg, then First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, then the Outer Banks. Now my curiousity has been peaked by Assateague, we would like to spend 1-2 nighs camping on the MD side on the beach at the national park...............How is the camping on the MD side? is it true you park righ ton the beach? This would be a new experience for the teens in our famiy.any information would be helpful... as I try to decide whether or not this additional side trip would be worth it. Thanks,,Nancy

[tlhdoc]

You are closer to the water on the oceanside.  I don't think you would want to camp right on the beach, because the beach isn't very wide and you could end up in the ocean at high tide. :yikes:   I don't think you will be disappointed by camping there and you are more likely to have an ocean breeze to cool you off and keep the mosquitoes away.  The bayside is further away from the water.  You can use your canoes in the bay and swim, crab, and go clamming.