Assateague Island

The island runs about fifty-five kilometres of dune, marsh and beach with no development, and it holds two separate horse populations divided by a fence on the Maryland-Virginia line - the Maryland herd is managed by the Park Service and left alone, while the Virginia herd is owned by a fire company and rounded up annually. How they got there is unsettled: the romantic version has them swimming from a wrecked Spanish galleon, and the documented one has colonists putting livestock on the island to avoid mainland fencing laws and taxes; the second is better supported. The horses are wild, kick and bite, and the park issues repeated warnings. Mosquitoes here are severe enough to be a defining feature.

What you actually see

• Two horse herds - divided by a fence at the state line.
• Fifty-five kilometres of undeveloped island - dune, marsh and beach.
• A contested origin story - shipwreck versus tax avoidance.
• Genuinely wild animals - which kick, bite and are not to be fed.

When to go

April to June and September to October; summer mosquitoes are severe. A full day.

Honest expectations

Mosquitoes and biting flies in summer are punishing. Horses cause injuries every year when people approach them. Storms overwash the island and close roads. Camping is exposed with no shade.

Nearby

Ocean City is north; Chincoteague is at the Virginia end.