Char3

Has anyone stayed in a hotel near Assateague Island? My daughter wants to go there to see the wild horses, but we don't want to camp with 3 young children. Ocean City is near; however, there doesn't appear to be any "nice" hotels/resorts. Ideas?
Thanks

zztop

Ocean City has many nice hotels. If you don't know anything about the town, it is a strip that caters to families. The "downtown" area is older. Further up closer to Delaware are the high rise condos. There are hotels all along the 7 miles or so of O.C.

ronkala

Have you considered Berlin, MD? I have not stayed there, but check the Atlantic Hotel in Berlin. It is no further from Assateague than Ocean City and is 15 minutes from Ocean City. Their website , atlantichotel.com looks pretty nice. If you google Berlin, MD you may find others.

Char3

Thanks for the info...I will explore both options!

Katie2

Char--

There are not any wild horses on Assateague Island. There are wild ponies.

Tandoori_Girl

Just a word of advice -- my friend and her daughter wanted BADLY to do this. So they went to Assateague only to find that they were corralled (how appropriate -- the horses are wild and the people are penned) into a far-away spot where they barely could see anything. They were VERY disappointed.

Kingfisherqueen

We live in Maryland and have been to Assateague more times than I can remember. As a matter of fact, that's where I met my husband. There are actually two parks on Assateague in Maryland: the state park and the national park. We usually camp at the state park because the facilities are better. But for a day trip I would also consider the national park. At the state park you are limited to the day-use beach (which has bathhouses and a snack bar). It can get very crowded so getting there early is a good idea. The national park has short trails on the beach and through the salt marshes on the bay side. There are nice picnic areas overlooking the bay. You can also rent canoes to take through the marshes. A nice bike path runs beside the road for miles.

I'm really surprised your friend didn't see any horses Tandorigirl. We usually see them everywhere. In fact, sometimes they are a real pain. They will happily steal your food and trample on your blanket. Sometimes the stallions will fight on the beach right in front of you. And of course, they tend not to use the bathhouse facilities to do their business.

You are not allowed to touch the horses in any way or to feed them. People feeding them has, unfortunately, led to the death of many horses. They learn that if they stand in the road someone will give them food. If the lifeguards see you touching or feeding the horses they will kick you off the beach.

As to hotels, your kids would probably love Ocean City. There are tons of hotels along the beach. It's a very family-oriented place. We once stayed at the Atlantic Hotel in Berlin instead of camping in the rain. We loved it. It's an old Victorian-style hotel with a great restaurant in a pretty little town. It would be a good place to stay for a couple of nights if you don't care about being next to the beach.

Birdie

Salisbury, MD is another option for you. You will find better rates for hotels there and it isn't that far from Assateague. If you go during baseball season, the Shorebirds have a great minor league stadium in Salisbury which is a lot of fun for families.

Ozarksbill

Hey, Kingfisherqueen, did you corrall your wild husband I wonder? Actually, as you say these really aren't wild horses or at least some of them are wandering around on the parking lot looking for a handout.
We stayed in an Ocean City motel a year ago near the north end of town that was fine and there are plenty of family places. And Ocean City might be fun for the kiddies even if it is tacky. Or as said you could choose a nearby town.

ozarksbll

NJriverchick

Last September we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Chincoteague and were able to ride bicycles to see park & see the ponies.

The Hampton Inn is quite new and therefore everything is shiny and new. But the best part is that every room overlooks the water and I found it to be quite magical. From there you can walk to several restaurants and shops. I would stay there again.

ymn

There are lots of nice hotels in OC MD. You could ask the chamber of commerce for the names of the newer ones. When I was at Assateague the horses were on the beach. You might want to check with the park service to see where you would be most likely to see them.

asdaven

I went there in the off-season and there was a ton of wild horses. As soon as I crossed the bridge over to the island, I saw wild horses and deer. The place was teaming with wildlife, reminded me a little of yellowstone, with the bison, but instead horses close to the road!

Tandoori_Girl

I am so happy to hear that my friends were just ill-prepared and that you can actually see the horsies on Assateague. They must have really screwed up.

I will have to pretend that they know what they are talking about from now on and do due diligence behind their backs.