We recently took a road trip to Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and had fun exploring the area. We were pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of fun and free (or nearly free) things to do in Assateague and Chincoteague.

Disclaimer:

Most of these activities are in Assateague National Seashore, so you will need to pay a $20 fee per vehicle to enter Assateague National Seashore (good for 7 days), or use your National Parks Annual Pass. We totally recommend getting the pass- you can easily get your money’s worth just visiting a couple sites in the National Parks system. Even if you opt for the $20 fee, it’s good for a week, which makes multiple visits very affordable. If you walk or ride a bicycle into Assateague NS there is no entrance fee. Because the cost per visit is low, I’m classifying it as nearly free for the purposes of this list.

8 Family-Friendly Fun and Free (or Nearly Free) Things To Do in Assateague and Chincoteague

1. Climb the Assateague lighthouse

The lighthouse offers a great view of the surrounding area, including the causeway from Chincoteague to Assateauge. The climb up and down the spiral staircase can be a bit dizzying, though (River wasn’t a fan). The interior can also get pretty hot in the summer, and they will close it if it gets too hot. It was a hot day when we visited and the cool breeze at the top sure felt good. This is still a working lighthouse, so you can’t go up to the lens, but you can walk around the exterior walkway just below the lens.

There’s no fee to climb the lighthouse, though it is in Assateague NS, so see the disclaimer above.

2. Ride a beach cruiser from Chincoteague to Assateague

Speaking of the causeway, there’s a dedicated bike path on the causeway so you can ride your bike from Chincoteague to Assateague. There are bike lanes or bike paths through much of Chincoteague and Assateague and you can even ride your bike to the beach on Assateague Island. Bike racks abound (even at the beach!) so you can easily hop on and off your bike. There is no fee to enter Assateague when riding a bike.

This is free if you bring your own bike and averages about $4/hour to rent one from one of several local rental companies.

3. Go to the recreational beach near Tom’s Cove on Assateague Island

There’s white sand to play in, shells to find, and lots of fun to be had in the water. We brought a boogie board and all had a lot of fun with that.

There are outhouses and changing booths, and some showers that kind of rinse the sand off. The spray wasn’t really sufficient to clean much, but it was better than nothing when trying to rinse off little boys who had rolled around in the sand while wet.

The beach is free, but as with all activities on Assateague Island, you do need to pay the park entrance fee (see the disclaimer above).

4. Go birding

Bring a birding guide from home or purchase one from the Chincoteague National Wildlife Preserve Visitor Center. The visitor center is located near the Assateague lighthouse and the staff and volunteers are a great source of information regarding local birds and wildlife. You can even borrow a pair of binoculars free of charge to get a better look at the birds and wildlife.

There is so much variety in the waterfowl in the Chincoteague and Assateague area. This area is on the Atlantic Flyway and many birds stop to rest, eat, or even spend the winter. Use the birding guide to help you identify some of the many varieties you will see. I know very little about birds, but I do know that I saw some I’d never seen anywhere else.

5. Watch the wild ponies

The famous Chincoteague ponies actually live on Assateague Island and are divided into two herds- one lives on the Maryland side of the island, and the other lives on the Virginia side of the island. The Virginia herd is the one that is rounded up for the annual Pony Swim to Chincoteague.

Assateague NS has a couple pony viewing areas. We were able to see them from the Woodland Trail loop as well as from Beach Road, the road that goes to the beach near Tom’s Cove. There’s a pull off area next to the road near an area the herd frequents, and we were able to get a better view of the ponies from there than from the lookout spot on the hike.

6. Junior Ranger program and Ranger-led activities

Junior ranger programs are great for learning about whatever national park site you’re at. They usually have a requirement to participate in a ranger-led activity, and we have learned a lot from those as well. On this occasion we walked through the salt marsh next to the visitor center and looked for signs of native animals.

7. Take a hike

There are a several hiking trails in Assateague, and about half of them are paved, making them very accessible. We hiked the Woodland Trail loop and the Bivalve trail that branches off the Woodland Trail. The Woodland Trail has a wildlife viewing area and the unpaved Bivalve trail took us down to the water, where we walked along the beach and saw quite a number of horseshoe crab shells and other wildlife.

8. Visit NASA’s Wallops Island Visitor Center

NASA’s Wallops Island Visitor Center is just a couple miles outside Chincoteauge. During the the summer they offer a variety of free STEAM programs during the day and astronomy programs at night. We caught the tail end of a wind tunnel demonstration that the children were able to participate in. There are also rocketry and weather balloon displays and a gift shop. There is no admission fee to the visitor center.

Bonus: Last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July

Watch the swimming of the ponies on Wednesday and the auction on Thursday, just as described in the book “Misty of Chincoteague”. Be prepared for large crowds, though.

Double Bonus: Watch a rocket launch

Check the main Wallops website for upcoming launches (there weren’t any when we visited). There are many great viewing sites at the visitor center, in Chincoteague and the surrounding areas. Be prepared for larger crowds when a larger rocket is launching than when a sounding rocket is going up.

Have you visited Assateague and Chincoteague? What was your favorite free activity? I also wrote a post with other fun things to do that will cost you a bit more than the activities on this list.