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Posted in Maryland August 02, 2023 by Megan Shute

Watch Wild Horses Roam Free As You Explore Assateague Island National Seashore In Maryland

From deer and moose to bears and bison, there are countless incredible opportunities to view wildlife throughout the United States. There are even destinations where you can witness wild horses in their natural habitats. Today, we are going to explore one of those places with you.

As soon as we learned we would be moving to Maryland from Hawaii, I started creating an East Coast bucket list. In the two years we’ve lived here, we’ve visited some incredible places in Maryland and the surrounding states — like the charming capital of Annapolis, and New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia. We even took an AI-generated road trip through Gettysburg and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until recently, though, that we were able to check off one of the most exciting experiences off our list of travel-musts — a visit to Assateague Island National Seashore. Not to be confused with the neighboring Assateague State Park, Assateague Island National Seashore is just as beautiful as I imagined it to be, wild horses and all.

Interested in more first-person adventure content? Check out our Everyday Explorers series here.

Our morning began at the Assateague Island Visitor Center, where we learned all about the history and wildlife of the 37-mile barrier island.

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My daughter loved seeing the touch tank full of crabs and other ocean creatures. Beyond the Visitor Center, a deck provides expansive views of Sinepuxent Bay and Assateague Island before you cross the bridge to the island.

Once you cross the bridge, you'll take a right to enter the National Park, where we saw horses on the side of the road. We provided our National Parks Pass and were on our way, but without the pass, you'll be charged a $25 per vehicle entrance fee.

There are three main hiking trails within Assateague Island National Seashore: the Dunes Trail, Forest Trail, and Marsh Trail.

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We started with the Life of the Marsh Trail, a beautiful half-mile boardwalk trail with expansive views.

Along the trail, we stopped and admired the wild horses grazing in the wetlands.

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Enjoy watching these majestic creatures and feel free to snap photos, but keep in mind that you must give them space. Do not attempt to pet or feed the wild horses.

Check out the Life of the Marsh Trail on AllTrails for more information.

With horses in the distance and sunshine on my face, I could have stood here and enjoyed the view for hours.

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Next up was the Life of the Forest Trail.

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Be sure to bring bug spray on this one -- the mosquitoes were thick.

Another half-mile boardwalk trail, this forest trail was serene and stunning.

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Learn more about the Life of the Forest Trail on AllTrails. See more of our hike on the OnlyInYourState YouTube channel.

After two short hiking trails, we decided to hit the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

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We set up at South Beach, which was quite busy on the summer Saturday we visited, but beautiful nonetheless.

We didn't see any horses on the beach, but we did see them grazing as we drove out of the park and towards our next destination: Ocean City.

Want to learn more about Assateague Island? Have you ever seen horses in the wild? Share your experiences with us in the comments, then check out the campground in West Virginia where you can watch wild horses roam.

To discover more incredible boots-on-the-ground adventures across America from our team of local travel experts, check out all of the articles in OnlyInYourState’s Everyday Explorers series. What destinations would you like to see featured next? Tell us where we should go on our nominations page.

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.

Megan Shute

With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.

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