Have you ever dreamed of seeing wild ponies in their natural habitat? Especially after reading a certain book by Marguerite Henry that’s been around since 1947? Me too! Let’s talk about it.

Welcome to episode 37 of the Ready Set Depart Podcast. We are so glad you’re here!

Before this trip, I honestly thought everyone had read Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, but it turns out, not as many people as you think have either heard of the book or know about the Chincoteague ponies.

But if you’re looking for a fun weekend on the coast of Virginia for your family who may or may not have horse obsessed people in it, then this is the one for you! 

But first let’s talk about the logistics…

Where is Chincoteague, Virginia?

Chincoteague is a coastal town on the northeast tip of Virginia. The island is protected by the mostly uninhabited Assateague Island that acts as a protective barrier. With around 3,200 permanent residents, Chincoteague is a very small town with a lot of personality.

The closest major airport is Norfolk International Airport that is about a 2 hour drive away.

If you’re driving from a major nearby city, here’s how long it will take:

• Washington, DC is about 4 hours away.

• Baltimore, Maryland is close to 5 hours.

• Richmond, Virginia is about 4-½ hours away.

• And Dover, Delaware is about a 2-½ hour drive.

Wherever you’re coming from, this quiet island town is the best family getaway!

Where should you stay in Chincoteague?

While there are nice looking motels and inns, there are also a lot of Airbnbs in the area that we liked. 

When coming to the Island, remember that while there are some small grocery stores, if you need a lot of food or supplies, you’ll need to stop before you get there.

What can you do in Chincoteague?

See the famous Chincoteague ponies

For me, the most important thing to see was the Chincoteague ponies. You see, when I was a horse-obsessed 10-year-old, I didn’t enjoy reading that much, but I could be talked into reading a book about horses, so that’s why I first read Misty of Chincoteague. It’s a story about a brother and sister who buy and gentle a wild Chincoteague pony named “The Phantom” and her filly, Misty. 

And after reading the book, I would dream of being with those kids, Phantom, and Misty and breathing in the salty sea air with them. 

While doing a little research, I found that the best way to see the ponies was on a boat tour. There are a lot of different tour operators on the island but we went with the Salty Pony boat tour because they had good reviews on Google and a good website. 

And Captain Henry and Calvin, both natives to Chincoteague, were so great! We saw about 20 ponies in two of the four family groups on the island. We even saw two dolphins as we were leaving the harbor.

They were knowledgeable and respectful of the ponies and we thoroughly enjoyed it! (Brent and Trooper because we went really fast on the way back in and me because of the ponies!)

But if you don’t want to do a boat tour, you still have a good chance of seeing them from the hiking trails or even from the road through the Refuge. 

In the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, you can hike Woodland Trail to the Bivalve Trail and see the ponies.

We’ll talk more about hiking in a minute.

You can also see the ponies from your car on Beach Road in the Refuge. On the first day of driving that road, we saw Beach Boy, one of the stallions of the island and then the next day, we saw a family group. 

Keep your eyes peeled as you drive along but a really easy way to see if the ponies are close is to watch for people pulled off the side of the road. They lovingly call this a wildlife traffic jam in Yellowstone but it is a good way to know that something is there. 

But please remember to always respect the animals! This is their home, not yours. I once heard it said that if you can stretch your arm out and cover the animal with your thumb, you are far enough away. 

As I’m recording this, two brothers were just attacked and seriously injured in Yellowstone by a grizzly bear. Then a week later, there were wolves and a grizzly at a bison kill in Yellowstone and the Rangers told people to leave and the people yelled at the Rangers instead of leaving. I understand that seeing wildlife is amazing and one of the reasons we often go to National Parks, but I guess I’m just saying that the best thing we can do is respect that this is their home and let them stay wild. 

If you happen to be in Chincoteague on the last Wednesday and Thursday of July, you can witness the Pony Swim.

Basically, the volunteer firefighters round up all of the Chincoteague Ponies and their babies - they can keep 120 adults - and they swim them across a narrow part of the Assateague Channel when the tide is “slack”, meaning not going in or going out. 

They check over the adults and give them their immunizations, and then they separate the babies that are old enough, and they sell them off.

Captain Henry said that last year, they sold 100 babies and made $1 million. The volunteer firefighters use the money they earn to take care of the ponies. He also said that people love Chincoteague ponies for lesson horses for a couple of reasons. They are hardy and smart. And it’s good for marketing to say that you have a Chincoteague Pony.

Wouldn’t that be fun?

Go to the Assateague Lighthouse

The Assateague lighthouse is an adorable red and white striped lighthouse just inside the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The lighthouse was built in 1832 with the first lighting being in 1833. It proved to be too short to see over the island’s pine trees so it was rebuilt in the 1860’s.

But now it is tall enough to be seen 19 miles out to sea and it is still in use today. 

You can walk up the 175 steps to get breathtaking views - or is it the climb up the steps that are breathtaking - in the summer on Fridays and Saturdays, though it might be open at other times as well.

To get to the lighthouse, you have to walk along a short trail from the road. The trail is dirt - so therefore hiking - so if you can help it, don’t take a stroller on it. It’s a loop trail but we felt that going to the lighthouse on the left side was better - not as much up and down. You WILL need bug spray though. Those mosquitoes are VICIOUS!

Speaking of hiking… 

There are a few fun hikes in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge along with some biking trails. 

The Wildlife Loop Trail is a wonderful way to see, well, wildlife. You can walk or bike the 3 mile trail any time of the day, but from 3 pm to dusk, cars are also allowed on the trail. We just happened to get there at 3 pm and decided to drive it. 

We saw lots of wildlife on our drive. There were turkeys, muskrats, snapping turtles, red winged blackbirds, and countless other birds. Oh and we also saw an almost black squirrel. I think it was the endemic Delmarva peninsula fox squirrel but it looked a lot like the black squirrels that we saw in Niagara Falls last year. Check out episode 28 to hear all about it! 

The road wraps around the Snow Goose Pool so I would assume that it is VERY popular in the fall when the Snow Goose come to the Refuge in the thousands!

The Woodland Trail is a 1.75 mile kid friendly, and wheelchair friendly, trail that takes you through a beautiful pine forest. Don’t forget your bug spray and check for ticks after this one, but here’s the best part of this trail, other than the beauty.

About half way through the hike, you will find the turn off for the Bivalve Trail. This trail is only 0.15 miles to the fence that borders the ponies' land. When we were on our boat tour, we saw a group of ponies right alongside the fence, and we could see people at the fence. These horses don’t interact with people, nor should you try to interact with them, but take a look at our website to see how happy the people were who got so close to the ponies.

Go to the Hebert Bateman Educational & Administrative Center. 

It acts as the Visitor Center for the National Refuge. There are some interesting exhibits there along with volunteers and Rangers. The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is run by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. But the Assateague Island National Seashore is run by the National Park Service.

The Refuge and Seashore share the same island with the Assateague Island National Seashore encompassing the Refuge. 

So, what does this mean for you? It means that you and your family could get both a Junior Ranger badge and a Junior Refuge Manager Patch.

Trooper is over 12 now, so some of those Junior Refuge Manager questions were suddenly a lot harder than I expected. They were kind though and helped us with the ones we couldn’t figure out.

Are you a bird watcher?

If you are, then you’ve heard of Chincoteague because it is a prime location for birding!

In the summer, the piping plovers and dunlins are there. And in the early winter, the snow geese dot the landscape. 

It seems like a bird watcher’s paradise!

Or maybe you love the beach?

I kept hearing about how much moms loved Assateague Beach because it was sheltered and the water was warm and then we went there and I didn’t see the sheltered or warm part. In fact, it looked quite dangerous!

But then I noticed the beach behind that beach and I got what they meant. Let me explain.

As you drive out to the beach, you will see a beach in front of you. It is long and windy and the Atlantic Ocean stretches in front of you. That’s an ok beach but not great for moms with sheltered and warm water. But behind you is the perfect beach. It’s not as big as the one you were on but it is sheltered and the water is warmer. There aren’t any waves. It would be perfect for a little one!

You can also drive on the beach here but you have to get a special permit at the visitor center. And be advised that that part of the beach disappears at high tide. 

And you can find rockets there!

We were surprised about the rocket thing too but the NASA Wallops Flight Facility is just 15 minutes inland and they have a cute museum that will interest those of your family who love that sort of thing. Be advised that it is only open Thursday - Saturday so when we tried to visit on Sunday, we were sorely disappointed! So definitely double check the days before you go… unlike us. 

And that is why you and your family should take a long weekend and go to Chincoteague, Virginia. Come to think of it, it might even be a great place for the grandparents too. Misty of Chincoteague was written in 1947 after all.

Don’t forget to check out our website for links and pictures.

And if you want a little reminder of Chincoteague after your trip, we even created a new design inspired by our time on the island. Get yours here!

And as always, let’s keep making traveling with your family easier, one trip at a time. See ya next time.