NPS #6: Wild Ponies & Assateague Island National Seashore

The children's book Misty of Chincoteague helped make the ponies on Assateague Island the most famous mammals on the island.  Some believe that the wild ponies of Assateague arrived on the island when a Spanish cargo ship sank off the coast and the horses swam to shore.  Others believe the wild ponies descend from colonial horses allowed to run loose.  While the history remains uncertain, I'm certain your kids will enjoy seeing wild ponies.

Some sites will call the famous ponies "wild horses" and others will call them "wild ponies".  They are called ponies because they fall under 14.2 hands (85 inches).  The ponies are feral animals, descendants of domestic animals that have reverted to a wild state, which roam freely and feed mainly on saltmarsh cord grass.  You can see them from a distance by visiting Assateague Island along the coast of Maryland or Virginia.  We visited from the Maryland side through the Assateague Island National Seashore.  According to Patricia Schultz’s book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, the Maryland side is the more popular entry point “Two-thirds of the island is in Maryland, where a good portion of the 2.5 million annual visitors gain access”.

The National Park Service dedicated the land as a national seashore in 1965.  For nine other National Seashores, visit my article.  Also visit the nps website for tips.  I should have read their tip to wear bug spray considering the mosquitos and biting flies.  We hiked to see the ponies from a viewing platform which was a beautiful site.  However, we paid for it in bug bites.

You can support the conservation efforts by fostering a horse through the Assateague Island Alliance.  You could also visit the Pony Penning Day auction in July.  Once a year a portion the Salt Water Cowboys from the Chicoteague Volunteer Fire Company round-up the ponies to swim across a channel at low tide and many are put up for action.

Assateague Island makes the list of the Smithsonian magazines "The Best Places to See Wild Horses in North America".  Five other places make the list:
1.  The Virginia Range (NV)
2.  Theodore Roosevelt National Park (ND)
3.  The Pryor Mountains (MT & WY)
4.  Outer Banks (NC)
5.  Sable Island, Nova Scotia (Canada)

Assateague has more to explore than just observing ponies.  Your kids will enjoy seeing or hearing the many birds on Assateague.  The island has over 320 species of birds.  This includes the piping plover, a threatened species that nests on the island.  Besides admiring wild animals, the island offers clamming, swimming, hiking, four wheel driving, and kayaking.  With so much diversity, it's no wonder that Assateague attracts over a million visitors per year.  

Lighthouse Lesson #9: Assateague Lighthouse in Virginia

Looking for a small workout while traveling and learning with the kids?  Climb the 175 steps of the Assateague Lighthouse in Virginia.  The steep stairs seemed like no challenge going up.  On the way down, the cast-iron spiral staircase challenged a few muscles going down.  Can you imagine the keeper taking oil up on an hourly basis?  Of course, our kids bounded down in fast fashion with seemingly no effort at all.

The view certainly makes the climb worth the effort.  You will get a view of Assateague and Chincoteague Islands and the Atlantic Ocean.  Look up at the light.  The lamp flash every five seconds and still brings safety to vessels between the Atlantic Coast and Cape Henlopen.  A nearby museum exhibits the original Fresnel light.

The view from the ground is also delightful.  The tall red-and-white striped lighthouse looks iconic.  At 142 feet high, the lighthouse is easy to see.  Noah Porter, who also built Ocracoke Lighthouse, constructed the original lighthouse in 1833.  The original stood only 45-feet tall and deemed not effective enough at that height.  The current lighthouse, constructed in 1867, took the light to a higher level.  The lights could then be seen 19 miles out to sea.  The red-and-white painting of the conical lighthouse didn't happen until 1968.

The lighthouse has connections to multiple organizations.  Your $5 fee will help support the lighthouse.  While the Coast Guard transferred the lighthouse to the Fish & Wildlife Service in 2002, the U.S. Coast Guard still maintains the active navigational light.  The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuse takes responsibility for preserving the lighthouse.  The non-profit Chincoteague National Historic Association restores the lighthouse and makes the lighthouse accessible to the public.  The lighthouse made the National Register of Historic Places list.

You can only tour the lighthouse between April and November.  Check the timing.  While open throughout the week during the summer, visits are limited to weekends in Spring and Fall.  Also, it closes during their lunch hour.  The Old Keepers Quarters moved offsite and not open to the public.

Lighthouse Lesson #2: Bodie Island Lighthouse

Bodie Island Light Station stands proud at 170 feet tall and noticeable with it's black and white stripes. It's iconic look likely helped it make the Frommers travel guide article list "7 All-American Lighthouses".

Did you know it's not the first Bodie Island lighthouse?  Marine safety is worth the continued effort for a structure to watch over the "Graveyard of the Atlantic."  A poor foundation caused the first Bodie Island lighthouse to be abandoned.  Confederate troops who feared the lighthouse would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War destroyed the second lighthouse.  The third lighthouse was built in 1872 and became part of the National Park Service in 1937.  The third time's the charm!

1937 was also the creation of the first national seashore.  Bodie Island Light Station is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first national seashore.  If you visit, consider timing your visit between the third Friday in April to Columbus Day in October.  That's when the park service allows visitors to climb the 214 steps to the top 70-foot structure.

Today the Keepers Quarters brick house also serve as one of the three Cape Hatteras visitor centers.  You can expect a small exhibit area and a bookstore.

Bodie remains as one of only a dozen remaining tall brick tower lighthouses in the United States.  It's also special because it still has it's original Fresnel lens.

Stay on the trails as signs warn of snakes.  Take the boardwalk leading from the lighthouse to an observation platform near marshes for another view.

If you love the National Park Service like me, take your kids to the other National Seashores too.  Not only will you learn about history, but also shoreline conservation.  Here's the other nine national seashores:
1) Assateague Island National Seashore (MD)
2) Canaveral (FL)
3) Cape Cod  (MA)
4) Cape Lookout (NC)
5) Cumberland Island (GA)
6) Fire Island (NY)
7) Gulf Islands (MS)
8) Padre Island (TX)
9) Point Reyes (CA)