U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Reviews

Nice area with an e enjoyable drive-thru loop. Great beach access although it was becoming crowded on a Monday a.m. at end of Sept.
Mosquitos were bad. Glad we had bug repellent!

The NWR was not what I expected (thought it would be bigger, and more like Assateague or Bombay Hook). The wildlife drive opens at 3 pm, and was nearly devoid of wildlife (August 31), but the pull off right before the beach offered some birding opportunities. The beach, and parking area were extremely nice, with pit toilets and changing facilities all through the parking lot. The beach itself was gorgeous, immaculately clean, and everyone was social distancing well. The little town was ok to drive through, but so much was closed due to covid. Hard to find anyplace to even eat.

Love visiting and seeing the ponies and other wildlife. The beach is nice too

Wow it's such an incredibly beautiful and diverse place if you love nature you have to see it!

I've been coming to the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge since I was a child. And every time there's something new to see. Seasonal birds, deer, ponies, foxes, the Delmarva skills, you see it all. And of course, the beach is lovely at any time of year. There's also a lot to do in Assateague: biking, hiking, bird watching, fishing, hunting during the fall (controls the deer populations) and so much more. Taking a wildlife tour in a bus or going on a boat tour is fun, especially because some of them do special tours at sunset or early in the morning. Going to the beach at night during the summer is great for stargazing.

Wide clean beaches, great bird watching, and yes there are ponies. The famous ponies are as beautiful as any to look at. Beware of the mosquito, this is a marshy area.

Love it at Chincoteague. I can go swimming at the beach and see the horses and the lighthouse on the way there. I can drive a little further and see even more horses at Assateague. If you go the week they swim the horses, you can watch the horses come across on a big screen, if you don't want to get out there really early. Then watch while the horses walk down the streets to the fairground where they have the auction. So beautiful & peaceful there.

Excellent (main) visitor center with information, customer service representative, and restrooms. Check with the visitor center to find out the locations of the horses, which could easily be missed while driving. The Assateague Lighthouse is a good stop but was closed and locked midweek in early March.

One of my favorite places to visit! Beautiful & peaceful! Visiting is a family tradition!

Great little beach to get away from the craziness of the city. Visited here for memorial day and couldn't have asked for a better weekend. No lines anywhere really and weather was nice too. Only place you get traffic is down Maddox Blvd. Even if it's backed up its not all that bad. First time vacationing here in about 10 years and it was nice to come back. Still fairly low key which is nice. No real nightlife here but that's okay I don't care for that anyway.

Beautiful beach and bayside. Visitors center had great staff working and informed us of programs. Stunning wildlife.

Great vacation place, the park and the sleepy little town.

Beautiful, well maintained, great beach and ponies easily seen. DO NOT TRY TO GET CLOSE! They are wild and will kick and bite!!

great beach with none of the rowdy commercialization. Chincoteague is the best!

Our favorite East Coast destination! Kid friendly, very scenic. Lots of pretty photo ops, walking baths, good food, and free parking. Wish there were more options for where to take our pets, haven't found a dog park or dog friendly beach yet.

Great family place..You never know what kind of wildlife you will see...Beach are a is also awesome.

beautiful scenery with many trails and great place for information. can spend a whole day here! recommend climbing the lighthouse

Love this place. Definitely a must for those who love wildlife. Visitor centers are well done and informative. Volunteers and staff are helpful.

A beautiful area to visit. Plenty of wildlife to observe. There are tons of great food options not to far off. In the non tourist season stuff slows down and it doesn't feel like a million people are crowding into a small llace.

Beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, due to a heat advisory it was way too hot to hike any trails. Be sure to get water and provisions prior to entering. The kids loved doing the junior ranger books and getting their badges at the nature center. The only ponies we saw were in the pony coral. If seeing horses is what you really want to do, drive up to Assateague National park in MD. Your $20 entrance fee is good for both places.

Nice weekend getaway and some beautiful horses and birds to watch. The kayaking experience was absolutely fun. The depth of the water body is hardly 4-5 feet near the shore and the water is calm making it an ideal place for beginners or family with children.

Check out the visitors center for free activities during the week, including hiking and bonfires at night. There are well maintained trails for walking and biking. The lighthouse tour is neat. $20 for access all week, and plenty of parking for the beach.

Beautiful place to enjoy nature's beauty and wildlife

Great walking trails; plenty of birds, even saw some ponies!

Awesome park. Great place for bird watching and of course the wild ponies!

Nothing else like this beautiful island, mesmerizing ...

Great park by the Ocean. All natural and a senic beauty

It is one of the most beautiful places. Visiting the lighthouseband the beach is so peaceful. One thing to be mindful of though is the bugs! When you visit make sure to take bug spray! Or the mosqitos will eat you alive. The changeing rooms near the beach are very convenient and its all in general a beautiful place

Had my wedding here, it was awesome. Wish they still had the day passes instead of paying for a week long pass I will never use. The year pass is only $20 more expensive and probably much more worth it

One of the most beautiful places I ever been on vacation besides Yellowstone. Plenty of horses and Sitka deer. Birds of all breeds and turtles oh my!

I love this clean, picturesque beach and the wild ponies!

Fabulous place to visit. Wild ponies, fox, snow geese, ducks, deer, bald eagles and numerous sea birds. It really is a refuge for all. We visited here two years in a row. Liked it so much we moved into town. Would recommend a vacation here to anyone.

Beautiful but be prepared with bug spray. Mosquitos are ridiculous!

Always come here. Very nice and educational. Customer service is a five star!

A great day trip from DC! About a little over a 3 hour drive. We drove straight to the beach and went for a long walk down the peninsula.

After lunch we came back into the park and went for a walk on a trail and WOW were there a TON of mosquitoes. We both doused ourselves with bug spray before going and still got eaten on the Woodland trail.

We drove the wildlife trail which was beautiful !

Keep your eyes peeled for horses!

A fabulous beach, impressive bike trails, and wild ponies! I love Chincoteague it s a little rough around the edges has two dollar stores, one bowling alley (Libertino Lanes is great fun and family friendly), and 27 cemeteries. Rent a house and stay a week let the island, water, and people grow on you.

Highly recommend taking the family there. Not exactly a beach vacation spot. Just natural settings and beauty. Bucolic almost. If you can ignore all the people. Ha-ha. I'm going back late September. Everything is cheaper and far fewer people.

this is Ron. The United States Park service and is definitely an out-of-the-way place to go however to see the wild horses in their natural environment is well worth the trip in addition there is a big beach on the Atlantic Ocean for sunbathing and swimming the wild horses are truly a magnificent site especially if you can get a up-close view of them

Always an awesome time , new adventure everytime we go.

Saw wild horses and it is Beautiful! It's buggy too so don't forget the deet.

Great place to enjoy nature of the eastern shore. Two visitor centers. A beautiful beach, that was really crowded

Amazing gem. Great alternative to OCMD if you for looking for something on a smaller scale that is more natural. Small beach town with a lot of charm next to the refuge. Lots to do in the park - lighthouse, nature trails, pony watching.

Everythingv we hoped it would be in seeing the wild ponies, and more.

Loved It! Read the books over and over when I was a child. It was all I hoped it to be. You should visit Assateague Island too. They are both amazing. One is more structured than the other. I got many, many picture; saw many ponies. Could have stayed there a week. At the time I went, a ticket at either one covered both.

This place is amazing, the beach is wonderful and there is plenty of parking and facilities to use. There are other activies in the refuge as well. The island near by is a wonderful place to stay, shop and dine.

Friendly yet Low key admosph that is not as busy as OC.

Very beautiful site. We saw the horses ready. The visit of the lighthouse was impressive.

I love this place, the beach is just steps from the parking lot. Besides there are diferent trails that you can follow and enjoy a view of the wildlife. The water is clean, since it is a protected area there are not hotels at the beach. However the hotels are very close at the city.

The "wild" horses are not wild to me when they ate behind fences! I can see that at home! Asoteague Island was much better!! The horses were everywhere!! In parking lots, by the road, on the beach and......NO FENCES!! So, if you want to see REAL wild horses, go to Asoteague Island.

The beach gets crowded fast. But the bike trails and hiking trails are beautiful.

A treasure! The ponies, the birds, the water...The place is majestic.

Beautiful area! We walked 12 miles in one day walking all the trails. Disappointed that the ponies are now restricted to only 1 area instead of roaming the island. I guess that's what happens when people don't follow rules, the animals suffer. Highlight of the trip was a boat ride from Wild Bill from Chincoteague island to Assateague island and area. Got to see great wildlife and hear a lot of local stories!

What a great spot to visit. I spent my summers as a kid on the island, and after 15 years I came back and fell in love all over again.