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

I loved it because you could take a boat ride on the water and take pictures of beautifull things or places

Swarmed by mosquitoes. Only saw the ponies from about 500 yards away. Very disappointing.

Wonderful informative exhibits in The Visitor Center! Bike routes clearly marked for safe bicycling all the way to the ocean. Let's keep funding National Wildlife refuges because they hold a piece of our Collective Soul!

Biked the wildlife loop to the beach. What a great ride and view.

It was beautiful and clean. The Park is well kept and the Rangers were extremely friendly

Absolutely beautiful. Highly recommend visiting the wildlife center and the lighthouse. Great place to ride a bike or get in a hike.

I love visiting this beach. It has accessible bathrooms, good parking, and is very clean. One of my all time favorite beaches. I always visited on the off seasons ( fall and spring) and it was not crowded.

Best palace to take your family for a week vacation

Peaceful and serene. Beautiful wildlife & waterways

Absolutely my favorite place in the world sounded I was a child. Surfing, SUP'ing, swimming, kite flying, horses, sand, ocean, seagulls, trails, history.... What more could you ask for, for family, friends or self?!?!???

Such a fun, family-oriented and relaxing place to visit.

This place is breath takingly beautiful. It's an enjoyable experience for the entire family. The beach is gorgeous. We saw wild ponies within minutes of driving into the park. The staff at the visitors center and at the Wildlife center were friendly and informative. The nature trails are pretty. The light house is a must see, but be forewarned there are 175 steps to the top if you want to climb it. The beach is clean and awe inspiring.

This is a beautiful park. The horses are beautiful. We figured that we would have a hard time seeing them, but we saw several groups. The beach was packed. Had a great time even though we were only there for a couple of hours.

Great place to see history and wildlife. Climb the lighthouse if you get a chance.

An outstanding natural resource, perfect for birdwatching, hiking, fishing, crabbing, and all types of beach activities. Keep an eye out for the ponies that wander the island, and check out the lighthouse for a spectacular view of the island and surrounding area. Sunrise at the beach is an awe inspiring experience.

I love to visit during any season of the year. During our February visit we enjoyed seeing swans floating gracefully on the pond next to the Visitor's Center and two bald eagles flying over the beach. It was cool and breezy, but we dressed in layers and had a wonderful shoreline walk.

When you love the out doors, love to walk beaches, love to bike , love to kayak you cannot go wrong with Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The variety of birds is a birders dream. If you come across the locals they know the horses by name. A great place to visit any time of the year.

Very pretty area and nice to visit in winter; nice and quiet around that time and no mosquitos. Also reasonably close to DC if you want to take a long weekend out of town.

I love coming here. I hope other people get to see how amazing this place is.

I enjoy visiting every day no matter what time of year!

I love this park! There are not enough good words to say. I've been coming here since I was 16 and have made it a family tradition for my own family. You need to come for multiple days to get the most out of the park. Hopefully you will see the wild horses and other wildlife on your visit while also taking in a day at the beach. Sunsets are amazing!

Always have a wonderful time here. Perfect mix of hiking/biking trails through the marsh and long sandy beach! Keeps me coming back year after year.

Lovely refuge, be aware that cars may be pulled off the road to enjoy the wildlife- including wild ponies grazing in the meadow areas. Plenty of paths to walk and bike on, some allow vehicles after 3pm (but scooters are not allowed due to the noise of the engines).

Absolutely beautiful park! The lighthouse was grand, and had some signs to show the history behind it. The gazebo next to the light house would be great for pictures! The scenery was fantastic - even in the midst of winter! We walked along the beach, found some shells, and got pretty close to some seagulls! We also passed 2 herds of wild horses that we could see from the road, they were grazing by the marshes at sunset, and it was beautiful! I wish I had my camera!

Beautiful. Saw a few horses, a toad, a snake, and a lot of birds!

This is a terrible place that everyone should stay away from. Sand, flies, sunburn, await. Stay home surfing the internet and eating junk food.

One of the best places on Earth. Unspoiled and authentic. Beautiful, with wild ponies everywhere.

Live the outdoors you can take long walks or ride in your car and see all kinds of wildlife there

Overbuilt...sad what they have done to such a beautiful area...Shame!
One wildlife area of mention.

Beautiful but I wish there was a way to get closer to the horses. In MD they walk the streets and the beach. I loved it. Chincoteague is beautiful.

Interesting area, and we even got to see a few horses! The ladies at the visitor center were very friendly and informative.

Had a great time visiting the park. We even had some ponies nearby to see.

Great place to spend family time. We absolutely love it. There are so many things to do.

Had am amazing beach day imcluding seeing a seal sunbathing. This beach is so beautiful and pristine.

It s best to rent or ride your own bike from the town of Chincoteague to the refuge. A separate path runs parallel to the road. The loop road is closed to cars until 3 PM, so bikes are prevalent. The loop road has a spur leading to a beach where cars are prohibited.

Amazing ponies, knowledgeable staff and very interesting subject matter of the salt water cowboys

My happy place, but the mosquitos and horse flies will eat you alive in the summertime. Come prepared!

I want to go back and see more of the horses and this is part of the barrier islands. If you enjoy nature and the ocean this just might be the place for you.

The horses are behind fences and they herd them up and sell them off each year. They talk about the free ponies but in what definition is that freedom?

This place is just wonderful! We go in the spring and fall to avoid the bugs and the hoards of tourists and the refuge is a must-do every time.

The Maryland side is much better with more space for camping, beach goers and the horses.

Best beach on Chesapeake bay. Clean and calm. It's not happening place but good for sit back and relax.

A really nice park to visit. Lots of trails for walking or biking.

Great place, beach was great, light house great views from the top.

Absolutely loved it here!! Cannot wait to come back!

I actually visited Assateague Island and Chincoteague Island this trip. I felt the later provides more activities for the visitors. Also there are more restaurants on Chincoteague Island. I actually saw more(20-30) wildhorses on Chincoteague Island compared to just a handful at Assateague Island.

Beautiful wildlife refuge with a clean and long soft sand beach and ample parking

Nice trail, could be marked a little better, nice view from area around lighthouse.

Oooh, I simply love this place! Beware of the wood trail, I was eaten alive by mosquitos. But that's I price I willingly pay (and my fault for not thinking of repellent). So much nature to see and discover. So beautiful empty beaches. Just a wonderful place!

Lots to do! Lighthouse, Visitor Center, Great Beaches!

It's a beautiful place to visit if you wanna see wild horses

Beautiful. Excellent Visitor Centers. Ponies like to hide, but we saw some!

Absolutely love Chincoteague! We visit about 2 times annually. If you're looking for a small town, slow paced, family environment I highly recommend Chincoteague. You're vacation options on the island are diverse. Have a beach day, water park day at Maui Jack's, hiking, fishing, free museums for those rainy days, and reasonably priced local eats. It's only an hour from Ocean City, Maryland so we usually spend an evening on the boardwalk. Can't forget to visit the ponies! Even on a busy day Chincoteague is relaxing!

Great beach. Nice trails and canals. Got some great views of the ponies. Make sure to visit the park visitor center some great displays and cool gifts. Ask about some of the guided tours. Well worth it.

We drove up from Virginia Beach and spent the day here with the kids. Yes there are mosquitoes, you are in an outdoor, wooded area after all, so definitely bring bug spray. We were able to see the ponies. The beach is beautiful.

So much to see and do.... you can not see it all in one day though.... great place for a vacation... and seeing the ponies was a added bonus...we will be back again

Whats not to love...beach, ponies, birds , trails , ocean and lots of other wildlife. Get on out there

My kids and I stayed at the Chincoteague Island KOA in our camper. The site was rather small, but overall great accommodations. The island is beautiful and we come here every few years. Awesome beach, good fishing, totally decent restaurants and an overall good time.

Beautiful. Our favorite spot with kids to visit. We have stayed on Maryland side but there is more to do on VA side. Biking, cute town, beaches, museums, walks and talks.

A must to see, wild pony s and horses. Awesome view from the lighthouse.. only complaint are the mosquitoes so bring bug spray they will eat you alive

My all time favorite beach on the east coast on the barrier island of Assateague. Yes, where the wild ponies are. A natural beach, no high-rise hotels, no gift shops, no food shacks, just a pristine, fine sand beach with naturalist education stations, simple parking, and outdoor showers.