Bikes are a great way to get around Assateague Island National Seashore, both in the Maryland and the Virginia sections of the park. While there are no mountain bike or off-road trails, there are plenty of roads and paved trails to ride on.
MARYLAND
A bike lane separated from the vehicle lane runs from the Assateague Island National Seashore Visitor Center all the way to the turnoff to the Oceanside Campground
There are no specific paved trails for biking in the Maryland section of Assateague Island National Seashore, but you can ride on the park roads, many of which have bike lanes. In fact, a bike lane separated from the vehicles by a wooden rail runs all the way from the Assateague Island Visitor Center on the mainland to the turnoff for the Oceanside Campground inside the park. Even then, a non-separated bike lane runs to the campground and on to South Ocean Beach, making it possible to get to all beaches and the most popular campground without riding in the street. The bike lanes make it as safe as possible for kids to bike to their favorite places as well.
Past the turnoff to the Campground there is no bike lane on the main park road. I am usually not a proponent for riding a bike on the street. Drivers are now talking on phones, watching movies, and texting. My life is worth more than a bike ride. However, the cars in the park drive pretty slowly, so I would have no problem riding on the roads that did not have a bike lane, but I wouldn’t want my kids doing so.
VIRGINIA
Officially, there isn’t much of Assateague Island National Seashore in Virginia other than the actual seashore. The majority of the land is part of Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, and most activities in the area fall within its borders. Because most visitors make no distinction between the Seashore and the Refuge, National Park Planner has included reviews of the trails in the Refuge, many of which are paved and open to biking. A list of paved trails follows—please see the individual trail reports for more information.
For bikers who want to see the entire Chincoteague Refuge, or at least the part open to people (which is just the trails), I have a bike route that gets you everywhere, including the hiking trails. The tour takes about four hours.
First, visit Toms Cove Visitor Center and pick up a trail map. You can actually park here and bike the Refuge, which would make the most sense.
- Bike to the Woodland Trail (or drive and park in the parking lot) and bike this trail.
- Bivalve Trail—this trail is a spur off of the Woodland Trail. Park your bike at the trailhead and walk. It’s only .3 mile round trip, and it is the only trail that takes you to Toms Cove.
- Bike down the street from the Woodland Trail and take the Black Duck Trail to the Wildlife Loop Road.
- You can bike the Wildlife Loop Road in either direction, but I went counterclockwise. If you do this, the first trail you will come to is the Swan Cove Trail.
- Bike the Swan Cove Trail to the end. This trail leads to the beach. You can park your bike and visit the beach if you want to. It is a short walk farther down the trail.
- Continue around Wildlife Loop Road to the Marsh Trail. This is a hiking trail that comes out farther down the Wildlife Loop Road, so you will have to walk back to your starting point along the road.
- Continue down Wildlife Loop Road until you come to a parking area. You have two routes to take.
- On the far right side of the lot closest to the woods is a path that leads to the Assateague Channel—I call it the Assateague Channel Trail, though it has no official name. Definitely take this, as it takes you to a nice place to take photos.
- When you return to the parking lot, to the left as you exit out of the lot and back onto the main road is another path. Take this to get to the Lighthouse Trail.
- The Lighthouse Trail is located on the other side of the main road and is for hiking only. Park your bike at the parking lot and walk the short trail to see the Assateague Lighthouse.
- Once done at the lighthouse, cross the main road to get back to the bike path. You can continue farther down the path to the Herbert Bateman Educational and Administrative Center, but there’s not much to see, so just return the way you came and get back onto the Wildlife Loop Road.
- Take the Black Duck Trail back to your car.
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on October 2, 2023