Some come for the peaceful beaches, others for the pristine landscapes, but what most people remember most from visiting Assateague are the wild horses — sitting right next to you on the beach.

By Elaine Casarella

It was ironic that I was visiting Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge when Ken Burns’ six-part series, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” happened to be airing on PBS. As I was watched, I couldn’t help to marvel at how he was once again opening our minds and hearts to a part of American that many of us take for granted. Just as he did with the Civil War and baseball, Burns was making an often overlooked feature of American heritage come alive by focusing not just on incredible visual images, but by breathing real life into the people who made it all happen.

Assateague, where I began my trip, is a barrier island that stretches 37 miles along the Maryland/Virginia shore, and was very close to not being a national park at all. In 1962, after being pounded by days by the infamous “Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962,” the island was a complete loss for the scores of developers hoping to turn the pristine coastline into valuable vacations estates. The federal government soon took the land over from the bankrupt speculators and designated the entire area a national park. Today, sitting on an undeveloped beach where wild horses and deer roam freely, a visitor can look north into the distance beyond the park’s borders and make out the towering hulks of hotels and resorts in nearby towns, grateful that someone had the foresight to protect the space.

Following Labor Day, the ocean waters are still warm but the summer crowds have long departed. Camping is allowed on the Maryland part of the island, and it is probably one of the few places in the world where travelers have the chance to be woken up by one of the wild horses that roam freely, scratching themselves — and often relieving themselves — against your shelter. The island is famously home to a feral population of horses. Descendants of 17th-century domesticated stocks, the National Park Service manages the Maryland herd while, curiously enough, the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company owns and manages the Virginia herd. (more…)