Assateague Island is a beautiful refuge of sandy beaches, salt marshes, maritime forests and coastal bays, located only 10 miles south of Ocean City. The Island is protected, as a National Seashore and State Park, and includes Assateague in Maryland and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia (which are 50 miles apart, by car!). There are some good running options here, including the extensive beach, several paved bicycle and walking paths, and some more rugged trails. Note that some of the non-paved trails might be sandy. A few running highlights:
Assateague Island
Verrazano Bridge and Bayberry Drive Path. Starting from the Visitor Center, a gorgeous multi-use path
Assateague Island Beach. Author Photo
parallels the Verrazano Bridge to Assateague Island. Runners can continue on 4 miles of paved bike path along Bayberry Dr. (mile markers every 1/4 mile). The scenery here is mainly dunes and grassland. You can add on with the short, 1/2 mile loops on Life of the Dunes Trail (softt sand), Life of the Forest Trail, and Life of the Marsh Trail. A trail continues south of the Life of the Dunes trail for many miles, but it can be sandy for running. TRAIL MAP
Beach Running. On Assateague, runners will love the miles and miles of beach. At the northern end is the 2 miles of beach administered by Assateague State Park, which then spills into the many miles of beach administered by the National Park Service. The sand is compact near the water, especially near low tide — best to consult a tide chart.
Chincoteague Island
The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge has several scenic trails that are terrific for running. One great 5-mile route is to combine the bike path from the Chincoteague Island Museum, over the bridge to the island, and then take the Marsh Trail and the Wildlife Loop. For a nearly 9-mile run, add the Beach Access Rd. and the Woodland Trail. For specific trail loops, there’s the 3.25-mile paved Wildlife Loop, which can be combined with the paved 1-mile Black Duck Trail and 1.6 mile paved Woodland Trail, which winds through a pine forest. For a longer run, the 7.25 mile Service Road is a gravel path, closed to cars, passing through forest, shrub/thicket and wetland habitats.
The beach is also wild, undeveloped, and gorgeous for running. There sand is firm and compact near the water, especially around low tide.
Assateague Island is a beautiful refuge of sandy beaches, salt marshes, maritime forests and coastal bays, located only 10 miles south of Ocean City. The Island is protected, as a National Seashore and State Park, and includes Assateague in Maryland and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia (which are 50 miles apart, by car!). There are some good running options here, including the extensive beach, several paved bicycle and walking paths, and some more rugged trails. Note that some of the non-paved trails might be sandy. A few running highlights:
Assateague Island
Verrazano Bridge and Bayberry Drive Path. Starting from the Visitor Center, a gorgeous multi-use path
Assateague Island Beach. Author Photo
parallels the Verrazano Bridge to Assateague Island. Runners can continue on 4 miles of paved bike path along Bayberry Dr. (mile markers every 1/4 mile). The scenery here is mainly dunes and grassland. You can add on with the short, 1/2 mile loops on Life of the Dunes Trail (softt sand), Life of the Forest Trail, and Life of the Marsh Trail. A trail continues south of the Life of the Dunes trail for many miles, but it can be sandy for running. TRAIL MAP
Beach Running. On Assateague, runners will love the miles and miles of beach. At the northern end is the 2 miles of beach administered by Assateague State Park, which then spills into the many miles of beach administered by the National Park Service. The sand is compact near the water, especially near low tide — best to consult a tide chart.
Chincoteague Island
The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge has several scenic trails that are terrific for running. One great 5-mile route is to combine the bike path from the Chincoteague Island Museum, over the bridge to the island, and then take the Marsh Trail and the Wildlife Loop. For a nearly 9-mile run, add the Beach Access Rd. and the Woodland Trail. For specific trail loops, there’s the 3.25-mile paved Wildlife Loop, which can be combined with the paved 1-mile Black Duck Trail and 1.6 mile paved Woodland Trail, which winds through a pine forest. For a longer run, the 7.25 mile Service Road is a gravel path, closed to cars, passing through forest, shrub/thicket and wetland habitats.
The beach is also wild, undeveloped, and gorgeous for running. There sand is firm and compact near the water, especially around low tide.
Parking for Assateague at the Verrazano Bridge; for Chincoteague, there are two visitor centers
For Assateague, use the Verrazano Bridge (10 miles south of Ocean City); for Chincoteague, use Chincoteague Rd. Note: Chincoteague is 50 miles from Assateague by car
Classic beach and boardwalk running. The beach is nearly 9 miles of firm, packed sand, good for running. Many access points. The boardwalk is 2.25 miles from 27th St. south to the Ocean City Inlet.
Pleasant park for running with about 1.5 miles of paths and numerous sports and other facilities. A loop around the perimeter is about 1 mile. Combine with a beach run, 0.5 miles to the east. Nearby residential streets are also good for running.
Some good options for running in Ocean City as an alternative to the beach and boardwalk. Residential neighborhoods near Northside Park, on the bay side and the ocean side. We also recommend the Isle of Wight/Lighthouse Sound area.
Some nice running options in this coastal town located between Ocean City and Rehoboth Beach: Boardwalk, Beach & town roads; trails at adjacent Fresh Pond; and trails around salt marshes & maritime forests at Holts Landing State Park.
One can run for 10+ miles on this beach, which has fairly firm sand near the water and at low tide. The Boardwalk runs for 1 mile between Queen St. and Lake St., and is festive and fun for running when not too crowded.
In addition to the miles of beach and boardwalk, there are some other good running options in the area. We recommend the pleasant residential side streets off the beach, miles of trails in Cape Henlopin State Park, and Gordons Pond Trail.
Large state park a few miles north of Rehoboth Beach. Terrific beach running and several miles of multi-use paths winding their way through pine forests, dunes, and salt marsh. Gordons Pond Trail is a favorite.
Just north of Rehoboth Beach, in Lewes, runners can hop on the Georgetown-Lewes Trail. It’s currently 7.6 miles of paved path between Lewes and Milton. Can do in conjunction with Cape Henlopen State Park.
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Essentials
Depends on trail chosen
Generally flat
Parking for Assateague at the Verrazano Bridge; for Chincoteague, there are two visitor centers
For Assateague, use the Verrazano Bridge (10 miles south of Ocean City); for Chincoteague, use Chincoteague Rd. Note: Chincoteague is 50 miles from Assateague by car
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Share your feedback on this route and see that of other Great Runs users. Click on the image icon to upload a photo. And please let us know if there are notes or changes we should incorporate!