Permits are required for all camping. Camping is not allowed on the southern end of the island. Pets are not allowed on the island. The area is thick with mosquitos during the summer. Thorough application of mosquito repellent is required on exposed skin during insect season.
Ticks are also a problem in the brush during warm times of the year.
Precautions that can be taken to avoid tickbites include the protection of skin with full length clothing and inspection of the skin after hiking in brush areas or wooded areas. For those who prefer not to rough it, lodging is available ten miles away from the northern end of the island and in Chincoteague city near the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge at the southern end of Assateague Island. The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is located 12 miles south of Cambridge, Maryland near and along the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. An online map is available. Blackwater is one of about 500 refuges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.