Tall Pines / Chesapeake Bay KOA Holiday Blog
2026 Season: March 12 - November 30!
Driving Directions from the North
Before sunrise, a crowd gathers along the marshy edge of Assateague Channel and waits for a single red flare. That flare, fired by the Coast Guard, means the ponies are moving. The Chincoteague Pony Swim is the centerpiece of Pony Penning week, a tradition the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company has run since 1925, and it pulls visitors from well outside Virginia to a stretch of the Eastern Shore that stays quiet most of the year.
Tall Pines / Chesapeake Bay KOA sits close enough to Chincoteague Island that you can watch the herd swim ashore in the morning and be back at your campsite before lunch. Here's how to time the trip, where to stand, and what to pair it with so the whole day actually works.
The wild ponies of Assateague Island live year-round on the Virginia side of the barrier island, split into a northern herd managed by the National Park Service and a southern herd managed by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. Once a year, volunteer "saltwater cowboys" round up the southern herd and swim them across a narrow channel to Chincoteague Island for Pony Penning. It's a working tradition, not a staged show. The fire company has run it since 1925, and the proceeds fund the department that serves the whole town.
The event got a permanent place in American childhoods through Marguerite Henry's 1947 novel Misty of Chincoteague, which is based on the same herd and the same swim. That's part of why the crowd skews so heavily toward families making a first visit. Foals born that year are auctioned off the day after the swim, which keeps the wild herd at a size the marshland can actually support. A handful of "buyback" ponies are purchased at auction and released straight back to the herd, so the population stays wild even as the auction raises money.
None of this happens in a stadium. You're standing in a working marsh watching wild animals cross open water on their own schedule, which is exactly why the logistics below matter more than they would at a typical festival.
The Pony Swim is held annually the last Wednesday of July, with the foal auction the following Thursday morning. The exact swim time isn't fixed on the calendar. The fire company waits for slack tide, the short window when the current stops moving before it reverses, because that's the safest water for the herd to cross. That time is only announced a few weeks ahead of the event, so treat any specific hour you see online as provisional until the fire company confirms it that year.
If the Wednesday crowd sounds like too much, Friday gives you the same herd and channel with a fraction of the people.
Tall Pines / Chesapeake Bay KOA sits on Pocomoke Sound in Temperanceville, about 20 minutes from Chincoteague Island by way of VA-175. That's close enough to catch a pre-dawn swim time and still make it back for breakfast at your site, and it puts you outside the parking crunch that hits the island itself during Pony Penning week.
If you'd rather skip parking altogether, ask the camp store about the campground's guided wildlife tour and shuttle to Chincoteague Island. It's a paid add-on that runs on a set schedule, so it fits the refuge and beach portion of your trip better than the tide-dependent swim itself.
You have real options here, and they trade off differently on comfort, cost, and how close you actually get. Veterans Memorial Park is the standard choice for families. It broadcasts the swim on a large screen with a live feed, though it doesn't provide seating or on-site parking, so you'll need a reserved parking pass in advance.
1. Reserve a Veterans Memorial Park parking pass ahead of time through the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce, since there's no walk-up parking at the park.
2. If you're not staying on the island, use the free shuttle from designated off-site lots instead of hunting for street parking.
3. Arrive two to three hours before the announced swim time, since slack tide can shift the actual start earlier or later.
4. Wear closed-toe shoes or boots near Pony Swim Lane. The ground there is genuinely muddy, not just damp.
5. Pack light on a shuttle. Large coolers, wagons, and folding chairs typically aren't allowed on board.
Pony Penning week is a good excuse to see two destinations you'd want to visit anyway. Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, home to the northern pony herd along with egrets, herons, and a working lighthouse, charges its normal entrance fee during the event rather than a special ticket. Expect longer gate lines, and check the refuge's current hours before you go, since they sometimes extend during the busiest week of the year.
The Museum of Chincoteague Island covers the Misty of Chincoteague story and the swim's history in more depth than you'll get standing in a crowd at 6 a.m. If the marsh mud isn't your thing, Assateague Island National Seashore offers an ocean beach without the swim-day crowds, and Maui Jack's Waterpark is a solid backup for kids once the heat sets in.
It's held annually the last Wednesday of July, with the foal auction the next day and the return swim on Friday. The exact start time depends on the tide and is only confirmed a few weeks ahead, so check closer to your trip.
Public viewing along the shoreline and at Veterans Memorial Park is free, but parking passes for the park are limited and should be reserved through the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce. The wildlife refuge charges its normal entrance fee, with no separate Pony Swim ticket required.
About 20 minutes by car via VA-175, roughly 13 miles from the campground in Temperanceville. That's close enough to catch an early swim time and still be back at your site before checkout traffic builds on the island.
They're auctioned the next morning at the carnival grounds, typically starting around 8 a.m. The sale funds the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company and keeps the herd at a size the marshland can support. A few "buyback" foals are released back into the herd.
As early as possible. Sites and cabins across the Eastern Shore fill up months before late July, and Tall Pines / Chesapeake Bay KOA's six waterfront sites go first. Lock in your dates well before spring if you want to see the swim.
Tall Pines / Chesapeake Bay KOA sits on Pocomoke Sound on Virginia's Eastern Shore, about 20 minutes from Chincoteague Island, with waterfront sites, cabins, and a private beach for guests who want the wild ponies as a day trip rather than a whole vacation.
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