Assateague Over Sand Vehicle permits available online in 2023

By Linda Cicoira

      Purchasing an Over Sand Vehicle (OSC) permit at Maryland’s Assateague Island National Seashore and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge will be easier in 2023, according to an announcement.

      The permits will be available online beginning Jan. 4.  Facility Superintendent Hugh Hawthorne invites visitors to take an early tour of the website, www.recreation.gov to get familiar with this new procedure. The online option is aimed at helping streamline the OSV sales process as permits may be purchased in advance online and then picked up at the park office within 10 days of purchase.

      Permit sales will continue to be possible in person via online computer stations located at the North Beach Ranger Station in the Maryland District and the Toms Cove Visitor Center in the Virginia District.

     The $110 permit allows 24-hour access to the Maryland OSV area. Permittees must be actively fishing from midnight to 5 a.m. There is no camping or sleeping allowed. It also allows access to the OSV area on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge during normal hours of operation.

     The Bullpen Permit is $200 and will allow users to stay overnight, in the Bullpen area in Maryland, in a hard-shelled slide-in camper with attached and enclosed toilet with a permanently installed waste storage tank that can hold two days of wastewater.

     For more information visit https://www.nps.gov/asis/planyourvisit/osv.htm  Assateague