Dogs are not permitted on most Virginia barrier islands. Dogs are permitted at Mockhorn Wildlife Management Area and state owned sandbars and marsh islands. Leashed dogs are permitted at Wreck Island Natural Area Preserve except between April 15 and September 1 when the island is closed to protect sensitive resources.
Note that dogs are prohibited at Wise Point Boat Ramp and at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
Leashed dogs are permitted at several mainland natural areas such as The Nature Conservancy’s Brownsville Preserve, Kiptopeke State Park, Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserve, Magothy Bay Natural Area Preserve, and Cape Charles Natural Area Preserve.
This project was funded by The Nature Conservancy with support from The Volgenau Foundation and by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program led by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality through Grant #NA17NOS4190152 of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended. All Explore Our Seaside partners also contributed significant time and effort to the project.