Colin (and others) - The ORV (or as the Park Service now calls it, the "OSV" or over sand vehcile) zone extends from just south of the South Beach beach access area (the farthest south a normal vehcile can drive in the MD portion of the Island), to the VA state line.  There use to be a great "inland road" you could drive/walk as well, but that has been closed and now you can only drive on the beach (except there are several place you can drive inland a little bit from the beach).

At the end of the paved road there is a traffic circle with three exits, one for the Life of the Dunes trail, then the enterance to the ORV zone and last a parking area for "South Beach".  This is where you would want to park, and access the beach.  There is no parking at the ORV enterance, only areas to let air out of your tires (very important for driving on the sand!!) and putting air back in.  The first part of the ORV road (that leads to the beach) is very deep sand and deep sand is NO fun to walk in, having done it many times.  Hence, park in the South Beach lot, walk over the wooden walk-way to the beach and head south.  You will see where the cars are able to access the beach.  All of this area is open to anybody, so you can walk were you want.  The high beach will be fairly deep sand, so you are going to want to walk right at the tide line, as that will be by far the easiest. I don't think you could bike on this, but I am not a biker.  It would be like biking on the beach 
at Ocean City.  In my younger days, I use to hitchhike some in the ORV zone so you could try that as well.  The vehicles that are headed quickly north or south will be driving near the west edge of the zone (there are posts to show how far west you can drive), as people part near the beach and set up their fishing gear.  Most of the guys have pick ups so you could crawl in the back...  
 
You could ask at the Park Ranger/Contact Station about the owl (this is located at the "North Beach" parking area), but based on my knowledge of park ops, I doubt if they would be able to help you.  

It appears the owl moves around every day/night and they certainly are not keeping track of it.  The bird has ranged from 2-3 miles south of the parking area to just south of the Fox Hill Levels (around km maker 26, the beach access is at km marker 16.5).  There are while posts with km markers on the beach to let you know how far you have come or need to go.
  
Remember - this is what you would be looking for http://www.pbase.com/wcbirding/image/106031063.  Sorry, I couldn't resist.  Also, I will be down there next Friday-Sunday, so if you wanted to hook up them send me an email.

Good luck!!!

Mark Hoffman



-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Colin Hebert <> 

> Thanks to all those who have posted about the Snowy Owl. I have been 
> to Assateague several times, but am not familiar with the ORV zone. 
> Based on the map, it seems straightforward to get to the zone, but 
> once you get to the entrance and start walking, do you just head south 
> and keep a lookout for the owl, or is it best to try and talk to the 
> park staff to see where the owl was recently sighted? Also, is the 
> sand packed or loose? I.e., could you bike instead of walk? 
> 
> Thanks, 
> Colin Hebert 
> Beltsville, MD 
> 
> On Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 8:52 PM, Leslie Starr wrote: 
> > In a message dated 11/23/2008 10:42:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, 
> >  writes: 
> > 
> > Maybe I will never learn about sending out a post from my phone 
> > without a quick edit. 
> > 
> > But you're great with phone calls, Dan! 
> > 
> > 
> > Joe and I followed up on your call by hiking for about 35 minutes down the 
> > trail and then successfully hitching a ride in a pick-up truck the rest of the 
> > way to the owl. It was perched on top of a dune and remained there placidly, 
> > other than opening and closing its eyes and turning its head, for the 
> > entirety of our visit. We shared the sighting with the truck driver and 
> passenger, 
> > who were properly awed and respectful, and then went further from the bird 
> > (closer to the water) and sat on some driftwood to enjoy it a little longer. 
> > 
> > 
> > The truck driver thought we were less than two miles down, but it took a 
> > full hour to walk back with only brief stops, one for footwear adjustment and 
> a 
> > few to admire birds (Snow Geese, Gannets, Red-throated Loons, and a 
> > Sanderling). 
> > 
> > 
> > Leslie Starr & Joe Turner 
> >  (mailto:[log in to unmask]) 
> > Baltimore 
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