Best Campgrounds near Castle Hayne, NC

The last reviews of this campground were in 2021. A lot has changed since that time. This is a cheap place to stay. There are no background checks. All sorts of characters stay at this location. I had trouble after six months of staying at this campground. To avoid any trouble, I left halfway through my month of prepaid time. This worked out to approximately $302 or 16 days. They refused to give me a refund or even a pro rate from the owner. Instead, they gave it to a guy staying in a tent on the property. They are thieves!

In my vicinity that I was staying, there were four known listed Illegal sex act males. Two left the site. One of the remaining males was hired by the management for maintenance.

The property manager didn’t seem to care about a lot of things around the property. The property appearance was not taken care of. Signs, mailboxes, and other related objects were covered in mold and never cleaned or in need of repair (see pictures). Residence were cutting their own grass. Drainage ditches, and culvert areas had extremely high grass (see pictures). Perfect for snakes.

The bathhouse was not properly maintained. A male person who lived there only cleaned the floors once or twice a week. That seemed about it. The showers were brown, and the bathrooms were not cleaned properly. I personally cleaned the male bathroom several times during my six months. The sink continually leaked underneath. When I discovered mold, I asked for a mold killer from the bathroom guy. He was having a bad day apparently and flipped out on me. I told him I would clean the mold if he had any chemicals. He cursed at me and walked inside to his residence. Management did nothing about this incident (see pictures).

There was always trouble with dogs at the campground. Management never did anything about the dog issues. I was told to “shoot the dog if it bites you “. Unbelievable !

There were no standards for the campsites. Anything went! Make shift structures could be put up with no problem (see pictures). Also a lot of trash and debris around the campground.

I would not recommend this campground to anyone. Pay the extra money for a better place!

Short takes:

• Better to camp here during the cooler weather

• If you don’t have a yearly beach- access pass, it’s expensive

• Very crowded during warm weather

• Make sure to air-down.

• Don’t forget bug spray 

Camping here can be very hit-or-miss, depending on the time of year. I would recommend only during the cooler months. Feb-March, Sept-Nov. That’s about the only time you can hope to avoid a chaotic, party scene. 

I camped here in March and had a great time. Daytime beachgoers were mainly fishing, walking their dogs, shelling, etc. There were half a dozen other campers, everyone was friendly and quiet. 

My trip in late April didn’t go as well. The first morning I awoke to the sound of a dozen children from the site next to me playing in the surf, shrieking and screaming at 5:30 am. Saturday the beach was packed with day-trippers with a line of trucks parked at the crest of the beach from one end to the other. Constant vehicle traffic up and down the beach. Lots of young kids running around, not paying attention to their surroundings, people walking on the dunes. Many vehicles got stuck in the sand because they didn’t air down. Lots of competing, loud music. 

The next night, there was a family of 20+ people in the next site who warned us they were a loud group. At that point, we packed up and left. I wasn’t expecting that kind of scene until Memorial Day. 

Erosion continues to eat away at the beach and it probably won’t be long before camping is prohibited due to lack of room. The beach used to be much wider.

The campground is perfect for a family or if you’re older and in an RV. Lots to do. It’s a lake based CG so you can swim, kayak, hike around the lake, but especially fishing - that’s the main draw. Good shower/toilet facilities, water electric and all that RV stuff. If you’re an adventurous typically primitive camper (like me), it’s not for you. You’ll be near lots of other campers (mostly families from my brief experience) so not great on privacy. Location is good, 15 min fr Beulaville. Nice staff. I recommend if you want an easy camping experience. $25-40 night depending on how you camp.

General: Small campground (20 Sites) around a circle with the bathhouse in the center. Although you can walk to the lake (about a half mile away), the sites are not lakefront. There is also a group campground.

Site Quality: Camper driveways are very generous in size and level. Sites are spaced far enough apart to provide reasonable privacy/separation. Sites vary. Two ADA-accessible sites have a concrete pad; most others have gravel pads, but two are just open grassy sites. Some are FHU, while some have no hookups. Some are pull-thru, and some are back-in. Each site has a fire ring, picnic table, and lantern hook. Most have a raised tent platform. 

Bath/Shower house: Very clean. Three showers, including one ADA-accessible one. The spray was not very strong, but the water was warm. 

Activities: In season, there is boating, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and fishing, but we were there at the beginning of April, and the weather was in the 50s. We did the four-mile Bay Trail, which was really more of a walk and not a hike. The signage was good, and the trail weaved back and forth from the gravel road. We were disappointed that there were not many views of the lake (there are three overlooks, but access to them was restricted due to flooding). Due possibly to recent rains, the last mile of the trail (we went in a clockwise direction from the campground) was flooded in several places, making passage challenging. There is also a short one-mile Cedar Loop trail as well as a spur leading from the Bay Trail to Salters Lake. 

We chose this campground primarily because of its location - it was a good stopping point for us. In early April, even during spring break, only a handful of sites were occupied. I imagine it would be a much different story in the summer months.

This campground is an excellent place for young family campers. All the activities are set up for younger family entertainment. All businesses in the immediate surrounding areas are set up for the same young families.

This is a great place to stop at for a short time if you are a single person or an older couple that enjoys a very busy campground. The campground is maintained. The office staff are very courteous and nice. There are a couple of bath houses at the camping areas and a laundry center. Both the bathhouses we’re updated, but not very clean. I stayed 2 1/2 weeks and it was only cleaned properly a couple times.

If you fish, the area is not very fish friendly. If you have a boat, bring it. You might have a better chance of success. Most of the lakes in the area are very acidic and it is challenging to catch limited fish.

All in all, this is a great campground. This was just a bit too busy for me.