Best Cabin Camping near Columbia, NC

I have a personal pull to Goose Creek State Park as it was once my family’s land going back generations and generations. My great-grandfather, grandfather, and father carved out the trails used for hiking today and the road to the campground its self was made by my dad and his friends. The state bought the land in the 70’s and it became our state park. It makes me proud to share a part of my family history with the rest of the world.

Even without the personal connection I feel when I visit GCSP, it’s such a beautiful place to be during anytime of the year. Hiking trails equipped with boardwalks lead through the marsh and swampy areas while sporadic signs display pictures and information about the wildlife you are likely to see. The primitive campground has more than 10 sites, with the farthest sights sitting on the edge of the Pamlico River. It truly is an awesome sight to take in at sunset and sunrise. Bath houses with showers, hot water, and toilets are available. There are two group sites and, recently added, several rv sites and about 5-6 small cabins. I have not stayed in the cabins yet. They seem to be fairly popular so reservations should be made at least a couple of weeks in advanced. There heat and AC but no bathrooms or kitchen area inside the cabin. I believe there are two sets of twin beds and a full bed but you have to bring your own linens. There is also a very nice bathhouse available for cabin renters. The only downside to the cabins and RV sites is there is no shade. The sites are toward the front of the park, and, perhaps because of the recent construction, there is are no trees, woods, or shade around. As a personal preference, I want to be IN THE WOODS when I camp so the aspect of being out in the open is not as exciting as tent camping. That being said, the cabins are adorable and have a fire ring, picnic table, and everything you need to enjoy a night of camping.

They claim to be a camping resort. Well, their definition of resort and mine are different...The grounds were very well-kept. Their property is Right on the beach and has direct access. Nice sandy beaches. There is a freshwater shower at the entrance to the beach so that you can rinse off when you’re done. The bathhouse was nice and clean. The shower area is co-Ed. They have a cute little play area for the kids, and had scheduled fun activities throughout the week. (some required an extra fee) Office doubled as a little camp store with some basic groceries, cold drinks, and souvenirs type stuff. All of the staff that we came in contact with were extremely friendly and helpful. They have a really nice pool area with zero entry and two small waterslides for the kids. Plenty of chairs on the pool deck, and a small area of shade where you could eat or get out of the sun.They had sites for RVs all the way to tents. We splurged this time (heat, salt, and sand!) and opted for a camping cabin.(I somehow forgot to take pictures of the cabin, but it is identical to the one in my Arkansas review… Except no TV. I really thought there was a TV… But no matter, we didn’t miss it.) The camping cabin was basic one double bed one set of bunkbeds, there was air-conditioning and plenty of room. A nice swing on the covered porch. Picnic table, grill, and fire ring. The cabins were very close together, but it wasn’t an issue. This campground also offers deluxe cabins which look like your typical Beachhouse type rental. We were visiting on the holiday, I had looked into tent camping over the Fourth of July weekend and they wanted $150 a night for a TENT site. Yeah, I don’t think so. The beach at the Outer Banks is lovely, it’s not commercial and trashy (like I would describe Myrtle beach) and as far as I could see everyone on the beach was good about observing social distance, and Nobody crowded each other. We stayed three nights and had a wonderful time. Overall we will definitely stay here again. Oh, dogs are welcome year round on the beach, only restriction being they have to be leashed. They are also welcome at the campground and there is a dog play area and a dog bathing area.

Booked a tent site and later a cabin as well since we were unsure about the weather. The tent sites were nicely situated and far apart from each other. The vault toilet was very clean. The site is peaceful and since the weather was pretty bad, it was quiet and only a few sites were occupied. 

The cabins are new and clean, with AC/heat and electricity and a nice outdoor setup with a grill and fire pit aside each one. They are located in the cleared RV park, not the woods, so don't expect to feel like you are staying in nature if you book a cabin. The shower facilities are very nice too. Overall, cabins are a great option if the weather is bad or you don't want to stay in a tent. 

Plan for bugs - ticks and mosquitoes are a given in the summer. Also, the swimming beach is closed as of May 2020.

They don't call this the Cape Hatteras KOA Resort for nothing!!  This family friendly campground has SOMETHING for every interest!  

We have several family members/friends who would never camp tent - which makes this is the campground for this purpose!  We are not normally KOA campers, but to be able to stay in the same space as family - and for them to have beds and Aside from tent/RV sites, there are "deluxe cabins" or tiny homes, log cabins, raised cabins etc.  This is a KOA - so the spaces are tight and close together, but for this trips' purpose, it was fine.  

Similarly, if you have people who would never swim in the ocean - they have you covered!  There is a large pool - a double waterslide, a hot tub, a kids pirate playground, 2 enormous jumping pillows, volleyball, horseshoes, basketball, tetherball, etc.  

This KOA is directly on the beach - you never have to get back in your car if you don't want to!  There is a super boardwalk with a bathhouse right off the beach, outdoor shower area (which is SO nice) and even a fish cleaning station for the fisherpeople in your life.  Your four-legged friends are not left out - they have a dog pick up station too!  

The ocean front campsites even offered covered picnic tables - which for us is always a big win!  We love having an extension of our tent because OBX weather is a little unpredictable and summer - well, we can expect an afternoon thunderstorm.   We also liked the choice of camping on the ocean side or the sound side.  There are benefits to both choices - is it more important to you to camp with the shortest walk to the beach?  Is it more important to camp where you can watch the most beautiful sunset from your tent?   

We had wonderful weather and were so thankful for the proximity to the beach.  We caught a beautiful sunrise one morning - and usually we are the sunset chasers!  Our weather was excellent and the ocean water was about 74 degrees - refreshing - yet warm enough to play in!  A strong recommendation if you need some amenities for your camping experience!   

Side note - my ECLIPSE EQUINOX hoodie was amazing as a wet sunshirt this trip.  Not only did I wear the shirt on the SUP but my brother in law loved it as well! I actually prefer this shirt as a swim/sun shirt rather than for hiking now that I tried it in the water.  I did not like the way the hood came over my face when I fell in.  It took me a minute to figure out how to get it off my face.  Yet, my brother in law loved the sunshirt and wore it with a hat on the SUP - said the hood was his favorite feature!!

Great KOA park with one row of dunes to cross to the ocean beach that depending on your site is only about 5 min walk. The park is well kept with clean bathrooms and showers. The have laundry and a very nice camp store with groceries, camping essentials and gifts. Sites are level with full hookups including cable that worked well. Wifi is marginal but they reported they have equipment on order to improve. We had spot along the dunes with covered patio with picnic table and a fire ring (no barbeques). The beach is wonderful. Great restful destination. We will definitely return.

If you have a chance, definitely check out Goose Creek State Park. My husband, son, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and myself stayed at the park this past weekend, and we had a wonderful time. We stayed at campsite 11, and we had plenty of room for our two tents, two vehicles, a pup, a toddler, and the supplied picnic table, fire pit, and additional charcoal grill. The one negative about spot 11 is there’s a hiking trail that run directly behind the campsite, so it feels like people are constantly walking through your campsite. Spots 1-10 were definitely a bit smaller, and spots 11-14 are larger. If we were to stay again, I believe we’d try to stay at site 13.

The fishing dock is quite small, but it was fun to fish from with a few people. Be sure to bring bug spray! The worst for me was the biting flies. There is one outhouse-type bathroom near the dock with a spigot and dumpster nearby. There are about 10 steps leading up to the one-person, non-flushing bathroom.

There’s a wood station at the campground that uses the honor system. It’s $5 per bundle. We visited the visitors center in the hopes that they would have live bait for sell, but they sell nothing of the sort (no ice, bait, fishing rods, etc). So bring everything you need other than wood!

Overall, I’d give the campground 4.5/5, and I certainly recommend it! Try to stay in sites 11-14 if possible.

Goose Creek State Park campground is one of the newer state parks in North Carolina. The RV part of the park has a great layout with large sites. The park is very flat with full hookups and a large patio/picnic area. They also have cabins.

We stayed at one of the full hook up RV sites with our Riverside Retro 199FKS and it actually looked small in the site. We had more than enough room.

You are far enough away from Washington, NC that you don't get great cell coverage so, it is almost like going off the grid. I think I had service if I sat outside with my left leg propped up (just kidding). 

Since this park is so new, there are not many trees or vegetation to provide privacy between sites. I think this park will be great once the plants grow in - don't skip for this reason - still go, just know that you won't have a lot of privacy.

Good:

• Flat site with concrete pad and patio
• Wooden picnic table
• Dog park with a couple trees, benches, water, obstacles, doggie bags & garbage
• Access and proximity to sound and nice beach
• Paved trail for walking or biking going north or south along Hwy 12 right outside campground
• Well kept bathhouse - better on Sound Side where it’s newer
• Amenities in great condition like mini golf, playground, tennis court

Meh: <>Full hookup although water pedestal was way forward and separated from sewer and electric. No idea why it’s different here than other campgrounds but it makes for lots of obstacles to avoid when parking. And after parking, we had to move our RV forward to reach the water spigot even with our long hose. <> Indoor and outdoor pools and hot tub - nice to have and good size but could use TLC <> Not enough activities esp. considering size of campground and site cost. But water balloon fight for kids was very well organized with lots of balloons, and kids rewarded with ice cream coupon for picking up balloon litter. Win/win!

Bad:

• Sites were way cramped – they really pack you in.
• They tell you to be considerate and not cut through sites but can’t contribute a few feet to offer a path rather than walking a long way around. THEY should be considerate!
• Most expensive campground we’ve ever been to even just for two adults. But cable, kids, dogs, extra adults each cost $3 - $8 more daily. It REALLY adds up to be ridiculous. We hooked up to cable and got it for free. We refused to claim extra people and pet. Even the people Boon-docking in their van for one night in their cheaper sound site - arriving late and leaving early - paid $98.
• Only 4 ocean front sites on northeast corner, at most, have any chance of seeing the ocean from the site. Between dunes, campground roadway, pavilion and parking between all other oceanfront sites and beach, we’d a been hoppin’ mad if we’d paid an extra $50 nightly for those.
• It’s windy, people are slobs, and they do pick up some litter, but not nearly enough. There was lots of litter on sites, caught up in bushes and grasses, mowed over when they mowed without picking litter first, caught up in sound next to their wooden boardwalk. We asked repeatedly for them to clean up. Staff was friendly but ignored us so...really Not so friendly. GM got involved and made it happen, but still plenty more. We picked up some. They need a staff cultural change to constantly pick litter and not mow without picking litter first.
• Tennis court was new and in fabulous condition with lines for pickle ball and youth tennis too. But only open when office was open beginning at 9 AM. It’s HOT then. We brought our own rackets and went to play early in the morning before seeing sign and locked gate. Ugh!
• No fire pits provided like at KOA two doors south and they tell you that if you bring your own fire pit it must be off the ground. Sheesh! We brought ours but it was too windy for us or anyone else to do a fire, leave our awnings, canopies etc. up anyway. Bummer!

Ugly: — Wi-Fi is pretty much zero. We connected a time or two in four days from our site in early morning/dark hours but couldn’t even check email. Only places to get on were at hotspots in clubhouse. Staff says it’s because people are streaming/overloading. Nope, it’s because they need to update their system for their 400 sites.