Best Tent Camping near Kill Devil Hills, NC

Site: mixture of grass and sand. Has fire pit and wooden picnic table. Gorgeous view of sunsets and water sports. Water is a leg high walk to the hammock. Bathroom: showers were clean! Would benefit of having an fan unit to help cool off while using the toilet. Loved having the option of using outdoor shower (yes even had hot water option). I was able to enjoy a brew in the shower and get dressed and ready in front of a mirror was was provided in the same outdoor shower space. Location: loved that it wasn’t located in a touristy area. It was on the sound. We enjoyed the pizza at the local Italian place right next door. Note: there is a ice vending place that charges affordable rate.. you have the option of ice in a bag or fill up your cooler there.. can walk there if need be. It’s across the street. Other towns over were a 30-45 min drive.

Some things to keep in mind: The wind was really strong and it made setting up our tent a challenge! Thanks to our friendly neighbors, they were able to get it grounded for us. Bring rope/canopy weight in case this happens. There were no bugs due to the wind. However.. we heard that if it wasn’t windy.. bugs were a big issue so canopy/mosquito net would be wise!

Bring water shoes to be able to walk in the sound. Water was at perfect temperature.

Dogs are allowed, even in the water! They require pet deposit.

They also had charcoal grills for you to use if you need one.

North Beach Campground is located behind a gas station and a small general store, that has everything you could possibly need! It is part hard ware store, part bait and tackle shop and has many beach and cooking items available.

The campsites are small sites, with picnic tables for each. There is a small pool with many permanent RV sites. A couple pull through RV sites are available, as well as grassy sites immediately behind the store, close to the laundry room. The bath house is located right off the beach, only steps from a beautiful, quiet, peaceful beach!

We were here in April, 2019 and the weather was fantastic! We had come on the heels of a strong wind/rain storm and sites were dry and the facilities were clean. Traditionally, this is not our style campground, but in a pinch, we would camp here again. Waking up on the ocean is priceless - and the sunsets in the Outer Banks were fantastic!

As a ranger for The Dyrt, I occasionally get to test products on our adventures. Our kiddos were able to try out their new Wenzel sleeping bags this week. They both enjoyed their sleeping bags quite a bit, staying nice and toasty in the evenings with 50 degree weather. They were warm, the kids said "soft and fluffy" and especially loved the mummy style, which was new for both of them.

After sleeping in these bags for a week, we are able to discuss 2 challenges that presented themselves. First of all, our 9 year old slept half in and half out one night and the next morning she could not zip back up the bag herself. The zipper is challenging to rezip after coming completely unzipped - and the material on the inside catches in the zipper. But yet, a challenge grown ups could easily take care of. Secondly, our 6 year old had an accident one night on/in his sleeping bag - which easily wiped up - and then washed out beautifully in a front load washer (NOT at this campground). I was pleased with the way the sleeping bag fared after being washed - which is not always the case! I would recommend these sleeping bags to anyone looking for a warmer sleeping bag for their kids. It is rated until 30 degrees and we look forward to trying them in colder weather!

The campground's location is awesome, it's right in the middle of the Outer Banks, close to Bodie Island Lighthouse,  Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Jockey Ridge State Park, Wright Brothers National Memorial, etc.

We stayed at the group site, which is basically just a patch of grass with a few picnic tables. We visited on Memorial Day 2018, and the first night was very pleasant, with nice cool breeze from the ocean. The second night though was hot, humid and brought an army of mosquitoes. The campground has no shade, so I wouldn't go there during the summer months. If you do, bring your own shelter or beach umbrella.

You can walk to the beach through the dunes, it's a very short walk. The bathrooms and showers are clean and nice.

When we stayed there in 2018, we could hear some noise from the bridge construction nearby. I'm assuming it's done by now, and even back then it wasn't too bad.

General: One of four Cape Hatteras National Seashore Campgrounds. Campsites in three loops, A-C. A is for tents only, but with paved camper pads; there were several vans in these sites. No generators are allowed in this loop. There are no defined tent pads, and a few erected their tents directly on the camper pad. The B and C loops have a combination of W/E sites and sites with no hookups. The utility sites cost $7 more, which is very reasonable. There is one ADA-accessible site in the B loop next to a ramp to the restroom. You will hear road noise from nearly every site, but it is worse in the mornings. 

Site Quality: Some camper pads are very short, while others are more generous in size; all are paved and mostly level. We had reserved B4 but switched to B16 upon arrival (this had to be done online with Recreation.gov). B16 was a little longer and closer to the restrooms, but neither had hookups. There is little to no privacy/separation between sites. 

Bath/Shower House: As with the other Cape Hatteras National Seashore NPS campgrounds, the restrooms are basic but clean. This one had a weird red light inside. More than enough hooks for toiletries. Although the website says the showers have hot water, they are not indoor showers, and it was cold and windy when we were there, so I did not use them. 

Activities/Amenities: Several trails have good signage, but access is not well defined (you have to cut between campsites to access them). Although it had not rained in several days, there must have been recent rains as several of these trails were flooded. I did take the trail between Sites C13 and 15, which led to the road that accesses the beach. This beach is not as walkable as Ocracoke and is more suited for vehicles, and I saw several as I walked. The tire tracks made deep ruts, making walking a bit challenging. I am more a fan of kayaks and SUPS, so motorboats and driving on the beach are not my thing, but if it is yours, you will need a permit to do so. There is a dump station and a potable water fill station, but they are outside the campground and easy to miss as there is no signage at the entrance. If you go over the bridge heading south, you have missed it. 

This was an overnight stop as we traveled north through the Outer Banks, but I liked the more walkable beach at Ocracoke better than this one.

We’ve lived so close to this park for so long and I regret not coming sooner. This park is 5+ miles from the Little Island Park Parking lot, where you have to park if you’re staying overnight. So, you have to hike, bike or boat into the primitive campground because its access is blocked by Back Bay Wildlife Refuge. But because of this, the Park is a serene oasis away from traffic, no RV’s, not a lot of people. A great place to get away from it all! We hiked in on the East Dike trail through Back Bay, about 5.4 miles, with everything for the weekend on our backs. The trail is a rock/gravel road, probably more suited to bikes as it was pretty hard on our feet. But beautiful views of Back Bay on the way to the Park. Once we made it to the park, we stopped in the Visitors Center, which sells cold drinks, is air conditioned, has clean full-service bathrooms and friendly attendants who answered all our questions we had about the camping. From the Visitors Center, it’s about another .5 or so of a soft sandy hike to the Oceanside Barbour Hill campground, where we stayed. Our campsite was #12 and the attendant told us it was one of the new sites this year. It was close to the pit toilet bathrooms, drinking water faucet, and outdoor shower. The campsite was very secluded, you can’t see it from the main road, it’s tucked back in the live oaks. Site #13 is close by, would make a great buddy site. The campsite has a picnic table and a hook to hang your food and trash at night. Fires are not allowed but small camping stoves are, so we brought a little pocket rocket butane stove to cook on. What we didn’t know when we made reservations here is that you actually have two sites to choose from at this campground. There is the #12 in the live oaks site and then is you walk a short distance to the Beach, you have a designated #12 spot on the beach that you can choose to camp at as well! It was awesome! We ended up doing most of the cooking and eating at the live oaks site and sleeping and hanging out at the beach since there is no picnic table or anything at the beach site. Such an amazing experience to wake up to the sun rising over the Atlantic ocean and sleeping under the stars. There were only two other tents camped out on the beach with us when we were there so it was still pretty isolated. If you want to be on the beach by yourself, just walk less than a mile down either way and there is not a soul. There’s tons of hiking, interesting things to see, beautiful nature. We saw dolphins playing in the ocean! The beach alive with crabs! Osprey catching fish! We saw an old graveyard and church steeple at Wash Woods, that’s definitely worth the hike. We walked to the North Carolina border. There’s a Loveworks and a buoy that marks the southernmost Virginia State Park. We hiked over 30 miles over the weekend, there so much to do, we are exhausted! We came in mid-June and the weather was gorgeous - 80s during the day and 60s at night. There were some biting flies and mosquitos but nothing a little bug spray couldn’t take care of. We did not see any snakes. At the end of our trip, we opted to hike back to Little Island on the beach through Back Bay. It was slightly shorter, 5.1 miles, but a tougher hike because of the sand. We came home exhausted, sunburnt, blisters, but just in awe of this amazing park. It’s definitely worth the hike!

We stayed in site #4, which is one of the water/electric sites right on Pamlico Sound. Very level, and the view was amazing. All the sites were very small and tightly spaced, with zero privacy, which is pretty standard for such prime waterfront real estate (and typical of most popular beach destinations).  Since the sites were so small, this place was really geared more toward tent campers and those with shorter RVs (25’ or less, I’d say). Each site had a picnic table, and most had a fire pit, which is pretty rare in this area (many CGs ban ground fires due to frequent high winds).

Bath house was ok. Cleanliness was so-so, depending on the day, but the biggest issue was it was not air-conditioned, so using the restroom was generally a pretty muggy and unpleasant experience. However, the amazing outdoor showers made up for it. They were huge, with great water pressure, and felt wonderful after a long, hot day in the sun. Unfortunately, there was often trash or toiletries left behind from other guests in the showers, but there was so much room and ledge space that it was easy to avoid and didn’t bother me. Generally speaking, the bath houses and grounds could stand a little more regular cleaning and maintenance, but since the owners run a watersport rental business from the property, it’s obvious that’s their main focus. Once checked in, it seems campers are left to their own devices until/unless they want to rent some equipment, because the owners and staff spent all day at the rental booth. I didn’t find this to be a problem at all; I just mention this to advise other campers to expect a more hands-off management approach, at least on the camping side. If you want to rent some water sport equipment while in the Outer Banks, this is a great place; the selection and prices are good (and half off for campers), you can launch right from your site, and the staff are very knowledgeable. Even if you aren’t into watersports, the sound is great for wading and cooling off, especially for kids, since it’s so calm and shallow. The sunsets are breathtaking, and it’s especially fun to watch the kite surfers out on the water in the evening. On a final note, be forewarned that the wind here is no joke. Be prepared to securely tie down any tents, pop-up gazebos or screen houses you have. The wind was so strong for two nights that our pop-up was shaking most of the night. The good thing about the wind was it kept the bugs away, because mosquitoes here are brutal when there is no breeze.

The Outer Banks are chock-full of activities and attractions for the whole family, whether you prefer your vacations relaxing or action-packed. Most of the more active, kid-centered attractions are farther north in the Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills area. Rodanthe is definitely quieter and less crowded, which we liked, but there are still plenty of restaurants in the vicinity, more kite and water sport outfitters, souvenir shops, and an arcade. Lisa’s Pizzeria, right next door to the CG, was amazing. Buxton is worth a day trip down for an Apple Ugly at the Orange Blossom, and a tour of the Hatteras Lighthouse and adjacent National Seashore visitor center. Ocracoke is another neat day trip, but we didn’t have time.

Overall, this is a really neat little campground on the sound, and the prices are great for the area (much lower than the big RV resorts a few blocks away). There are quite a few campgrounds in the Tri-Villages alone, and after driving through most of them, I would probably opt for Rodanthe Watersports again. If you can deal with the tight spacing, minimal upkeep, and lack of big-resort amenities, this is a great, cost-effective option in a gorgeous setting!

Oregon Inlet in Hatteras NSS, NC.: Great beach and Kitty Hawk nearby. We like this campground even though sites are pretty tight. We have been here later in November in the past. The weather was much cooler, but this campground is pretty empty then.
(Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer). I rate based on desire for at least a moderate wilderness type experience w at least some camp site privacy. Overall Rating: 3.5 Price 2023: $ 14 w interagency pass for non electric sites Usage during visit: 95% full. Site Privacy: Not good Site Spacing: Sites along the dunes are pretty close. Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Required Campground Noise: Quiet Road Noise: Noticeable throughout B and C loops. I’ll leave Loop A to be evaluated by tent campers. Homey, I will say to choose a site away from Hwy 12.
Through Traffic in campground: None Electric Hookup: Some sites. See my map in pictures Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes. It is across the highway to the south of the campground. Potable Water Available: At the dump station and near the restrooms. Generators: Allowed.
Bathroom: Clean flush toilets. Showers: Yes, but a gap between the roof and walls makes for a cold experience this time of year with the wind. Pull Throughs: No Cell Service (AT&T): 2 to 3 bars. Setting: A pretty area between Highway 12 and the dunes. Weather: Highs in upper 60s. Lows are in mid 50s Bugs: A couple mosquitoes. Wind has probably kept them at bay. Solar: Great when not too cloudy.
Host: They are super.
Rig size: Large rigs can fit in many spots. Sites: See my map in my attached pictures: Circled sites B2 - 20 back right up to the dunes. C1 -21 have a broader view of the beautiful dunes with 5 - 21 in this group a bit larger sites. B 22 and24 are getting closer to the dunes. I like all these sites in comparison to the others. However, I appreciate being backed right up to the dunes. Site B4 is the best site, in my opinion. Rig size is limited for this site. It’s not deep, Punic table is near campground road, but isolated from B2 on the picnic side by a dune . B2 is a good site. Picnic area is private from adjacent site, but not from vehicles driving by.

30- 50 amp, free cable, laundry Concrete pads, level area, picnic table, full hookups, nice spacing between sites with some grass over the sand. There are some nice wooded sites under the squatty trees, great shade.

They also have a 2 bedroom cottage to rent. Campers and RV's are welcome. Site is well maintained and staff is great. There are 57 sites with full hookups and they have tent sites that have water, electric along with shade. No more than 2 dogs per site.  $54.00 full hookups per night $37.00 tent sites with water and electric $35.00 tent dry site LNT 

BTYFI 

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I’ve camped at OIC before but it has been years. This time around was just as enjoyable as the last. My dog Wyatt and I came for 4 days to rest, enjoy the beautiful weather and, explore the beach.

Reserving my site was incredibly easy through recreation.gov and when I arrived, the check in process was super easy.

My site was clean, offered ample room for my car, tent, and ample gear that I brought.

The restroom and shower facilities were immaculate and were very easy to access from my site.

note there is a water filling station that can be used to fill Nalgene bottles as well as larger holding containers. I was unaware of this before I arrived and made good use of this service.

Access to the beach is easy with well marked trails and no shortage of views.

Access to shopping and restaurants is only 15 minutes up the beach, ORV access is also just on the other side of the campground if you plan to drive on the beach.

note driving on the beach will require a permit, which can be easily purchased at the Bodie Island Lighthouse just up the road from the campground or online at recreation.gov