The best TENT SITES camping near
Kirkland , NORTH CAROLINA

We camped here Wed through Sat for my son's fall break. We arrived on Wed afternoon around 4pm. I was wearing leggings and the mosquitos literally landed on my leggings and bit me through them. I didn't even know that could happen. I should have left the campsite then and gone to Walmart, 17 min away, and bought enough bug spray and candles for the weekend but we set up the campsite instead. We just got back so camped the first week in October, site 17. For the four days, I had two citronella candles, one on the picnic table and one near our camping chairs, a thermocell fogger in the tent (ran for about an hour before we went in to go to sleep)  and then two bottles of 40% deet spray…one for our car when we came back to the campsite and one on the picnic table. We brought our kayaks and launched from both the Carolina Beach State Park marina and also Trails End public access (intercoastal waterway). Both were great with plenty of parking while we were there. There are VERY large yachts in the trails end area which are cool to see, just be careful when paddling that area. We fished at both places and also at Carolina beach from the surf. I caught a HUGE drum there. Lots of dogs off of leashes (rules change Oct 1st) so that was cool to see. We mostly cooked at the campsite but ate dinner at Sea Witch Cafe one night. The place is dog friendly, which we needed, and the food was reasonably priced and so good. The park rangers lock the gates at 9pm and they don't open until 7am so you have to plan accordingly. This wasn't an issue for us, we just watched the clock and made sure we were back. Beach is about 6 min away, Walmart is about 17 min or so, several grocery stores nearby (Food Lion, Publix). Overall, it was a great trip, I just wasn't prepared initially for the mosquitos. I got 90 bites that first day. I even had to constantly spray down my dog to keep the mosquitos off of her. It was a bit much. Definitely put all of your food in your car or at a minimum in your tent. Raccoons come nightly. :) We lost a quesadilla, some dog food, etc.

Great sites, fishing pier, playground great for kids, close to shopping and other stuff

This site is conveniently close to many beach attractions. To compare it to the local RV sites it so great in the aspect you are not on top of each other. The site itself for it being on “national park/forest land,” is “ok.” But in comparison to other national parks or federal land, it is barely a 3 star. It struggle in cleanliness and upkeep. The facilities are at best an “ehhh it’s food enough.” There are nice people here though that are making an honest effort, and who can argue with this places excellent location?

Love this little campground. Emerald Isle is a favorite vacation spot for my family and when we aren't renting a house, this campground is a great alternative. It's clean, close to the beach, has a little pool and they do fun family activities, too (like outdoor movies and Christmas in July!). I really like how small it is…feels more like a campground community than a huge resort. They have a little playground and some shade trees. There are some permanent trailers, as well.

We visited this area last summer, but didn't camp there. However we did spend a lot of time in area. This campground is directly across the street from the beach. The beach is beautiful and the landscaping has rock formations scattered through it. It's a somewhat remote feel to this area even though it's not far from Carolina Beach. There is also a aquarium, and museum down the road if you need a history or education fix. Down South of it is bald island a access to a ferry that will take you to Southport. Next time we come back to this area we will definitely camp here.

My wife and I were looking for a place to escape for a couple of days. We found this campground and decided to go. This place is wonderful. The sites are far enough apart you don’t get interrupted by the neighboring campsites but the campground isn’t so big you have to drive everywhere. We had a shaded site, which most of the sites there are shaded, it had full hook ups and a fire ring. The staff was helpful and very easy to approach about any issues that would come up. There is a playground for kids and I could see our kids riding their bikes around with no issues at all. It is very short ride to the beach and there is a grocery store, ice cream shop, and a few restaurants nearby. I cannot wait to go back. We stayed at site 4.

Being a travel nurse, I go through many campgrounds however this has by far been my favorite. The little things like the laundry being 24/7 to the staff who truly made the campground amazing are things that I’ll remember and am very thankful for! The staff were spectacular and very helpful/friendly!

We went in November and it was nice to have a quiet campground to explore. Nice trails and water access.

Camp Clearwater is mostly permanent structures, this definitely isn’t wilderness camping. We didn’t end up staying at our site once we saw how busy it was The swimming beach wasn’t clean, but it was a fun place for kids to play.

Nice and private. Very clean and everyone is very friendly.