The best camping near
Maysville , NORTH CAROLINA

This was my first trip to Goose Creek State Park, but it certainly won’t be the last. We stayed in the new RV campground, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Large sites, a fire pit, and because we were there off season — very few fellow campers!

The staff was super nice, the restrooms were very clean and quite new. The trails were well maintained and well marked. Some features were closed due to Covid restrictions (the swim beach for example), but it didn’t lessen the experience at all.

Very well maintained. Stayed at primitive site 11 to be close to the water but it's a little too close to another site (luckily I was the only one in the circle of sites). I'll probably choose a lower number next time. Bathroom was clean. It was very quiet the night I stayed. Absolutely perfect! I'll definitely be back!!!

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

We made reservations online, got there Tuesday and left Thursday. We stayed at site 7 in the primitive tent camp ground. It was well shaded and not right on the road. The boardwalks and beach are closed, but at the end of the primitive campground (if you are staying there, only) you can access the Pamlico River and Goose Creek.

The toilets were clean, and the camp site was clean. The have have firewood available in the primitive section just before sites 5 and 6, it’s $5 per milk crate, but bring cash and exact change. The rangers drive through regularly if you need anything.

There wasn’t anyone near us and only one other occupied campsite while we were there so it was really peaceful. No issues with cell service from AT&T.

All in all, it’s your basic primitive camp site. We plan to return, and will probably try to stay closer to sites 12, 13, or 14 since they are closer to the dock and water.

If you have small children there’s not much they can do (we didn’t go to the visitors center) so be sure to bring things to occupy them.

The 24 hour campground park ranger stays on the first site of the right side entrance. There is a oyster fishery nearby. You can gather your own wood as there are nearby paths to gather large and small wood. The cost is $10 per site and one site has a double pad for $20 a night. It is quiet and enjoyable. The nearby beach is Atlantic beach as 20 minutes and your at the beach. The campsiye is on the Pamlico sound Pamlico river. The driveway is a small dirt road and can be easily missed so slow down when entering.  We used a 6 person tent that had adequate space even with a dodge caravan to park in our space.

The RV park has full hook up which is wonderful. All the amenities are close together and accessible. We have stayed in some state parks where the water is literally 100' away! The bath house is heated which is really nice when going after dark. The shower water saver is ok but the water temperature from night to night is inconsistent; it ranges from tepid to really warm. The campsites are all setup on gravel and are fairly level. We got a good bit of rain while we were there but it didn't flood our site. The picnic tables are a heavy plastic so unlike the wooden at other campsites, should last a long time. The park grass is being allowed to grow to fill in the sandy area. The grass around the camping area is cleared. The camp roads are asphalt and great for walking and biking. The spacing between the RV sites is also good because they are spacious and setup in such a way you are not looking left at your neighbors window and he's looking at the neighbor beyond that! A short distance further into the campground are the'primitive' camps. Shortly after we stopped at the parking area, we were told by a park ranger to stay out of the rustic camp area. No explanation was given. The park has trails on the primitive side, a small dock for launching kayaks and canoes and a small beach area. None are allowable/accessible to the RV camper. From the water, later that day, we did see a small crowd gathered around a tent and being very boisterous. They were camped within feet of the water. Many RV campers were like ourselves, avid kayakers or canoers. Although a short drive(7 miles) to Dinah's Landing, it's still a drive. Go too late in the morning and parking will be an issue. We launched off of a sandy little beach area and had many options for exploration. Go far enough back and the real world will eventually disappear and it will be just you and nature. In the area surrounding the campground there are no local stores/gas stations available. We wanted to purchase some firewood but were unable to locate any closeby. There is a Food Lion and a Walmart located in Washington about 9-10 miles away as well as some food options if you don't want to cook. I think like any campground, there is room for improvement. Maybe, since the RV sites are so new, there will be new amenities coming in the next year. We sincerely hope for the RV side, access to the water is created. We have stayed there twice and appreciate the solitude just not having to drive to load/unload our kayaks just to get in paddle time.

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 did primitive camping, and they were way nice, very spread out and the kids brought their bikes and that's what they did most of the time, and we felt like it was safe enough for them to go bike riding. There was a place where we could put off on a kayak or go fishing

They have little cabins that are not too expensive either that have air and heating, if we go in the summer again we will probably do those

The only thing we mentioned was it would not be very fun if you went with a group because the places were so spread out and where not big enough to have more than one tent each

The bathrooms did not have running water, but they do a composting type of toilet and it did not stink at all and they were always very clean.

Great trip despite the flat tire!

Camping on the beach? What could be better! From driving up and down the beach to just parking and relaxing. This place is amazing.