Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Nags Head, NC

We loved this no-frills campground. Upon arrival, we were greates by the camp host, Glenn who was incredibly helpful throughout our stay. We stayed at Beechland for 6 days and really enjoyed our stay. The hook ups all looked new and this may have been the cleanest camp ground I've ever stayed at. The bathrooms, showers and pool were pristine. We saw a staff member cleaning them every day at 9am. We brought our dogs with us. There was plenty of grass for them, a dog park, and several bag stations. Beechland is conveniently located within walking distance to downtown Manteo and is only a 10- 15 minute drive to Nags Head Beach.

Beechland doesn't have a laundry room or campstore but there is a grocery store, laundromat and coffee shop just down the road.

We stayed at Hatteras Sands Campground for Memorial Day weekend and had an amazing time. They had nice sites with 50 amp and 30 amp hook ups and WiFi throughout the camp ground. Each site also has free cable with a long list of channels and they are actually good channels so don’t forget to bring the coax cable. The WiFi wasn’t blazing fast but it’s free WiFi. Each site has a concrete pad for the trailer. They are pet friendly. There bath house is clean and well kept. They have a pool and games in the office for everyone as well as a laundry center. And all of the staff in the office was amazing and so friendly. Definitely a little more of a drive to get to than other sites but it’s definitely worth it. It’s about an hour and a half from the heart of nags head and kitty hawk. Amazing campground and can’t wait to go back and will drive the extra hour for anytime!

Oregon Inlet Campground is located on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is the first campground found on the island, very close to Nags Head, on the beach side of route 12.

We prefer campgrounds like Oregon Inlet, because they are natural and have beautiful scenery. We love being within steps of the ocean and being able to stare at the tip of the lighthouse (Bodie Island - you can tell by the direction of the stripes!) through the dunes. The Outer Banks also has some amazing stars - we watched a meteor shower which was incredible!!

Oregon Inlet Campground has a loop (Loop A) which only allows tent camping. Most of the sites are pretty close together (many too close for our comfort) but there are a couple that are tucked back in the dunes and a bit further away from the rest.

This campground has free hot showers - just pull the ring and nice warm water runs for about 20 seconds before shutting off. Outside the bathhouse there is a water fountain that has a water bottle fill up station - which is SO nice at the beach!!! We were able to refill waterbottles easily - with water we felt good about drinking! It also did not have the salty taste that many beach water fountains do!

Sites are basic and close together (no wood fires allowed), you’re basically camping in the sand dunes. Short walk across the dunes to the beach. Showers and toilets are clean and good. I came in April and not sure if it’s like this all year round but my site was like a wind tunnel so be prepared for that. Location is good - close to the lighthouse and maybe 15 min south of busy commercialized Nags Head. Requires advance reservation through recreation dot gov. Only thing I didn’t like was how close the sites were to each other but other than that all was good.

Let's cover the negatives first- The "tent pads" are small. The sites are exposed. The bugs are vicious.

Now, the good stuff- This place is right in Nags Head, which is a gorgeous little town. It's basically on the beach (short walk through the dunes). Nice, hot showers. Not far from Bodie Island lighthouse. Near some great fishing. Close to the pier. Probably 20 minutes from the Write Brothers Memorial. I could go on and on.

If you stay here, do yourself a favor and bring a big beach umbrella. There are no trees. Also, be aware, you'll need bug spray especially right when you get out of the shower. The mosquitoes can be horrific.