Best Tent Camping near Oak Island, NC

Our family has tent camped here twice and recently reserved a camp cabin for a week this summer. This is a quiet and spacious campground mere miles from Carolina Beach at a price that's hard to beat. We tent camp here around $30 a night for a tent site. Each site is very large and spacious. It could could comfortably fit 2 tents and a car.

This Campground offers bathhouses, picnic tables, and fire rings. Dogs allowed, but not in the cabins. Plenty of walking trails.

Campground is flat and shaded, although there are some primative group sites away from the main campground but they don't have as much shade. Grocery store is maybe 6 miles away.

The group campground is isolated from the rest of the camping areas and is quiet at night. There are a lot of park visitors who walk through the area, but the trail through goes around he main campsites. The pit toilets are in need of some attention, but have always been well stocked. It’s about 400 yards to hike in, so we used a wagon to bring in gear. No water on site, but a really nice fire pit with grill top and 2 picnic tables. Shady tent sites available, but really hot and buggy in summer. Group camp site is about .5 mile hike from the river which is great for wading, but swimming is not allowed.

Many species of carnivorous plants grow here and abundant wildlife.

in the summer months there is a place to rent kayaks and paddle boards at the marina.

The camp ground was really easy to get around with kids, plenty of trails that preschool kids can enjoy as well as adults. Lots of beautiful views just a short hike away. We camped in a primitive tent site, plenty of shade with nice picnic table and fire ring with grill grate. The bathrooms were so clean, we were really impressed. The rangers are super helpful and very nice. One of our best camping trips ever. Fort Fisher Historic site and Aquarium are less than 15 minutes away. Beach accesses are less than 5 minutes away by car. I would highly recommend visiting in early Spring or late Fall. I live a short distance away and the mosquitoes are unbearable in the warmer months.

Carolina beach state park is one of my favorite places to go in North Carolina. Not only does it have an awesome campground, but it's right near one of the best beaches I've ever been to. The sites are nice and secluded, just how I like them. Most of the sites are tent sites, but they have a few full hookup sites for RVs and some cabins to rent too. All of the sites have picnic tables, fire rings, and drinking water.

Within the park, there are tons of hiking trails through a really beautiful area. I hear the fishing is also really good within the park, but I've never done it myself. The only downside is you can't swim within the park, because the currents can get dangerous. The beach is only like 5 minutes away though, so not really a big deal.

As for the beach, it's my favorite one to go to in the states. I like it because it's not really touristy like the outer banks or myrtle beach. Not a whole lot of people come to it, so it's always pretty secluded and clean. In July, the water temperature is perfect, the waves are nice, and it's great all around.

Awesome spot in NC.

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.

Myrtle Beach SP

Arrived in time to take a walk on the beach with my dogs before dark. Beach is off limits to dogs and bikes May 1 - Labor Day 10 am - 5 pm. We visited in October so no restrictions. Unfortunately some pet owners still haven’t figured out that they need to police their dogs poop from the beach :(

The campground was very close to the beach which was nice and the area is generally shaded. Surprisingly the sites are actually not tiny like in some other locations. You have a break between most sites of foliage which also helps keep the noise down. My site was on the edge of the campground with a sand dune right beside, the mosquitoes were still very active even in the 50 degree ranges. The WiFi and signal is lacking but you can go to the campground store area and pick it up….mostly, lol. The showerhouses were well maintained, no heat when I visited (maybe not on yet?)and I had crappy water pressure when trying to get any warm/hot water.

The one down side that I experienced is the proximity of the airport. It didn’t keep me up at night but the campground is on the edge of the incoming flights and you can definitely hear the out going flights. Sorta background noise after you get used to it.

Nice pavilions near the beach for large groups, reserve ahead. The trails are pretty well maintained. Wear shoes due to the copperhead population, save the flip flops for the beach. AND watch out for sand burs! Especially if you have your furry friends along. We stayed off the “grass” areas after we found the first patch and had no more problem with them.

Freeman Park is a beach area located in Carolina Beach. It's the place to take your 4x4 vehicle, your friends, kids, and dogs, and have some fun in the sand, wind, and waves.

First and foremost, make sure you know how to drive in the sand and what to do when your car gets stuck. It happened to us, as well as to many vehicles on the beach.

Also, be aware of the tides, it's dangerous to be driving near the water when the high tide comes in.

The camping is allowed on the beach Labor Day through memorial Day, but might require a permit, check the rules before you go. In the past, the permit was required only after April 1, so we always tried to come in February or March, when the weather is nice but not too hot.

The camping is allowed in the designated spaces. There's enough room for one tent. Remember, when camping on sand, you don't need stakes. Instead you bring 4 plastic bags, fill them with sand, tie the tent corners to the bags and bury them in the sand. This will prevent your tent from flying away,

There are several pit toilets on the beach, some trash cans are provided too. There's a store next to the fishing pier a short distance from the beach where we usually go to brush our teeth in the morning. 

I love Freeman park and give it 4 stars only because it's a primitive camping spot and people should be aware what to expect. It doesn't have fancy amenities, but the proximity to the ocean is priceless. 

Our favorite dining spot: The Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar in Carolina Beach.

This campground is perfect for families! Had a blast with all my young cousins participating in all the daily activities. Highlight of the trip was one of the bears Cindy riding around on a fire truck. Sites are very nice! Concert pads, full hook-ups. They even have family quad sites that seemed fun for reunions. My only complaint is that there is NO SHADE by the pool areas. Tried to bring a small easy up to set up but we had to take it down as it is a wind hazard. Just be advised that you have to have a personal umbrella if you’d like shade by the pool. Other than that, everything is very clean and nice! Creamery and mini golf are also a plus and fun! Kiddos also enjoyed the laser tag.

Myrtle Beach, SC: Beach Access (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(70 yr olds in 17’ trailer with a desire for a campsite that has at least some visual privacy - after the trailer is in the spot.)

Overall Rating: 3 Usage during visit: 85% a few days before Thanksgiving. Site Privacy: Many sites have little to no privacy. Most of the best sites are along the perimeter. Our site, 155, is close to the beach access.
Site Spacing: Close Site surface: Sand Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Not bad along the perimeter. Road Noise: None.
Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Laundry: Yes Potable Water Available: At sites. Bathroom: Yes. Flush toilets Showers: Double curtain showers.
Pull Throughs: Available. Cell Service (AT&T): 1-2 bars Setting: Under many mature deciduous trees. Weather: Warm. Mid to upper 60s Bugs: None this time of year.
Host: Plenty of volunteers around.
Rig size: Large rigs will fit in many sites. Sites: Circle 1 and 2 are pretty congested for the most part. The best chance of a good site is the perimeter sites. Among the best sites are: 188, 190, 191, 194, 196, 294 , 298, 302, 304, 307, 319, 323, 331*, 332333,334*, 336*.,237*, 240*, 241. I liked the sites near the beach access. They are not all great sites, but better than the congested area: 152,153, 154,155 (our site which was very nice), 73,64,16,17,18,19.