Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Swansboro, NC

We could not have Christmas with our kids, so we went camping. Where? To our new favorite campground, of course!

Back to CP. We were in site 11 on this trip and we reserved it because it is close to the bath house.

The campground has only had about 12-15 campers in it this week. We love the quietness and the wind in the trees. It turned off really cold....I MEAN REALLY COLD, so I have spent a LOT of time inside the camper.

Here are some of our favorite things from this trip:

• Clam Chowder (yes, buy the BIG ONE) from Swansboro Food & Beverage in Swansboro

• Lazzara’s Pizza on Emerald Isle has some AMAZING thin crust pizza (save yourself and don’t settle for Michangelo’s pizza.... not even close to the deliciousness of Lazzara’s)

I did a silent video that show several sites and how big and well kept they are. I showed the end of the nice bath house and captured a few scattered campers and a brave tent camper......brrrrrrr too cold.

This was a very nice, well maintained campground. The staff were extremely polite and helpful. We stayed from Aug 11-14, 2020. The pool was nice on a hot humid day. They have gem mining. You buy the bags of dirt in the camp store. The bathhouses are all very new due to a recent hurricane and they were kept clean. The dock/pier was picture perfect as the sunset over the Neuse river. The playground and jump pad looked like they would be a lot of fun but were closed due to Covid 19 restrictions. They had horseshoes and Gaga-ball that were open. They had 2 fenced in dog parks and a dog washing station. We chose this campground for it’s location near historical downtown New Bern and we would definitely recommend it to others. They have RV sites, tent sites and cabins.

Wilmington  Koa is a nice campground with full hookups and all the "stuff" for the family to enjoy. It has a large pool, but no kiddie pool. They are working on the bathhouses so its a work in progress. Even so they are nice. The showers are very small, but useable. The location is near just about everything. The main road turning into the place can be jammed with traffic at times. The state has been building a bypass for the past 10 years and its still not finished. The camp spots are very spacious and the hookups are easy to get to. The workers are always friendly and willing to help. They have a nice dog park. We have stayed there numerous times and always have a good time.

Full timers and long term on business campers beware! This campground has nothing to offer. The owners of this 1 year old campground are very strict with their rules and regulations. They are very nice in person and when checking in but soon you will find yourself receiving passive aggressive emails from them about rule violation they’ve spotted on the 6 or more cameras throughout the park. They have a very strict leash law here but offer no dog run/park area for your K-9 to play. They claim a dog park is on the list of things to come, but the second half of a drain field will come first. There are no amenities here, other than a very small fishing pond and some poorly maintained walking trails at the rear of the campground that have piles of post construction material scattered about. The campground is on well water and very brown in color so I would not drink or cook with it. Over half of the sites have your living side of the RV facing west and there is not a tree in sight, so in the summer be prepared to bake in the sun. The entire campground is gravel parking lot with 10 foot slivers of grass between each site and god forbid don’t let Sean the owner see you put anything(rug, vehicle, etc…) on his beloved grass. I gave this campground 2 stars… 1 for being dark and quiet at night and the other star for the free and decent wifi. So if you don’t want spied on via cameras, harassed, a dusty rig and a place for Fido to play, I would suggest going 8 miles down the road to an awesome campground called Whispering pines you and your dog will be much happier!

We recently stayed overnight at Wallace Meadows and it was one of the most lovely places we've ever been to! Rich was very friendly and welcoming and the hookup & amenities they offered for a fee were excellent. The bath house was spotless and we each enjoyed a nice hot shower! The property is surrounded by trees and it was very tranquil. There's even a guesthouse which could possibly accommodate fellow travelers who may not have an RV. There's also a laundry room but we didn't use it. They have a background in hospitality and it really shows. Before we left, we purchased some fresh eggs from their farm, beautifully packaged and delicious! We will return to North Carolina. There's so much to see here and we'll definitely return to Wallace Meadows Farm.

This spot is close to everything without being on top of it all! Kid friendly, pet friendly, and very clean! All of the lots are level making for an easy setup! This is nice because you can get to enjoying your time away from home quickly! The owners, Lisa& Shawn are very hands on with this campground making sure that everyone is comfortable and feels at home while staying here! We originally booked 3 nights and added an additional night because we weren’t quite ready for our stay to end! This place is truly a hidden gem!! We will definitely be back!