If you love the beach you will love it here! Go to sleep hearing the ocean, wake up early to go over the sand dunes to see a beautiful sunrise. There is no electric or hot water in the showers, but that hasn’t stopped us in three years!
Site was clean and well maintained. Basic Beach camping on this beautiful island!
We fully enjoyed the beach. Kids were able to surf with program at the local surf shop. Village is recovering from a Hurricane but it had some nice restaurants. The high temperatures would probably keep us from camping in July again.
This place is such a hidden gem, on such a remote island! Though we did hit some snags - We tent camped and unfortunately there was a horrific thunder storm one of the nights. The campground is right next to the beach on low ground so does flood easily. We stayed in B010 and our tent ground did not flood, but the parking spot did (no big deal) but sites around the back half of the campground further from the beach were completely flooded. It is also terrifying to tent camp during a lightning storm here because your tent is the tallest thing around. Also the mosquitos are AWFUL. But with the negative experiences aside, we would absolutely stay here again (perhaps with an RV instead...). The campground is located a bit down the main highway, so you are still a short 5-10 minute right to town if you so please, or you can escape into the coast for a truly remote experience. All sites are separated from the beach by the sand dunes, and it's a short walk up/down the dunes to the beach. The beach itself is very private - we went during Fourth of July weekend and still only saw a few others on the beach (I imagine because it's a bit further away/ hard to get to for non campers.) There are amenities (bathroom, and a separate shower stall) but the showers were cold and mosquito-infested (they bite you as you are trying to shower - another reason I think I'd come back with an RV... lol!) There was also no water source here - I believe NPS turned off all water fountains due to covid, and water is hard to come by / expensive on the island, so bring your own jugs!! The campground itself is a mix of more shaded, secluded spots, and wide open grassy field sites. It's a mix of RV, pop ups, and tents. There are no fires allowed but each site comes with a picnic table and charcoal grill. The campground is very quiet and dark after dusk so you truly feel like you're remote, and you can even hear the sound of the ocean crashing beyond the dunes as you sleep! Definitely bring LOTS of bug spray and citronella candles, I lived in Florida so am no stranger to mosquitos, but the bugs here are no joke. I also suggest bringing a screenroom with fine netting for your site - I never believed in these screen canopies before but I am now converted. It was a life saver!
July 4th trip with family and dog. Easy access to amazing dog friendly beach, few minutes walk from camp spot just over the dunes. Park does great job maintaining both restrooms and grounds. One of coolest beaches we've ever been to, extremely secluded and great for kids/dog and swimming. D Loop: # 28 inside loop was decent spot for tents only with better breeze than some of outer spots that are surrounded with brush. Town of Ocracoke is really neat, drive thru on the way to campground from ferry. Did not venture out too much do to covid, but would love to visit in the future. Cons: Mosquitos! Will eat you alive at night, fine during the day; just come prepared. Also, large group two sites down played loud music from their cars both nights of our stay till 10pm. Rangers drove by them but did not tell them to turn down, I understand it was a holiday weekend but more should have been done. Overall great spot, would pick a different time of year next time due to mosquitos but will return!
Clean camp grounds, could use additional shower. Overall great experience.
A great National Park Service Campground! If you are lucky you can get a site with private access to the beach. You can't reserve a specific site online so you have to choose it when you get there. We camped here in October, so we had tons to choose from!
The campsite was multi-tiered with a flat grassy area with a picnic table at the bottom, a path to another flat sandy area where we put our tent, and then a path over the dune to the beach. The bathrooms have cold showers and are pretty basic. No fires at this campground but you can have a fire in the grill.
Ocracoke is such a special place with lots of fun things to do and see in town or just spend the whole time at the beach!
You sleep to the sound of the waves crashing
Drove down from our 4 night stay in Kitty Hawk, took the ferry over to Ocracoke. Tent camped for the night. Our little spot (D25) had a paved drive that I could back into, a grill and a picnic table. So everything you need really. It dog legged off to the right into to smaller trees witch we took advantage of as a wind break.
We walked over the dunes to the beach, water was warm but the surf was a bit rough so I only went out about waste deep (Rip current). Wind was up that day too, a lot of sea shells on the beach if your into that.
Grounds had shower stalls with cold water, no problem for us and they had men's and women's restrooms that were clean and well lit.
We would defiantly recommend this campground and I hope to stay there again some day!
So that it can be a secret. What a magical place. A few great nights at the end of May. Clean bathrooms, refreshing (cold) showers, we were early enough in the year that bugs weren’t a problem (apparently they get wicked in the late summer). Bring a sun shade - even as we were in a more secluded area surrounded by trees we still had a LOT of sun exposure.
The campground is wonderful. There were plenty of spaces available during my stay (6/6-6/9), especially the field lots. If you would like a dunes site, get there just before or at checkout. Also, check the winds before setting up a tent (15mph winds added an hour to set up).
The campsite is very dark and quiet after 10p, which makes it very peaceful. Make sure you have a small flashlight ready for the late night run to the restroom, otherwise you may run into one of the grills.
The park ranger I checked in with was very friendly and informative, letting me know all the rules, including the wood fire ban during my stay. You will be asked to choose a few spots before you set up, so I would suggest looking at the map posted in the photos for possible locations.
The village of Ocracoke is two miles from the campground, about seven from the Hatteras ferry. If you forgot or don’t have room to bring your bike, many places in town have bikes for rent by the day, and many told me I could ride and keep the bike out at the campground.
If you are looking for a getaway from everyday chaos, definitely stay on the island and at this campground.
Beautiful and clean. Primitive showers, but hey...You're on an island. Bathrooms, clean drinking water. Can hear the ocean from your site. Markets close by. Delicious fresh caught seafood.
Ocracoke was wonderful in so many ways. Huge sites, only sand dunes separating you from the beach. Each night, the crashing surf lulled us to sleep.
The toilets and sinks are in nice, new buildings. Great facilities. The shower stalls, on the other hand, were by themselves, in the middle of each loop. The stalls are not housed in a building, just open in the middle of the field. (Felt like Petticoat Junction, if anyone else is an old time like us.) Water is only cold, we knew that ahead of time. Doors on shower stalls would not lock, and there's nowhere to put your dry clothes, etc.
No shade in the campground, so prepare to create your own.
We loved it and look forward to returning.
Several ferries service the island. On the south side, two paid ones, on the north side, the ferry is free.
Pros: this campground has a little more privacy than some of the other Cape Hatteras National Seashore ones. You can hear the ocean all night, and the campground itself is pretty quiet. Showers are free, but water is not heated.
Cons: the amenities are outdated, especially the showers. The mosquitoes are horrible here; in addition to being right by the ocean, the centers of the loops of the campground are grassy fields, and I think that's why there are so many mosquitoes. It was so bad, I couldn't even stay outside to prepare dinner after dark - I had to go into town for a meal.
Given how bad the mosquitoes were, I likely wouldn't stay here again. But it is a very pretty campground.
It't beautiful and has a bathhouse. Sleeping on the beach sand is so comfortable. Fall or spring is are great times to go. There is a very short walk over the dunes to get to the most beautiful beach in the whole world! There is the really sweet town of Ocracoke to visit just a very short drive from the campground. Ocracoke is were Blackbeard was captured which is also a fun draw to the island.
This is a favorite spot - among the dunes and in a tent. The basic sites are clean and the facilities are fine - cold shower only.
But....the key is the location. You are right next to the ocean and it's not overrun with people.
Go here and don't tell anyone!!!
This is a park wit no power or shade. Sand flees and bugs are plentiful. Cooler seasons are perfect and this is right on the ocean. Bath houses are adequate
I camped two nights at Ocracoke in a corner spot tucked in between the sand dunes. It was absolute heaven on earth. I could walk over one small dune and be on the beach. The showers do NOT have hot water, so be prepared for that. It wasn’t a big deal for me, but if you’re traveling with kids it could be difficult. My favorite thing about this campground was the layout of the sites – many of them were very private with small dunes separating them, so you don’t feel like you’re just camped out in a field surrounded by other people. All in all, it was an ideal camping experience and the short drive into the town of Ocracoke is totally worth it. So many great things to see in do in a picturesque little Outer Banks town.
campground is great right next to the beach, nice bathrooms, good showers (cold h2o only). Rangers are great about advising spots based on the weather so you don’t wind up in a flooded area. Mosquitoes are wicked, but a small price to pay.
This is a beautiful campground and we had a site with it’s own path to the beach which was very convenient. The bathhouse was clean but got VERY hot during the day. The campground Is very close to the pony pens and Is a quick drive to Ocracoke village. The biggest con of this campground is the lack of shade and the fact that the manmade dune blocks most of the wind. In the summer heat, it was stifling for tent camping. It was too hot for my northern blood. If I come back here, It would have to be earlier in the season or I would bring an air conditioner.
My hubby and I camped here last summer. We couldn't have been more impressed. It was clean and well ordered. It felt remote and tranquil. We woke up at 5:30 to watch the sunrise over the ocean which was just a hop, skip and jump away from our tent. It was paradise.
I love the campground. I love sleeping on the soft sand. The campground was great and had showers and bathrooms. There is just a short walk to one of the most beautiful beaches in the United States. Just down the road from the campground is the quaint town of Ocracoke. I loved it and want to go back, hopefully with new camping gear. :-)
While all the RV's are at the HUGE KOA village the national seashore parks are filled with tents and a respite from generators.
Although there are moments when the wind hits that you might wish you were in a hard shelled tent.
You can make reservations in advance but with over 100 sites and multiple loops of sites you will be sure to find a spot.
This place has amazing access to surf but if you're not a surfer the next best thing to do is walk to the lighthouse from your campsite.
It was easy to get from here to any of the good surf spots in ocracoke. you can hear the ocean so clearly at night. During the day it was easy to take the tent to the beach to shield us from the sun.
Cape Hatteras is beautiful and the Lighthouse at Ocracoke has a great story!
My favorite memory of this place is falling asleep in my tent listening to the surf break. Nothing like it. Still miss it. It's been 20+ years since then. Time to go back!
