Best Tent Camping near North Myrtle Beach, SC

Little Pee Dee State Park is a quiet and clean campground on the banks of Lake Norton. Locals often come here for fishing and non-motorized boating.  We were fortunate to witness a mass crayfish event--the recent flooding had brought them out of the swamp and up the spillway, much to the delight of seafood lovers.

The campground had two different campground hosts, and they kept the restrooms and campsites immaculately clean.

Campsites have a fire ring/grate and a picnic table, but no trash cans, and you'll need to bring your trash to a large bin located at the edge of the campsites.

There are some nice sites right at the edge of Lake Norton, but the abundant water plants don't allow you to fish from the side of the lake, and it's not really a swimming lake. These sites accommodate RVs and have water & electric.  If you're on a budget, there are tent-only sites off the water.

The campground recently built a sleeping cabin, which is a cute structure with air conditioning/heat, bunk beds, and a free-standing bed (the cabin sleeps four, total). Guests can use a fire ring and Adirondack chairs, hammock, and grill.

The park also has a nice shelter for use.

There is no WiFi here, and cellular internet is spotty. There isn't a camp store, but the Ranger Station does have ice, firewood, and a small number of souvenirs for sale.

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.

There are only 6 tent sites at this RV friendly park. We stayed in site 4 and had a cut through to the beach. Site 2 also could access the shortcut, but other sites had a slightly farther walk. Going before the bugs come out is a must. Potable water on site and a short walk to bath houses. Beach is absolutely breathtaking and not crowded.

We also went on a night hike to the beach and saw so many stars!

No long hiking trails to speak of, but a few short walks through forest and an interpretive trail are available.

Tent sites are close together. There is little visual or auditory privacy.

Raccoons are abundant and the park has provided lockers for all food. We didn’t have any problems, but neighbors who didn’t store food properly did.

Camp site is situated on a pad that I assume is set up that way for flooding, but it made the campsite feel cramped, even though there were 2-4 feet of cleared space around the raised pad before the tree line.

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.

We used this campground as a stopping point after a trip to Fantasy Lake Water Park.  It's secluded, small, cute, and located right on the Lumber River. 

Our particular site, PA 7, is one of two right on the river's edge, across from the Naked Landing trail.  Sites 7 & 8 would be perfect for two families to camp together, because they'd have the whole trail area to themselves.  These sites have a bit of hike-in required, in that you can't drive up to them (see my uploaded photo of where the parking lot is in relation to the sites).

There is a vault toilet near the parking lot ("that's gonna be a no from me, dog") but an actual restroom facility across the parking lot.

Each of the sites has its own trash can, and a ranger comes by in the morning to empty it.

The river is nice to swim in after a hot summer's day, although the bottom is quite squishy.  It's a good area to fish or use small watercraft.

We slept in hammocks and were awoken at dawn by a cacophony of juvenile barred owls directly above us.

We stayed here for 2 weeks in September 2019. We don’t have kids, so we didn’t need amenities to entertain them. There is no pool, or playground, but there is a large area to walk your pets. Yes, they are PET FRIENDLY.
It’s not a large RV campground, with only 34 back-in sites. You do have FULL HOOKUPS. The owner is very friendly and is easy to work with. He keeps the grounds neat and the showers and restrooms clean. You are only 10 minutes to Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Beach. Also, North Myrtle Beach is only 25 minutes away. They close December 15th, until sometime in spring.
If you are just trying to get a place in the area and don’t need a lot of campground amenities, I would recommend this place to you. We’ll definitely be going back.