We didn’t experience it much, because we got in late. It was full and the sites are close together. Fairly quiet, though. Nothing between the sites to minimize sight lines. Bathhouse was clean. It’s a fairly long walk to the beach. It has a LOT of traffic noise from the highway.

We tented here and really liked the campground. We stayed in the family campground since we had a vehicle. There are float-in and hike in spots we did not investigate. Our site was clean and separated well. The bathhouse was nice and warm and clean. The rangers were very nice. This has a much better swamp experience than the Great Dismal Swamp.

We stayed in a tent, and enjoyed the quiet and the bird, but especially the skies. This is part of the International Dark Sky Association. We brought stargazing folding chairs (Nemo Stargaze Luxury Recliner, find on Amazon, et al) and binoculars. The campground will loan very easy-to-use telescopes, too! That was really cool. It was clean and quiet. The camp host was very nice as were the rangers and the Park Manager.

They have public star parties there, so check with the park on when they are.

First time here, and really liked it. Access will be a challenge for some. There is a state ferry that runs through the day 9in season), but does not allow a cart to carry stuff. It’s a long walk! We took a private ferry (Pogie’s in Swansboro 5/5 stars) so we could bring what we wanted. We took a lot! With food, coolers, camp stuff, stuff stuff, we took two trips to get everything to the campsite. A cart ($100 from Harbor Freight) was a key to getting to the site alive (we are older)! There is a paved path from the dock to the beachfront, but then deep sand bogged the cart down. Still helpful. The site was clean, with one picnic table. The bathhouse was clean and had a hot shower. Water is available. Cell service (Verizon) varied from none to 5G UW! Came and went inexplicably, but mostly there. I do not know about AC power for charging, so be prepared to have battery or solar recharge capability. There are important things to know:

• Some sites are accessible only by a kayak, etc. They do not have long walks to the site but are a very long walk to the bathhouse.
• Sites are widely spread out, so you could end up a mile from water and bathhouse
• There are NO trash cans or trash collecting points (even in the bathrooms), so you have to pack trash out.
• There is very little shade at the primitive site areas, so hot, sunny days can be challenging. You can hang at the large shelters at the bathhouse, I suppose. Carrying a pop-up shelter would be grueling. A light sunshade would be good.
• During on-season, when the ferry is running, there are LOTS of people that come for day-beach visits, so it can get crowded near the bathhouse. The sites themselves would be remote enough to not be a problem.
• Get up EARLY for shelling, as professional shelters get there early to find good specimens.