Cape Hatteras National Seashore Campgrounds

We have been to three of the four NPS campgrounds several times, most recently in early May this year. We have never stayed at Cape point. Our favorite NPS campground is on Ocracoke Island at the southern end of the island chain. Ocracoke is the only campground that takes reservations. A free ferry ride is necessary to get to Ocracoke, a very enjoyable ride on a nice day. IMO Ocracoke has the shortest walk to get to the beach, with Oregon Inlet being about twice as far and Frisco being a long way from many of the campsites. No idea about weather or campground availability in Aug/Sept, as we always go in the Spring. In early may this year, the campgrounds were only about 25% full.

For pretty good views of the campgrounds, try Google Earth and zoom in as far as you can go.

August it will be hot and muggy. I would think you would need the AC in the afternoon and even at night I think you will need 12v fans. Use Google maps to get a good ariel look at the campsites. As mentioned pretty long walk to the beaches so if you have 4wd you may consider driving out onto the beach. Pray for hard winds and no bugs. The bugs in the grasses of the campgrounds can eat you alive during some times of the year.

The heat and bugs is one thing that bothers us with going there as well. We most likely would go during the summer because of our kid in school. We could go during spring break, but the water is usually still cold during then.

The good thing may be the wind.

X2 for Ocracoke NPS campground. Wind off the ocean some days is great. Otherwise, if it's still with no wind the next day, then a generator for AC and 12 volt fans for nightine are a big help.

Are the gensets required to be off at 10:00pm at Ocracoke?

jspringator wrote:
Are the gensets required to be off at 10:00pm at Ocracoke?

According to the nps website, quiet hours are from 9pm - 7am. So they would need to be off by 9pm.

We camp several times each year at the NPS campgrouds on the OBX. Frisco is our favorite with Ocracoke second, Oregon Inlet and then Cape Point. You won't have any problem in late summer except for Labor Day weekend and you'll be OK then if you can arrive by end of day Thursday. Ocracoke is the only one of the four that accepts resevations.

27' will be fine for any site at Ocracoke, Oregon Inlet or Cape Point. All three are basically open fields with your standard perimeter loop road having sites on both sides and cross roads also with sites on both sides. Most sites are roughly the same size although Ocracoke does have a few on the northern end that are a bit smaller due to encroaching vegetation.

Frisco has a similar road layout but is nestled within heavily vegetated dunes that provide a fair degree of privacy for many sites. There are some sites (maybe 10%?) that would be tight for your camper. If you can arrive between Monday and noon on Friday, you should be able to get a good site here. P55-57-59-61 are generally considered four of the better sites.

It does get warm but generally there's a decent breeze so its not that uncomfortable. We tented there for years with kids and no fans and survived; nowadays a Maxx Air fan over the bed in our camper is more than sufficient.

During the day, the kids will probably want to be in or near the water; keep em well protected from the sun and they'll be fine. If they're young, consider spending time on the sound side where waves and undertow aren't problems. Defintely take the free ferry over to Ocracoke even if you don't camp there. Lots of history and neat things to do/see aroung Manteo and Nags Head. Highly recomend The Lost Colony Outdoor drama.

Mosquitos and greenheads can be a problem if the wind dies down and its rained recently. Carry spray with the highest deet rating you can find. If you're going to be there for several days, a good screen room can make things a lot more livable - just make sure its well guyed and staked.

Al

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all the substantive feedback. I will copy this to my trip planning folder for future reference.

I'm surprised no one has maps. (Maybe there aren’t any.) I'll bring some back if I find them. And your alternate suggestion (Google) is a good idea.

Larry

Captain Larry, I found this one online..