Outer Banks National Park Service campgrounds

August is one of the busiest times, height of tourist season in the Outer Banks. Vacancy is at a premium at any campground. We always reserve 6 months or more out.

We stayed at Frisco campground. No hookups but some nice isolated sites with trees. Generators allowed.Oregon Inlet has added some sites with hookups. We enjoyed the Wright Brothers Memorial, Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum and the Life Saving Museum in Rodanthe.Of course the summer is the busiest time, you may be able to find a site by going in on a Sunday afternoon when the weekenders are leaving.

These CGs are generally full from mid-June through Labor Day. Might be very fortunate and find a space, but not likely. As previously stated, this is 'high season' on the Outer Banks.

ok thanks to all of your replies. We figured they may be hard to get into. Tara

caysea7254 wrote:
ok thanks to all of your replies. We figured they may be hard to get into. Tara

But that don't mean you shouldn't try. They may have a few openings or cancelations,especially if you can be a little flexible. It doesn't hurt to check.

Local schools will be starting back. Also the NPS campgrounds now take reservations and some now have hookups (Oregon Inlet for example). I just checked and I see plenty of open reserve sites for late August. We leave nearby and we were able to get an electric site in Mid-August just a few weeks out booking but I don't suggest you wait that long. Do you know which campground(s) you want to spend the most time at? Oregon Inlet is good choice while doing the activities up in Nags Head area.

Yes Oregon inlet was our 1st choice. We are still going there we figured there will be somewhere to camp. Since we started fulltime in Feb this year we cannot believe how many campers there are everywhere! Wow how times have changed. Thanks everyone for info! Tara

With the possible exceptions of the W&E sites at Oregon Inlet and over the Labor Day weekend at all four NPS facilities, you will not have a problem getting a spot at any of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore campgrounds at any time from now through the end of the season. Just check recreation.gov for the number of open sites for any day(s) in August and September. We live about a hundred miles from the OBX and camp there frequently - the only times these fill is Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.

Do the Oregon sites have Water and Electric? From the website it looks just like electric. Website a little confusing, perhaps because I look at at when I wake up at 5am and am not functioning on all cylinders. While the site says water hookups when you look at reservation section I see electric hookups but no mention of water.

We want to do Outer Banks but that trip will probably be in a year or two. Have looked at the commercial CGs, any comments on those?

pbeverly wrote:
Do the Oregon sites have Water and Electric? From the website it looks just like electric. Website a little confusing, perhaps because I look at at when I wake up at 5am and am not functioning on all cylinders. While the site says water hookups when you look at reservation section I see electric hookups but no mention of water.

We want to do Outer Banks but that trip will probably be in a year or two. Have looked at the commercial CGs, any comments on those?

The NPS Oregon Inlet campground has 20-25 sites with both electric and water hookups. I'm not sure of the amperage as we seldom camp there but have seen some big boys plugged in.

Camp Hatteras, KOA and Ocean Waves (all in the Rodanthe area) seem to be the most popular commercial cgs. We prefer the more laid back atmosphere found further south around Buxton and Hatteras. Frisco Woods would be my choice there for hookups.

Shade and understory vegetation for privacy are pretty much non-existent at any of the Outer Banks campgrounds. The commercial ones pack you in way too close for my liking. The NPS sites are typically a good bit larger and the Frisco campground south of Buxton is located among the dunes has several secluded sites (but no hookups).

Hope you're able to visit with us soon.