Outer Banks

Cape Lookout National Seashore

 

Anyone know if Ocracoke requires a pay for permit to drive on the beach, and is it open all year or just a particular season?

 

see ya soon...

 

Yes the island requires all the same permits...beaches open for driving are seasonal with some portions year around.. all details here: https://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/permitsandreservations.htm

 

Thanks! Yeah couldn’t find anything on the driving seasons, I’ll have to give the park service a call.

 

https://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/maps.htm

 

The NPS (National Park Service) campgrounds are very nice. Nothing fancy (cold showers) but clean and well located. I have camped at Cape Point, Oregon inlet, and Ocracoke campgrounds and all are clean and well maintained.And cheap. I have never camped there in high season so that may be different, but in the fall there is no problem finding a space.

 

dont be one of these guys...


https://www.youtube.com/embed/nkcymsicOA8

 

ORV access in Cape Hatteras National Seashore is highly regulated and at times significantly restricted for reasons having to do with wildlife. The beaches are open all year for driving, ($120 yearly, $50 for a 10-day pass) but certain areas are subject to closure at any time for days, weeks or months at a time.

 

Yes sir!

 

I’m mainly looking for campgrounds and not camping on the actual beach for my first time camping down there. Plus I’d like a place to bathe and use a toilet lol I’ve found plenty of actual campgrounds just looking for ones that people love and have nice facilities.

 

So many campgrounds on the outer banks, NPS and private. I like the NPS campground at Ocracoke the best bc I love ocracoke lol this is from last May
Edit: only the bluefish pic is at The ocracoke campground lol





Frisco campground is nice too

 

There are four public (National Park Service) and multiple private campgrounds located along Hwy 12 from Nags Head south on the Outer Banks. Camp Hatteras and the KOA in Rodanthe are the two most upscale (and are priced accordingly with tents at $75+/night in peak season). Ocean Waves (also in Rodanthe) and Frisco Woods (in Frisco) are two other well rated but somewhat cheaper private cg's. No campground between Nags Head and Ocracoke is actually located on the beach - those that are 'oceanside' are at least a few hundred yards from the water and have a line of dunes between the sites and the ocean. Camp Hatteras, KOA and Frisco Woods (and possibly others) do have sound side sections with waterfront sites.

We stay at the NPS facilities unless they're closed (seasonal, gov't shutdown). Oregon Inlet is the most northern and only Federal CG with sites having water and electric hookups. Its also the most convenient for 'developed activities' - Wright Brothers Memorial, Jockey's Ridge SP, The Lost Colony, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, The Elizabethan Gardens, restaurants and night life. Cape Point is located behind the Hatteras Light in Buxton. Frisco is a few miles further south and our favorite because it is located within the dune line with vegetation providing more site privacy. You'll need to take the free ferry over to Ocracoke if you want to stay in the NPS campground there. Oregon Inlet, Cape Point and Ocracoke are basically open fields with fairly large sites. Even with the addition of hookups, I don't think Oregon Inlet has hot showers and I know the other three are cold water only. All four have flush johns.

NPS campgrounds open April 12 this year. Other than Memorial Day and July 4th weekends, you won't have any problem getting into any of the Federal campgrounds. You should probably make a reservation or arrive mid-week, if you want a guaranteed site for those dates. You will need a permit to drive on any Park Service lands (ocean or sound side). A beach driving permit is not required from Carolla to the VA line but a parking permit is. I don't go up there so not sure what the actual regs are. If you'll be visiting more than once this year, get the $120 annual permit (good for 12 months from date of issue) rather than the $50 weekly. Be sure to air down (I go to 16-18 psi on KO2's) BEFORE you even start over the access ramps. The conditions are usually the worst right around the ramps. Bring a full size shovel and at least sixty feet of snatch/tow straps (no metal hooks). A good 12V compressor is a plus but there are several commercial stations with free air scattered about.

Have fun/

 

So happy to see activity on this thread. The NPS campground in Frisco by the airport has some really great secluded tent sites. One of my personal faves.

 

Ya it’s a pretty cool landscape with the hidden tent sites lol
Beware giant fearless raccoon raiders

 

Hahaha. Yeah tucked back in the dunes under the live oaks. So good! And yeah, keep your trash in your vehicle, damn trash pandas.

 

I second this, although I have not stayed there, yet.. I rode through last year to check out the sites and there’s some really nice ones over looking the ocean. Might try and set up there in May for a week once the fish show up.

 

Wow lots of great info guys. Thanks! I'll be reserving a site soon for me and my pooch to spend 3-4 days in April-May to do some fishing.

 

Frisco used to see the least visitation of any of the four NPS campgrounds but that has certainly changed in the last few years. We'd rather be there than any other campground on the OBX - public or private and even if the cost were the same.

The raccoon population there and at Cape Lookout NS has been reduced significantly - due IMO to NPS 'predator management' programs. On Portsmouth, we had to hook the screen doors on the cabins to keep them out at night but I haven't seen one there for several years now. Still great advice to keep your site clean and to secure all food and garbage.

 

It’s so perfect there. I’ve been going to Hatteras Island literally my whole life, 33 years, and have rented cottages 95% of the time. But The two times I’ve tent camped in that campground are some of my fondest memories. A lot of memories.