Carolina Beach State Park

We dry camped in site 13 while at Carolina Beach State Park. It was a really fun stay..plenty of trails to hike and historic places to visit. Here is a full blog on camping here: https://www.fulfillingtravel.com/carolina-beach-state-park-camping/.
The site was a little tight, but once we parked it was really nice. We'd definitely stay here in the off-season again.

Camped here offseason for a week in Jan 2023. Sites are very spacious and separated with lots of trees. There are a few sites with full hookups (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15), the rest have nothing but a shared water spigot nearby. They lock the gates between 6pm and 7am, but there is an alternate way to get in and out - ask about that when checking in. There's a brewery within about a 10 minute walk from the campground. Lots of walking/running trails around the campground, maybe 10 miles worth between all the trails. No biking on the trails. Lots of food options within a short drive of the campground. Very good Verizon cell service. Probably too many trees for Starlink to work.

The park was easy to find. It is located about 15 miles south of downtown Wilmington on Rt 421. There is pavement all the way including in the park. Signage is adequate. Check in was friendly but a waste of time. Sites are booked on line but you must “Check In" at the Marina Store which is quite a distance from the campground. The rules are fairly basic. The interior roads are in good condition and somewhat Big Rig Friendly. Their are some low branches but not big enough to cause any damage.

Our site, 59, was a back in that was plenty long enough for our Coach and Towed. It had NO services. This is a Handy Capped site but we were told to use it as it was the only one left that could accommodate our rig. Distancing is good for a rural park. All sites had a vegetation privacy barrier. Each site has a table and a fire pit. Our site was heavily sloped. Our left rear wheel was off of the ground when our auto leveler was applied. Overall the park was quiet and relaxing.

There is NO park included wifi or cable TV. We did not find any OTA channels. Satellite might be difficult. We did not use the washrooms or showers but we checked and found them clean.

There are no restaurants or stores within easy walking distance but just a short drive away you can find food, shopping and convenience stores. We found this park to be an okay overnighter. We paid $20.00 per night and we feel we received fair value. We will be back if in the area again.

We got a “rv/tent” site, the drive pad was maybe a foot wider than our van so we didn’t really get to use the site. Called to see if we could park in the “tent” area by the fire pit, they obviously said no. So we paid for a parking spot essentially.

Staff isn’t the nicest to deal with. We didn’t get campground rules or anything to know what was allowed. Feels poorly run for all the state parks we’ve stayed in across the country.

We’ll do a parking lot somewhere next time and save the money...

We had a great time here!! Everything about camping here was easy. Reservations, check in, check out etc... The park rangers were great. They patrol the campgrounds- which made me feel very safe. The park was clean, even on a busy weekend.

The sites have a good measure of privacy. Lots of lovely trees and wildlife. We saw deer, egrets, pelicans, etc

Lots to do here! Tons of trails, kayaking, the beach is just a few miles away, and the marina is very close by.

We are looking forward to coming back again!

This place is beautiful! Quiet, secluded sites. Walking trails. Know these few things though! 1) The gates are locked overnight. No ins or outs, no exceptions ( unless 911 involved). Late arrival? You are sleeping at the gate. 2) Very few electric sites. Like to boondock? Great BUT you better check on the size n width! I have a teardrop camper, I can fit just about anywhere. These campsites are carved out between trees n stumps. You better be okay with backing in with no error and inches to spare. Friends in an Imagine specifically asked. We’re told they’d be fine. They did it but no fires to be had at their site as they are literally parked over the pit. Other friends in Minnie Winnie had same issue. Not on it but too close to light one. Know before you go! 😉

As for not staying again that is only out of personal preference. We wanted to trail ride on bikes, not allowed. Wanted to paddle board but the currents are CRAZY STRONG. No direct access to water except at marina. Nearby towns are cool but very covidy right now! 😷

A natural type campground with only a few campsites offering hook-ups (15/30/50A, H20, Sewer), but most all of them offering decent, natural spacing from your neighbor. All sites have a fire pit and picnic table.

The roads are more narrow than we prefer in a big rig - but completely accessible.

While we were here (January 2021), the campground was undergoing some construction - adding several cabins - and about half of the campsites were closed. Being here in January also meant that the gates to the park were locked from 6pm until 8am - no exceptions and no code provided. This was a bit of a pain in the behind, but manageable with planning.

The campground was surprisingly loud - lots of leaf blowing - and garbage receptacles are strewn throughout the loops in front of every few campsites, creating 'trash receptacle' noise. Each morning, we were awakened by volleys of gunshots (?) from nearby.

Nice trails winding throughout the park. A .5mile walk/bike down some trails and a greenway path leads you to a local brewery. A bit longer walk in the other direction will get you to a grocery store. The beach is 1.5 miles away. You can walk the park's trails to viewing points of the river/inlet area.

Verizon offered 5G data with download speeds near 100Mbps. Verizon's 4G/LTE data was a bit unstable - but was usable most of the time. AT&T 4G/LTE provided a much more stable/usable experience.

Paid $30 per night for 2 nights (although we were evacuated the 2nd day because of Coronavirus shutdowns). Full hoopkups (50amp, water, sewer). Stayed in site 5.

There aren't very many RV sites in the campground (most are tent or cabin), but the RV sites are enormous. You could fit a couple rigs per site and still have room leftover. And the campground access road is wide and easy to maneuver.

The water pressure was on the low side but still adequate.

The gates close at 9pm (although I noticed some months have different hours, so be sure to check). That means after 9am you can't leave the park or get back into the park if you're not back in time. There's a CVS within reasonable walking distance if you really need something, but be sure to plan ahead.

Unlucky for us, North Carolina state parks decided to close all state park camping so we were given 2 hours to evacuate on our 2nd day. Too bad because the campground was nice and quiet.