Oregon Inlet Campground at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
See the main Camping web page for a location map.
CAMPING SEASON
Oregon Inlet Campground is located near the southern tip of Bodie Island. It is open year-round.
TYPE OF CAMPING
Oregon Inlet Campground can accommodate tent campers, RVs, and other self-contained sleeping vehicles up to 40 feet long. All sites have back-in parking. It is also the only campground at Cape Hatteras National Seashore to have a group campsite.
NUMBER OF SITES
The campground has 117 sites and is divided into an A, B, and C loop, with the 35 sites in A Loop being for tents only. The rest of the sites are for tents and RVs. Each site can accommodate up to six people, two tents, and two vehicles (or one vehicle and a trailer). All vehicles must park on the paved driveway, so if you have a large RV and a vehicle, you might have to park the vehicle in the overflow parking lot outside the campground. If you have more than two vehicles, you must pay for a second campsite.
There is one group campsite (actually three regular sites) that can hold up to 30 people. You need a minimum of 7 people to camp in the group campsite.
There are three sites for disabled visitors.
AMENITIES
Each loop of Oregon Inlet Campground has a modern restroom and an outdoor shower (inside a wooden shelter, so nobody can see you take a shower). The reservation website claims the showers have hot water, but people writing recent reviews state that the water is cold, or “warmed by the sun.” All other campgrounds at Cape Hatteras National Seashore have cold water showers. Thus, expect cold showers and be pleasantly surprised if the water is hot.
There is a dump station for RVs at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center just down the road from the campground.
Forty-seven sites have electric and water hook-ups, making Oregon Inlet the only campground within the park to have such an amenity. Hook-up sites are open to tent campers as well as RVs. All campsites have a picnic table and grill.
For those wanting to get to the beach, there are a number of well-worn paths on the ocean-side of the campground that lead to the beach. The walk is approximately 250 yards (10 minutes).
TERRAIN
A loop, which is for tents only, is nestled among the dunes. The ground is sandy and often uneven, and not every site is big enough to fit a super large tent. If you show up without a reservation, you can drive around and pick out a site from what is available, but when making online reservations all you can do is base your decision on a couple of photographs. Sites A1 through around A23, plus A25 and A27, are uneven, with the only flat places being in sand. Starting from site A24 through A37 (with the exception of 25 and 27) the sites flatten out and you can put your tent on grass.
A Loop is for tents only at Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Oregon Inlet Campground
Flatter tents site in A Loop of Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Oregon Inlet Campground
The uneven and sandy terrain continues into the B Loop from sites B1 through around B13, then things tend to flatten out and the sites get grassier through B24. When you go around to the west side of the loop, it’s back to rough and sandy for sites B27 through B37. The group site and sites B39 through B48 are flat and grassy.
Flat and grassy sites on the B Loop of Oregon Inlet Campground at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
The C Loop is completely flat and grassy, almost like the fairway of a golf course. They appear to be bigger because they are not boxed in by sand dunes. As a tent camper, if I had it to do over again, I would pick a site in C. Yes, you feel more like you are tent camping when nestled among the dunes of A Loop, and you are away from the RVs, but I prefer grass over sand and don’t mind the open space. Either way, there is no shade (there is no shade in the entire campground). For RVs, C Loop or the flat B Loop sites are a no-brainer.
Fairway-flat campsites on the C Loop of Oregon Inlet Campground at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
RESERVATIONS
Campsites at Oregon Inlet Campground can be reserved up to six month in advance at Recreation.gov or by calling (877) 444-6777. Walk-ups are permitted, but payment has to be made through Recreation.gov. Make sure you have a phone or other Internet-connected device. No payment can be made at the campground.
The Group campsite must be reserved in advance, and reservations can be made up to a year in advance. Make reservations online at the same website as individual sites.
FEES
At the time of this writing, campsites with hook-ups are $35/night, while standard sites are $28/night. Group sites are $70/night. But be sure to get the current rates on the National Park Service’s Campgrounds web page for Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
CAMPGROUND RULES
- Check out time is noon. Check in is 1 PM.
- From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, camping is limited to a total of 14 days within a 30-day period.
- Wood fires are not permitted in the campground. Only charcoal cooking fires are permitted in a grill, stove, or other self-contained unit.
- Quiet hours are from 10 PM to 6 AM. No generators at this time.
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on March 12, 2024
