Washington D.C to the Outer Banks in N.C.

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grooving grandpa

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Driving 36 ft Winnebago with tow car. Will be staying at Cherry Hill RV Park in College PK, MD outside of Washington DC.  Recommendations for getting to the Outer Banks in N.C. Any state parks in area to stay at? Recommendations for other RV Parks.
Thanks, Lou Gaudin
 
I don't recall any state parks in the outer banks. The Federal parks as I recall have no hookups. I was planning to stay there, but day I arrived they shut them all down due to some sort of government shut down/closure I never understood. The parks were being run by volunteers.

Anyhow we couldn't use the parks like we planned, so we took a delightful ferry (with the dog and the RV) over to Ocracoke Island and had a wonderful time! Well worth the effort if you can get a spot in there. We rented a golf cart, because they are street legal everywhere and we only had one bicycle at the time for the two of us. We stayed at Teeters RV park. You can walk to town from there too.

We also camped at OBX Campground. As I recall, we had trouble getting spots in some of the places we wanted to be. All RV parks are kind of pricey.

This might be useful in your hunt:
https://www.outerbanks.org/where-to-stay/campgrounds-rv-parks/#seeall


Also, we took the ferry from Ocracoke to Cedar Point NC, we stayed at a Federal park there that is quite delightful though the workampers were not so lovely.
 

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Thanks, Dear Miss Mermaid, Definitely will take the Ocracoke Island ferry. Will check  out Teeters RV Park.  We also have a 12# killer dog. How long did you stay on the Outer Banks.? Will check out the web site you posted.

Lou Gaudin
 
Well we were planning a lengthy stay, but when the federal government flipped out, it put a serious dent in our plans so we had to keep changing our plans. Since we were planning to dry camp at the Fenderal beach parks which don't take reservations but since it was October, and we were told there would be plenty of spots.

They wouldn't even let us photograph the Cape Haterras Lighthouse! I am still scratching my head over that one. At one point we were stopped by Federal agents blocking a road who made me make a 10 point turn in my motorhome while traffic backed up like crazy with no one knowing that for some strange reason they had closed off the road. He seemed rather angry that my motorhome couldn't make a U-turn on such a narrow road.

Some cars immediately behind us were "ordered" to pull over into a ditch while we turned this beast of a motorhome around. I think later someone said there was a parking lot down there and they hadn't finished their crude gate for it. It was embarrassing that we were forced to cause this huge lengthy traffic jam.

We were trying so hard to be loving the Outer Banks, the trip had been in the making for 2 years and I had a friend along for the trip. Neither of us had ever been. But our happy go lucky plans were rapidly going astray. Beaches is one of the top reasons we wanted to go and since we couldn't do that, it was a scramble to come up with a new game plan.

Beaches were closed even though they aren't manned by Federal employees. They actually took time to construct these crummy gates to block off beach parking!

We stayed at Teeters on Ocracoke for what little time they could give us, only because they had a no-show we were able to squeeze in. Ocracoke was a blast!

Our planned month turned into just a few days.  :eek:

 
DW and I Spent 3 weeks on the Outer Banks in Sept and Oct. 2013. We were forced to leave in Oct. because of the government shut down. We loved the Outer Banks and may go back soon. As DearMissMermaid stated, there are several National Campgrounds that are very nice. Some of the NG are on the beach and all NG can be walked to over improved walkways. We camped in a 38' type A MH and had no problem finding a long enough spot to camp. We visited all the light houses (climbed the 257 step Cape Hatteras Lighthouse), climbed the sand dooms at Kill Devil Hill and visited Kitty Hawk. We came by ferry from Cedar Point, NC to Ocracoke, crossed by free ferry to Cape Hatteras and left by highway 64. We used privet campgrounds to dump, refill our water and wash cloths. We have visited all 50 stated (49 in MH) and enjoyed this trip.

ps: I was 75 at that time.

Frank
 
Thanks Frank, I am 76 years old. DW just had 2nd knee replacement. So she should be up to it next year. I hope we can keep up with you on the 257 steps. I will check out the NG. Also, since you have travel 49 states, what is you opinion of over nighting at Walmarts. I have heard pro- and cons. I have no problem, but I need to assure the boss.
 
Sorry that it took me so long to respond. I have been working from 7:30 am to 6 pm at a veterinary hospital and we have been camping at a state campground (No internet).  I have spent the night at Walmart, but we don't make a habit of staying at Walmart. I always talk to someone before we stay and I try to buy groceries and supplies while we are there. We will usually spend from $75.00 to $150.00 so it not as if we bum off of them. I hope that your wife's knees do well and that you are able to make the trip next year.

Frank
 
We stayed at First Landing state park near Norfolk, found it to be a great location for exploring the outer banks, Williamsburg, Roanoke Island, etc. Just over the dunes to the ocean, very spacious and private spots.. It would be about 3 hrs or so to the southernmost islands, we enjoyed our stay there very much.
 
lougaudin said:
Thanks Frank, I am 76 years old. DW just had 2nd knee replacement. So she should be up to it next year. I hope we can keep up with you on the 257 steps. I will check out the NG. Also, since you have travel 49 states, what is you opinion of over nighting at Walmarts. I have heard pro- and cons. I have no problem, but I need to assure the boss.
We overnight park (ONP) at Walmart while traveling cross country and it works fine.  Also Sam's Club welcome's RV'ers.  Quieter than WM.

Suggestions:
-- Pick smaller towns, not large cities.  WM's are less busy and more welcoming to ONP
-- I usually look at the store and surrounding area with Google Earth or Google Maps/smartphone satellite view to see if there is some reason we don't want to stay there.  Easy access, or bad part of town. 
-- We call the store, usually mid day and say something like, "We are passing through Anytown, USA this evening in our RV and are wanting to be sure it will be OK to park in our RV overnight."
-- Park away from the store entrances.  We like to park around the perimeter of the parking lot when we can.
-- No lawn chairs BBQ grills etc. 
-- One night only.  This is not a campground. 
 
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