Camp Hatteras North Carolina

Has anyone been there?

I'm planning a week there 4th of July week.  The 4th is on a Wednesday this year.  I guess both weekends will be considered holiday weekends.

I'm looking at google maps.

Route 64, at Hampton Roads Bridge  tunnel.

Is there  a road AND a tunnel, and you can  choose which one you  want to  use?

I will be heading there from Maryland.

Is anyone familiar with the area?

Does anyone have any FAVORITE campgrounds in the Virginia area on the way to Camp Hatteras?

Thanks for any  information you have to offer!

Right after I started this thread, I decided to call  and make reservations.

My  goodness, they are mostly booked up ALREADY.  The  woman said that most people come and before they leave, they make reservations for the following year.

Well, we  have a spot for  the week.............................hoping people chime in about the campground and  the area.

My husband and I went to an RV event at Camp Hatteras last year and had a nice time there. It is a big campground and will be very full when you are there. All areas and campgrounds are busy as it is a hot spot in the summer.
Camp Hatteras has bay and ocean access depending upon which side of the campground you stay in. They have inside and outside pools, playground, tennis and basketball courts. They also have nice picnic areas. They have a nice camp store as well for any items you might need.
It will be super busy throughout the area, and if you want to go out in the evening and eat be prepared for long lines.
The area also has nice touristy things to do, and see, so you should have a nice time.


For Travel purposes, we go straight through the Hampton Tunnel on 64. You will have to pull into the RV stop right before the tunnel to show that your propane tank is off if you have one. That pull off is right on the road, and it is just a pull off area.
Sometimes that area of 64 has heavy traffic because of the beach in Virginia and Nags Head. It also depends on the time of day you hit the tunnel.
There are a few Virginia State parks in the area if you look on the VA state park website.

We moved to OBX NC from Ellicott City MD.  In order to avoid I95 and I64 Richmond to Williamsburg we would take route 301 south out of Maryland and down Virginia to route 17 at Port Royal. Drive route 17 south and it will take you to join I64 in New Port News VA.  301 & 17 is really a nice drive.  Stay on I64 for a few miles and take exit to I664.  Traveling on I664 will take you through the Monitor Merrimack Bridge Tunnel in order to avoid the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.  I664 will put you back on I64 which you will take to the exit for route 168 south.  Take route 168 into NC.  Route 168 will become route 158 and follow that to the Outer Banks.  Follow route 158 through Nags Head and at Whalebone Junction get on Route 12.  Route 12 will take you to Cape Hatteras.

With no traffic delays driving car or truck from Ellicott City MD to Nags Head NC would take us about 6 hours including a couple of brief pit stops. Add another hour for the drive on route 12.

If you take route 17 be aware that there are many stop lights in areas, and it will make the drive longer.
My children both went to college in the Newport News area, and I only used route 17 if Interstate 64 was closed or very backed up. Depending on the time of day you hit I64, bad traffic is very possible, and route 17 would be a dream ride in comparison.
If the tunnel bothers you NCSU Dad gave you a good alternate to get around it.

Thanks  to everyone  for the replies.

Now I must study everything  and utilize your ideas.  I  must make  this  trip a  smooth one or hubby will get irritated.  hahaha

I give  the driving instructions...........and he just drives.

Who is  in charge of directions  in  your family?

My husband drove fire engines for 35 years, so he does the driving and I do the navigating.
I use a truckers map, google maps, and an RV gps for each trip. All three have their uses, and keep me informed of the road ahead.
Google maps on my phone lets me see if there are any accidents or time delays.
The truck maps let me check the route, and route around any big city, like Chicago, if the husband wants to go around it.
I also like the RV gps, and compare that with google gps during driving.
The RV gps also lets me see gas stations on my route, and tell my husband what exit, and how far we are form them.
I might be the passanger, but I am not a passive one. I am his extra set of eyes as to what I see on the road that he might not be able to see.
I navigate, so he can concentrate on driving, and most importantly I make him yummy food during our food breaks. ;D
Together we make a great team that's been going strong for 31 plus years.

ziplock said:

Route 64, at Hampton Roads Bridge  tunnel.

Is there  a road AND a tunnel, and you can  choose which one you  want to  use?

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No, it is both in the same stretch of road.

Joezeppy said:

No, it is both in the same stretch of road.

Click to expand...

Aha!

ClickHill said:

My husband drove fire engines for 35 years, so he does the driving and I do the navigating.
I use a truckers map, google maps, and an RV gps for each trip. All three have their uses, and keep me informed of the road ahead.
Google maps on my phone lets me see if there are any accidents or time delays.
The truck maps let me check the route, and route around any big city, like Chicago, if the husband wants to go around it.
I also like the RV gps, and compare that with google gps during driving.
The RV gps also lets me see gas stations on my route, and tell my husband what exit, and how far we are form them.
I might be the passanger, but I am not a passive one. I am his extra set of eyes as to what I see on the road that he might not be able to see.
I navigate, so he can concentrate on driving, and most importantly I make him yummy food during our food breaks. ;D
Together we make a great team that's been going strong for 31 plus years.

Click to expand...

You and  I have  a lot  in  common.  I am  a paper map reader , and play with the gps  in the  rv  and google also.

Thanks for chatting.

Oh, 38 years here. We work well as a team.  I  try to make each trip painless.  hahha

Bumping this thread to  see if anyone else has decided on a similar trip.

Waving!

We are heading there 1st full week in May.  Hoping the weather is good, I like the off season.  We are staying at one of the NP campgrounds near the Hatteras light.  I've been to the OBX a number of times, 1st time for my wife.  Lots to do there, tons of history.... Enjoy 

Kathy & Bill said:

We are heading there 1st full week in May.  Hoping the weather is good, I like the off season.  We are staying at one of the NP campgrounds near the Hatteras light.  I've been to the OBX a number of times, 1st time for my wife.  Lots to do there, tons of history.... Enjoy 

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Report back  on  the  cool stuff you saw and did!  And  if  you get  any seafood  to do  at  your  campsite,  or  eat at  the place, I'll be interested!

Hubby and I are  excited to go.  Heck  we are  happy to  go anywhere.  The  weather around  here  in  Maryland still sucks.  You would  never know  its Spring.  We might have record lows Sunday.  Gees!

Preaching to the Choir as far as the weather goes.  We live near Buffalo, NY.... need I say more.  February was nicer than what we have now, 2" forecast for tonight.  I will be so ready for the OBX when May rolls around!!

yep, February was nice here too.  Seems like we will be  winterized till the end of April.

Heck, we will  probably have the wood stove cranking till May.  Yes, we are throwing ourselves a PITY PARTY!

hhahahah

Kathy & Bill said:

We are heading there 1st full week in May.  Hoping the weather is good, I like the off season.  We are staying at one of the NP campgrounds near the Hatteras light.  I've been to the OBX a number of times, 1st time for my wife.  Lots to do there, tons of history.... Enjoy 

Click to expand...

You may already know this but, just in case, Cape Point is the NPS campground nearest the Lighthouse.  Its basically a large open field with no separation between sites and tends to flood with standing water after heavy rain.  Five miles further south is the NPS Frisco campground which, in my opinion, is much nicer.  Most of the sites are nestled among the dunes and a larger percentage have decent vegetation between them to afford a bit more privacy and some degree of shelter if a storm brews up.  Mosquitoes can be a problem at either but are much worse at Cape Point if its been wet.  Its about the same distance to the beach from either depending on where your site may be.  Hope you folks have a great stay.

Al

Huachuca said:

You may already know this but, just in case, Cape Point is the NPS campground nearest the Lighthouse.  Its basically a large open field with no separation between sites and tends to flood with standing water after heavy rain.  Five miles further south is the NPS Frisco campground which, in my opinion, is much nicer.  Most of the sites are nestled among the dunes and a larger percentage have decent vegetation between them to afford a bit more privacy and some degree of shelter if a storm brews up.  Mosquitoes can be a problem at either but are much worse at Cape Point if its been wet.  Its about the same distance to the beach from either depending on where your site may be.  Hope you folks have a great stay.

Al

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Huachuca...  Thanks for the heads up.  We saw some Youtube videos on the Frisco campground and were leaning that way.  We were going check out Cape Point but with your post probably head right to Frisco.  I'm guessing it's not very busy first week of May.  Do you or anyone else know how busy it might be this time of year?

It has been years since I've been to the OBX.  I use to stay at Ocean Waves in Rodanthe/Waves/Salvo, that looks like it's all built-up around the campground now.  We were going for 4days/5nights but with the weather here in the Buffalo area I'm thinking about staying a couple more days.  We had heavy frost, snow in the air and a high of 41 degrees today.

The NPS campgrounds on the OBX fill up only on holiday weekends so you shouldn't have a problem finding a good site in early May, especially if you arrive between Sunday and Thursday.  We prefer the sites on the inside of the upper loop - P55-P61 or P68 which has a great view if no one is in the small site directly across from it.  "A" loop also has a few sites with a view of the ocean around A10.

Diamond Shoals and Captain's Table are a couple of Buxton restaurants we enjoy for dinner.  Nothing fancy just decent down home fare.  If you want to cook your own, Buxton Seafood has a good selection and will offer great suggestions for preparation if you ask.  The Orange Blossom Cafe in Buxton has great breakfast pastries - highly recommend their Apple Ugly.  Groceries available at Conner's in Buxton or a few miles further north at the Food Lion in Avon.

Be sure to take the free ferry over to Ocracoke for a day trip.  Go early and have breakfast at the Pony Island Restaurant, Crab & Swiss Omelet )  If you think you'll have time to visit the northern end (Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Manteo) and need suggestions for activities there, let me know.  If you have a 4WD drive vehicle, it may be worth the $50 for a NPS beach access permit,

We have been  here at Camp Hatteras since 7/1 and it has been HOT, but a breeze, But Hot.

Ocean Water is warm, about 82 degrees.

I am from Maryland and this is our first time here.  Many Marylanders down here.

I  know I'm still in the United States because EVERYONE has  a flag on a pole, but My Maryland ears have one heck of a  time translating North Carolina accents and the further west that NC accent came from..........shoo!  hahahha

Not a  storm in  sight all week here,  but there was a storm passing by in the Ocean and that made the water a bit rough yesterday.