NP Campground Review – Frisco Campground, Hatteras National Seashore (OBX), NC

November 8, 2016 by libertatemamo 4 Comments

A wonderfully quiet, private and green (but lots of stickies/burrs!) primitive National Seashore campground in a good location to explore Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the southern portion of the Outer Banks, NC

Link to campground here: Frisco Campground, Hatteras National Seashore, NC
Link to map location here: Frisco Campground, Hatteras National Seashore, NC

1. Site Quality = 3/5
   A very mixed site quality here. On positive side all sites are paved with good separation, quite a lot of vegetation (= nice privacy) and decent “siting areas” with picnic table and grill. Plus sites are located on a hill so there is a nice selection of lower, more wind-sheltered sites and upper, more breezy sites, some of which even have a view. The main dings are site levelness & stickers/burrs. The sites vary a lot in size (anywhere from 25-feet to 40-feet) & levelness (some were really badly unlevel) so only a sub-set could fit “the beast”. Plus the burrs/stickers were the WORST we have encountered anywhere. Horrible, painful stickies all around (and long-thorned cactus too), so much so that we had to move sites 3 times before we even found a spot that we could exit the RV without getting them all over our shoes/pants. A last ding? The trees are not terribly well trimmed here, so we did encounter a few scrapes driving around the loop (smaller rigs wouldn’t notice, but big rigs definitely will). The entire campground is primitive (NO hookups), but does allow generators outside of quiet hours. As far as individual loops there is some difference between them:
   1. P Loop -> This is the loop that goes all around the outside of the campground and has by far the largest, longest and flattest sites. This is the place I’d recommend looking first if you have a larger rig. Lower sites (P3 through P28) are the longest/flattest and most protected from the wind, but are somewhat more open and closer together. Upper sites (P49 through P68) have excellent privacy and separation, and several sites even have terrific ocean/dune views (P51, P57 were particularly lovely), but they’re a tad more uneven in length/size.
   2. A, B Roads -> These are long connector roads near the beginning. Only a “few” sites that are flat/long enough for bigger rigs here (A3, A7, B2, B10, B11 are your best shots). Really bad stickies here too (we tried, but couldn’t stay).
   3. C, D, E, F Roads -> These are short connector roads near the far end and are rather steep with generally short, uneven sites.  I didn’t see any sites that could comfortably fit us here, but smaller rigs might find something to their liking in this area.
      Note/ You can’t book a specific site here (only a space), so you simply chose your campsite upon arrival and let the office know which site you want when you check-in.
2. Facilities = 2/5
   Somewhat odd facilities. Decent flush toilets, but the showers are lever-type cold showers (brrr) with no-where to really place your stuff (one hook, but that’s it). Also located outside in stalls which are not completely closed so you’ll feel the breeze as you shower. NO dump station, but there are water spigots around for water.
3. Location = 5/5
   Great location to visit the southern portion of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The campground is only ~7 miles from Hatteras Lighthouse (a MUST see), and close to several small, cute towns (Frisco, Buxton) which have a variety of quirky eateries/shops. Camp itself is well-separated from the main road so it is wonderfully quiet, and next-door beach is miles long and easily accessible along a short boardwalk. Only slight ding is that the local beach also allows cars which means your beach walk much be shared with vehicles, but beach traffic here was not nearly as busy as what we experienced up north at Oregon Inlet.
4. Pet Friendliness = 4/5
   A decent spot for doggie with one major ding. On the upside there is lots of space to walk doggie around the campground, a great ~4.4 mile trail to the lighthouse (by site P38), plus the on-site beach is fully dog-friendly (yeah!!). On the downside the stickers/burrs by camp are horrible for paws. Chose your site carefully and consider dog booties for protection.

Overall Rating = 3.5
BONUS ALERT = Camp in a green & quiet campground only ~7 miles from Cape Hatteras Lighthouse!

Video Overview:  Want to see it in living color? Watch our ~8 min overview here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKv1yi6S1z0

Summary: We chose this campground as our base to explore the lower section of Hatteras National Seashore, and for that purpose it worked out great. It’s a very quiet, green, primitive (no hookups) spot located just ~7 miles from Hatteras Lighthouse and very close to the cute towns of Frisco and Baxton. Also it’s just a short dune-walk away from a long beach which allows both cars and dogs. It’s built on a hill with lots of vegetation so sites have both decent separation and privacy, plus there’s a nice mix of lower, more wind-sheltered sites and upper, more breezy sites, some of which even have a lovely dune/ocean view. Compared to the other National Seashore campgrounds on the OBX, this is IMHO the most natural and private. The biggest dings are the large variation in site size/levelness (such a mix here) and the burrs/stickies. Lots of sites were far too small or uneven to fit us (only P loop sites were do-able, and I would not recommend RV’s longer than 40-foot) and the burrs/stickers were so bad we had to move sites 3  times before we even found a spot that we could exit the RV without getting them all over our shoes/pants. Also trees are not terribly well trimmed so “beast size” rigs will have to scrape a few branches on the way through (it wasn’t too bad, but it was noticeable). We thoroughly enjoyed the location, especially the easy access to Hatteras Lighthouse and we were happy we could take doggie to the beach (despite the cars, which are also allowed access). Plus we loved how quiet and relaxed it was. But we had a really tough time with the burrs/stickies for the pets (they were truly horrible). I think if you don’t have pets this is an awesome spot, but with paws it’s tough. For that reason alone we’d probably chose somewhere else to stay if we come back to the area.
Note/ There were no skeeters during our time here (late Oct), but I gather they can/do get bad in summer, so be prepared if you come earlier in the year.

Extra Info: Stable, good cell signal (2 bars Verizon LTE, 2 bars ATT LTE). 127 total sites, NO hookups. Sites cost $28/night (or $14/night if you have National Parks Senior Pass). Campground open third week of April through last week-end of November. NO on-site dump station.