Camping

... And Enjoy a Naturally Wonderful Evening

Take your family on their first camping trip or lead your scout troop on their 20th one! Drive your RV to the middle of the woods at Medoc Mountain or set up a tent under the dark night sky at Pettigrew. Paddle to a remote campsite along the New River or rest with your horse after riding through the backcountry at South Mountains. Watch the sunrise on Kerr Lake or the sunset atop Mount Mitchell. Fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean on Bear Island or to the serenity atop Grandfather Mountain. Enjoy a camper cabin minutes away from Wilmington at Carolina Beach or north of Charlotte at Lake Norman. The possibilities for an overnight in the outdoors are endless at North Carolina state parks.

Camping at one of our state parks is a great way to stretch your adventures from hours to several days. You can take the time to relax and recharge and save money on accommodations as you travel. Find your naturally wonderful campsite and reserve it today!

Find Your Campsite

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Camping Catalog **in progress**

We are still working on building our Camping catalog. Check back later to see this feature!

 

Camping fees per night range from $15 to $145.

Camping reservations made online or any reservation made less than 3 weeks prior to arrival must be paid with a debit card or a credit card (Visa or MasterCard). Reservations made by calling ReserveAmerica can be paid with a debit card, credit card, money order, or check.

Complete list of fees

Camping By Location

Map: State Parks Camping by County

The map allows a quick glance at camping options at state parks across the state. Counties in purple have at least one state park with camping. Counties in solid gray have a state park but no camping facilities. Please note that this map shows camping only at state parks.

Hover (on desktop view) or click once (on mobile) to show the name of the state park and the types of camping available: Tent, trailer, RV; Backpack (hike-in or walk-in); Cabin; Group; Equestrian; Paddle-in; or Accessible.

General Information

There is a $6 per site per night fee to cancel a camping reservation.

A $3 service fee is charged for all camping reservations, including those made in-person.

Camping reservations can be made up to 6 months (to the day) in advance.

Maximum Stay

A site can be reserved for a maximum of 14 consecutive nights within any 30-day period. No camper is allowed to camp in a park for more than 14 nights in a 30-day period, and upon reaching that limit, a camper must vacate the park for 16 nights before returning.

Minimum Stay

There is a two-night minimum stay between Friday and Sunday on holiday weekends, Memorial Day through Labor Day. If you book the site within 7 days of the arrival date, you will not be required to adhere to the minimum. This does not apply to cabins or group campsites.

Walk-Ups

Some campsites are available for walk-ups. When you arrive at a park with walk-ups, you can make reserve the site with park staff. These sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Not all campsites are available for walk-ups; please contact the park more information.

Gate Closures

Several parks lock their park gates at night, so there is no entrance or exit for visitors spending the night after the gates are closed. Please check with park staff about gate access policy when you check in for your campsite and for the phone number to call in case of emergency.

Pets are allowed at most campsites, except in cabins.

  • Your camping reservation does not need to list any pets — but please make sure you follow the pet rules if you are taking your pet with you on your camping trip.
  • During campground quiet hours, pets must be confined to the owner's tent or vehicle overnight.
  • When out and about in the park, pets must be on an attended leash at all times. The leash must be no longer than 6 feet. Pet owners who do not have their pets on a leash will receive a fine.

No refunds are issued for "no-shows," early departures, or cancellations after the arrival date.

An unlimited number of campsites can be reserved in each online session, but each site will be considered a separate reservation.

Gift cards are available for camping reservations to state parks and for some merchandise. Annual Passes do not cover camping fees.

By the numbers

29 of 35

state parks with camping facilities

3,216

campsites across the state parks system

149,317

reservations made in all parks in 2021

$7.1 million

in completed Connect NC camping projects

481

# of campsites with electric hookups for RVs

59

# of campsites with full hookups

(electric, water, and sewer)

151

# of reservable cabins across the state parks system

Frequently Asked Questions

Tab/Accordion Items

Any cancellations result in a $6 per site per night fee deducted from your refund. If the cancellation is made on the scheduled arrival date, the cost of one night's camping will be deducted along with the $6 fee for each reservation.

Same-day cancellation for one-night reservations will result in no refunds.

If you won't arrive to the park in time before the park gates close, please call the park or ReserveAmerica at 1-877-722-6762 by 3 p.m. the following day to inform them of your arrival time. If you do not call, the reservation will be considered a "no-show," and the site will be made available to other campers.

No refunds are issued for "no-shows," early departures, or cancellations after the arrival date.

Campsites are by reservation only. However, you are welcome to reserve a camp onsite at the park if there is one available. At some parks, a number of campsites are set aside for onsite registration on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please be aware that without an advance reservation, you cannot be guaranteed a site for more than one night, unless you are using a site specifically set aside for onsite registration. Each state park posts a list of sites available for onsite registration and updates the list at least once daily. The lists are posted on a campground information sign that also gives instructions on how to complete onsite reservation. Specific onsite reservation procedures may vary from park to park.

You can sometimes change sites after arrival if there are sites available. You must first check with park staff before moving to a new site, to check the availability for that site.

Transfers within the same park at the visitor's request will be charged a $3 change fee, if done on the arrival date. Transfer depends on site availability.

No, cabins and group campsites have different cancellation terms than regular campsites (tent, trailer, RV, equestrian and paddle-in campsites).

You have until 14 days before your arrival date to cancel a cabin or group campsite reservation to receive a refund, with the cancellation fee of $6 deducted from your refund. Within two weeks of your arrival date, if you cancel your reservation for a cabin or group campsite, you will not receive any refund.

If something comes up and you need to change within two weeks of your arrival date, you can move your reservation to a later date. You will still have to pay the change/cancellation fee of $6, but that way, you won't lose your entire reservation fee.

All state parks have a check-in time of 3 p.m. and check-out time of 12 p.m. These times applies to most overnight reservations, including tent, trailer or RV campsites, group campsites, equestrian campsites, paddle-in campsites, backpacking campsites, and camper cabins.

The only exceptions are the overnight facilities at Haw River State Park and the vacation cabins at Hanging Rock and Morrow Mountain state parks.

Parks can sometimes accommodate early check-in or late check-out, depending on the reservation schedule and site availability. Please contact the park to make such arrangements.

Any weather-related cancellation or change in reservation is subject to a cancellation fee per our cancellation policy.

Check the weather early during the week of your visit. Though we cannot issue a full refund if you want to cancel, you can always reschedule your reservation for another date in the future, and you will not need to pay any fee (as long as the campsite costs are the same).

The only exception is in cases when a weather event results in the closing of the state park or campground facilities in the state park. Should the park or campground close, you will automatically be refunded the full amount of your reservation. You will be contacted via phone if there is a closure, so please make sure your phone number is updated on your ReserveAmerica account.