Campground · Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Camp behind the dunes, with the Atlantic a short walk away.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cape Hatteras Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cape Hatteras National Seashore. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Ocracoke Campground“You're nearing Ocracoke Campground, where a short walk over the dunes brings you to the Atlantic beach. I'd choose it for a simple beach stay, including outside the summer season: the campground operates year-round.”
Plays as you drive up to Ocracoke Campground in the Parkwolf Cape Hatteras Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Ocracoke Campground is the National Park Service’s ocean-side campground, a few miles east of Ocracoke Village. Campsites sit behind the barrier dunes; reaching the Atlantic means walking over the dunes from camp. It suits a beach-focused stay if you’re happy with a simple, exposed campsite.
Each site has a paved pad, picnic table and charcoal grill. Bathhouses have flush toilets, potable water is available, and the outdoor showers are unheated. There are no RV hookups; the dump and water-fill station is across NC-12. The sites have no shade, and the sandy soil makes longer tent stakes useful. Bring insect repellent, especially in summer.
Wildlife
489 sightingsBrown PelicanMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
64 sightingsTamanend's Bottlenose DolphinMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
35 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
225 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
59 sightingsRiver OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
112 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cape Hatteras. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyHammock Hills Trail0.8 mi · 30 min · 0.3 mi awayBoardwalk, dunes, and marsh views in a quick Ocracoke loop.
EasyOcracoke Multi-Use Path3 mi · 1.5 hr · 3.2 mi awayA paved 3-mile link between the village and the campground
ChallengingMountains-to-Sea Trail: Cape Hatteras Section72.3 mi · 1.7 days · 3.9 mi awayA long beach route with one ferry crossing and a forest break.
Beach · 2.3 mi awayOcracoke BeachA boardwalk leads to a warmer Atlantic beach with summer lifeguards.
Beach · 3.1 mi awayPony Pasture BeachA boardwalk crosses the dunes to Ocracoke’s Atlantic shore.
Sight · 3.1 mi awayOcracoke Pony PensTwo raised decks offer an easy chance to spot Ocracoke's horses.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayOcracoke Preservation Society MuseumOcracoke history inside a restored home from around 1900.
Visitor center · 3.9 mi awayOcracoke Island Discovery CenterA useful first stop for maps, park info, and island bearings.
Sight · 4 mi awayOcracoke LighthouseA working 1820s lighthouse, an easy walk from the village.Parkwolf’s Cape Hatteras ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
