A few friends and I were looking into a road trip to the Outer Banks in Late June/Early July. Anybody know how crowded they get during this time and how packed the beaches are there? We are not expecting great conditions or anything, but going on a small surf road trip sounded good regardless of conditions. Or if someone has a different idea or would steer us in a different direction
i would avoid the weeks around 4th of july...it gets PACKED, just like everyplace else. that said, my friends & i used to do this when we were in high school & college, since it was cheaper than renting a place or even getting a hotel room. the crowd factor really depends on where you're planning to go. northern outer banks (nags head, etc...) get really crowded, lower banks (hatteras island) less so. i would recommend one of the park service campgrounds on hatteras island, as they are located pretty much right over the dunes from the beach & are pretty well equipped-grills, cold water showers, etc... & are pretty cheap, too. (when we did it, back in the late 90's, i think it was about $15 per night.) we also got fun sized surf every trip, too...waist-chest range w/ one day the first trip getting into the head high range. i'll be down on hatteras island w/ my gf the week of june 18-25, so if you're going after that, i can let you know how the surf was.
nps frisco is beautiful, and nps hatteras is better chance of surf.i like to stay as close to the lighthouse jetties as possible
Beachbreak are those places crowded during that time of year? Anybody know of a less crowded area to road trip to on the eastcoast?
there are several campgrounds down there. The national park ones are nice, but there are a hand full of privately owned ones as well. I have friends in town so if I camp its down south. Not sure of the name, but my favorite spot is about a mile north of the pier in rodanthe. Turn in at the Pure gas station. Showers, bathrooms, lesbians, lifers, you name it. Just over the dune from some "caverns, baby, caverns" (-surfline) if you time your trip accordingly. Enjoy.
compared to here and vb it's empty in Hatteras.Last 4th of July I surfed good waves with Scott at the motels by ourselves. i go every 4th of july and in late august,no traffic,no crowd,no way,not down there. the beach access thing has even less people going. Buxton(Hatteras) has the most surf.a nicer place i like is then a drive to the beach,cape woods campground,but nps is just a walk and your surfing!
Sounds like your first camping trip to OBX so be prepared to battle the mosquitos at any camp site so packed plenty of spray ...................
stayed at the koa in rodanthe a few weeks ago. it's about a half mile south of the pier. pretty sweet spot, good facilities. lots of old folks cruising around but still chill. if you windsurf/kite there's sound access across the highway. nothing better than listening to the waves all night, rolling out of your sleeping bag, hiking up and over the dunes and going 'fuuuuuuuuuuck - look at that!!!' before the day's fun begins...
ocracoke ive camped 3 times on ocracoke island. it's all the way down past the southern tip of hatteras. you have to take a ferry boat with your car off of hatteras to get to ocracoke. there is a national camp ground site there that is the same as the other ones mentioned in the thread. it is so secluded and separated from everything else - a GREAT experience. i always went in the summer time. bugs were always tough, but camping on the beach cant be beat. check it out.
Frisco Woods is great place especially if you're in a tent. they have wooded spots which help shelter you from the winds. I'm planning to head down late August for a few days
What are the roads like? Do you have to go off roads and on to the beach to make it to certain campgrounds?
the answer is,for the most surf=Hatteras nps,for possible surf/beautiful natural world solitude=Ocracoke nps,for the most amazingly beautiful site/possible surf/10 minute drive to Hatteras=Frisco nps. buy off! make fires have bug screens that being said, nps is so evil, destroying the Outer Banks life, I don't know if it's right to stay there, though they are far and away the best,if you really are a surfer.
42,don't tell a Hatteras local that,you won't make any friends,and they will set you straight on their take. environmentalist groups,yes,but nps is still doing their dirty work for them,and nps broke their promise to the people of Hatteras,including non-locals who love it as well. nps is in bed with audubon,selc,sierra,etc.,and surfrider does nothing either,but this is all another topic,so,i repeat,i just don't know about giving money to nps.those are awesome camp sites.
perhaps you'd like to explain those statements, given that it doesn't jive w/ the research & reading i've done on the situation (& that includes a chat w/ your beloved scott busby). a pm will suffice, so we don't derail this thread any further.
42- i did not mention my friend Scott here. i won't speak for him,either,but i will say i've yet to meet any one down there who does not state it as i did to you. the people of Hatteras all know the broken promise that is in writing as an open letter to the people of Hatteras by nps director Conrad L. Wirth in The Coastland Times on October 27,1952. check it out
nps = govt. Gov't = stupid rules. Stupid rules = less freedom. Ill be down the road at the private owned one. Having a big a55 fire on the beach.
Hatteras or Assateaque still the same politically I agree with you, done battle with NPS, the new wave of NPS personnel do appear to lean toward those envionmential groups to mandate their concerns over "local users" (local conditions) traditional access/use of resources managed by NPS (US Dept of Interior). Local conditions are further complicated and hampered by NPS ideology based on political directives, class actions suits and Federal Court decisions to mandate certain policies. The catch 22 for local users even the NPS has to follow protocol for those policy initiatives under EIS as well as NEPA policy requirements. The envionmental groups have the ability to rally their base on a national level that will drown out local level input on policy through public comment stipulated by both EIS/NEPA requirements. It will burn your a$$ when a comment from Portland OR will carry the same weight as if it came from Hatteras itself. The Key to forfeiting National input on a local condition is the Local (level) outcry to Capital Hill Congressional Reps/Staffers to intervene on behalf their constituents. If any local House member sits on an budget committee that is holding an "ace" card for sure. This has worked even against national organizations that have war chests of millions for their causes while the EIS and NEPA statements do take quite sometime to complete the final policy was in favor of the local constituents.
