We usually rent a house at a NC beach for a week. We recently bought a travel trailer and have decided to try a week at the beach in it. We were heading to Ocean Isle - Holden Beach area of NC. I am looking for reviews of campgrounds near there, doesn't have to be right on beach but within reasonable driving distance. Have been looking at a KOA in Shallotte I think? Can anyone help me out? Thanks!
Hi cbrown, I have camped in the Shallotte KOA for one night at the end of October 2006. I had posted a review but it never showed in the review section. I must have done something wrong there. The campground is a better than average KOA. The sites are bigger than average, some have shade, but not overly so, other sites are very open. The washrooms are clean, the staff is friendly and welcoming, the grounds seem to be well taken care of. We did not use the swimming pool as it was closed for the season, but it seemed to be well landscaped. There is no WiFi, but there are 4 outside ethernet plugs with tables and benches under the roof of the back patio, so one can use the internet even when the office is closed. All campground roads are gravel. On the day we arrived there were many potholes on the entrance road, but the next morning a grader was taking care of them. There are several speed bumps, but they are not too big, probably just to slow people down enough to prevent a dust problem on the gravel roads. The night before we arrived there had been a major rainstorm and there were still some major puddles in the evening on some roads, but I didn't see any on the campsites. The next morning the puddles were all gone. Contrary to many KOAs road noise is not an issue in this park, although it is only a quarter mile from Highway 17. Just make sure you are not too close to the south-east end of the office building, the have a very noisy ice machine that cycles on and off every two minutes. We did not go to any of the nearby beaches, but other campers told us they were not far. I saw one golf course just across the street in walking distance, other campers told me there are three within walking distance and over 40 within 30 minutes driving. It is only a few minutes drive to North Myrtle Beach and apparently there are good sea-food restaurants in the Shallotte/Calabash/Myrtle Beach area. The people across from us turned out to be from our area (near Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and they leave their 5th wheel there for winter storage at the end of October, pick it up in February to drive to Florida from there and go back in October to spend 4 weeks there playing golf. The charges for storage are 1$ a foot per month with a minimum of 25$. In all, I think this campground will suit your needs.
Thanks, this is very helpful. We have found that you can post some really nice pictures online that look absolutely nothing like it when you get there. I don't think there are a whole lot of campgrounds in this area so it is nice to know that someone has had some good experiences there. QUOTE(wprigge @ Mar 2 2007, 10:18 AM) [snapback]6319[/snapback] Hi cbrown, I have camped in the Shallotte KOA for one night at the end of October 2006. I had posted a review but it never showed in the review section. I must have done something wrong there. The campground is a better than average KOA. The sites are bigger than average, some have shade, but not overly so, other sites are very open. The washrooms are clean, the staff is friendly and welcoming, the grounds seem to be well taken care of. We did not use the swimming pool as it was closed for the season, but it seemed to be well landscaped. There is no WiFi, but there are 4 outside ethernet plugs with tables and benches under the roof of the back patio, so one can use the internet even when the office is closed. All campground roads are gravel. On the day we arrived there were many potholes on the entrance road, but the next morning a grader was taking care of them. There are several speed bumps, but they are not too big, probably just to slow people down enough to prevent a dust problem on the gravel roads. The night before we arrived there had been a major rainstorm and there were still some major puddles in the evening on some roads, but I didn't see any on the campsites. The next morning the puddles were all gone. Contrary to many KOAs road noise is not an issue in this park, although it is only a quarter mile from Highway 17. Just make sure you are not too close to the south-east end of the office building, the have a very noisy ice machine that cycles on and off every two minutes. We did not go to any of the nearby beaches, but other campers told us they were not far. I saw one golf course just across the street in walking distance, other campers told me there are three within walking distance and over 40 within 30 minutes driving. It is only a few minutes drive to North Myrtle Beach and apparently there are good sea-food restaurants in the Shallotte/Calabash/Myrtle Beach area. The people across from us turned out to be from our area (near Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and they leave their 5th wheel there for winter storage at the end of October, pick it up in February to drive to Florida from there and go back in October to spend 4 weeks there playing golf. The charges for storage are 1$ a foot per month with a minimum of 25$. In all, I think this campground will suit your needs.
The KOA in Shallotte is quite nice, much nicer than the average KOA. We also like the S&W Campground in Shallotte, a small family-owned campground that is neat and clean. You did not say if you had children or not. If you do not have teen-aged children, then I would recommend that you move 15 miles or so up the coast to Longs, South Carolina. The Willowtree Resort there is one of the best in the country, and the pictures are all accurate. Top notch place, but not much to do for teenagers. It's about a 15 minute drive to the ocean. Look up this park on this site and see what others say about it.
we live in the area,but i have never camped in any of these campgrounds so i dont know. the only one that i know for sure about is the daddy joes jellystone park in tabor city. its a little way from the beack, but as close to myrtle beach as holden beach or ocean isle. the park is clean and well run and there are some things for the kids to do there. Fishing, playgrounds, swimming etc. the trip to the beack isnt very long and the road isnt crowded.
Shallotte KOA ad says 7 minutes to beach so in Ocean Isle/Sunset Beach area that's best I think you will do. Have fun, Kate
