Quiet family owned RV park in the outer banks has older, tighter spots but it's hard to complain once you're setup and enjoying yourself! Pros: Very short walk to the beach - no roads to cross Friendly owners Weekly bingo night - kids were welcome Cheap laundry! Reasonable rates (for the outer banks at least) Friendly regulars Less windy that nearby places due to dunes/trees Ghost crabs and bioluminescent plankton in the sand (on dark nights) Lots to do within a 90min drive north or south Dogs, dogs everywhere Cons: Short spaces / 90 degree back-ins (especially for larger rigs) - you will likely have to ask neighbors to move vehicles (but they were willing to do so) Limited parking for tow vehicles/extra vehicles No fires allowed (even propane fire pits!) - but you can have a fire on the beach Our site had some standing water after a rainy night, but was otherwise mostly dry. Other sites had it worse. Can't pick your site -- they assign it upon arrival Limited amenities (small pool, small playground) but the setting is what you're here for, so ‍ Sand all over everything (but that's beach life) 20-40 min to a grocery store that is not Dollar General or an expensive convenience store Overall we enjoyed our time here. If we came back we might choose a different place due to our rig size, but after reading other reviews and having serious anxiety, it was not as bad as some made it out to be. read more

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No other campground can beat Ocean Waves Campground for value for money. The sites are clean and easy to access. The restrooms are spotless and the staff is friendly and accommodating. Why go anywhere else on Hatteras when you can come here and spend less and be right on the water! I will recommend this campground to all of my friends and family! read more

Great camping experience. The negative reviews must be from those who don't camp often. Everything about this camp ground is average compared to others we have stayed in. Bathrooms were cleaned every day, showers were cleaner than the KOA next door. Small family owned - very friendly people and dogs. Camp store prices are reasonable. We were happy to have a spot close to the beach access. Not much shade. Would recommend this campground. read more

Friendly, welcoming staff. Great tent sites near the ocean. Deer in the area. Reasonably priced. Nice store with sweet dog. Family owned and operated. Biking distance from great restaurants. read more

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Apparently, I should have read the yelp reviews. Campground app reviews said this place was 5stars. We got there to find our site was under 3"+ of water. Nope. Not planning on getting electrocuted! Kept my deposit and argued with me about it. Sites were SUPER tight. Impossible to get our 37' camper in without a bunch of people moving their cars, and even then, I wasn't confident it would fit. Went to the KOA. Pricier for sure, but same beach and a ton more amenities! read more

Ocean Waves Campground - Electrical pole in huge puddle - Campgrounds Near Me - Waves, North Carolina

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The prices are the best on the island at $60 a night for full hook ups. My complaints were the bath house needs updating and more room in the bathroom stalls, if you are a big guy like me you would have trouble in theses stalls. When we first hooked up for electric we found that the 30 amp service was wired reverse polarity and we were told that was fine nothing would happen. Fortunately nothing did happen, however you would think they would have someone check it out just to make sure they didn't cry someone's converter or burn someone's camper to the ground. Maybe I shouldn't complain because the price was good read more

Manager has reached out and offered to make up for the wasted trip and bad experience with check-in personnel on Father's Day weekend. I appreciate this manager's interest in making amends and we are willing to give them another chance. We have stayed at this Campground in the past, several years ago, and were happy with our experience at that time. I am looking forward to giving it another chance. read more

Had a confirmation saying I had til Sunday. Called me yelling at me on Saturday while out exploring saying I had to get out, my checkout was Saturday. They overbooked and we're trying to bully us to get out. Pay the extra $ and stay at the other campgrounds. The campground is next to a swamp and our site had swampy standing water for three days and cable didn't work well. You pay extra for cable and people above 2 people. Packed in and not big rig friendly. My kids went to pick up a package and buy candy and they host told them " well I guess I have to get up " and was bothered that she had to help them. I am Fulltime and this is the worst campground we have stayed at in three years. read more

After a bad experience over Father's Day weekend management of Ocean Waves Campground reached out and offered a more than fair offer to make amends. We will give this campground anther chance and see how things go. We've stayed there in the past and with any luck will be future customers as well. read more

Bathrooms dirty, always a crappy toilet. No electric receptor in the bathrooms for grooming. Reserved for 3 nights and after 2 days we were told that we would have to leave or completely tear down and move to a FLOODED sight. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE AT CHECK IN. The woman running the place was very rude and confrontations when we inquired about this. WOULDN'T LET ME LEAVE LESS THAN ONE STAR. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS PLACE read more

The price, the place, the people. Certainly deserves the five stars. Sadly, our trip was not to be serendipitous beyond the first couple days. We rolled the dice by going to Waves on our Spring Break (mid-March), and got battered by a high-pressure system that brought in winds, gusts, and eventually a tornado warning. We high-tailed it out of there, but not before having a blast ourselves. Look at it this way. For $28 per night we got to park our car and tent under a few beautiful trees. The bathrooms are spectacular; the showers as hot as you need. Free Wi-Fi is well worth it. Waves is halfway between Kitty Hawk and Hatteras, so it was a perfect launching-off point for our outdoors oriented trip. Our first morning up we walked a mere three or four minutes down to the beach, to see the sunrise...and dolphins. Endless dolphins. Were the water not frigid, we could have walked out to chest-level and been swimming in them. A couple of them even playfully jumped up over breaking waves. And talk about the most beautiful blend of pinks, purples, blues, and greens you've ever seen. Impressionist painters pale in comparison to what I saw that morning. (This from an Art History major). And on top of all that the owners were nice enough to advise us not to pay for more than two nights, which was exactly when the weather took a huge turn for the worst. If you're inclined towards the outdoors, or even if you want to relive (or finally live) those summer camp memories, you can't do better. Beats the hell out of some house or hotel further north. And even despite our bad luck, roll the dice and come in the spring. Maybe you'll get lucky. read more

Love this RV spot! Sites are roomy enough. Staff is super friendly. Beach is steps away. Restrooms clean. Essentials in camp store. Off season monthly rates affordable. Will definitely stay again!!! read more

Great location, nice and clean rv park. Can not beat this place for the money! Also it's a family owned and operated business which is hard to find anymore. The only thing negative for me was no attached changing area for the shower stalls. But we won't be staying anywhere else from now on!!!! As for the woman complaining about their 38' rv maybe y'all just cant drive! We had 40 footers there when we were there. We used to own 40 footers so it's not a problem for a true rv family!!!! read more

Had reservations September 2, 2019 with departure September 8, 2019. Hurricane Dorian predicted to hit the Bahamas on Monday, the 2nd. I called on Sunday September 1 to cancel our reservations, explaining rain, thunderstorms predicted all week and Dorian predicted to hit on Wednesday or Thursday. I was told I would have to pay for 1 night stay since I was cancelling within 24 hours. Today, my husband called to discuss the unfairness of charging for the night with a hurricane coming. After being told we would not receive a refund, he asked "Why would you want people to come in and risk their lives with a Hurricane coming." The Owner or Manager's Daughter stated, "We do not care about lives and property we care about our lives and business." The Owner/Manager, unsure at this point, then called back to try to help. But was very nasty and pretty much agreed with the daughter. Needless to say we will NEVER stay at this campground. I have camped for years and have never experienced anything like this. Their rating should be a NEGATIVE 10! read more

My wife and I stayed here for 4 nights because it was the only one available at the time. We have a 38 foot fifth wheel. ALL sights are back-ins. Unless you are a professional trucker you will probably have a tough time getting a large fifth wheel or pull trailer in most of the spots. Trailers less than 25 feet should be okay. The only road in and out is narrow. This was the narrowest parking place I have ever seen. If it rains there will be mud at almost all the driveway edges. Rest rooms and showers are so-so. Proximity to the beach was the nicest thing about this park. read more

3.5 stars Nice location, nice price. All concrete pads, Good to fair Wi-Fi speed. Property is next to beach - path through the dunes to beach. There are 3 restroom / shower buildings on property - nice , clean. Staff is ok, could be friendlier. Some lots have trees close, so ask, if you have slides. Some with dead limbs. Tight back in sites, especially if trailer is 29 feet or bigger. Can make it work but will need to go in the grass across the road or next to your site to make it happen. Sometimes the rental houses along side the property gets a bit noisy, There are mosquitos - hey this is OBX. They are worse in early evening and not much of an issue at other times. It will be windy - again this is OBX. read more

We visited the Outer Banks for the first time at this campground. What a disappointment!! I had called 2 months ahead to make reservations based on the positive reviews I'd read about this campground. I specifically asked for a SHADED site for our popup, and I was told that our site would have shade. We arrived at the campground at 4:30 pm, and were given site #25, which is in the "shaded site area" but has NO SHADE. There is a dead tree at the back of the site with broken branches hanging from it and a few trees at the front of the site covered with POISON IVY. This was the only site available when we arrived, so I figured we'd try to make the best of it, since we were tired and had no way to make other arrangements. (we didn't realize just how bad it was until we'd already set everything up) The next day, our children put up a 3' by 3' portable sun shelter on the grass for some relief from the sun. We were told to remove it, even though other campers had large screen rooms and such on their grass. Another camper was told to move their umbrella which had leaned against a tree in the wind. (they don't allow anything to be tied or leaned on the trees) Owners were unfriendly to the point of being rude. Bathhouses are not air-conditioned. They are hot, smelly, dirty and in need of repair, faucets fell off, toilet stalls are too small to even close the doors when you're on the toilet. They are not cleaned at all, there is mold and mildew on the floors and walls of the showers. The toilet paper and garbage bags are changed, but nothing is ever cleaned. There are bugs, spiders and broken screens on the windows. The "pool" is fine for cooling off, but it's the size of a small backyard pool and has a wooden deck that splinters and is in need of repair. The vinyl liner is dirty, faded and coming apart in several places. There are no showers or bathrooms at the pool. The "camp store" is a joke. The owner has a small dog, and allows the dog to bark relentlessly at the guests. I had to move the dog out of the way to fill out the check-in paperwork. The store is dingy and dark, more of a living area for the owner's family than a store. We drove 3 miles away to the Shell station for milk and bread. There is a backyard type of wooden play structure for children located next to a storage building. There is no shade. Our children didn't use it while we were there, as it didn't cool down until late evening. I'm not sure of the condition, but it appeared faded and the wood was splintery. The beach area near the campground is okay, but not for children or inexperienced swimmers. There is a great deal of erosion, so the water is deep, not for wading or playing in the surf. The posted checkout time is 11:30. I stopped to drop off our vehicle pass, as I wasn't sure what their "checkout" procedure was. I arrived at 11:35, according to the office clock, and the owner said she would have to charge us for another day! When I explained that we were supposed to have had a shaded site and it had taken us longer to pack up than usual due to the heat, she told us that we could have come back to get a refund (even though the registration paperwork states "no refunds, raincheck only"). She was not at all apologetic or even polite. She was rude and argumentative. Bottom line: This may be one of the cheapest places to stay at the Outer Banks (Hatteras) and there's a reason. Lots of them. This may work out for you if you have your own shower/toilet and don't plan to spend any time outside of your camper. I'd expected a small, family-owned campground with a friendly, family-oriented atmosphere. This place was not friendly or fun. As an alternative - try camping at one of the National Park service campgrounds. They don't have hookups, but are $21-24 a night, and you'll be treated much better than you would at this place. It was a total nightmare. read more

ZERO STAR for Customer Service. The location is good, the sites are small, there is a pool and its cheap $63 with tax a day. BUT the older lady who runs it is awful (family owned). Customer isn't right (even when you clearly are). We drove 700 miles to come here for her to give away our spot!! WHAT... The KOA NEXT DOOR (surprisingly) is WAY BETTER. Kid activities, great beach and site 427 is BIG and secluded. I called Sunday 6/28 around 1pm for a reservation at Ocean Waves Resort in Waves, NC. I asked the woman to process the whole payment from Sunday-Thursday (4 days) Because I planned to get there around 5am (I didn't want someone in 'our' spot till 11am). I guess our card was declined but instead of calling or sending me another email for new card to process SHE GAVE AWAY OUR SPOT. Before I even knew what happened I met the older lady who manages the place (its all family owned) and I was petting her dog. She was short right off the bat so I thought, hmm she's rough. Then I wait patiently for her and her daughter to talk before she really acknowledged me. I told her who I was and she really turned up her bitch meter.. "we gave away your spot, no call, no show, no nothing and your card was declined so you didn't pay for anything". I tried very hard to get my point across that I asked to have the whole 4 days paid for so this wouldn't happen. I explained if I paid for a spot for Sunday-Thursday and never even came YOU STILL GOT PAID... she kept interrupting me (oh eff, I was getting pissed) Then she told me she tried to call me (yesterday), I wasss sweettt but I said that's a lie no you didn't. She of course freaked out tore up my card info and said to leave. I said that's fine I don't want to give you a penny. We went around and around a few more times, pointless she listens as good as a dead animal... My husband and I went outside and another customer hugged me and said she was a really difficult person to deal with but the family is nice and the campground is cheap and the best in the area. Another family was listening in and asked if we were from Kentucky, they live in Lexington so we started chatting about us and our travels. The Lady comes out and interrupts them and tells me to leave immediately or she's calling the cops. I said do you know how foolish you look right now, she lost her mind. Then I asked her to see the call list on who she called.. She says "ok I'll show you but my phone is inside" I said ok like 5 feet away, lets see it. she says "I don't have a call log you can't see anything" LIE. LIE. LIE. read more

Been coming here on/off for ten years. Positives: -Great beach within a very short walk -Good price $55 for full hook-up -Friendly, accommodating staff who enforce good rules to keep the park safe and clean. E.g. My wife witnessed a woman bring a dog into the laundry room (with signs prohibiting it) and the owner confronted the woman about it. The woman threatened to write a review that said the park was not "pet-friendly." Admirably the owner keep her cool despite the BS threat. -Family friendly and "pet-friendly" as there is no charge for a pet. -Decent facilities (laundry, pool, store,etc.) Negatives: -Can be swampy/high water/mosquitoes with heavy rains (like the rest of the island). The last bad reviewer experienced typhoon-like rains. Tough luck. -Bathrooms are clean but run-down & don't have electrical plugs -Very tight areas to park an RV; no pull-throughs. Smaller pads. -Closes up before Thanksgiving, so I go elsewhere that weekend I highly recommend this campground. read more

Level pads been camping all over Usa this place is on great location friend staff grounds are keep up some spots still have trees but expect to out in full beach is right over the dune. Reasonable Rates we would return peaceful. read more

Ocean Waves Campground - Rv space just right and level very friendly staff cable tv 90 channels only thing needs work is picnic tables very weathered. - Campgrounds Near Me - Waves, North Carolina

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Most reasonably priced oceanside campground in the area, but, you get what you pay for. I don't know which is worse, being assigned a cramped campsite, flooding, or spending 3 nights camped next to the bathhouse. In general this was a quiet campground with more retirees than children, but, I really have mixed emotions about it. Our campsite was not the best location for privacy as we watched people come/go and they watched us as they went to the bathhouse - no other sites were available when we checked in. Then it rained. Our full hook up site, where the electrical plug was so low to the ground our Electrical Management System (EMS) box had to be propped up with a block of wood to keep it off the ground and out of the puddles/rain soaked ground (it only rained a quarter inch) and we were surrounded by a lake. We dug a trench out the back of the pad to drain the water behind the site and hoped it wouldn't rain anymore - thank goodness it didn't. It was a nicely shaded site and the campground was quiet, which is rare in Hatteras, but I don't know if it was worth going cheap and being worried about getting electrocuted. Lots of liability here that is not being addressed. Hopefully management will be able to figure out some sort of flood control for the campground as they really do have a nice location and the appeal of being a small quaint family owned campground. Would love to go back, but, won't until they get the flooding situation under control. We camped at Ocean Waves Campground in a Motorhome. read more

We stayed for one night before our beach rental was ready. Loved it...clean, ocean sounds, ocean breeze, pet friendly, showers and toilets near by. We were in the tent area..closest spot to the beach. Reservations were easy to make read more

I'm torn about giving this place the 5 star review it deserves. It's a hidden gem and more reviews will make it popular. This quiet, clean campground is clearly well managed. Bathroom is adequate and showers are hot. An outdoor shower for post beach rinse would be nice. Campsite is level concrete with some grass and trees (we liked sites 30&31). Quick walk over the dunes to beautiful quiet beach. Kids had plenty to do with playground and bike riding. Friendly nice neighbors all around. Good customer service and rates. Convenient location to many OBX sights. read more

I love this place and I frequently stay here throughout the summer, however as I watch my children and others play on the Rickety rotted swing/slide set and watch it sway with the movement of the swings I have to think it is a major saftey issue too many children on that thing at once and it will come crashing down SO THE TWO STARS IS FOR THE CONDITION OF THE PLAY GROUND AND SAFTEY ISSUES read more

The campground is all that you need. The grounds are kept neat and very clean. Bathhouses are clean. People who work there are helpful are very nice. Small friendly campground, just what my family likes. Will definitely be back. read more

This is a great place to stay. My family operates on a limited budget and this Campground gives us the most bang for our buck. We had camped at the KOA down the road for years and paid twice as much. The staff at this facility is really nice. The sites are paved and very well kept compared to parking on gravel at most other campgrounds. If you are looking show your kids the best of the OBX without breaking the bank this is the place. Jim, Monongahela, PA read more

RV sites tighter than at KOA. Grumpy mgt. Unstable power. Ocean waves/views misleading - 45 foot high dune between the ocean and the campground makes the place feel like you are in a hot, flat parking lot with no wind. Better to find a cheaper place up the Cape or go to Camp Hatteras. read more

Consider this a PSA-Public Service Announcement - DO NOT CAMP AT OCEAN WAVES CAMPGROUND IN WAVES, NC. We reserved side by side sites 6 months ago for Father's Day weekend (for our son and daughter-n-law to camp next to us). Spoke to the campground 6 times (often to correct their mistakes with reservations) and reminded them to put us side by side. Got a call at 10am while enroute to the campground and "Barbara" was extremely rude and informed us she did not have us side by side. When we arrived at 1:30pm and checked in her Mother (original owner) stated "we got you side by side like you wanted" - but something seemed off. Drove to the site only to find it under 6 inches of water!!! It became obvious they did this for spite when they tried to refuse us another site and asked us to leave, said they'd charge us one nights rent regardless. I refused to leave and parked on another site. These people are rude, could care less about reservations or "doing the right thing". Imagine trying to plug in 30Amp service while standing in 6 inches of water!!!!. DO NOT GO TO OCEAN WAVES CAMPGROUND unless you enjoy wading in raw sewage, electrocution, or at best extremely poor service and disrespect from the owners. read more

Too many campers, not enough space! Also, there are only a few tent spots and only one tent site had small trees. Due to its proximity to other vacation homes on both sides, the tent sites are very noisy with people partying on their decks nearby. If you're sleeping in a tent and it rains, expect to wake up in a puddle - the water settles in the sand under the tent. The pros of the place include beach access and hot showers. read more

nice campgrounds, bathrooms and location; however, we brought our kids camping on a 4th of July weekend and the staff were hostile towards us because they were so busy. I would not go back after being treated this way in front of my children... the hospitality just wasn't there which is too bad because it was a beautiful place to camp. read more

Had a terrible experience unfortunately, made reservations on the phone two weeks in advance and they did not send any kind of confirmation. When I went to check in the said I had made the reservation for the night before and that they had charged me and immediately refused to give me a refund before I had even asked for one. The owner was incredibly rude and did absolutely nothing to make the situation right. Didn't even apologize. I luckily found a campground a few blocks North that was much much nicer, cleaner and most importantly polite to me. Avoid this campground at all costs. There are so many campgrounds near by that won't steal your money. read more

My two boys and I stayed there the last week of June 2011. I would not recommend it at all. We were camping in a tent and our site was at the very back of the campground with absolutely no shade and right behind us was a rental house. Right after we set up our tent the people right across from us(staying in a RV) came over and told us that this area was like a wind funnel. Apparently the people in our campsite before us had left early because of this problem. So we staked down and tied down our tent and our first night was a little windy but not too bad. The next day was beautiful and warm but I noticed that the tent to our left was practically blown down due to the wind (not a windy day at all but this again this area was like a wind funnel). So we rechecked all our stakes and ties and added our rainfly for extra protection. Still windy but ok. The next day when we woke up the people in the tent to the left were gone. The same people across from us came over and said that the people to the left went to another campground because of the wind. We rechecked everything to make sure it was secure and then we left for the day to go to the beach since again it was beautiful and sunny. When we returned, to our horror, our tent was tied to a post and flapping around in the air like a parachute even with our sleeping bags, clothing and other things in there. We had a terrible time trying to get it down out of the wind and when we finally got it back down on the ground one whole side was ripped. The very same people across from us came over and said that right after we left our tent had blown away and they had grabbed it and restaked it and tied it but because of the wind funnel it just pulled right out of the ground again and blew away again. They couldn't get it to stay so they just tied it to the post to keep it from flying totally away. Since the tent was ripped now we just packed it up and decided to leave. I checked out at the office and complained that they really shouldn't have tent sites in the back with the terrible wind back there. I explained what happened to our tent and that they must have had complaints before. The lady who checked us out acted like she had never heard of this and pretty much didn't care one bit that our tent and vacation were ruined. Some of the other negatives are the bathrooms. The stall doors don't even close because the toilets were placed too close to the opening. You either have to do a balancing act over the toilet or just sit on it with the door half open. There were terrible bug swarms in the bathroom and not very clean. Even though we didn't stay in a RV I did notice that they were so closely packed together I'm not sure how anyone would even be able to back them in to set them up. They also were not allowed to have anything on the grass such as a rug but there really wasn't even grass (just dirt and weeds). Also were not allowed to put anything on the trees whatsoever whether it was a towel hanging to dry, a lantern, or a clothesline despite the very few trees being practically dead. I would say stay somewhere else and definitely do not camp in a tent here. read more

Nice, clean park just a sand dune away from the beach. It's usually windy here but the park is sheltered from the worst of it by the dunes, trees, and road. The spaces are concrete pads which is nice because it can get muddy on the grass after rain. The bathhouses are clean. There are a lot of repeat customers and everyone is friendly and quiet. No open fires are allowed so that cuts down on the evening revelry. Folks tend to retire early at least in April. This is a great location for touring the entire length of the OBX. Warning for big rigs-backing into many spaces is very tight. Even with our smallish trailer we had to ask the folks across from us to move their truck because we needed to use their drive to position our rig. We didn't want to drive on the grass because it was quite soft from recent rains. We paid $50 day for full hookups, wifi, and cable tv. That's very reasonable considering the beach access location and compared to other parks on the OBX. Some cable channels are weak and the power here does go out for short periods often-not the fault of the park. Verizon service is excellent all over the OBX. We'd come here again and definitely recommend it. read more