Hammocks Beach State Park — Attraction in Swansboro

This is a very nice state park. It’s in 2 sections for camping. You have Bear Island primitive campsites that you have to ferry over to or paddle in. I think there are some local boat services available to take you and your stuff over for a fee also. If you camp on Bear Island there is a restroom and showers and water available in the public beach access area. This could be pretty far from some campsites.

The mainland campground is pretty small but fairly new. There are maybe 20 sites. There are tent and RV sites available with full hookup ups. They also have a handful of cute cabins for rent. We stayed at site 35 the last tent site on the water and it was beautiful. The sites are large and level and gravel including a picnic table, fire ring and lantern pole. There is a huge bath house in the middle with 3 toilets and 3 showers and a sink area. There is also a family bathroom with its own toilet and shower. The bath house also has a sink for cleaning dishes and a bike rack which we appreciated having bikes. The bath house is nice but the cleaning could be a little better. Cob webs and spiders in the corners and surfaces just needing to be wiped down. It would also have been great to have a washer/dryer here BUT there isn’t one. A beach campground equals needing to do some laundry with a weekly stay 😕. Also the campground sells wood bundles for $10 but no ice available! I wish they sold ice instead of wood. It’s hot and people visiting especially in summer would rather have ice over a fire. Think of the people taking the ferry over to Bear Island with a cooler. Atleast sell ice at the visitors center where the ferry departs. We had to ride our bikes 2 miles into Swansboro for ice after 2 days.

The visitors center is very nice and large. Staff was friendly. If you want to take the ferry over to Bear Island or the beach you must buy your passes here in person no pre purchasing. Tickets are $10 each but if you purchased a NC State yearly pass it includes 4 free ferry tickets per day per visit! Just show them your pass and you get free ferry tickets!! Loved that! The ferry runs at different times and is closed certain times of the year. I will take a picture of that information. Ferry is nice and quick. Only takes about 10-15 minutes to reach the island. Once you get off the ferry it is a 1/2 mile walk out to the beach. Be warned there is zero shade over there so if you need it take something. There is also a golf cart to take you out to the beach if you don’t mind dropping them a “donation “. We were told no cell service on Bear Island but we have Verizon and had 2 bars 5G. There is a concession stand on the beach but it’s cash only because there is no cell service 🤷🏼‍♀️ Did you read the previous sentence?! Also there is not a bike rack at the visitors center which sucked. We had to ride our bikes over to catch the ferry and ended up locking them up to a bat house post. Please buy a bike rack for the visitors center!

All in all this is a great place but if I want to do the beach I’m choosing Edisto Island SP, Hunting Island or Myrtle Beach SP so I don’t have to deal with the ferry and the 1/2 mile walk afterwards to the actual beach. Also the mainland campground is a mile from the visitors center where you take the ferry so you’ll need have a vehicle to drive there or bikes. It’s just not real convenient for beach camping...

We had a great first visit to hammocks today! The parking lot was completely full by 11 when we arrived and people were beginning to park in the grass. A ranger told us it was ok to park in the grass—so don’t be afraid to park in the grass around the lots. The next ferry was full but we were able to catch the noon ferry. There were exhibits to look at while you wait and plenty of covered seating—we ended up just sitting and eating our lunch while we waited. The summer Ferry schedule meant there was a ferry departing every half hour. It easily fit 40 people and various chairs/carts/beach accessories. Any wagons have to be able to fold (only in the case there isn’t room for it to remain expanded). The ride was only 10-15 minutes and was enjoyable—we even saw dolphins on the way back. The walk from the ferry to the beach was 10 - 15 minutes (the guides said it was a half mile) and there was a golf cart going back and forth to assist those who needed it. You pass the entrance to the bathroom/concession stand just before you reach the beach as well as a path to the campsites. We scouted out the campsites and decided when we camp later in the summer we will walk down the beach to access our site. The sites all appear to have short trails to the beach and carrying everything down the beach would be much easier than the winding and hilly trail through the dunes. The beach was beautiful and there were lifeguards on duty. There is a well maintained bathroom with running water and real toilets, also a full shower for campers. There are outdoor shower stations, a water fountain, and a potable water spigot for daily beach goers as well. The concession stand is just a short walk down the boardwalk from the bath house. They had chips, pop, ice cream, etc but were cash only so plan accordingly. (Keep in mind there are no trash cans so you have to pack out all of your trash.) They also had a tank of fish at the concession stand and there was a worker there to discuss the fish on display. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed our day and are returning to camp later this summer. Overall I was a little surprised at how many people were there (though there was plenty of Beach to space out).

UPDATE: we just camped for a night and would HIGHLY recommend bug spray and long pants/shirts. We had fire ants at the campsite and biting black flies swarming us everywhere all evening. We were desperate to cover up (even despite the heat) because the bug spray didn’t seem to deter them. We ended up just going to bed early so we could escape the bugs in the tent. The next morning we had no issue with bugs so I’m wondering if it was due to there being no wind the...

My stay ends on August 5, 2025. This happened on August 4, 2025. It colored my whole stay.

I’ll begin by saying that I think the park itself is nice. It has good walking trails. The low rating is for the camp hosts’ behavior when I was there last.

I have a small dog. He tries to be my protector though. He is a breed that tends to bark at unknown people and dogs coming upon us. Knowing this, I normally walk him, on leash, away from campers and campsites.

We were out walking as normal this morning. I walked him away from crowded areas so that we could enjoy some alone time together.

To get to the shoreline, we had to walk by a tenter who was camping with a German Shepherd. The dog was off leash. We got past their site with no interaction, all OK. We were then standing on the shore gazing out at the water.

All of a sudden the German shepherd came up behind us, startling us both. I gasped. My dog started barking and obviously telling the dog to back off. The owner came down. He reached out and tried to, then did, pet my dog. We made some conversation. My dog and I left the area.

We were then startled again with the German shepherd following us. My dog was barking at it again. I put my dog on the ground. He continued to bark at the shepherd.

Then out of the blue, the camp host came up and began berating me that I was having my dog ‘tease’ this off leash dog that was following us. I tried explaining this was not the case. He indicated I was lying since he ‘saw me’ doing it. (He could not have seen me doing something I was not doing). I was simply walking my dog and being followed by an off leash large dog. He was yelling at me and not allowing me to speak. He said if I did it again he would call law enforcement on me. I just let it go and said OK. He then went to the camper with the off leash dog and had a calm conversation with him.

I chatted with the off leash dog owner. Neither of us were upset with one another. He was aware, after I had told him, that my dog tries to protect me. I was aware, after he told me, that his dog was training to be a service dog. There was no animosity between me and the other dog owner. It was just the camp host that had been very abusive in nature to me. The German shepherd remained off leash. I have stayed at this park in the past and the hosts have always been very friendly and helpful. Not this time.

Since I was not allowed to say what was happening when the park host was berating me, I appreciate you all listening to the story of the ruined morning walk and camping experience. I hope in the future the park can find some friendlier, less...