Goose Creek State Park — Attraction in Washington

Situated near the mouth of the Pamlico River and about half way between the cities of historic Bath and Washington is Goose Creek State Park. This park is ideal for anyone who loves water. There are beaches both for the public and for campers, a boat ramp, and unique ecology in swamp and forest that can be easily reached via clearly marked pathways. The Visitors Center may be one of the most impressive I've ever seen and plays hosts to all sort of educational programs for people of all ages. This park is also ideal for large group gatherings for even those who are not all too curious to be immersed in nature. There is a large open area for makeshift sports, covered picnic shelters, and plenty of easily -accessible restroom facilities. Offering eight miles of trails that run through pines, on the edge of the Pamlico, over marches and beside cypress swamps, Goose Creek is a real catch-all for finding easy access to what Coastal Carolina is really made of. When I was there all trails were clearly marked with sand-trails or by easily seen tree markers. They are mostly flat and great for an easy stroll. An easy walk from the second largest parking area (the largest being the Visitors Center) is a public swimming area and beach. There are easy trails that lead down to this area and they run past restrooms and picnic tables. There are also tables down by the beach area so that guests have areas to place their items without having to worry too much about the sand. What I loved the most about this area was the free life-jacket rental station. Everyone can be safe here and through little effort.

While I found the water to be very shallow near the beach, this effort certainly doesn't hurt anyone. It is recommended to wear shoes in this water due to the nearby trees and their roots. While I was there I had this entire area to myself, however, I imagine that it fills up fast in the summer. The good news is there area plenty of trails nearby to walk on if things get too crowded.

Goose Creek is easily one of the parks that I could take up full-time residency in and be just fine forever...however since that is not legal it looks like I'll have to make due with the two-week camping limit in the near future. One of the unique features that this park offers those staying amongst the fourteen spaced out sites is its own swimming area and pier for campers. These camp sites vary in amenities, but they all offer general parking and fire pits. Water came be found nearby along with restrooms. There is also two primitive group camping sites are available near the middle of the Goose Creek Trail. These are in a convenient location to the public swimming area and the restrooms there.

Whether you're looking to get away from humans and spend your time with your dog on the trails surrounded by the sounds of wind running through pine needles or just looking to grab some friends and family and spend a nice afternoon in the fresh air, this park has plenty to offer...

We camped in one of the Group Camp sites for two nights, 21 and 22 June 2019, with the Boy Scouts, Troop 11 based out of Goldsboro, NC. This is a very well cared for State Park. The visitor's center has a lot of information about local flora and fauna, and includes a museum and a really nice meeting room. There is a staffed attendant there to assist you during hours. From there you have access to several trails, including the Palmetto Raised Path through the wetlands, (be advised that the path is, as of this writing, still closed to through traffic from last year's hurricane damage). The roads are paved and they are building some really nice cottages to rent near the entrance to the park.

There is a bathhouse that is shared among the two Group Sites. The amenities in the bathhouse are limited to one stall and one urinal on the men's side. Two sinks that worked well. There are no showers. The bathrooms are regularly tended to so they are clean and stocked with soap and paper towels.

Each site has a steel trash receptacle with compartments for trash and recycling and heavy doors to prevent wildlife from accessing the inside. The site had three all-weather picnic tables, a fire pit and a grill. There were two poles with hooks to hang food bags or trash bags off the ground. The common area of the site is crushed gravel with manicured grass surrounding it. There are plenty of trees to hang hammocks from, and a lot of room for tents. We had two large tents and 6 hammocks.

There are nice walking trails, and a great swimming area within walking distance from the group site. The swimming area had life jackets available to swimmers who wish to use them. The bathroom associated with the swimming area is a pretty good walk from the beach, so be prepared for that.

The wildlife is plenty. We saw a lot of deer, turtles, several species of bird, and a cute Grey Fox who smelled our food cooking. Be warned that the ticks and mosquitos are very active and the population is emence, so bring and use plenty of bug repellant and sleep inside a screen.

We would definitely...

Great place to camp. This was my first time camping at the RV site and I really enjoyed it.

Pros:

Sites are spread out enough to offer privacy.

Sites include full hook-ups for both 50 & 30 amp including water and sewer.

The park is cleared of trees to the point that it offers an amazing view of the night sky.

Trails are easily accessible with one of the many having it's trailhead within the RV park itself.

Bathrooms and showers well maintained with heat and hot water.

Sites included fire-rings with the grated flip over grill attachment.

Friendly and helpful staff. My battery died on my truck and they were great about sending someone to help me jump start it. The Ranger was awesome with helping my son earn his Junior Ranger badge.

Cons:

Our fire ring had not been cleaned out from the previous occupants and still contain a lot of ashes, wood debris and burned trash.

No shade. The trees are sparse and if you want shade, especially during the heat of summer, you better bring it yourself. Still, it's a fair trade for the amazing view of the night sky.

The men's bathroom has a single stall and two urinals. The single stall seems inadequate for a park this size. If there is ever a case of food poisoning, there may be altercations for control of that single stall.

The camp host didn't coordinate or plan any Halloween activities for the kids amongst the campers. We camped in the primitive area on Halloween the previous year and came to the RV sites to allow the kids to trick or treat and the camp host had done a great job of coordinating Halloween activities for the kids. This year, nothing...My wonderful wife had to run around from site to site trying to get the other campers to participate and managed to get some. I know it's not required for the camp host to do things like this, but come on....at least try to do more than...