Frisco Campground — Hotel in Hatteras Island

Edit: I used to give this place a 5 star, and I still do if I disregard the horrible reservation system, but you cannot get around it so I must give this campground a 1 star for providing absolutely no first-come-first-serve spots. It was impossible to get one of my favorite spots (let alone a bearable one), because they can be booked 6 months in advance by others. I also noticed more than 75% of the reserved spots did not get used. This really let me down... They want paid for spots that remain empty, apparently... They do not care about the public anymore under recreation.gov. Be prepared to only get the mosquito ridden spots, watch the good spots be reserved yet go unused, and to relinquish any hope of future adventurous or spur-of-the-moment beach camping trips. Recreation.gov has ruined not only Frisco, but every other campground they administer, the majority of public campgrounds in this country. Recreation.gov has largely ruined public land recreation.

Easy access to pristine beach. Not crowded, with a fair amount of privacy. Beautiful landscape. Clean bathroom, water, and shower facilities. Large amount of wildlife roaming all around. Walked right by a baby raccoon trying to hide behind a cactus. On clear nights you can see the Milky Way and a plethora of stars. The campground is not far from amenities, community beaches, and restaurants. There is a trail that follows a service road through the interior of the island that starts at the far back of the campground. Trail is nice for the first mile but then the sand gets deep and loose where it converges with a horse trail. Given you are in the far out OBX, you should expect cactus and sand spurs - just wear sandals or shoes and it's not a big deal. Picking a site that gets a breeze helps with the mosquitoes, and those sites also have the best views. Naturally, being at the beach there is a lot of sun and heat, and the sites that have fewer mosquitoes are also the sunnier spots. Would recommend a canopy with mesh sides if you plan on spending a lot of waking hours at the campsite. Frisco is great for those seeking a peaceful, natural, and outdoorsy beach experience while maintaining reasonable and clean facilities. Only problem I have is that they keep raising the cost to stay. In 2014 it was $14. 2018...

Too bad Outer Banks beaches have gone downhill due to their allowing vehicles on it, and to destroy them by doing so. I can't believe Outer Banks doesn't realize what's happening.

I give it a single star because I somewhat liked our campsite, somewhat because you could see and hear our neighbors clearly through the meager trees. HOWEVER, the sheer mass of trucks on the beach, especially the ones that weren't camped here were beyond annoying, as were the people in these trucks. INUNDATED with them, so much so that mere chair/towel beach/campers without a vehicle had scant areas to be away from these extremely loud and annoying drunkards! One of these truckers set up horseshoes, which came awfully close to hitting my daughter!!! It was extremely difficult to walk on the beach as well because of all the carved tire tracks, the beach was a literal mess. We were on our little plot of sand between trucks (since there was nowhere on this beach without trucks) when two RUDE truckers decided to park their vehicles right behind us towing 12 people!!!! When I called them rude, they looked dumbfoundedly at me and then one of the females laughed like an idiot (I'm guessing she was already drunk in the morning). We had to avoid trucks while walking off the beach. It seems they and other beaches in the Outer Banks now cater to truckers, since you don't need to camp here to drive onto the beach and park there all day! Then some idiot woman took her top of which is against the rules. Oh, and let's not forget the cigarette butts tucked into the sand. I guess there is no rule against smoking on the beach. Ugh, never camping here again and most likely not visiting the Outer Banks, either. They ruined it for regular people who just wish to enjoy the view of the ocean...

Our family of three, plus dog, was here the week before Memorial Day weekend. We loved it. We were fortunate enough to have a site with shade and be close to the boardwalk that went to the beach. Loved that our dog could go to the beach too!!! I'll keep this review simple with a pro and con list. I'll start with what we thought were the cons and end on a high note.||||Cons:||1. Only cold water showers - yikes! That was tough with a 2 year old.||2. Bathrooms were spaced far enough that it could feel like a long walk, especially with a small child - glad we brought our bikes. This is where the water fill station is too, so you may have to drive or bike to get your water every day.||3. Mostly sunny sites, which could feel oppressive during the hot days, just bring shade covering with you.||4. Ticks are significant, but that's not the campground's fault!||5. Walk to beach is long if you are not driving on the beach and/or if you have a lot of stuff to bring with you (i.e. cooler, canopy, body boards, etc. Again, bikes helped us here. ||||Pros:||1. Very well maintained and clean||2. Sites had a fair amount of privacy so you didn't feel on top of each other||3. Awesome beach access - stayed there all day||4. Dog's allowed at the beach ||5. Frisco Market is directly across the street from the entrance just in case you forget anything - it's fully stocked and has block ice||6. No hook-ups which as tent campers is a plus for us because that meant less RV's!||7. Could bike all over the campground, paved roads. ||8. Lots of wonderful wildlife - frogs, toads, and birds galore||9. An easy drive to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Ocracoke Ferry.||10. Best bang for your buck! $28/tent site is on target for what you get!||||Thanks National Park Service! We...