http://www.nps.gov/calo/planyourvisit/lodging.htm

Anyone ever stayed there?...Specifically on the South Core Banks. Going in April and it looks like drum fishing will be pretty good then. I've never been to this area, so any other activities advice/suggestions are welcome.

2/8/2011 4:03:05 PM

we used to go for 3 days every october. caught a lot of huge drum out of drum inlet. we stayed in tents.

[Edited on February 8, 2011 at 8:45 PM. Reason : we went across on the alger willis ferries back then]

2/8/2011 8:44:57 PM

I've lived "down east" all my life. Drum fishing is very good in the area. Other than fishing, there is not much to do in the area. If you decide to go into Beaufort or Morehead City, there are things to do there.

^Alger Willis Fishing Camps is now called the Great Island Fishing Camps. Several years ago, one of the ferry captains ran the ferry up on a shoal and when the USCG did their investigation, they found that the captain was drunk and blood work came back positive for drugs. I can't remember who runs the camps now.

2/9/2011 7:22:52 AM

We're just gonna hang out on the island. Drinking, laying on the beach and fishing is the plan, but I figured I'd just ask around about others experiences. We're actually looking to get away from the more populated, touristy areas on this trip.

2/9/2011 8:53:29 AM

I've actually been wanting to go camp (in a tent) out there for years. It's completely undeveloped and miles away from anything (I'm hoping this makes for some dark skies.... I'd like to see the Milky Way). The only pain is that you can only get there by boat. And nobody I know likes camping anyway.

Fuck it. I'll probably just go myself. Hopefully I won't run into any boulders.

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 9:11 AM. Reason : prooffail]

2/9/2011 9:11:15 AM

^i honestly can't remember the night sky from the time I went. And usually that is one of my favorite things about getting out into nature.

2/9/2011 9:23:25 AM

This shit annoys me to no fucking end. The federal government forced my family and those of many others to destroy cabins they had legally built there and yet they can put their own shit over there for this kind of bullshit.

FUCK THAT.

2/9/2011 9:24:48 AM

Quote :

"Anyone ever stayed there?...Specifically on the South Core Banks. Going in April and it looks like drum fishing will be pretty good then. I've never been to this area, so any other activities advice/suggestions are welcome."

Bring a four-wheel drive vehicle or four-wheeler if you have one.

The cabins have gas but no power. You will need to bring the following:
Generator for power
Gas can
Sheets/blankets for beds
Fan for air circulation at night
Coolers
Food
Drink
Lots of Ice
Plastic cutlery/plates/etc
Towels
Cards or something to do at night


We would always get their Friday afternoon, unpack and then drive to Drum Inlet until the sun set. Then we'd drive back to the cabin, eat, hang out, and then go to bed. In the morning we'd get up, eat, pack up a picnic lunch, and drive down to the Cape for the day. Hit up the light house, eat lunch, visit the rock jetty, and visit the coastguard station. We'd return for dinner, hang out, sleep, and then leave in the morning.

2/9/2011 10:04:07 AM

Quote :

"Anyone ever stayed there?...Specifically on the South Core Banks. Going in April and it looks like drum fishing will be pretty good then. I've never been to this area, so any other activities advice/suggestions are welcome"

A family friend used to own a beach house near the lighthouse on the sound side. My parents and grandparents used to go down there a bunch. Dad used to fly down there and land on the beach and taxi up to the house. Unfortunately those days are long gone as the NPS took over the island and forced the residents out. I only got to go a few times, and never flew onto the beach, but it was fun. We had a Jeep that rusted through the frame and split in two.

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 10:40 AM. Reason : ]

2/9/2011 10:40:27 AM

^^cool, thanks.

I think we're just going to bring some lanterns (electric and gas) for light instead of the generator. As of now there are 6 of us (3 guys, 3 girls...which is why we're doing the cabins instead of just tent camping). We'll probably consolidate into 1 vehicle before the ferry to save $ and make a couple trips to get all the gear/people to the cabin. Hopefully we'll catch some drum for dinners, but we'll have a couple large coolers (1 for booze, 1 for food) too.

I figure late April weather should be about perfect in terms of cool at night for sleeping and warm during the day for playing and we shouldn't have to worry about the prehistoric flies/mosquitoes then either, right?

Looks like the beach is dog friendly, any pet experiences/advice? (still deciding on whether to bring the pups or not)

also, looks like fires are permitted below the high tide line, but looks like wood is scarce...is it worth hauling in wood to have a fire at night?

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 10:45 AM. Reason : ^]

2/9/2011 10:45:23 AM

cabins....

Seriously?

Just get a tent, sleeping bag, and a cooler of beer. Some buddies and I did this memorial day weekend 2007. Awesome trip.

Quote :

"Fan for air circulation at night Towels Generator for power "

lol, what is this camping with the girlscouts? Maybe throw in some heated toilet seats while your at it.

Quote :

"I figure late April weather should be about perfect in terms of cool at night for sleeping and warm during the day for playing and we shouldn't have to worry about the prehistoric flies/mosquitoes then either, right? "

I'd be very wary even in April. The no see-ums are just getting out and will tear you up. Memorial weekend I forgot to put on bug repellant one night. I
got eaten up by the 100's of bites. My entire body itched.

Quote :

"looks like fires are permitted below the high tide line, but looks like wood is scarce...is it worth hauling in wood to have a fire at night? "

No there should be enough brush laying around.

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 10:54 AM. Reason : a]

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 10:55 AM. Reason : a]

2/9/2011 10:51:16 AM

i would definitely take wood. We took almost a truck full and on our 3rd night were scrambling for brush and rationing our final pieces to stay warm. It wasn't freezing cold by any means but even on memorial day weekend we were all in long pants and sweatshirts by the fire when the sun set. You will definitely want to keep it below the hightide line. We got lucky the first two nights and had the fire close by our spread but the third night patrols stopped by and forced us down below the HT line.


The cabins I remember were on the northen part of the cape and the vehicle ferry we took unloaded right in front of their location. If those are the ones you are staying in then hauling won't be a bad trek. However, if you are staying anywhere near the lighthouse expect a solid 30 minute drive down there.


Dogs are permitted, TKE-Teg and a few others have taken their dogs several times and have never had any problems.

BEWARE of the rip currents. that's all i'll say.



if you want to talk serious about this trip i'd PM Biofreak70 or saps852 or poopface. They've camped all over this place more times than I can count

2/9/2011 11:16:14 AM

Quote :

"lol, what is this camping with the girlscouts? Maybe throw in some heated toilet seats while your at it. "

We had 20 family members between ages 5 and 65. More importantly he asked about staying in cabins not camping on the beach. GTFO.

If you want beach camping advice, look into this thread message_topic.aspx?topic=604174.

Fish camp website: http://www.drumwagon.com

[Edited on February 9, 2011 at 11:44 AM. Reason : -]

2/9/2011 11:40:06 AM

and this thread for our retarded ramblings before we went a couple years ago..

message_topic.aspx?topic=566841&page=1

i'm pretty sure there is at least one piece of advice in there

2/9/2011 11:49:08 AM

Quote :

"we were all in long pants and sweatshirts by the fire when the sun set. "

Barry and I must have gone on a hot holiday weekend. I swear by 6 am we were getting baked out of our tent.

2/9/2011 12:31:08 PM

I camp on the island every summer for a few days. Tenting is relatively comfortable...and it's kinda serene to wake up to a sunset right on the beach, right outside your "door." You can always ferry a truck/suv over and camp on the beach if you have a ton of supplies.

2/10/2011 9:27:49 AM

^The problem is the seagulls squawking at 630 am.

2/10/2011 10:20:20 AM

Quote :

"The problem is the seagulls squawking at 630 am. "

sarcasm?

2/10/2011 10:23:15 AM

Whoever said you need to bring lots of ice, I would bring just enough to keep your coolers cool on the ferry over, and then buy ice blocks from the office when you got there (check to make sure they have supply before going over though)... two blocks kept my cooler cold the entire time i was there, and was way cheaper than buying bags and bags and bags of cubed ice.

as for the cabins, I'd just camp on the beach if you were able to (free and really more fun in my opinion). The only time I'd want a cabin is if there were some serious storms to roll through. but yeah, you are going at the exact right time for some fishing. both coast and sound side (check up in the little "cricks" that cut around on the sound side... I had a good time fishing in there (until a 3 foot shark swam over my bare foot).

we typically go in May, so the fishing isn't that great, but I would gladly make a trip out there earlier if it meant I got to do some real fishing (I'm usually the only one really interested in the actual fishing, at least surfside)

2/10/2011 10:44:54 AM

the only reason for the cabin is to make the ladies happy...god forbid they dont shower for 3 days.

would it be worth it to take a canoe?

^how big are the ice blocks? how big of a cooler do you need to also have room for food/beer with an ice block?

[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 10:52 AM. Reason : ^]

2/10/2011 10:51:12 AM

Quote :

"god forbid they dont shower for 3 days."

as much as i love the outdoors and camping i have a thing for needing to be clean too. I took a bottle of biodegradable camping soap and each morning i walked a couple hundred yards to the freshwater spigot source and took a hose shower. Sure the water wasn't warm, but it woke me up and i felt great the entire morning.

2/10/2011 11:26:29 AM

Shower?!? It's a narrow island. You're within a hundred feet of water at any given time.

2/10/2011 11:42:27 AM

^^as long as i can wash my face and brush my teeth, i'm generally ok otherwise for extended periods when camping.

^saltwater isn't exactly ideal for washing

2/10/2011 11:55:08 AM

^add hair to my list and i'm ok. that was usually what my "showers" consisted of. wash hair and face, let soap run down body, rinse entire body with fresh water, brush teeth, profit

2/10/2011 12:05:06 PM

there used to be a bath house with gas-heated water down on the south end kinda near the lighthouse. are those still there?

2/10/2011 10:33:28 PM

^They have bath houses right beside the lighthouse. I'm not sure if they lock them up during the off-season or not.

2/11/2011 7:10:33 AM

we used to use them in the middle of october. it was awesome after a few days of fish slime, sand, and saltwater.

2/11/2011 8:12:49 AM

coming up next week, how's the surf fishing been?

4/12/2011 12:05:48 PM

The salt water does just fine keeping you relatively clean for 3-5 days.

4/12/2011 1:42:27 PM

Quote :

"It's completely undeveloped and miles away from anything (I'm hoping this makes for some dark skies.... I'd like to see the Milky Way)"

you can see the milky way from my parent's sound-side house in emerald isle. it should be plenty dark out where you're going.

4/12/2011 1:49:11 PM

word. I've stayed sound side on EI many times, but I probably didn't care at the time to look up.

4/12/2011 1:53:01 PM

it's definitely dark enough to see lots and lots of stars. Additionally, you can see satellites if you look long enough to notice them moving across the sky from time to time.

4/12/2011 7:48:30 PM

you should be able to catch some sea mullet. they are fine table fare. look for a "hole" where there's a shallow bar off the beach with deep water between the beach and the bar. you can usually spot breakers on the bar. fish some really really fresh shrimp in the hole or possibly some of those fishbites baits.

4/12/2011 9:15:02 PM

You can come and hang out with me in AB.

Also, camping on Shack isn't that bad.


That is all I have to add to this thread. Unless you want to know more.

[Edited on April 12, 2011 at 11:21 PM. Reason : ]

4/12/2011 11:21:16 PM

I almost feel overwhelmed by what to do while down there compared to the normal offroad areas on the NOBX. Never been there before so for an amateur fisher who enjoys basic surf fishing what would be the easiest rig/setup and location to do this around June/July? When that NPS website says about offroad vehicles are allowed to get to locations but not 'park' in a normal drive area like up on the NOBX, what is it talking about? Where else would you park; only near the cabins or what?

4/13/2011 10:36:30 PM

Just a standard 2 drop bottom rig will work just find in the surf. Depending on how hard the wind is blowing/current you will probably wanna use around a 3 pyramid weight. Shrimp as bait, unless you wanna get some finger mullet, which you can try to do with a cast net if you have one.

4/14/2011 7:14:59 AM

going to north core in 2 weeks

only shitty thing is I have a 6 person cabin rented out for me and my wife.

4/25/2011 10:42:27 AM

Anyone got advice on taking ATVs there? I've got a pair and I wouldn't mind taking them in the next couple of weeks. I guess the biggest thing is I'd need a safe spot to park my truck/trailer for the weekend.

4/25/2011 11:06:17 AM

^It depends on where you are leaving from. There is a boat ramp right by the Harkers Island bridge, you should be fine there.

^^North Core??

4/25/2011 11:30:46 AM

Is there a ferry at Harker's Island that can get the ATVs over there?

4/25/2011 11:43:25 AM

Went this weekend

Quote :

"going to north core in 2 weeks only shitty thing is I have a 6 person cabin rented out for me and my wife."

we had 6 people, 3 couples, and it got a bit tight at times, but it wansn't too bad...and it was cheap. ~$35/couple/night. Watch out for the flies, they were already almost unbareable around the cabins. a head wrap helped alot though.

Quote :

"Anyone got advice on taking ATVs there? I've got a pair and I wouldn't mind taking them in the next couple of weeks. I guess the biggest thing is I'd need a safe spot to park my truck/trailer for the weekend."

the davis ferry has a place to park unferried vehicles for free (not sure if they have one to the north core though)...they'll probably count each atv as a separate vehicle on the ferry, which'll cost you $150 + $14/person to ferry over and back.

^harkers island ferries are people only.

[Edited on April 25, 2011 at 11:48 AM. Reason : .]

4/25/2011 11:46:20 AM

^^ Maybe. I would call around to the ferry services there. The only one I know of is at Davis Island.

[Edited on April 25, 2011 at 11:47 AM. Reason : -]

4/25/2011 11:47:17 AM

^^were the flies bad just at night? in general, is it better by the tide line?

Quote :

"^^North Core?? "

wot

4/25/2011 12:08:47 PM

nah, not bad at night, and if its windy at all they die down...the beach on both sides was ok too due to the constant breeze.

4/25/2011 12:11:06 PM

^^^ & ^^^^ Thanks guys...I'll try calling some of the ferrys. Probably not paying $300+ in ferry fees to go camp for the weekend, but we'll see how it all adds up. If the prices are that high I'll just take a boat trip or something.

[Edited on April 25, 2011 at 12:30 PM. Reason : l]

4/25/2011 12:29:30 PM

just for clarification, the $150 + $14/ I posted is for round trip.

4/25/2011 1:11:41 PM

I read that as $150 each + $14 per person. Did you mean $150 total for both vehicles?

4/25/2011 1:24:43 PM

yeah, the rate is 75 per vehicle and 14 per person

that is for a round trip.

4/25/2011 1:49:33 PM

I'm pretty sure most of the ferry's have different rates for ATV's than full size vehicles (at least the couple I've taken over with my truck)

4/25/2011 3:05:18 PM

^that's very possible

4/25/2011 4:16:42 PM