A white Tacoma with a camper shell parked on a rise above a broad, empty basin under building cloud.

Forest Service campground

Flanners Beach Campground

Forest Service campground in National Forests in North Carolina, Craven County, North Carolina. 29 feet. 5.7 miles from Havelock.

Managed by
Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina
Elevation
29 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
39 20 standard electric, 19 standard non-electric
Longest rig
80 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
Electric
Reservations
Recreation.gov
County
Craven County

Overview

Located in the Neuse River Recreation Area in eastern North Carolina, Flanners Beach Campground is situated on a bluff overlooking the scenic Neuse River and within a half-hour drive from the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway. The campground is extreemly busy and reservations are reccamended but must be made 3 days in advance. Of the 39 campsites, 7 are considered first come-first served campsites that cannot be reserved or held, so a person must physically be there with their camping equipment to purchase the campsite. Flanners Beach campground has the option to use Scan & Pay system, but by the rules of recreaiton.gov it may only be used for first come-first served sites. Please make sure to contact a campground host to ensure availability before paying for any campsite. Failure to check with the campground host for availability may result in the loss of your camping fee.

Recreation

The area includes a three mile non-motorized trail. Water activities abound and include canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. Hunting is also popular in the area but you must use an alternate location to access the water for these activities.

Facilities

The campground has 39 sites, 22 of which offer electrical hookup with 20/30/50 amps and 2 are Double campsites. Amenities include a bathhouse with private hot showers and an adjacent day-use picnic area. Check out time is 11:00am and Check in time is 1:00pm to allow for campsite to be maintained. There is a 14 day stay limit within a 30 day period. Once a 14 day stay limit is reached, the camping unit must leave the campground. Access to the beach has been closed since hurricane Florence and will continue to be until the planned restoration work has been completed.

Natural Features

The Neuse River is a coastal waterway where saltwater meets fresh, and is approximately two miles wide where the waters meet. The river empties into the Bogue Sound just a few miles down-stream.

Nearby Attractions

Special places in the area include the Beaches of the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, Tryon Place (the original governor's mansion of the thirteen colonies), the third oldest town in the state and seat of Carteret County, Beaufort, NC, and Fort Macon (an original pre-Civil War Fort).

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • camping
  • hiking
  • historic & cultural site
  • interpretive programs
  • picnicking
  • wildlife viewing

The land around Flanners Beach Campground

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated February 25, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.