This Camper’s Life: Croatan National Forest
Our latest camping adventure took us to North Carolina: a beautiful park called Flanners Beach in the Croatan National Forest. Here is a picture of our campsite. It was very wooded and private–we love sites like this! It really feels like you are in nature. The camp hosts at Flanners were excellent, willing to answer any questions we had and very accommodating. The campground was well maintained and clean. Great start!
We did some bike riding in the park along the paved trails enjoying nature as always. The park itself is close to places like Emerald Isle and Morehead City in North Carolina. We usually like to explore every area that we camp in; you never know what treasures you can experience!
The campground itself is on the Neuse River. The beach area is still closed because of hurricane damage from Florence a couple of years ago. We were still able to see some spectacular views from parts of the campground overlooking the river which you see in these photos, even though we were not able to get close.
We decided to go kayaking on the nearby Newport River. Since we could not launch our kayaks from our campground, we went to a nearby city park called Newport River City Park in Newport, North Carolina. It was easy to launch the boats since it had an accessible boat ramp. We enjoyed a pleasant afternoon paddle. The weather was perfect and the water was very calm. The area was quiet…I mean, really, quiet! A few people were fishing, but as we paddled around, we did not see any wildlife, not even birds, which was extremely unusual. It was still a beautiful and very peaceful paddle. Just getting out on the water was wonderful!
Another day we rode through the cute town of Beaufort, North Carolina, and saw a pod of dolphins swimming by…Amazing. That was the highlight of my “critter” experience that trip! Beaufort is a nice town, home to the Marine Corps Air Station. It is on the Crystal Coast and has many historical sites. We also rode through Morehead City and Emerald Isle. I only wish we had more time to explore these beautiful places around the National Forest. Maybe on another trip!
It was a wonderful way to spend a weekend where we can enjoy the sites and sounds of nature and just relax! You should consider visiting that area of North Carolina and camp in the beautiful Croatan National Forest. It is worth it!
We were lucky that the weather was great at the end of Summer 2020. Things are still iffy with the pandemic, but we were still able to get around and enjoy the sites of the area.
On to our next adventure!!
By Marie Giammarco
Marie Giammarco is a mid generation Boomer who came of age in suburban New York, 50 miles north of the city. A child whose mom and grandparents were Italian immigrants, her close knit family defined her growing up years. The product of an environment that revolved around food, health, and physical activity, she saw many elderly people age before their time because they lacked these things. She has a passion to help Boomers and Seniors to be active and live a longer, more healthy life.