Camping on Cape Lookout National Seashore

Your complete, up-to-date guide to ferries, permits, cabins, and beach camping on North Carolina's wildest barrier island.

Are you looking for a great place to go camping in the Outer Banks? Cape Lookout National Seashore might be just the place for you. Personally, I think it is one of the best camping experiences in the Outer Banks! After our weekend trip taking the ferry and camping on the beach, I have everything you need to know for your next adventure, including restrooms, cabins, beaches, and more!

Here is the short version before we dig in: you reach Cape Lookout only by ferry or private boat, camping is free but limited to 14 consecutive days, every vehicle needs a beach driving permit bought ahead of time on Recreation.gov, and the best time to go is late spring or fall. Now let me walk you through it all.

Cape Lookout and the Cape Lookout Lighthouse are part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore in the Outer Banks (of North Carolina) and managed by the NPS. I have previously written about Shackleford Banks, which is also part of the national seashore. You can get to the island by ferry or private boat, and there are many things to do while visiting, including camping, fishing, birding, hiking, and more.

In this blog post, I will cover how to camp at Cape Lookout National Seashore with tips that will help make your experience as good as possible!

What is Cape Lookout National Seashore

Cape Lookout National Seashore is a set of barrier islands covering a 56-mile (90-km) section of the Crystal Coast in North Carolina, running from the Ocracoke Inlet to Beaufort Inlet. It is part of the National Park System and was created in 1966. As I mentioned before, I really do prefer the southern area of the Outer Banks because it is wilder, harder to get to, and therefore less developed than its northern neighbor.

How to get to Cape Lookout National Seashore

You reach Cape Lookout only by boat, either a passenger ferry or a vehicle ferry. For day trips, take a passenger ferry from either Beaufort or Harkers Island. You can stop by Shackleford Banks first, or go directly to Cape Lookout. Also, if you are one of those minimalist campers and can fit everything into 2 bags, you can use the passenger ferries to get to Cape Lookout for camping.

Well, it depends on what you want to do! For day trips, take a passenger ferry from either Beaufort or Harker's Island. You can stop by Shackleford Banks first, or you can go directly to Cape Lookout. Also, if you are one of those minimalist campers and can fit everything into 2 bags, you can use the passenger ferries to get to Cape Lookout for camping.

However, if you are like the rest of us and want a few extra amenities while camping, you'll probably want to bring your car. For that, two ferry services take cars. Although there are passengers too.

One is Cape Lookout Cabins & Camps (don't let the name fool you; they don't manage any cabins or camping; that is all done through the NPS), and the other is Davis Shore Ferry Service. They can accommodate 4 to 6 cars depending on the ferry. Expect to pay around $85 or more per vehicle for a regular-size car, plus a per-passenger fee, and always confirm the current rate when you book because prices and schedules shift with the season. You make reservations over the phone with both companies.

Both go out of Davis; one is the Cape Lookout Cabins & Camps (don't let the name fool you, they do not manage any cabins or camping, that is all done through the NPS) and one is Davis Shore Ferry Service. They can accommodate 4 to 6 cars depending on the ferry. It costs $80/85 per vehicle (or at least a regular-size car), plus $16 for adults. We reserved with both companies.

Davis Shore is very organized over the phone (you can only make reservations over the phone [both companies]); they take your credit card and will charge you if you cancel within 24 hours. You will get an email confirmation. Cape Lookout Cabin & Camps Ferry Service is a little more loosey-goosey.

They don't take credit card information over the phone (so you will not be charged if you don't show up, which could be a bonus, I guess) and don't send any confirmation. That worried me, so I called the day before we left to make sure they still had our reservation.

Space is limited, and you must select a return time when you make your initial reservation. However, you will see later that you can call and ask to be moved up if there is space.

Davis Shore Ferry Service
148 Willis Road, Davis, North Carolina 28524
Reservations: (252) 729-3474
Ferries operate (weather allowing) from roughly mid-March into late fall and may be increased or decreased based on seasonal demand, so confirm current dates and departure times when you reserve. As far as I can tell, they only have 1 ferry.

Departures from Davis: 7:00 am, 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm
Returns from Great Island: 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm

Cape Lookout Cabins & Camps
125 Grady Davis Lane, Davis, NC 28524
Reservations: (252) 729-9751 or (252) 729-9752
Times adjust for seasonal demand (Labor Day weekend and October) and weather conditions, so check current times when you book. They have 2 ferries: Miss Tempie and Miss Brenda.

Departures from Davis (Miss Tempie): 7:30 am, 9:30 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm.
Departures from Davis (Miss Brenda): 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm,4:00 pm.

Returns from Great Island (Miss Tempie): 8:30 am, 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:30 pm.
Returns from Great Island (Miss Brenda): 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm.

I recommend taking a car to Cape Lookout if you are interested in camping, fishing, etc. Any activity you might have extra equipment for that you wouldn't be able to take on a regular passenger ferry. Alternatively, you can rent a 4×4 vehicle (Kubota) from the ferry service and load it up with your equipment.

Or you can rent one on the island. A concessioner rents them out at the Cape Lookout visitor center, and people use them for fishing and getting around the island.

The ferry takes 30 minutes to cover the three-mile boat ride. 

Can you stay on Cape Lookout?

Yes, you can stay overnight on Cape Lookout. You have two options: rent one of the primitive cabins, or camp on the beach. Camping is free, but the National Park Service limits any stay to 14 consecutive days.

The cabins on Cape Lookout ain't cheap. There are 26 cabins on Great Island that run from about $80 to $180 a night depending on size, and that is for a primitive cabin (you only have to look at the photo gallery on the NPS site to see, and I think the outsides, which are in pretty rough shape, look better than the insides!). They are booked through Recreation.gov (or the Great Island Cabin Camp office) and the cabin season runs roughly from mid-March into late November. The cabins have hot showers, flush toilets, and screened porches, but no electricity, so you'll need to bring your own generator.

Quite frankly, I think you’re better off paying for the ferry with your car if it is a 4 x 4 and can handle driving on the sand. If it can’t, you can rent one of the Kubotas; the price includes the ferry and fuel.

When you arrive at Cape Lookout with your car, you will drive off the ferry and enter the land at Great Island Camp, where you will be greeted by a National Park volunteer who will check your permit/sticker. If you come without a car, they will check you into your cabin. 

Cape Lookout Fees

There is no entrance fee to visit Cape Lookout National Seashore. Your real costs are the ferry to reach the island, the beach driving permit if you bring a vehicle, and a cabin if you choose to rent one. There is no charge if you arrive by private boat.

A quick note on the lighthouse, because it has changed. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is currently closed for climbing. A major renovation began in August 2025 and is expected to take two to three years, so plan on the lighthouse and the area immediately around it being closed into roughly 2027. The good news is that the beaches, the historic village, and the ranger programs will stay open, and the lighthouse will still be a striking sight from the outside. You can normally visit the lighthouse keeper's home, which is a free museum, seasonally from May through September, though access right around the lighthouse may be limited during the renovation, so check current conditions before you go.

Various guided tours charge a fee. Island Express Ferry Service, the same company that runs the passenger ferries from Beaufort and Harkers Island, also runs a beach shuttle from the Cape Lookout Lighthouse visitor center to the beach during the warm months (roughly mid-May through mid September). There is a modest fee, so check their current rate when you book.

Every vehicle needs a beach driving permit. You must buy an ORV (off-road vehicle) beach driving permit on Recreation.gov before you arrive, and once you get to the island, the NPS volunteer will give you a sticker for your car. As of 2025, the permit costs $35 if you buy it in the preseason window (early January to mid-March) or $75 for the rest of the year. The permit is good through the end of the calendar year.

Tips for driving at Cape Lookout National Seashore

Remove the air in your tires. Once you have your permit and are checked in, remove the air from your tires. Have a tire gauge, so you know how much air you let out; it depends on the vehicle (for our GMC Canyon truck, we went to 21 PSI). You should keep the air lowered in your tires until you return to shore.

The ferry services have air compressors on the other end so you can refill your tires when you return (although we used our own). Everyone we saw refilling their tires on the island got stuck right before the ferry dock!

Make sure to have at least half a tank of gas. Make sure your vehicle is in good shape and has plenty of gas before you start the drive. It can take longer during the summer months. You use way more gas than you think. You'll burn oil too, so keep an extra bottle in your vehicle. Always have spare water.

Other items you should carry in your car: air pump, air compressor, shovel, boards or bridges for gaining traction, oil, fire extinguisher, coolant.

Plan for motion sickness. Depending on the wind and waves, the ferry ride can get rough. Also, the sandy road gets narrow, curvy, and bumpy at times, so be prepared for the car ride and bring something to help. I have been using PSI bands for more than a decade, and they worked perfectly for me.

Driving in the sand can be daunting. Our training at White Pocket more than prepared us for the roads on the island! Stay on your toes. If you don't, the car can skid and take off unexpectedly. Make sure you maintain a certain speed. If you go too slow, you'll dig down into the sand.

Sliding is more likely if your tires spin in place or slide sideways down a steep hill of loose sand. When driving on beaches with varying traction surfaces, head for firmer ground to minimize the risk of getting stuck. Try to avoid stopping on the sand. This can cause the car to sink and get stuck.

You can drive either on the beach or on the “back road.” Back road indicates the back of the beach or dunes, (weird I know!) but you cannot drive the whole length of the island on the beach. Some areas are closed, and you are forced to detour onto the back road.

Tips for camping at Cape Lookout National Seashore

Be Prepared. There are no stores on the island. Bring anything you need, including plenty of water and food. If weather becomes an issue, you may stay longer than expected. Cape Lookout National Seashore is an isolated area, so be prepared for any emergency and bring a first aid kit.

Campfires: Fires are permitted (there are rules), but you need to bring your own firewood. Bring your own fire starter (matches can get damp). It is generally windy, so build fires on the beach, not in the dunes, where a spark can be picked up by the wind and start a fire.

You will need a hearty tent. Bring tents with screens for insect protection. You will also need some sort of shade (we have a Kelty Big Shady). The weather is unpredictable. Average winds are 10-15 mph but can reach 30-45 (the ferries will not operate in winds over 30 mph). Tie everything down and ensure your tent can handle it. It's a good idea to bring some sort of rain protection in case there are overnight showers.

Cape Lookout is pet-friendly. If you have pets, bring them! Cape Lookout National Seashore is pet-friendly, though for safety it's best not to let dogs run off-leash. Not all passenger ferries allow pets, so check ahead.

Critters and creatures. There’s always something when you are in the great outdoors – bears in the mountains – and on these islands, it’s raccoons who are well-fed by scraps from all the fishermen but are still devious when it comes to getting into your food. Remember they have opposable thumbs and are crafty so things need to be locked down. They can and will break into tents but unlike bears, not your car!

While waiting on Mr. Misadventures to do his sunset shoot, I set myself up on the boardwalk just below the dune with a portable chair, a book, and a mosquito head net (looks like this). It is less windy on the lighthouse side of the island (the side where you can’t camp), and less wind means more bugs.

Mosquitoes, greenhead flies and deerflies (that bite), and gnats (that are just an annoyance). I ALWAYS have my mosquito head net; it ain’t pretty, but it does the job. We also wore insect repellent and sunscreen.

Getting to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse

If you are on the island with your car and going directly to the lighthouse from the ferry dock, count for one hour; it took us 40 minutes. If you want to camp near the lighthouse (as we did) MM41 is the closest you can get to the lighthouse MM41A is right before the lighthouse and MM41B is right after the lighthouse (note the map you get from the NPS does not show an A and B, it only indicated one MM41.

There’s a big chunk of the beach between the two mile markers where the beach is completely off-limits to driving.

If you are arriving by passenger ferry, the lighthouse is on the side of the island where the ferries from Beaufort and Harkers Island drop their passengers. There are bathrooms, water, information, and a place to rent a Kubota or grab a shuttle. (However, the benefit of renting a Kubota on the mainland rather than the island is that you can load it up with your camping gear, picnics, beach stuff.

Otherwise, you're limited to whatever you can carry in bags if you take a passenger ferry.)

A reminder for now: with the lighthouse renovation running into roughly 2027, the immediate area around the lighthouse may be fenced or restricted, so give yourself room to adjust your plans if signage on the day tells you so.

Things to do in the area when not camping

Cape Lookout is a great place to camp, but there are other to do besides camping. From kayaking and fishing to hiking and biking, there are plenty of ways for the whole family to enjoy themselves without having to rough it in a tent!

• Well, there's the beach, of course, and all the activities associated with that! Swimming, shelling, games, reading, walking, etc.
• Kayaking: there are more than 100 miles of shoreline to explore, especially in the sound and inlets (as opposed to the open surf); they are often more accessible by kayak than any other method of exploring.
• Surfing and wind-surfing: not my cup of tea, but people do it here!
• Mountain biking if you love the challenge of the sand!
• Cape Lookout Coast Guard Station. We visited the Coast Guard Station near MM43 and had lunch under some shady trees before heading to find a spot on the beach. You can see the historical buildings, but the 2 still-functioning buildings house students from universities involved in dolphin and turtle studies and aren't open to the public.
• The lighthouse, which was mentioned above. You can normally visit the Cape Lookout Light Station Visitor Center and Keepers' Quarters Museum (May through September), though remember the lighthouse itself is closed for renovation until roughly 2027.
• Birding: Over 250 species live here or migrate through, depending on the season. We saw plenty of Piping Plovers, which are extremely amusing to watch as they run across the beach and search for food right after a wave hits. We also saw brown pelicans diving for breakfast in the morning.
• Last but not least is fishing, the main activity (besides camping and visiting the lighthouse) that people come for. We saw lots of that! The best seasons are spring and fall (which is why October is the high season for the ferries).  In the spring, folks who are fishing are looking for: bluefish, cobia, grey trout, red drum, false albacore (albies/little tunny), and striped bass. In the fall, it's Spanish mackerel, bluefish, albies/little tunny, and red drum. Late fall (Nov/Dec) it's speckled and gray trout (at the rock jetty), false albacore (albies/little tunny), redfish/red drum, and striped bass.

And you can also do photography, which, of course, is one of the main reasons we were there! Cape Lookout is difficult to access; you need the ferry to get to the island, which limits access, and there isn't much light pollution. Perfect for Milky Way shooting (or any other astrophotography.

The lighthouse also makes a great model for full-moon shoots. We did a sunset photoshoot at the lighthouse, and we walked from our campsite. That’s the only way you can get close enough to the lighthouse, as there is no way to access it with a vehicle.

Best time to camp on Cape Lookout

The best time to camp on Cape Lookout is late spring and fall, roughly May and again from September into October. Those stretches give you milder temperatures, lighter crowds, and the strongest fishing, without the peak heat and bugs of high summer.

Here is how the seasons shake out. Spring brings comfortable weather and the first big fishing run of the year, and it is when I would send a first-timer. Summer is warm and sunny, the water is at its best for swimming, and the ferries run their fullest schedules, but it is also the hottest, buggiest, and busiest, so bring serious shade and insect protection. Fall is a favorite for many regulars because October is high season for the fishing and the ferries, the light turns golden for photography, and the daytime heat backs off. Winter is quiet and beautiful, but the vehicle ferries and the cabins largely shut down from late November until about mid-March, and the passenger ferries run a reduced schedule, so it is really only for the well-prepared.

Whenever you go, remember that the wind and weather here change fast, so keep your plans flexible and watch the forecast right up until your ferry.

How weather can impact your trip

The wind is bad, no way to sugarcoat it. The sand gets everywhere, and for Mr. Misadventures, it was a problem for the camera. In extremely low-light conditions, such as a Milky Way shoot, wind vibration disturbs the long exposure and causes blurriness. On the other hand, we watched the stars and Milky Way through the top of our Tepui (now owned by Thule) tent, and it was gorgeous!

We planned on leaving on the 3 pm ferry, but Sunday night, as we were scouting our location for the sunset shoot at the lighthouse, we ran into a volunteer couple whose duty is maintaining the Keepers' Quarters, and they said the passenger ferries weren’t running on Monday due to high winds and a storm coming through.

So the next morning we called the ferry office when they opened at 6:30 am (there IS cell coverage on the island!) and got on an earlier ferry. That’s the thing about this set of islands: the weather is very unpredictable, and you have to be ready for anything.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cape Lookout that weren't covered above!

What to bring with you

I think I covered most of the items you will need through the course of sharing about my trip to Cape Lookout, but just to summarize and put everything in one spot, here we go:

For the car:

• Air pump/air compressor
• Shovel
• Boards or bridges for gaining traction
• Oil
• Fire extinguisher
• Coolant
• Water
• Rope for towing

For camping, besides all the usual camping gear, I recommend these additions

• Sunshade, we have a Kelty Big Shady. We also have a Kelty Waypoint Tarp which we used in White Pocket; it really depends on how many people need to be covered and what you are using it for. In this case, we wanted to use it as an extra room for sitting, relaxing, eating with 2 chairs (also Kelty), our cooler, etc.
• Longer tent stakes – at least 12 inches long to go deep into the sand. Regular tent stakes may not be long enough.
• Hand shovel
• Tide chart – you need to camp above the high tide line, and you should know when low and high tides take place. (Available for free at both ferry companies)

For surf fishing, the only fishing I've done is in Alaska, but I can tell you will need:

• A Coastal Recreational Fishing License (CRFL) to saltwater fish.
• There are NO stores on the island, so you will need to bring your own bait and fishing equipment.
• You will need multiple coolers of ice for your catches; there is no ice on the island.
• Most everyone we saw had some kind of rod holder, whether that was attached to their vehicle or something buried in the sand.
• Depending on the season, you could need waders!

For you:

• Sunscreen and REAPPLY
• Strong insect repellent and REAPPLY
• Tick remover kit (for your dog as well)
• A hat that provides sun protection
• Mosquito head net – you should spray it with insect repellent as well.
• Layers of clothing so as to not be too hot or cold; the weather seems to change every hour!
• Good shoes – there are A LOT of broken shells that can cut your feet. We brought our Bogs but didn't end up using them. I wore my Jambu Spirit Too Eco Vegan.

Cape Lookout National Seashore is a beautiful place to camp with plenty of opportunities for adventure. The secluded campsites and rugged terrain make it an ideal destination, but you need to plan ahead so that your trip goes smoothly. I hope that sharing the experiences I had during my 2 trips has provided some good info for you should you be planning a trip to this remote destination.

If you are extending your trip:

I have written about beautiful Beaufort, and I think it makes a great home base for day trips or a great place to stay the night before your camping trip, but I did notice 2 cute bed and breakfasts that you may want to look into if you want a treat before or after your camping trip. They are Davis Bed and Breakfast (811 US-70 in Davis), less than a mile from the ferry dock, and Otway House Bed and Breakfast (Otway, 368 HW 70E, technically in Beaufort, but on the edge, which is 9 miles from the ferry dock.

The beautiful and wild Cape Lookout National Seashore is a wonderful place to enjoy the outdoors and explore nature. Camping is a must! I absolutely love it there, and we will be going back again and again! I hope this post has provided you with all of the information that you need. Let me know if I have missed something!

If you have any chance of getting sea sick while taking a boat, water bus, or ferry, I HIGHLY recommend PSI bands. I have used them for more than a decade, and they work! I gift them to friends all the time and keep a spare set in my glove compartment for visitors who may also get car sick.

How about you? Have you camped in Cape Lookout National Seashore? Are you motivated to give it a try? Do tell in the comments, and if this guide helped you plan, please share it with a fellow camper!

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