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If you enjoy communing with nature, you're in for a treat when camping in the New Bern area. Nature enthusiasts can rough it at Croatan National Forest campsites that are off the beaten path. If you prefer modern camping comforts, you'll find commercial campgrounds that provide a number of services.

The Croatan National Forest allows primitive camping anywhere except picnic areas and parking lots. Reservations are not accepted for any recreation area in the Croatan. The Croatan National Forest has several camping areas with various kinds of facilities and can accommodate any size recreational vehicle. For detailed camping information, call the district ranger's office, (252) 638-5628, or stop in and pick up maps at the office at 141 E. Fisher Avenue, 9 miles south of New Bern off U.S. Highway 70 E. Office hours are 8 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. The office is closed weekends and holidays. A map of the Croatan National Forest is on sale at the office for $9. For a complete description of this magnificent forest, see our Crystal Coast Attractions chapter.

Located within 10 minutes of historic downtown New Bern, Moonlight Lake RV Park has 27 RV lots and 10 tent sites, including 50/30 amp electrical hook-ups, water and sewer service, garbage disposal, horseshoe pits, picnic tables, laundry facilities and a bathhouse. Five of the tent sites are primitive. Ask about tent camping rates. RV rates for sites are $30 daily, $125 weekly, $375 monthly and $3,900 yearly, not including electricity. Cable TV, phone service and wireless Internet are available at an extra charge on all lots. With a monthly or yearly rental, cable TV is free. The facility accepts Passport America and Camp Club USA for a 50 percent discount Sunday through Thursday. Also available is a 550-square-foot guest house that sleeps four and has many amenities.
 

Site amenities include clean restrooms, hot showers, a swimming pool, laundry facilities, a full-service camp store, propane, cable TV, a playground, storage and broadband or wireless Internet access. Pets are welcome at KOA and will enjoy their very own Bark Park. On the banks of the Neuse River, there is a pier with 10 boat slips and a ramp. Fishing and crabbing from the pier while the sun sets over the river is always a nice way to end the day. KOA offers Value Season, Adventure Season and holiday rates. Monthly rates are possible based on availability. Children younger than age 6 camp free when accompanied by an adult. Reservations can be made by phone or online with a deposit using Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
 

Perched on a bluff above the Neuse River about 8 miles south of New Bern, Fishers Landing is found by turning left across U.S. 70 East at the Riverdale Mini-Mart. This recreation area offers only the barest of amenities, but what it lacks in creature comforts is more than compensated for by the chance to be among nature's creatures. Take an early morning walk along the crescent-shaped sandy beach, accessible by wooden stairs set into the cliff, and you'll see ospreys, egrets, sea gulls and herons. Between the small parking lot and the bluff is a wide, grassy area backed by a row of trees. You can swim in the Neuse River here, but we suggest wearing shoes for protection against the rocks and tree stumps on the river bottom. The wheelchair-accessible site offers unimproved walk-in tent camping and picnicking, non-flush toilets, grills and drinking water. Fishers Landing is open year round.