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Welcome to the Croatan National Forest, one of four National Forests in North Carolina and the only true coastal forest in the East. The Croatan National Forest's 160,000 acres have pine forests, saltwater estuaries, bogs and raised swamps called pocosins. Bordered on three sides by tidal rivers and the Bogue Sound, the forest is defined by water. All this water provides a variety of recreation and diversity of wildlife- from deer, black bears and turkeys to wading birds, ospreys and alligators. Canoeing and fishing are popular on blackwater creeks and saltwater marshes. The Croatan is also home to the carnivorous Venus fly-trap, sunder and pitcherplant. The Croatan National Forest has one Ranger District, the Croatan Ranger District. Please contact the District for more information. Camping and Day-use Information Enjoy camping or a picnic at one of the many day-use areas. A list of camping and day-use areas in the Croatan National Forest can be found here. Recreation Maps Croatan National Forest Maps Be Safe The national forests in North Carolina offer a wide variety of outdoor recreation opportunities. From the mountains to the sea, there are many exciting adventures awaiting your visit to these national forests. Please keep in mind that all outdoor recreational activities on the Croatan, Pisgah, Nantahala and Uwharrie national forests, including activities at recreation sites, have inherent risks due to the natural setting in which they occur. Always remember, your safety is your responsibility.
From Maysville, take NC 58 East, turn left onto SR 110 (turns to gravel). Continue to FR 126 and follow to the lake.
Not a comfortable feeling at all. This place looks like it could be pretty awesome but I guess there are just no funds or government desire to invest in it. The access road to the lake is in really good shape but everything is heavily overgrown at the end of the road at the "boat ramp". You could still launch a canoe or kayak from there but I would be worried about my vehicle the entire time I was on the water. The access road to what I thought were going to be primitive campsites is basically impassible. I was not willing to attempt those mud holes alone while running 35.5" M/T tires in my 7.3L as it is a very long walk down an very isolated road to get back to a very sketchy looking neighborhood. Several of the holes looked really deep and one looked like someone had thrown some large tree branches in there. Nowhere along the lake on the access road looked like a good place to primitive camp although I did now walk down the whole road as it was raining. Most spots that looked like they once could have been campsites had growth so thick that you couldn't see the lake and there would have been nowhere to hang a hammock if you wanted to hammock camp. It's really kind of sad because what I was able to see of the lake looked very serene and beautiful.
A very serene place, unfortunately many locals apparently like to shoot their guns and break glass and could use a good clean up.
Learned about “Dispersed Camping” today. Despite having most side roads closed off, I did see a deer and turkey while driving through - along with bullet riddled traffic signs :/ Overall not bad. I wouldn’t take my family here but I can see several hunting opportunities! And it is close to New Bern.
Dock is overgrown with trees there’s no real area you can stand and see the water maybe fish in
Beautiful lake!! Not much space for fishing and we didn't go swimming. It's good for nature walks and definitely if you have a boat.
