Blue Water Development will add a new RV resort to its portfolio this spring with the opening of the Outer Banks West/ Currituck Sound KOA in North Carolina. Located about 50 miles south of the Virginia border, the new campground will offer more than 200 full hookup RV sites, as well as cabin and rental RV glamping options, plus five rustic tent sites.
The OBXW KOA will welcome its first campers May 15, if public safety considerations and regulations allow, and is accepting reservations now, with the official ribbon cutting planned for June. The campground’s season will run through the end of November.
“We knew the property was a gem as soon as we saw it,” Todd Burbage, Blue Water CEO, said. “After two years of extensive renovations and upgrades, we’re finally ready for guests to experience its natural beauty and our signature hospitality.”
Located on the west side of Currituck Sound, the campground occupies the former location of the Hampton Lodge Campground on a secluded 480-acre wooded peninsula. A short distance off US 158, the location provides easy access to all the attractions of the Outer Banks, without requiring RVers to brave the often congested traffic on the Banks themselves.
Greg Linsmeyer, director of operations and construction lead for the Outer Banks West project, reports that the property has gone through a complete, “soup to nuts” renovation. “We have replaced and upgraded all campsite utilities, added three new accommodation options so that guests can experience whatever level of “glamping” they like, and now provide each site with a gravel parking pad,” he said. “Around the campground you’ll see beautiful landscaping, a new large playground, dog park, volleyball court, cornhole play space, a huge community firepit, and two fishing ponds.
“We have completely renovated the Activity Center to include a beautiful event space, arcade, camp store with cafe, prep kitchen for catering, and a new bathhouse. The existing bathhouse has been renovated into a family bathhouse with all new laundry equipment. At the Welcome Center, we completed a full renovation to include the guest registration area, administrative offices, and a golf cart rental station.”
“Interesting geology” of the Eurasian plate and North American plate junction.”
Each of the campsites has full hookups with 50/30/20A power, DISH Network cable, and Wi-Fi, Linsmeyer tells The Buzz. RVers can choose between waterfront and pull-through sites, or one of the 41 deluxe sites each with a patio, outdoor furniture, chiminea, and grill. For longer term stays, 75 sites are available for seasonal rental.
Other options include 21 deluxe waterfront cabins, which are really “tiny houses” with two bedrooms, dining and living rooms, full kitchen and bath, air conditioning, cable TV, and screen porch. Ten pet-friendly Heartland Prowler Lynx 25 LX Travel Trailers are also available for rent, with sleeping space for up to six people, hotel-level amenities, and a deck, patio furniture, picnic table, fire ring, and charcoal grill just outside.
Future plans, Linsmeyer says, include a resort-style pool area, more campsites in the wooded areas of the property, and an additional bathhouse. Safari-style glamping tents will be coming soon.
The property’s half-mile of waterfront forms the heart of the new KOA, with views of the Currituck Lighthouse across the Sound. The area is noted for its waterfowl including many species of ducks, geese and swans, as well as frequent visits from wading birds looking for dinner in the shallows.
“This is a true outdoor enthusiast’s paradise,” says Kimberly Wootteon, Blue Water’s director of marketing. “The unique mix of traditional outdoor activities such as fishing, boating, birding and crabbing combined with full resort-level amenities offers families a great vacation destination.”
Linsmeyer says he and his crews installed four new fishing piers, a new family swimming dock and an upgraded boat ramp along the waterfront. The Family Swimming Area includes a Wibit Sports floating fun zone, lounging floats, waterfront cabanas, a swimming platform, and a roped-off swimming area.
Robin Helfant, Outer Bank West KOA general manager, describes the Wibit as a floating water sports park with a slide, jump pillow, balance course, and climbing wall. “We’ll have life jackets available for both kids and adults,” she says. “Also our watersports rental station will be stocked with kayaks, paddle boards, relaxation floats, water trikes and more.”
Helfant also says that the camp store will have fishing poles, lures, crab traps, and bait for fishing and crabbing. Guests will have access to a computer so that they can go online and quickly purchase and print a NC fishing license for $15. Golf cart rentals are also available.
As a member of the KOA family, emphasis will be on “Yellow Pride,” Helfant says. “This means smiling faces from a caring staff, clean bathhouses and accommodations, beautiful pet parks and butterfly gardens, and a fully stocked camp store. That’s our promise, and that’s why we wear our signature yellow shirts with pride - we want to be seen so that we can provide the best customer service possible.”
According to Helfant, activities at the campground will include volleyball, kickball, and corn hole, plus arts and crafts, tie-dye t-shirt-making, hayrides, ice cream socials, face painting, DJs and karaoke nights. A steady stream of themed weekends - from Superhero to Country Throwdown and School’s Out to Explore the Sound to Wet n’ Wild and a KOA favorite, Christmas in July - will keep campers busy.
Guests have a variety of nearby local dining options including Frog Island Seafood, Coinjock Marina, and the Currituck BBQ, and can enjoy wine tastings and tours at Sanctuary Vineyards and beer tasting and German cuisine at The Weeping Radish, all within a few miles. To make getting around even more convenient, OBXW will offer a complimentary boat shuttle to take guests across the Sound to Timbuk II in Corolla, a major shopping and entertainment destination, and to the Coinjock Marina for happy hours, dinner, and live music. The boat’s captain will also offer sunset cruises.
Many Outer Banks attractions are close by as well, including the H2OBX Waterpark, just 30 minutes away. Kimberly Wootteon says she is working closely with the Currituck County Chamber of Commerce, Currituck County Department of Travel & Tourism, and the North Carolina Tourism Board as well as businesses in the local area to enhance guest experience. “We are working closely with H2OBX, Kittyhawk Kites, Timbuck II, and the Coinjock Marina specifically,” she says.
The OBXW KOA is Blue Water’s fifth KOA, and sixth RV resort, with another underway in Virginia. All its RV resorts are located on the water and feature a wide variety of RV and accommodation types with upscale amenities. Real estate developer Blue Water Development specializes in commercial and hospitality properties along the East Coast, including hotels, waterparks and golf getaways on the Eastern Shore. Other RV resorts in the Blue Water portfolio include Massey’s Landing in Delaware, the Strafford / Lake Winnipesaukee South KOA in New Hampshire, the Lebanon KOA on Salmon Falls River in Maine, and the Cape Charles / Chesapeake Bay KOA and Chincoteague Island KOA, both in Virginia. The Outer Banks West/ Currituck Sound KOA is Blue Water’s first project in North Carolina.
GM Robin Helfant says she is looking forward to the first OBXW season. “I can’t wait for Outer Banks West to be full of happy campers -- the smell of fresh air and campfires, kids playing, people fishing and relaxing,” she says. “I look forward to providing a memorable camping experience for our guests.”