Lake Waccamaw State Park
Lake Waccamaw State Park is the 22nd Park in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge, which means we officially are halfway done! Lake Waccamaw is 40 miles west of Wilmington and centers around a lake that is the largest of the Carolina Bays (elliptical depressions along the Atlantic Coast Plain regions with an unknown origin). Lake Waccamaw also houses a large population of alligators- which the park leans into with their alligator State Park sign and their patch. Although alligator encounters are rare there was an incident earlier this year where someone was injured by an alligator while swimming. So, even thought the water did look nice, we only dipped our toes in on the pier steps.
Our intention was the walk the Lakeshore Trail all the way down to the dam, but there was an immense about of mosquitoes (and the largest mosquitoes I’ve ever seen) that prevented us from doing so. I could feel them around us and then it felt like they were swarming us if we stopped moving- I’m not sure we even made it a quarter of a mile into the trail before we turned around. We did have bug spray on, but it really didn’t seem to be doing anything. With that being said, if you wanted to hike I would suggest picking a better time of year than the humid month of August and to wear long pants and a sun shirt so you are covered. I think going in the winter months or early spring before the mosquitoes emerge would be the best timing.
There are five walk-in campsites that vary from 600 ft to 4800 ft from the parking lot. I think bringing a wagon would be your best bet to getting your things out to those sites. Once again I would think twice about booking a campsite during peak summer months due to the bugs, but I think sunset and sunrise at the pier would be incredible.
So without much of a hike we headed back to the pier and enjoyed the morning listening to the water. There were absolutely no issues with mosquitoes on the pier, so we stayed for a while just enjoying our time. We watched some boats drive by and just enjoyed the weather before it got too hot for the day. On our way out of the park we stopped in at the visitor center and got our passport stamp and patch. Enjoy!
Park Details:
ADDRESS: 1866 State Park Drive, Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450
HOURS: December-February: 7am-7om
March-April & October: 7am-9pm
May-September: 7am-10pm
November: 7am-8pm
**Closed on Christmas Day**
VISITOR CENTER: Open Daily 8am-5pm
PASSPORT STAMP: Located at the Visitor Center
ENTRANCE FEE: No Entrance Fee
TRAILS: 10 miles of hiking trails
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, Paddling, & Fishing
DOG RULES: Dogs must be on a leash no longer than 6ft, and are not allowed ins ark buildings. Please pick up after your pet!
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
