Blakeslee Air Force Recreation Area

Amazingly beautiful location one block away from the beach and one block away from the ICW; a new favorite. Pad sites are well maintained with full hook ups. Easy to navigate into/out of sites. Site #6 offers clear skies above for Starlink. One of the higher priced family camps but, well worth it for the location. No real AF amenities to speak of but the towns of Carolina and Kure Beach are very close at hand.

The Blakeslee Air Force Recreation Area (formerly the Fort Fisher Recreation Area) is an amazing facility. Hard, concrete platforms, with E/W/S and cable TV in the lower 24 full hookup sites. There are five upper overflow sites with grass/gravel spaces equipped with E/W/S. The remaining three upper sites are just electric with grass/gravel pads. There are cabins and dog kennels also available, but we did not use them during this visit. Prices have changed, with full/overflow/dry RV sites going from May 26-September 3 at $54/$27/$20, respectively. Prices vary for off-season (not summer) usage. Three tent sites are also available at $14/night. All sites are within short walking distance of the beach. There is a checkout time of 11am, with a $100/hr penalty for staying pass that time. No shade at the lower RV site, and bathhouse is at the end of the RV road. Heat seems to have impacted on the thresholds for the electric service as it arbitrarily tripped on the 30amp side. But, RV interior circuit breakers and UL-approved surge protector did not trip over. Have had that problem throughout the hot 2023 summer with our three-month old ClassC. Realtime amp meter checks out below wattage and amps throughout these events. Note the name changed as it was named by Confederate States for the facility called Fort Fisher on the Cape Fear peninsula. This new fortification was built to protect the major port at Wilmington NC from naval forces of the US military after North Carolina's succession from the United States. The recreation area was renamed on June 30, 2023, from Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation Area to Blakeslee Air Force Recreation Center. A current NC ferry schedule and prices is provided as a media upload.

Stayed in one of the cottages this trip. Cottages were fully equipped with dishes, cooking utensils, linen and some other things that were nice to have. The one bedroom cottage sleeps 2 so you get 2 plates, 2 forks, 2 spoons, 2 towels, etc. Maid service is contracted and the Reservation Center has nothing to hand out, so If you want more you must supply your own. Bring paper towels and napkins, as these are not furnished.The 1 bedroom cottages do not have a washing machine or dryer although I was told the 2,3 and 4 bedroom cottages do. I assume they also have more supplies. There are coin operated laundries in 2 locations that I saw and cost was one of the cheapest I have seen at $0.75 per load. They were clean and in good condition. The cottages were nice and clean, comfortable and close enough to the beach you can easily hear the surf. At this time of year it was very quiet in the compound and the village of Kure Beach was the same. Food is a bit expensive but it is a beach community so not entirely unexpected. Kure and Carolina Beach villages has pay parking everywhere but they do not collect fees in January and February. The Fort Fisher site is undergoing a long-term construction project but the Visitor Center is still open. The Aquarium close by is open but you need to purchase tickets online in advance. I scouted the RV spots and most of them have very long concrete pads which are in very good shape. There are a few that are still asphalted and could use some TLC but they are still usable. All of them had 30/50 Amp service, water, sewer and cable connections but I didn't get a chance to test them or ask anyone about quality. Wi-Fi was available and seemed to work adequately.

We camped at Fort Fisher over the week of Mon, 22 Aug through Thu, 25 Aug. The main area was all occupied or reserved, so we were placed in Site #35 in the "overflow". One surprise for us upon making our reservations was that the rate was now $40/night. Also, it is better to go directly to their website to make online reservations. The link displayed on this website was a bit wonky. You can also telephone them, but be prepared to leave a voicemail. The overflow sites are all spotted near the Recreation Center and all appear to have full hookups (water, full electric, sewer, and cable). We actually preferred our spot to camping in the main area because their pads were rather closely packed together and the overflow sites were fairly well spread out. The only thing was our site was all grass and sandy clay, with no concrete pad, so we had to be careful not to track stuff into our trailer. Our site had a virtually brand-new power pedestal with 20/30/50 amp receptacles, but the water spigot had seen better days (it was hard to turn, but at least it didn't leak or spray). The sewer access was reachable with just one slinky hose, but just barely (it pays to check before detaching your trailer, in case you have to adjust). Cable? Fuggeddaboutit! The staff even provided a cable and channel box - but our hookup was so badly cross-threaded that we could not get the cable properly attached (we're not big TV users, so it was no big deal). One other specific issue at Site 35 was that there formerly was a house trailer located there and when it was torn down the concrete blocks upon which it rested were not removed, so park with caution. The Recreation Center contained the reception desk, some rental sports equipment, and a selection of snacks and souveniers. It was open from 0900 thru 1700 on weekdays (I didn't take note of their weekend hours). The Coffee Shop shown in one of the photos is no longer there. Further down the road towards the pier there was some sort of restaurant, but it only opens evenings, Thu - Sat, so we did not see inside. There's also a National Guard military museum and some static displays (tanks, guns, etc.), but the museum itself has very limited hours of operation. Fort Fisher is in the midst of renovating many of its facilities, so while they are mostly kept clean, the curent toilets and bath house near the overflow sites are a bit worn out. A newer structure is almost completed. -- A warning: the ladies' toilet had a sticky door that opens to the inside. My wife was unable to pull it open and had to phone me to come shoulder it open for her to escape.

This is a great location. Yes, the water, electric, and sewer hook up is old and worn, but the price you pay here is pennies compared to a hotel room. Grab your shower shoes, shampoo, and a towel, and go take shower in the bath house. Walk across the street to the beach. Very friendly staff and Very friendly campers. We camp here in our 30 foot long travel trailer about two times a month with full hook ups. No complaints from us !!

Fort fisher is a very run down facility. The bath house is got leaking fixtures and staps are very steep. Doors hard to open. The two visits this year the grass was knee high. Take extra hoses and cords. Even the new spots are not Rv friendly. The water hookups leak and I saw a worker just put a bucket over the hook up so it would not spray on the camper made nice wet spot on ground. Fire ants are all around campground. If you complain, the worker will sprinkle an ant killer out and next a big mound 5 feet away. Tried to tell a manager name Brain they he could get an extermator and they would guarantee it for a year. He got really rude and said he runs the place not me. Now the wifi is terrible it will not load and just dump you and you have to sign in again. Very very slow. The cable TV is bad too. It buffers a lot never seen so bad of a cable service. go to office , it as if they don't care, it's just a job. It nothing to watch the workers just ride around on lawn movers and golf carts stopping and talking to each other. This was a great place 5 years ago. One worker told me that he was looking hard for new job because of the lack of supervision. This year the price almost doubled, it would be fine if it was a class A site but nothing works as they say it does so why jack up the price. I've stayed at alot of military campgrounds and this is by far the worst for the price. Location is great and could be a great vacation site with so work.

We enjoyed our stay here in two different RV sites and found this place one of the better Air Force managed facilities. Our first 3 nights were in a site with water and 30/50 amp electric away from the main RV campground. We actually liked this site a lot as it was quite private and we had a view of the water. The next 5 nights were in the main RV campground with full hookups. The main campground sites have really long concrete pads and about half have the utilities on the wrong side. You can either run your utilities under your RV or pull into the site and, if have a towable, unhook, and drive out of the site if there is room. We found it very quiet here on the weekdays and quite busy on the weekend. Maintenance wise the laundry/bathroom building is in need of some exterior TLC like paint. Lastly, we enjoyed visiting the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher (go right out of rec area on Fort Fisher Blvd about 2 miles), ferry to Southport (on right down a ways after the aquarium), Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, and NHC Arboretum in Wilmington. For bike riders there is a bike lane on each side of Fort Fisher Blvd and it is a nice ride to the aquarium, ferry and all the way to the end of the road at Battery Buchanan.

Had a great two night stay at the 3-bedroom cottage at Fort Fisher and the price could not be beat. The cottage had all the basic amenities you would need, except there was no wi-fi access at the time of our stay (they are still trying to get a contract in place to provide wi-fi). The beds were comfortable and the ability in the cottage to do laundry at our leisure using the provided washer/dryer and obtain water/ice through the refrigerator filtration system was a plus. Access to the beach was easy (across the highway and over a catwalk) and the pier overlooking Cape Fear River was very nice. Seemed as though the RV park was well spread out and large enough for motorhomes and other large recreational vehicles. Since we stayed during the area's "off-season", most of the local restaurants in the nearby town of Carolina Beach weren't very busy and provided great service and great food. Combining that fact, plus the virus concerns (only one of the restaurants we tried had just takeout or delivery only), the people at the businesses we patronized were friendly and happy to see visitors. Overall, we really had a great time and would definitely go again.

We stayed for 14 days, area is beautiful with awesome views and great fishing. The RV full hookup side has no WIFI. It has been down for a while now, However, the overflow area does have WIFI and it's $10 cheaper because you only get 15amp electric. Overall we will be back. They need to update the booking system to online booking.

Just stayed 3 days, area extremely clean and well kept. The wifi is down and maybe few weeks before up. We had grand kids with us but had great cell phone hot spot coverage on Verizon for school work. Very quite and personnel also nice and helpful.

We stayed here last year. It’s great people are kind and put you first. The facilities are well taken care of. My wife keeps telling me to stop telling people about it because she wants to go every year. It is the best kept secret the Air Force has.

Let's put it this way. We visited in 2018, when my son was 16. He's now 18 and still talks about the great time we had at Fort Fisher. You have an 18 year old, getting ready to go to college, and the one place he wants to revisit is Fort Fisher. The location is amazing. The beach right across the road had low crowds, great waves and a very chill vibe. The trip into Carolina beach for dinner was short with tons of options available. The trip down the road to historic Fort Fisher State Park was a nice quiet walk around a historic Civil War fort. All in all, the location had everything we needed. The cleanliness was spot-on. The buildings were well maintained and easy to keep clean. Although some of the facilities had some age on them, the whole place was very family friendly and reminiscent of my early years in the military. The ONLY knock we had was the wifi/cell reception in the cabins. The hurricane construction made wifi VERY spotty and cell reception non-existent. While I don't spend much time on a device while in a place like Fort Fisher, two of us had online course work that we were keeping up with and this problem made things difficult. Overall experience: Amazing visit, great location, great people...Fort Fisher will always be on our "visit again" list.

Wonderful place. New cottages and up dated RV park over the years I have been coming here. Excellent staff. Never had any issues staying here since 2011. But...With all the updates, the Wi-Fi is terrible. This is 2020...Time to fix this one bad issue.

We had a great time here and the staff was amazing. They were full so we had to stay in the overflow area (electric only). This actually worked to our advantage because we had nobody around us and we had an awesome view of the Cape Fear River out of our front windshield. They are still rebuilding from hurricane damage a few years ago but they are almost back to 100%. They have new kennels that just arrived and looked great for those needed to board their dogs during their stay. Check in is temporarily located by the swimming pool and it is pretty tight if you are trying to get back there in anything other than a regular vehicle or small Class B or C. They recommend pulling over wherever you can find a place in the park, unhook and then drive to check in. If you already have your site assignment just go there first and then go check in. They are hoping to be back in the regular reception building by this Spring. We highly recommend this famcamp. Make your reservations early if you want to visit between Memorial Day and Labor Day.