One guy with a property. A year of shoveling. Opens early 2027.
Doug Grant has spent a year picking up shovels, drawing site plans, and walking the property at sunset. This park has been a long time coming, and it's going to be one of the best new places to bring your family on the NC coast.
Why we're building Island Creek.
Wilmington has been waiting for a new park for a long time. The closest options are an aging KOA, a tiny state park that books out months ahead, and a handful of older private parks built before the rigs got this big.
Doug bought the property in northern New Hanover County because it does something no other park around here does: it sits exactly between the beaches and downtown. Twenty-five minutes to Wrightsville. Twenty to the Riverwalk. Twenty-two to the Battleship. One basecamp, every Wilmington trip.
From day one, the plan has been a modern family park — generous 100-foot pull-throughs (the size of the rigs people actually drive now), a real pool with a splash pad for the toddler crowd, pickleball for the adults, and a calendar you can plan a trip around. Not "fun for the whole family." Specific.
Opening early 2027. Construction is moving. The Camp Guide will track the build every step of the way.
Doug Grant, Owner & Builder.
Doug spent his career outside of campgrounds — but he saw what was missing in coastal NC and decided to build it. He's been on the property nearly every weekend for the past year, walking sites with his contractor, deciding where the food trucks will park on Friday nights, and arguing with the marsh grass about where the pond view sites belong.
When the park opens, you'll meet him. He'll be at the front desk on opening weekend.
"I want this to be the park I would have taken my own family to. That's the bar."
— Doug Grant
From property to opening day.
Property acquired
Doug closes on the parcel in northern New Hanover County, ~10 miles from downtown Wilmington.
Site planning, permits, feasibility
Engineering, permitting, and design with a focus on big-rig spacing and family amenities. Campspot booking system selected.
Construction in progress · we are here
Grading, infrastructure, hookups, amenity build-out. CCG begins the digital foundation: website, marketing, social. Waitlist opens.
Doors open
First guests arrive in time for spring break, Azalea Festival, and the run-up to a full Wilmington summer.
We're getting some help.
Island Creek's brand, marketing, and digital foundation are built in partnership with Campground Consulting Group — the nation's leading outdoor hospitality consulting firm. They do this for a living. That's why we hired them.