This is the easiest festival on our calendar to plan ahead for, and the one where we most often tell people to book the campsite before the tickets. Dates for 2027 are already out at September 22 to 25, which almost nothing else on these islands publishes a year in advance. Roanoke Island Festival Park itself is day use on twenty-two acres with no camping at all, so everyone stays off site and rides the free shuttle in from the Manteo lots. Every trailer we run sits well inside The Refuge's forty-foot cap, so choose on sleeping space rather than length. The festival publishes nothing on coolers, pets, generators or re-entry, so ring them rather than assume.
Dates already set for 2027
Rent an RV for Four Days of Bluegrass in Manteo, NC
You Can Plan This One a Year Out
Most Outer Banks events post their dates a few months ahead. This one has already published September 22 to 25, 2027, with the Wednesday kickoff indoors and gates at 11:00 am Thursday through Saturday. The 2026 edition lands October 14 to 17. Knowing a year in advance means you take the campsite you want instead of the one left over.
Roanoke Island Festival Park Has No Campground
The venue is a 22-acre island site at 1 Festival Park, Manteo, and it is day use only. Parking is free in downtown Manteo, with Manteo Elementary as overflow on Friday and Saturday and a free shuttle to the gate. Nothing stays overnight. The Refuge on Roanoke Island in Wanchese runs 15 waterview sites with 30 and 50 amp service, water and sewer, taking rigs to 40 feet. Give us that site number and the delivery is quoted alongside it.
Multi-day, gated
Why Rent an RV for the Bluegrass Island Festival?
Manteo is a small waterfront town and the festival runs four days on a sound-side field with no lodging of its own. That shapes the trip:
- Multi-day pass holders can set chairs at the venue from Wednesday and leave them out overnight, so the days start early and run long
- Gates open at 11:00 am in 2027 and the music runs into the evening, which makes a kitchen ten minutes away worth more than a restaurant table you have to book
- The organizers tell people outright to arrange tickets and lodging well ahead because the event fills
- The route in never touches NC-12 south of Nags Head, so Hatteras road trouble does not reach this trip
- Wanchese and Manteo sites put you minutes from the gate rather than across a bridge
Check what a site allows before you choose a size.
Site first, then tickets
Where Do You Camp for a Manteo Festival Weekend?
Off site, at a hookup park on or near Roanoke Island. How it goes:
- Book the campsite yourself. The Refuge on Roanoke Island takes 15 sites in Wanchese, Beechland Campground sits in Manteo from $60 a night, and OBX Campground in Kill Devil Hills runs full hookups year round.
- Give us the park and site number when you reserve.
- We bring the unit over, level it, connect it and run you through the systems.
- We collect it after the last set on Saturday.
The 40-foot ceiling at The Refuge is not a constraint on anything in our fleet, since our longest trailer sits comfortably inside it. The festival's own published rules cover parking and shuttles but say nothing about coolers, pets, generators or re-entry, so ring the organizers on 252-423-8580 rather than assume. Read our rental and delivery FAQ for what comes stocked.
Bluegrass Island Festival Camping and Rental Questions - FAQ
Is there camping or RV parking at the festival?
Which campgrounds work, and how do I book one?
What will the rental run for the weekend?
What size should I rent for Manteo?
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“Delivery and setup at our campsite made this trip completely stress-free. We showed up and everything was ready to go. Highly recommend for a beach getaway.”
Megan L.
Greensboro, NC
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Durham, NC
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Greensboro, NC
“Everything about this rental was seamless. The RV was clean, well-stocked, and perfect for exploring the Outer Banks. Waking up by the ocean every morning was unreal.”