OCEAN ISLE BEACH — A campground in a Brunswick County beach town is vying for more spaces to bring in more nude travelers in 2026.
Whispering Pines Nudist Resort hosts 57 recreational vehicle sites on its 35 acres but wants to add 12 more to total 69. For ease of access, the resort will create a roadway leading to the new sites, should the Brunswick County Board of Adjustment vote in favor on Jan. 8.
Site plans for the new RV spaces include electricity, septic, and water connections, and each will have two 9-feet-by-18-feet off-street parking spaces.
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The campground currently hosts different amenities, such as laundry and shower facilities to volleyball courts and a library. There is a hot tub, pool and clubhouse, and the resort is advertised as a family-friendly space, with the resort viewing nudity as a social freedom not inherently sexual.
Whispering Pines owner John Frick took over the nudist resort in 2008 from Carol and Jerry Love, who bought the business from previous owners in 1993. The campground site officially opened in 1976 and has grown in popularity.
Though Frick could not provide exact numbers of how the resort’s visitors have expanded over the years, he said memberships were between 100 and 200 in 2025. This would equal a 700% growth since Frick took over in 2008, when membership was at 25, according to StarNews.
A membership to Whispering Pines — $750 for the first year, and $700 annually thereafter — gives guests discounted rates on facilities and rentals, as well as access to the varied amenities. RV sites are available to rent short term for $30 a night with a 30 amp hookup or $35 a night for a 50 amp hookup. There are also rental units visitors can reserve, such as small log cabins and separate tent camping sites.
Frick said construction of the new RV sites will be done in-house, with costs currently indeterminable.
It’s not the first time the resort has expanded. In 2019, Whispering Pines received a special use permit to construct six spaces, upgrading the RV site total from 51 to 57.
Frick doesn’t anticipate issues with receiving the permit for the new expansion; site plans were already approved by the county’s technical review committee in the fall. Should it pass, he expects the upgrade will take six months to construct — completed just in time for the summer season.
“They’re building thousands of homes all around us,” Frick said, accounting for regional population growth as a factor in the resort’s popularity. “There’s more people so there’s more need.”
Brunswick County is the fastest growing county in North Carolina; between April 2020, and July 2024, the county’s population grew by 24%, according to North Carolina’s Office of State Budget and Management.
Leland, Bolivia, Calabash, and Northwest were among the top 100 fastest growing municipalities in the nation between 2020 and 2024, and between 2023 and 2024, Belville, Calabash, and Bolivia were among the top 100 fastest growing.
The Whispering Pines Nudist Resort is located on Sun Street in Ocean Isle Beach, in a rural low density residential zoning district that allows for campgrounds and agricultural uses. The resort is surrounded by trees, with hiking and walking trails, and is distanced from nearby neighborhoods to provide privacy.
The resort emphasizes respect, security, and comfortability and has a long list of rules for visitors to adhere to, such as refraining from staring at guests or making inappropriate comments, to always carrying a towel to sit on. Most places on the site are clothing-optional with the exception of the hot tub and pool, both of which nudity is required.
The campground is part of the American Association for Nude Recreation, a national organization for social nudity, which also hosted a nationwide simultaneous skinny dipping event in 2008 for the Guinness World Record. Of the 13,674 participants, around 250 participated at the Whispering Pines Nudist Resort; it won the world record.
The resort promotes body positivity.
“When you see other people uncovered, you quickly realize that no one is perfect, no one is the same, and that there is beauty in everybody. You begin to accept yourself as you are,” the resort’s guide indicates.
All reservations are screened before approval to ensure safety of other Whispering Pines members and visitors.
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