White Oak Shores Camping & RV Resort, Stella, NC

White Oak Shores, Stella, NC is located alongside the White Oak River. When we made our advance reservation several months ago the website indicated this was privately owned and the reviews all laudatory. It subsequently, prior to our arrival, was sold to Encore Resorts (a REIT disguised as an rv park conglomerate). The previous owner developed a splendid rv park and the layout includes several sites located down a small hill by the White Oak River. The park offers grass sites with working FHU and stable 50 amp service. Approximately 50% consists of park models (most likely the reason this was an attractive acquisition for Encore) and during our stay were mostly uninhabited by the owners so the park was not crowded. Although located in rural Stella, a 15 minute ride on Rte.24 leads to the small historic town of Swansboro. 
Entering the park distinctive detailed grounds keeping and landscaping greets the visitor as they approach the office/welcome center. The entrance is wide and it was unnecessary to unhook from our 45’ motorcoach as we navigated thru the park with ample turns down the hill to our site by the White Oak River. The buildings are well maintained and the office, and store clean and neat; they were having computer issues as the transition to the Encore software platform was causing issues. The bathroom/shower building is unique in that instead of a community bath/shower room they offer individual bath/shower suites-nice. These bath/shower rooms were clean and tidy offering a distinctive amenity. At the lower level down the hill by the White Oak River is the crystal clear pool with water slide, an adjacent tiki bar with barbeque grill (was locked and chained off-why we don’t know) bathhouse, and a covered dock with space to tie up guest’s boats. We are curious, since the original owner was so meticulous in groundskeepimg and building maintenance, why the plethora of palm trees surrounding the pool area were dead and not been replaced. Likewise we were confused by the lack of WiFi which their website states is included but it is non-existent. The desk manager explained that under previous ownership the WiFi worked reasonably well and that Encore had changed over the WiFi and that it only worked up by the office. We attempted to access the intent by the office with our chromebook to no avail. The WiFi signal was 88%, however the download speed was a miserable 1.25 mps and the upload at 0.00 mps. We hope that the corporate business model displayed by Encore at their other parks we have visited does not spoil what was once a gem in Stella on the White Oak River. Our OTA (over the air antenna) pulled in several local channels. Our phone had good connection.
The Takeaway: at the time of our visit a beautiful rv campground in rural Stella, NC offering level grass sites with some sites located along the White Oak River. A recent Encore acquisition (remains to be seen if park retains its high standards) the sites afford standard FHU utilities and stable 50 amp service. The WiFi is non-existent, and OTA provided reception of several local channels. The buildings are well maintained with clean and unique individual bathroom/shower suites. Manicured grounds and landscaping. A good location from which to explore the surrounding area: Swansboro, Emerald Isle, and New Bern. We stayed here June 2019. Go to  www.rickpicks.com for other reviews, critiques and essays with links to area attractions and a more detailed review of this park,etc.

White Oak Shores Site #W36, on the White Oak River

White Oak Shores Park Models

Walkway to Boat Dock

White Oak Shores Sunset