Best Tent Camping near Ashford, CT

The forested landscapes surrounding Ashford, Connecticut offer several tent camping options within a short drive. Primitive tent campsites can be found at Onion Mountain Park, approximately 30 miles northwest of Ashford, where walk-in tent sites provide a secluded camping experience. For tent campers seeking water access, Selden Neck State Park Campground and Chapman Pond Preserve offer tent-only camping along the Connecticut River, though these require boat access. Buck Hill Campground in nearby Rhode Island provides established tent camping with pond access and is suitable for groups needing multiple tent sites.

Most tent-only campgrounds in the region have basic amenities with varying access requirements. Onion Mountain Park features primitive tent sites accessible via hiking trails rather than direct vehicle access, with campers reporting a short but definite hike required to reach the camping area. Sites typically include established fire rings but limited other facilities. Campers should bring their own water, as most primitive tent camping areas lack potable water sources. The terrain at many sites consists of uneven forest floor with roots and natural obstacles, requiring careful tent placement. Fire regulations vary seasonally, with restrictions common during dry summer months.

Tent campers frequently note the peaceful atmosphere at these locations. According to reviews, Onion Mountain Park offers "very peaceful overnight camping" with sites available on a first-come, first-served basis. One camper advised bringing a smaller tent as "the spot is not very big" but mentioned the convenience of finding "a firepit already set up." At Selden Neck State Park, tent platforms provide stable surfaces for camping with "plenty of flat area to pitch a tent, nice picnic table and fire pit." The island location creates a unique backcountry tent camping experience with minimal development beyond the four designated campsites. Cell service varies significantly throughout the region, with many backcountry tent sites having limited or no connectivity.

Best Tent Sites Near Ashford, Connecticut (17)

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Tent Camping Reviews near Ashford, CT

689 Reviews of 17 Ashford Campgrounds


  • Jean C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 1, 2020

    Burlingame State Park Campground

    Huge campground, not many level sites.

    I've never camped in Rhode Island, so I was curious to see what a state park campground had to offer. Rates are reasonable for state residents, but quite high if you are out-of-state, given the amenities. There are no hookups, but dump stations are available. Bathrooms have flush toilets and coin-operated showers. There's a small beach at the pond, a boat ramp, and proximity to wildlife refuges and the ocean. It's a HUGE campground, with 700 sites and 20 cabins. Canoes are available to rent.

    There's a nice playground, a camp store, and a naturalists cabin. Trails are available for hiking and biking. The beach is sandy and there's a small parking lot there, but I suspect most people walk to it. No alcohol allowed. 

    I didn't see more than a handful of level sites, with varying degrees of slope, but many are quite large. If you have an RV, plan to level; if you have a tent, be sure to bring good mattresses to protect you from the roots and rocks and orient your head to the uphill side. Most of the sites have some degree of visual separation from their neighbors, but there are places where it's hard to tell where one site ends and the next one starts. Site have fire rings and picnic tables, but if you plan to cook over the fire, bring your own grate or plan to use sticks and/or aluminum foil. 

    If you don't have a tent, consider reserving one of their rustic cabins. These offer two sets of bunks (no mattresses) and a small porch with a picnic table and fire ring outside. Some are located along the pond.

    3-4 bar cell phone coverage. No road traffic. East Beach is nearby, but parking fills early.

  • K
    Aug. 20, 2022

    Fort Getty Campground

    No shade no rule enforcement. Great place for a big group to party if that’s what you want.

    Loud campers in large groups.

    Rules regarding quiet hours, no generators, number of tents per site and late arrival and setups were not enforced.

    People next to us crammed 8 tents on 3 sites. I counted a group of at least 20.

    There is no privacy, people were constantly walking through our site and stepping over our tent guy lines.

    People partied until 2:00am and woke up at 5:30am shining headlights and idling cars.

    Bathrooms were dirty, sites boundaries not marked and crammed together. No shade.

    Beautiful location, rangers were nice.

    RV folks were surly, seemed like a lot of them stay there for the entire season. One said hi, the rest stared when we drove by.

    We booked and paid for two nights and left first thing after just one night.

  • John D.
    May. 3, 2015

    Rocky Neck State Park Campground

    Great park in a great location

    I have been camping at Rocky Neck State Park for decades, both tent camping, and now In a 30' camper. Located right off I95 ( which you can hear at times), the park is convenient to all the major interstates and state roads. If you can, stay away from the front gates during the typical peak arrival / departure times. Traffic jams occur, partly because you're also in-line with the car loads of beach goers. The beach and beach parking lots fill to capacity. Week ends are the worst.

    The campgrounds are located within internal loops. Most sites are quite level. Park-like settings surrounding a large lawn. Bathhouses are being rehabbed, deemed adequate; can be seedy towards the end of the season. Park is routinely patrolled by State Conservation Officers who will put you out if needed. CT State Police and local officers also patrol. Camp roads are paved, and lots and lots of kids spend time riding bikes, coloring with chalk, skateboarding, roller blading.

    No electrical hook-ups; potable water spigots located within the camping circles. Generators allowed, but there are quiet hours. Dump upon exit; its up top by the entrance booths.

    There is a "tent-only area" which is nice and abuts a paved road for campers to walk / bike to the beach. Use this. Stay off the main road to the beach if you can. The speed limit is enforced, but sporadically. The fines are very stiff (you receive a State traffic ticket from the Officer).

    This beach road leads you to a wonderful overlook where lots of people take their kids crabbing for Blueshells. There are size regulations so be careful. The regs are posted. Bring some raw chicken wings and kite string and have some fun. You can also follow the signs that will lead you to nature walks. Amazing.

    During inclement weather some campers leave the park. We always recommend taking a right out of the park onto east bound Route 156. Follow into downtown Niantic for restaurants, an Irish pub, or a movie. Nice village area, and pedestrian friendly.

    Rocky Neck is a very nice park, and if I had to list one complaint, it is that the State is in a financial tight-spot, and has been cutting services and personnel. Entrance booths go unmanned and that leads to traffic jams that extend out and onto the main road. Very , very messy. Life guard towers at the beach are empty at times. Bath houses can be filthy.

    All things considered, I would recommend this park..

  • Ryan A.
    May. 21, 2024

    Devil's Hopyard State Park Campground

    Good Location for Hiking, Lots of Garbage, Not Recommended

    Camped here on a Friday night in Site 16, yet another campground recommended in“Best Tent Camping: New England.” Overall I was not impressed. The campsites are right next to each other and are marked with posts. The sites are so close that the posts are marked with the site number on both sides which tells me that there has been confusion in the past.

    The sites along the creek mostly have worn paths to walk to it but it’s nothing impressive and I wouldn’t want to eat fish that came out of it. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, some have the kind where the top flips over and others have the moveable grate that goes up and down. There is a large dumpster in the campground and several porta-potties. The old outhouses have been permanently closed and locked shut. My campsite had a lot of trash in it, old tent stakes, plastic bottle caps, plastic fork, broken glass, etc. Not good.

    Some of the people there were camping in a group and were blasting music. I didn’t see a single park ranger the entire night so I’m not sure how often they police it. Someone in a pickup truck came into the campground, did a u-turn, and sped out at 30 mph which was really annoying and unsafe.

    Across the street from the campground is a trail to Chapman Falls, which will take less than 10 minutes to hike to, but it’s a pretty waterfall despite all the foam and garbage around it.

    This is a pretty basic campground and is nothing special. Out of all the sites I think 22 looked the best, it is more isolated and you can hear the waterfalls from it, which would be relaxing. The downside is that it’s right next to the entrance and road so you’ll get car headlights at night.

    I woke in the morning to a gray sky and hundreds of birds singing– it was my favorite part of the trip. I delayed getting up to enjoy the moment. I also didn’t see any ticks but I’m sure there are plenty based on other reviews.

    I’ve always thought that if states were condiments Connecticut would be mayonnaise– relatively unremarkable and bland. This campground fits that description perfectly.

  • Laura M.
    Aug. 25, 2018

    Burlingame State Park Campground

    Nice campground

    Super large sites, store is adequately stocked, nice lake/pond. I came here because of the location. Super close to the beach. This is a state park, no alcohol is allowed, quiet time strictly enforced. Nice family campground. No hookups.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 7, 2024

    Burlingame State Park Campground

    HUGE state park

    General: HUGE state park with over 700 sites. It does not fully open for the season until May 1 and when we were there in mid-April, only two sections, Fish Camp and Mills Camp were open. The Ranger station is staffed 24 hours a day, with a ranger on site until 11 pm. You need to show your pass to get inside the gate leading to the campsites. There are no hookups in any site (as far as I could tell). Sites are designated for tents, small trailers, large trailers, and RVs. As with other RI state parks, non-residents pay double the price of residents which kind of ticks me off (I don't mind a nominal upcharge but double is excessive IMO).

    Site Quality: The site numbers throughout the park are painted on rocks but the sites themselves are not very clearly defined. There is no designated camping pad. Our site (114) had a water view but was not level. It was large enough for us to park horizontally and make it work for one night. Some sites had excessive roots and also were not level. Some picnic tables have been replaced with new ones, but others badly need it.

    Bath/Shower house: The one in Fish Camp was adequate and clean. There is hot water, but you need to run it for a while before you get any. There was no garbage receptacle, and the toilet paper is so thin, that you can see through it. Showers are $.75 to get it started for the first three minutes. After that, the amount per minute increases to $1, $1.25, $1.50, and so forth. Machines take up to 22 quarters. There is a change machine at the Ranger Station. I did not use the shower so I cannot comment on how well they work. 

    Activities/Amenities: There is a camp store that offers wood, ice, coffee, basic groceries, propane, and canoe rentals. It was open with limited hours during our stay. Fishing, boating, swimming - all in season. Even though the park was only about 10% occupied, there was a strong Ranger presence. He circled our small loop three times just before check-out time and wanted to make sure we were leaving not a minute past the designated time. 

    This was just an overnight stay for us in a convenient location but there is no way I would stay at the height of the season!

  • D
    Jun. 7, 2019

    Green Falls Campground

    Small but cozy

    Great off the beaten path place to camp. Sites are large but close together. Each contain a rock built fire ring. There are toilets but no showers. Good parking for camper but limited for guests. Reservations are required in advance. Stones throw to beach/pond area

  • Becca Z.
    Aug. 29, 2020

    White Pines Campsites

    Clean Campsites

    We stayed at site 85 in Sunny Crest and liked having some privacy. The sites nearby had some trees providing space between each site. A lot of the sites we drove by were pretty sloped- I would recommend a drive though if you can beforehand.

    The picnic table was chained down so there weren’t many options to set up having the fire pit and picnic table where they were.

    Hiking trails were nice, good variety of easier and more difficult terrain.

  • Jean C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 1, 2020

    Wolf Den Campground — Mashamoquet Brook State Park

    Basic campground with hiking trails in the area.

    This small state park campground offers basic campsites with running water and showers, open Memorial Day to Columbus Day.  This is NOT Wolf's Den Family Campground in E. Haddam, CT. Also, be aware there are 2 campgrounds at this State Park; the other one, Mashamoquet Brook, does not offer running water/showers, so if you want these amenities, be sure to select a campsite 1-35.

    There's a small playground in the middle of the loop, a number of hiking trails throughout the park along with a few geocaches (download details for offline use a phone connection is spotty), a swimming pond, and a small brook with an old mill and blacksmith shop that is sometimes open on weekends for tours. It's a nice place to explore and have a picnic. In 2020 with Covid, there were restrictions on visitors to the campground, reservations required, and swimming was not allowed. 

    The parking pads are paved and a few have overhanging branches, but the trees provide  separation and some shade on largely open sites that tend to open up toward the back with open areas for pitching tents. Sites have fire rings with grills and picnic tables. Site 20 is the only one with electric. The ones toward the back of the loop back up toward the woods and give you some more privacy. 

    They don't allow hammocks in the trees or pets. For some reason, silly string also makes the list of prohibitions.


Guide to Ashford

Tent camping options near Ashford, Connecticut extend beyond the immediate area into neighboring Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Campsites in this region range from primitive walk-in sites to boat-accessible river locations across eastern Connecticut. The topography features typical New England woodland terrain with mixed hardwood forests, rocky outcroppings, and multiple water access points along the Connecticut River. Winter camping is limited at most locations due to seasonal closures from November through April.

What to do

Paddle to island camping: Chapman Pond Preserve provides tent platforms with Connecticut River views. According to Ben L., there are "good tent platforms, picnic tables and outhouse. CT river within view," making this a convenient base for water activities.

Hiking with overnight stays: Onion Mountain Park offers primitive campsites accessible via hiking trails. Marshall S. notes, "My BSA troop has been going here for years to help new scouts learn to camp. It is a very casual site and good for your first trip."

Riverside recreation: Gillette Castle State Park Campground features water-access camping with swimming opportunities. Jackie G. reports, "We have camped on the south end of Hurd Park several times via boat access. You can swim and fish and relax all day!"

What campers like

Natural isolation: Tent campers frequently mention the peaceful environment at Selden Neck State Park Campground. Jason S. describes it as "an island in the Connecticut River with no roads or development other than 4 campsites," creating a remote experience despite relative proximity to towns.

Pond access: Buck Hill Campground in Rhode Island offers group camping with water recreation. Greg R. describes, "The water is clean and fine for swimming with a few areas that make for easy entry into the water (including the 'beach')."

Convenient primitive camping: Multiple sites provide basic amenities without requiring extensive backcountry experience. Ricky H. found Onion Mountain Park offered "very peaceful overnight camping, no permit required. Small campsite, first come first served basis."

What you should know

Access limitations: Many tent camping areas require specific transportation methods. Jason S. explains that for Selden Neck: "You have to kayak or boat in. There's a boat launch across from the island on the west side of the river at Deep River Landing where you can leave your car."

Site size constraints: Expect compact tent sites at most primitive locations. Nora S. advises about Onion Mountain Park, "The spot is not very big so make sure to bring a smaller tent (no group sites)."

Wildlife awareness: Natural settings come with their inhabitants. River Highlands State Park River Campground visitor Alicia B. warns, "the outhouse did have quite a few wolf spiders (which might be expected in a natural setting like this)."

Tips for camping with families

Scout-friendly locations: Several campgrounds are regularly used by youth organizations. At Buck Hill Campground, Greg R. notes, "I'm pretty sure this is a scouting campground (Cub Scout). All the sites are in large clusters (each can accommodate 10+ tents)."

Beginner-friendly options: Sodom Mountain Campground has seen recent improvements making it more family-accessible. Brad N. shares, "This campground has improved with the new owners as of 2021... Great Wi-Fi now, store has been redone and grands are much nicer."

Water safety considerations: River and pond access points require supervision. At Gillette Castle State Park, Jackie G. mentions being able to "watch the sunrise and sunset" over the water, but families should note river currents and boat traffic.

Tips from RVers

Limited RV access: Most tent camping areas near Ashford do not accommodate recreational vehicles. The primitive nature of sites like Chapman Pond and Onion Mountain makes them tent-only destinations.

Nearby alternatives: For RVers seeking campgrounds close to Ashford tent camping areas, consider improved sites with dedicated RV facilities. Sodom Mountain has addressed infrastructure concerns, with Brad N. noting, "All roads are dirt and all potholes have been repaired."

Seasonal consideration: Weather impacts site conditions significantly. Jason S. recalls at Selden Neck, "In the morning, we were completely socked in with fog which would have been an issue if we had to get back early. But it burned off before long and we headed back."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Ashford, CT?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Ashford, CT is Buck Hill Campground with a 4-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Ashford, CT?

TheDyrt.com has all 17 tent camping locations near Ashford, CT, with real photos and reviews from campers.