Best Campgrounds near Darien, CT

I've been going to this campground every summer for at least 5 years. Recently they became very stringent about parking to vehicles at the site making it very difficult to visit with a family and 2 vehicles. I usually host group camping trips and the single vehicle rule makes that very difficult.

That aside, this is a very nice campground with various kinds of sites. You can find sites that are less wooded and better suited to group camping, as well as sites that are a little more secluded. This is one of my favorite campgrounds solely because there are platform sites so I can place my tent on a concrete or wooden platform. There is a separate area for RVs vs tents. There is also a store where you can get a cup of coffee in the morning and lots of goodies throughout the day.

There are hiking trails and you can walk to the beach. Note - it is a downhill walk to the beach. The beach is fairly clean and has a small boardwalk.

There are lots of stores nearby as well as orchards to pick your own fruits. I stayed there one weekend and went to Splish Splash waterpark that's not far away. There is also a Tanger Outlet nearby. I've been there during a full on thunderstorm and watched as the trees swayed in the wind.

Lovely campground with lots of activities to entertain you.

This place is the best around for group and family camping. The entire campground is one flat open space where some sites are full in the shade and other sites (lower numbers) have lots of sun. I've been going here every summer since 2019 after it re-opened. Each site has a picnic table and grill. Water is also available near the sites.

You can come here in tents as well as RVs and the staff is very nice. They toilets are cleaned constantly, though they are not immaculate. There is a shop at the entrance to get supplies if you need it and you can rent firepits and buy firewood. The ice cream trucks comes by as well. There is a playground just for the campground.

Bring a bicycle or scooper and you can ride the loop around to the beach; you can also drive to the beach. There is a pool, but it has not been open for many years. There are also hiking trails and a place where you can rent a kayak.

On one visit there was a magician performing for the camp goers. I've even been there while there was a philharmonic concert near the campground.

Park staff and rangers regularly patrol the campground and are diligent about cleaning up.

If you like dispersed camping, like me- this place is good. There are absolutely no amenities whatsoever & barely even a signal here, but it’s quiet & off the beaten path. The parking lot only holds about 4-5 cars, 6 if you park real tight. There’s no spectacular mountain views from above, but rather a quiet peaceful wooded area & although I only seen/stayed at one camping spot which is literally at about the required 150ft from the road, you can set up your own camp anywhere. I was the only one here & it was a very peaceful & relaxing night

The campground is beautiful and the staff was wonderful! We started our camping season off right with a quick weekend stay at Round Pound. We were very impressed with the playground on site! Unfortunately, due to our early start in the camping season the weather did not allow us to enjoy fishing or the beach or water hook ups, however all areas looked well maintained. We are looking forward to stopping by Round Pond again in the near future.

Just a note to other campers with T-Moblie, we did not have any service on the campsite, however just a hop in the car or a quick walk down the mountain for 5G service near the entrance off the main road. There is also free wifi at the commissary/exchange, which is about 2 miles away.

This is a pricey park, but options are limited. As in almost non existent. This is a prime location for visiting the city or heading down the shore. The light rail is a block away, and the path train is about 8.

Staff is average, as this is not meant to be high end. They are nice but a bit rough. We had some issues with our converter and they wanted to extort a 20% commission to allow our repair man in. A bit of logical conversation put that idea to sleep. Sites kind of level and very close. Power and water, and convenient dump station if staying and needing to dump. The bath house was above average and heated. The laundry was helpful and was acceptable. Having a view of Lady Liberty out your window is priceless.

Getting in and out of the city is an adventure. Stay right off the highway to avoid the $30 tunnel toll. Follow RV life pro and not Waze.

General: A county park with a mix of w/e (6 sites) and FHU sites plus about a dozen tent sites near a capped dump! There is a lodge and cabins close to the end of the point, but they appeared to be part of a group camp experience. They all appeared to be closed for the season (or because no one was renting at the time; they reminded me of places I used to take youth groups for weekend camps). The reservation process is a bit wonky. You need to call (no online reservations) and then wait for an e-mail, but the e-mail does not tell you your assigned site; you have to wait until you check in to find out your site.

Site Quality: We had a loosely defined gravel pad that was level. All sites appeared level. The FHU sites were back-to-back and although there were trees separating the sites, they were close together. No one was in the tent sites, but they did have new picnic tables.

Activities/Amenities: Other than a playground and a basketball court, there did not seem to be any activities to partake in. There used to be a pool but from the looks of it, it hasn’t been in use for many years. There are walking paths outside of the campground that are located within the park, but we did not have time to explore them. 

Bath/Shower house: Clean but a bit dated. No shelves or hooks for toiletries. I was surprised the door was left open all night long. There was a sign warning that the toilets were slow flushing, but I think this may have been fixed because the flush was so powerful that the water splashed over the top of the seat! 

Because it was on a point on the Hudson, I had hoped for views from the campground but there were too many trees to see the water. I was perplexed by the signs throughout saying no trespassing/fishing prohibited. I get the no fishing part but the trespassing? When we checked in, we had to write down our credit card number on a slip of paper before we were given a key that opened the gate to the campground. When we checked out, we asked for the paper or to watch it get shredded but were told they had to keep it on file which concerned us.

Stayed at this campground this past weekend and yes it was a long weekend so the campground was packed. All the camping spots are pretty much right next to each one with hardly any space, packed like Sardines. Neighbors are loud and some of them are ignorant of the park rules. Staying on the phones in the middle of the night while talking so loud that all camping neighbors can hear their whole story

Its a pity that they take a nice park and remove the fun out of camping. 

However the walk to the beach area was very serene, especially early morning before sunrise and didn't feel like we live in dense suburbia and sunrise from the beach was worth the trip

Camp site itself was pretty flat, had a water station, bathrooms were well kept , no fire ring (BYOFP)

Campgaw doesn’t seem to offer much in terms of a camping experience. The sites themselves are fairly close to the road and there are super popular hiking trails that run right through all the camps. If you like being woken up by folks walking their dog at 7 AM, this is the spot for you.

However, once the sun goes down, the campsite becomes a ghost town (except for the odd sheriff driving down the road). We went on a holiday weekend, and we were the only campsite that was occupied, so that is absolutely a plus. There was also plenty to do during the day, like joining the hikers on those trails, disc golf, and sitting by the water.

All-in-all, it is not a terrible site, especially considering the cheap price.