Best Glamping near Derby, CT

My family has been camping at Lake Waramaug for over 20 years. I can say most of what’s been said is true or partially so but whether it’s bad or good depends on your point of view. Note that we are a Scout family and my husband and son have camped many days well off the grid with only the gear and food in their backpacks. That skews our point of view. 

First off, Connecticut’s state campgrounds are not KOA’s. 

Do not expect top of the line activities that private campgrounds have.

What it does have are clean, large sites that are partially wooded and not out in the open. 

The lake is great for kayaking, paddle boarding, canoes and for fishing. Bring your own gear but kayak and canoe rentals are available. The swim area is marginal- best for little ones. 

This park is remote from all conveniences- pack it in or expect a drive. There have been several times I’ve driven to the Dunkin Donuts miles down the road for coffee but I find using a French press is more convenient. For takeout there’s the White Horse on 202. It’s ranked a top restaurant in the state - the food is good. 

Never have we had issues with wildlife besides squirrels and ducks. Leave no trace is important - it keeps the unwelcome wildlife out. 

There have been issues with the bathrooms off and on over the decades. It seems like they’ve finally fixed everything. Our trip of 7/27-28 showed everything was fine.

The only on-site services are firewood and ice sales. The little food shack is out of business. 

Yes, cell service is basically non-existent. Our trip this weekend was the first time we received more than 1 bar in 20 years. Actually we were a bit disappointed because this camp ground is a great place to disconnect and relax. Being forced to put away the devices is heaven in my mind. You can drive about 5+ minutes out and get cell service. Regarding rowdiness, of the 20+ times we’ve camped only twice was it a problem. 

Also, this place is not glamping. The area is rural, so cows do moo at 6am, and kids are up even earlier. If you like to sleep in skip and rent a B&B. 

Also if you want a better place to swim go to Mt.Tom state park about 10 minutes up the road. It’s a day use only park-no camping- but the lake is gorgeous and there are very few people there.

Mountain Lakes park is a great place to camp within driving distance from NYC. A fun option available at Mountain lakes is to rent a yurt to camp in. The area, as the name implies, is home to several lakes which can be used for various recreational purposes. There are also many hikes which can be trekked straight from the campgrounds which is always a huge plus in my mind. When we were there it was right after a rain storm and everything was a bit muddy and slippery. We will definitely be planning a trip back to Mountain Lakes when the weather gets nicer though!

This place is off Route 9 in Connecticut on the east side of the Connecticut River (major RT 9 highway is on west side). You need to cross the river via bridge to Goodspeed Opera house and past to get to the RV campground. Nearby attractions are Gillette Castle and Goodspeed Opera. The campground itself is realy nice. Cable TV at most sites. Only electric 30 or 50A, and water; but there are a few dumpstations around in the camp. Very peaceful. There are activities on Friday and Saturday (like Bingo). Great store with extended hours. The camp staff will help you with anything. Really long or tall RV will need to stay close to the front of the campground, as typical older campground is not designed for 40 foot long or 10 foot high campers.

I have gone to lone oak campsites for 32 years. We have gone as a family since I was a fetus. Tons of kids activities to keep the little ones busy and great hikes around! Tons of waterfalls in the area and the highest point in Connecticut. Stars can be seen well and tons of kind and friendly campers.

On our way to through Connecticut, we needed to stop for a night. This was on Long Island Sound and had walk-up sites available. $33 per night gets you a site with bath house/restroom close by but no hook-ups. There is a public "beach" nearby which is way different than our Florida ones. We had to walk under the railroad tracks through a tunnel to get there. Interesting but still a nice feature and probably the main attraction here. There was also a concession stand, nature center, picnic area and boat ramp here at this park. Since we were getting a walk-up site they let us drive around and pick our site from a list of available ones. Most of them were on the small side accommodating tents or pop-ups. We found one in the Osprey loop which was very shaded. The bath rooms were clean and up to date. Good for a night on our way to Rhode Island.

I happened upon Lone Oaks Camp Site when looking for someplace to stay in north eastern Connecticut. Leery of just reserving at a larger campground, we were pleasantly surprised especially since there was a 50% special so we got 2 nights for the price of one. We arrived with 2 children under the age of 5 and pulled in. The facility was very clean and neat. Upon getting our site (#14) we were shocked at the size of it. We could have fit 3 campers in it and were a good distance from the neighboring sites (there are some places that you are packed in like sardines, not this one). There were 2 good size pools, one for older individuals and one for children. There was also a whirlpool. Although there was no lifeguard, there was a pool attendant that kept the area clean and neat. The playground was clean and had many different pieces of play equipment. The camp store was fully equipped and had a variety of foods including soft serve ice cream. My 5 year old grandson loves to fish and was thrilled when he pulled in a 5 inch fish from their fishing pond. There were many organized activities for both young and old and the staff were very friendly. They have rentals at a reasonable cost along with cart rentals. There were hiking trails and it was close to Action Wildlife in Goshen. For Adults it had adult beverages sold in their lounge on the weekends and felt much more secure to see they had overnight security.. I was really impressed. Many times this late in the season campgrounds are a bit ragged. Not this one. My hats off to the owners and staff for keeping it clean, neat and welcoming.

The playground was awesome for our two year old. The tent sites had some shade, the showers and bathrooms were really nice.

Campground is only years old. Sites were large enough for RV. NO privacy, bit tent sites were ok. Fre showers for number of campsites, but very clean. Affiliated with Lake Compounce Amusement Park adjacent to campground.

Update number 2: I told you I come here a lot, we did bingo and it was a blast. It was a beautiful day on the beach pond. They had great prizes for cheap cost. I spent 2 dollars for 10 long rounds of bingo with 4 cards. Who can beat that!!?? My son won a game prize worth 5 times that. I had to give the rest of the money I had as a tip because I was so happy with how everything worked out. They are always updating, someone broke the basketball 🏀 hoop on one side and it’s fixed 2 weeks later.

Update: They have changed days for me many times when I had issues with the camper. Never once asked questions or even treated me differently. No extra cost. You might have have to change spots but I don’t care. They are so easy to work with. Thanks guys

Great Value and Nice Family owned business. The lake is perfect, the river needs work. But this an awesome small campground. The kids who work here are so friendly and the playground is nice. They did a show on the beach one night that was fun too. We did bingo too. Have been going for 2 years and started with tenting up to a trailer. I love coming here and wish I could spend more time. Really close to Hammonassett beach and one of my favorite restaurants the “log cabin”. Make sure you bring Tupperware with you to this place.

Also don’t let other family’s ruin your trip. We had 3 family’s meet up on 2 sites near us and the father and mother just kept yelling at the kids. Made me feel bad for the children but doesn’t make me right a bad review about the campground.