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Best Tent Camping near Norfolk, CT

532 Reviews

The mountainous terrain near Norfolk, Connecticut provides several primitive tent camping opportunities along the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Notable options include Brassie Brook Shelter and Riga Lean-To, both located near Bear Mountain in the northwest corner of Connecticut. These tent-only sites require hiking in with gear and offer a true backcountry experience for those seeking solitude.

Most tent sites near Norfolk are accessible only by foot, requiring hikers to park at designated trailheads and carry all supplies to their campsite. Fire restrictions are common at many of these primitive locations, particularly along the Appalachian Trail shelters. Bear boxes are provided at several sites, and campers should practice proper food storage techniques. The area has both free and paid tent camping options, with facilities typically limited to basic pit toilets. While some sites like Riga Lean-To and Brassie Brook offer shelters, most are traditional tent setups on unimproved ground.

The hiking-required nature of these tent camping areas ensures a quieter experience away from vehicle noise and crowds. Onion Mountain Park offers one of the few drive-in tent camping options closer to Norfolk, though reviews indicate it remains relatively primitive. The nearby White Memorial Campground in Litchfield provides more developed tent sites with amenities like trash service and sanitary facilities. One camper noted that Brassie Brook Shelter offers "a very happy surprise" with "about 4/5 campsites located all around" and basic amenities like firepits and toilets. Terrain throughout the region is characterized by steep, rocky trails leading to wooded campsites, particularly for those accessing the Appalachian Trail shelters that serve as popular overnight stops for both section and through-hikers.

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Best Tent Sites Near Norfolk, Connecticut (27)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Norfolk, CT

34 Photos of 27 Norfolk Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Norfolk, CT

532 Reviews of 27 Norfolk Campgrounds

  • KThe Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 9, 2021

    Echo Lake

    Lovely Camping in the Catskills

    This campground was my first backpacking trip and it was perfect!  There are tent sites around the whole lake with fire pits and 1 lean-to site at the end of the trail when you first arrive at the lake.  The sites are relatively flat and well shaded with trees.  Note, it can get swampy near the edge of the lake so you may want to bring bug spray.  Make sure you practice leave no trace principles and pack out what you bring in!  It does get a little crowded later in the day so you may have to share space with others and it can be a little noisy at night.

  • Shelly B.
    Oct. 3, 2017

    Clarence Fahnestock State Park Campground

    Busy Place on Weekends - Quiet On Weekdays

    Fahnestock State Park, Carmel, NY

    Busy Campground on Weekends!

    This park has a nice open beach on Canopus Lake with a concession area and bathhouse, which we found to be quite clean! They even have boat rentals - or you can bring your own boat to launch! If you are into fishing, there is another lake and two ponds that our neighbor campers said were great for catching panfish - one fisherman said he had caught several bass weighing over 3 pounds!!

    Weekends - this park is FULL! Make sure to reserve at least two weeks out. Weekdays? You should be in luck! We stayed in site number 1, and I found it to be just wooded enough. Almost all of the sites offered privacy.... Even when the campground was full. I do feel the campground bathhouse really needed more attention... while it had clearly been painted this past year, it was very “buggy” - and did not appear to have been thoroughly cleaned since spring... (yuck!).

    PRODUCT REVIEW: As a ranger for Dyrt.com, sometimes I am offered the opportunity to test and review various products. At Fahnestock State Park in New York state, I reviewed my Gregory Maven 55L Women’s backpack (see accompanying video).

    Weighing in at 3 pounds 6 ounces, the Gregory Maven was a nice mid-weight pack for me to take on my yearly 2 1/2 week Appalachian Trail hike.

    Normally, I like to save the best for last when I do a review; however, this time I just can’t wait to spread the news about my favorite features! The Maven has a Matrix Ventilation System, which provides exceptional ventilation on the pack’s back panel. This kept my back from being its usual sweaty mess! The second feature that blew me away was how cool my water stayed in this backpack! With other packs, the water gets warmed up from heat radiating off the hiker’s back. This didn’t happen with my Gregory pack! Every pull off my water - from the beginning of the day until hours later - provided me with a refreshingly cool drink. I actually questioned other hikers with Gregory packs to see if I was the only one experiencing this - The other hikers, who had different Gregory models, confirmed that their backs and water were staying cooler too! Added bonus: I was able to pull out the hydration sleeve and use it as a daypack a few times!

    The Maven’s pockets helped me keep my pack much more organized than in the past. It has a lower sleeping bag compartment, top pocket with separate zipper areas (one has a place to attach a car key!), side pockets, hip pockets, and even pockets on the shoulder harnesses! I can’t forget the front pocket, which held the rain fly!

    The pack fit was great, but do be careful to check your sizing if you are looking at both the 45L and 55L. While I am a XS/S with the 55L, I would have been a S/M with the 45L.

    I used this pack for 2 1/2 weeks backpacking over 200 miles on the Appalachian Trail through the states of New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The Maven did an outstanding job keeping my possessions organized and dry as well as keeping me comfortable and happy on the trail! This will definitely be my pack of choice for future hikes!

  • Nicole G.
    Aug. 24, 2025

    Tolland State Forest Campground

    Great Lakeside Campground

    This was only my second camping trip ever (and first tent camping) so grain of salt here - We had a great time at Tolland. The site was spacious and equipped with a bear box, fire ring, and picnic table. The ground at the site was large gravel which was not great in the tent, but walking around it looks like most sites are more dirt and pine needles.

    The swimming area is small but sandy, great for kids, and my daughter loved thethe campfire and nature talk given on Saturday night by park staff.

  • Ryan A.
    Jun. 12, 2024

    Mohawk Trail State Forest Campground

    Great Campground in Western Mass

    This is a great campground located off of highway 2 in western Mass. I stayed in site 51 and luckily the campground was mostly empty(it was on a Thursday though and was supposed to be full for the weekend.) Each campsite has a bear box and fire ring, there is easy access to hiking trails and flush-toilet bathrooms with sinks are located throughout. There is only one dumpster though and it’s a walk to get to – store your trash in your car or drive it each night, or enjoy the walk. 

    The campsites are very close together without much brush for privacy, so you should expect to see your neighbors up close and personal. Some of the sites are on Cold River(which is more like a creek). The bugs were awful, especially the gnats and I did see a large tick on my fire grill, so be prepared. The best sites are on the lower loop around the water. Avoid any site next to the bathroom as the lights stay on all night and will shine directly into your tent. 49 looked really nice and seemed dark. The hike-in sites were also close together, 22 is the most private. There are baskets with wheels provided. 

    The rangers are friendly and sell firewood in case you need any. You’ll need to check in before going to the campsite, they’ll give you a map and they take good care of the sites. Would definitely camp here again.

  • KThe Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 6, 2025

    Alander Trail Camground — Mount Washington State Forest

    Amazing Dispersed Camping

    Absolutely love this spot and highly recommend if you’re looking for a super private, true primitive camping experience. You have to park at the entrance and hike in about 1.5-2 miles with everything on your back to get to the spots. Once you get there, theres quite a few sites to choose from and each offer quite a bit or privacy. It’s completely free and it usually isn’t too busy since most people don’t like having to carry all their stuff in that far. You will be in the heart of the forest/woods so definitely make sure to be prepared. We had some scares with coyotes and bears in the past but never anything crazy. They give you a semi-flat area for a tent, a fire pit and grill rack, one picnic table, and a bear box you would be sharing with other campers nearby

  • Dawn S.
    May. 30, 2020

    Savoy Mountain State Forest Campground

    Clean

    My pup and I spent two nights here and were very happy. While this campground is bare-bones (no pool) it is perfect for anyone who wants to just chill and do nothing or hit the mountains / local area and do some hiking. The entire campground was very clean, as were the bathrooms. At check-in they will give you maps of hiking routes. Firewood is for sale onsite as are a few necessities. They also had bear boxes, picnic tables and fire rings at each site. We will go back.

  • Katherine P.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 1, 2020

    Rudd Pond Area — Taconic State Park

    A Cozy Spot

    We stayed here in August 2020.

    This is a really interesting campground that's situated on a hill overlooking Rudd Pond in Taconic State Park.  Almost all of the sites have platforms to pitch your tent on, although there are a couple of flatter spots without platforms (although they still have a slope.)

    There's space near the platform that is flat-ish with a picnic and a fire pit.  Some of these are better than others, ours was not that flat, but we made it work. You get a pretty decent view of Rudd Pond, and the sunsets are pretty. There is also a trailhead at the end of the campground that connects to the other trails in Taconic State Park. There's a swimming beach and during non-covid times, boat rentals.

    The campsites are pretty close together, so if the campground is full, you are rather close to your neighbors. It was close to half full when we were there, and it still felt like a fairly noisy campground, even after quiet hours. 

    My one complaint in these covid times is that compared to the NY-DEC campground we stayed at, I felt that the safety measures were less adhered to here. They had signs asking people to wear masks in the bathroom building, but far fewer people were. I also didn't see the staff do any cleaning of the restrooms while we were there - the paper towels ran out at one point and I had to flag the staff down to get them to go take care of that.  

    Still, I thought it was a really cute place to stay, and I think we would stay here again.

  • Sara Q.
    Oct. 7, 2019

    Savoy Mountain State Forest Campground

    Small, loud, muddy

    Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of this small campground. Right from the start, upon checkin, I bought two $5 ea. bundles of wood after being assured they were "kiln dried".  The wood wouldn't catch no matter what I tried -- not even with the help of some fire starter.  The tent site itself was very small and barely fit my truck and tent.  It was made smaller still because of the mud and holes on the perimeter of the site. At night, there was a lot of traffic noise nearby and despite a posted quiet time, other campers were slamming car doors over and over and talking at the top of their lungs, making it difficult to sleep. The surrounding state forest was pretty and the trails were in decent shape.

  • Amanda S.
    Jul. 17, 2018

    Copake Falls Area — Taconic State Park

    Great price

    This is basic dry camping it is fun but there is no electric or water at the sites o LU in the bathhouse. So if you get a site close the the bathhouse you will have water close by and electricity close. Otherwise it’s dry camping.. the platform sites are great it makes it real easy to set up a tent because of the platform that the tent goes on and the lake is ok. The kids don’t like swimming with fish so we didn’t spend much time at the lake

Guide to Norfolk

Tent camping near Norfolk, Connecticut offers a variety of scenic spots where nature lovers can unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. With well-reviewed campgrounds nearby, you'll find plenty of amenities and activities to enhance your camping experience.

Tent campers like these nearby activities

  • Enjoy fishing and swimming at the beautiful Rudd Pond Area — Taconic State Park, where you can also explore wonderful hiking trails.
  • Hike the challenging trails leading to stunning views at the Laurel Ridge — Mount Everett State Reservation, perfect for those seeking adventure.
  • Experience the tranquility of Onion Mountain Park, where you can hike to primitive sites and enjoy a peaceful overnight stay.

Tips for tent camping near Norfolk

  • When visiting Onion Mountain Park, be prepared for a short hike to your campsite, as parking is not directly at the site.
  • At the Brassie Brook Shelter - Bear Mountain, remember to carry out all your trash to maintain the pristine environment.
  • If you're camping at the Riga Lean-To, take advantage of the nearby trails for a rewarding hike to Bear Mountain's summit.

Some prices for tent camping are free

Frequently Asked Questions

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

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Norfolk, CT is Brassie Brook Shelter - Bear Mountain — Appalachian National Scenic Trail with a 5-star rating from 2 reviews.

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

TheDyrt.com has all 27 tent camping locations near Norfolk, CT, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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