Best Tent Camping near North Branford, CT

Connecticut is LACKING when it comes to outdoor activities when compared to some of the places around the country. That being said, it's more rewarding when you find a little gem like Wilderness Lake Campground.

While this is about 60% RVs, the tent sites are great. The host gave us a secluded spot in the back to the point I didn't feel like I was at a campground other than the fire ring. We didn't need bathrooms, water or electricity, but there was a bathroom within walking distance. It also looked like they were building a little outbuilding for Women and Men's bathrooms near the tent sites. 

The lake was quiet and we saw kids swimming in it in the morning. There was a hiking trail on the property and the host mentioned they were building a Disc Golf course on the property. Whether you have an RV, want to Car Glamp or looking to feel deep in the woods, this place checks all the boxes. It's also conveniently located off I-84(exit 70).

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

State is really trying with this park, putting in new beach front cottages. Other then that the RV and tent camping is horrible, as the previous review stated sites aren't marked and the tables and BBQs are trashed.

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.

Stay at least once or twice a year. Always a good time. RV and Tent sites with one cabin as well as canoe sites off the beatin' path. Public beach with another beach for campers. Store on site for firewood and ice.

Stayed at a great wooded tent site - quiet during the week and packed out by the weekend. Close to the bathrooms, with water spigot and electric hook up. Two small ponds with enough blue gill action to excite the kids. Worth checking out!

Kettletown State Park isn't just for camping. There are also hiking trails , a fishing area and a swimming hole, but the week I was there there was a high bacteria count, so no swimming was allowed. Also, when swimming is allowed, there isnt a lifeguard.

The campsites are varied, you can tent camp, use a camper, or they also have a few cabins you can rent. Be advised, there isn't a kitchen or bathroom in the cabins!

Good family campground with access to the ocean. No fire pits in the ground but you can bring your own ($50 on Amazon) or rent one (bring cash). I've done tent camping here in the summer but don't know much about the RV side, although I believe they have dump stations and such. Restrooms and showers are pretty good too, but typical campground bathrooms. 4 stars cuz I'm not a huge fan of the beaches, if I could give 4.9 stars I would.

Sears Bellows in New York is a lot of fun. It really does offer a lot of outdoor activities for you and your family. I have stayed at this campsite 1 time, and stayed 2 nights. This campground does offer tent sites as well as RV/trailer sites. When I went with my friends in college, we just stayed in the tent sites and really enjoyed it. The campground is very well kept and clean which I really liked. They do have quite a bit of garbage's to dump your trash in. One thing I really liked about this campground is that there was a river/pond close by (Bellows Pond). The first night I stayed here my friends and I rented some rowboats and went on the water. It was a lot of fun, and the price of the rowboat was pretty cheap. The next morning we got up and did some hiking. The trails were beautiful, and the flowers were in bloom. There were people who were also biking on these trails, which looked like so much fun! We also saw some people fishing in the pond- and it seemed like most people were catching. The people who stayed in the campsite next to us were cooking up some type of fish for their dinner that they caught that day. One thing to note is that there are not any electrical hook-ups, so if that is something you need you might now want to come stay here. I would love to come back here someday, but stay maybe a day or two longer to do more things- I would also bring my bike and fishing pole to do more outdoor activities. I would also advise to rent the rowboats because that was a lot of fun!

Sleeping Giant has been closed since May 2018. A tornado came through and knocked down many trees near the main entrance to and major parking lot for the park (on Mount Carmel Avenue across from Quinnipiac University).

This entrance area has been cleared and is being rebuilt. The picnic and pavilion areas were also affected (though less so) and will be renovated also.

In the past the picnic shelter and pavilion areas were well shaded by trees and were a wonderful place to bring the family or even large groups of people for a party. This will presumably be so at some point in the future after the park re-opens.

There were Sleeping Giant Park campground sites which could be reserved and used for tent camping back in the twentieth century. I remember them from the 1980s. They have not been available for many years now.

The beach is about a 1 mile walk or drive from the campground.  The walk is lovely and I have seen deer, turkeys, many birds, skunks, raccoons, and other wildlife along the way. There are several osprey nests too. Many families bring bikes. 

There are several camping areas at Rocky Neck - I think Crane is the best because it is quiet and the bathrooms are updated. 

The tent camping area is in a field without much privacy or shade. I recommend setting up your tent at a traditional site.

The beach is great for relaxing and beach combing. The water is warm and shallow, very calm. No floats or toys are allowed in the water, not sure why. Don't bring your kite either as the Amtrak is next to the beach, it's interesting when it goes by!

Sometimes generators are an issue, but there are limited hours at which they can run.

Lots of dumpsters for easy trash disposal. Firewood available for a low price on site, don't bring any outside wood. 

Campground is not too far from a Walmart if you forget something. There's a gas station close by too for ice.

This campground books up FAST, I usually book in the wintertime. I stay for a week at a time.

Ward Pound Ridge is very well known to the locals as a great place for sled-riding in winter (Pell Hill area) and a place for big group gatherings. The many different trails are frequented by the locals as well. In recent years, the county government also allow bow-hunting of deer to control its population during the months of October to December.

As far as camping as a family, it is not too exciting a place for us. The grounds are far too well trimmed, as you can see in one of the videos. There is wide open space and the paths are well paved so kids can have fun riding the bikes or running around. There is also many trails of various difficulty levels to suit everyone, including horseback riders. The Trailside Nature Museum is also fun for the kids.

There are lean-to sites as well as tent sites. A maximum of eight people in two tents are allowed at each site. But if you really do have a party of eight, one picnic table seems to be inadequate. The sites are much farther away from the comfort stations than most campgrounds we have been to. But there are port-a-potties very close to the sites, which is very important when you have young kids.

All in all, it is not a place I would recommend if you want to get close to nature.

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.

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..

My husband and and I camped one night at this newly reopened park over the weekend in Long Island just to check it out and were pretty disappointed by the tent camping area. There are 69 tent/trailer sites(no hook ups). There is no distinguishing separation between each site nor a designated driveway for your car- you merely pull up on the grass. It's basically like camping in your local city park. People park wildly all over the place, which also makes it more difficult to determine which site is which by the number painted on the roadway. Each"site" has a picnic table and an barbecue grate on a post. There is one bath/shower house in the center of all of these sites with no path provided for folks to walk to and fro, so naturally people will walk right through your site randomly rather than around the road. While the bathroom building itself is in decent shape and has a large amount of toilet stalls and about five showers, the condition of women's room was absolutely ghastly inside.

At some point during the evening, a maintenance worker on a golf cart showed up with a mop and some cleaning supplies and cleaned the men's side of the building. I was so relieved when I saw him, but he seemed to neglect the women's side completely, so I resorted to using the men's facilities all night.

There are no fire pits on any of the sites, although I learned afterwards that they do allow you to bring your own metal fire pit as long as it is elevated off the ground. There are large dumpsters located throughout the camping area and a large trash bag is provided (if needed) at the camp office when you check in.

The highlight of Heckscher State Park is the newly constructed heated cottages located on the shore of Nichol's& Great South Bays.. There are currently 11 cottages--- with more under construction. There are cottages suited for two, four, and six people and range in price from$225-$285 per night during off peak seasons and$250- 320 per night during the peak seasons.

The cottages are fully furnished, with a full kitchen and large bathroom with a walk in shower. The cottages are a short walk from the beach and also include a fire pit with Adirondack chairs and an outdoor shower on the exterior each property. I do not have photos of the inside, but they do have them on the Reserve America website if you are interested.

While the cottages are lovely and their location is fabulous  they are quite pricey and  no TLC was spent in the$22 tent/rv camping area, other than a new registration office which is not yet completed as of this weekend. I do hope they invest some funding in the primitive area to add fire pits,more water spigots, clearer site markings and for the continued maintenance& upkeep of the bath/shower house.

* I emailed the parks departement about the issues mentioned above about the camping area and received this reply:

I am sorry that you are upset with the conditions in our recently opened campgrounds. We have replaced all of the picnic tables. Although, they may look old because they are weathered since these picnic tables were put together during the Winter, however, they are brand new. All of the barbeques are also new and were installed during the Winter. We have changed and modernized the light fixtures and we will be replacing the rusted doors that you mentioned. There are also plans to install a playground within the campground beginning this Fall and we are looking for other improvements and additions to the campgrounds. As you probably noticed there is a new building under construction, at the entrance to the campgrounds, and it will serve as a check-in area, as well as, additional comfort stations, including family restrooms. Your suggestion of fire pits is a good one and the Park Managers will evaluate the feasibility of installing these. Lastly, I have spoken to the Park Manager who will review the cleaning operation to ensure the restrooms are appropriately maintained. I apologize for our employee not cleaning the women's room. Again, I am sorry for your negative experience but we are continuing to make improvements to the campgrounds.

Sincerely, George Gorman Regional Director New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

I will check back later this year to see if anything was changed and report back.

I tented here while doing a river stream reconstruction project in southern Connecticut.

To start, access to the river was great, though no swimming was allowed because of an algae bloom. The shorter hiking trails in the area were really beautiful.

Site 32 and the upper loop was not great though. The sites were super close together and the boundary lines were unclear, so my neighbors ended up using my fire ring to secure their tent. The picnic table seemed to be shared between sites and had boards missing, so it was challenging to use when available.

Overall, folks seemed to be there in larger groups for celebrations so things were loud well past midnight, which was challenging given how close each site was. I realize this is very time specific but there was no management presence around quiet time, and this happened both evenings I was there, so I got the sense that quiet times didn’t really apply.

The location was great especially for folks closer to the major metro areas, but I’ll be looking elsewhere if I’m ever in the area again.

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 had a hankering for East Coast seafood, so I picked Hammonesett Beach State Park for Connecticut. Our 2nd state of 5.

    Hammonesett Beach has a huge campground. They divide the loops with names. I unfortunately chose Pequot. This loop has THE WORST bathrooms/showers on the South side of the campground. Looks like they were built in 1950s with rotten wood siding. Dirty. The showers were outside the bathroom- there was a bench & hooks OUTSIDE! We found out all the other loops had modern bathhouses.

 My first impression of this campground is it's loud, crazy busy & there's traffic noise from the beach road. I actually liked it! This is a fun campground for families. There were kids on bikes, scooters, skateboards,roller blades. Watch your speed! They don't always watch out for your car.

  I found out most people stay through Sunday & leave on Monday. There were still lots of campers left. Lots of tent campers. 

   I chose site 14 on the Pequot Loop because I thought I would have a view of one of the ponds. There was tall vegetation, so that was out.

 The sites on the other side of the loop were right by the main beach road. Noisy during the day, but quiet at night. 

  There are some sites with shade, but most are sunny. 

   There's no electricity at most of the sites. Our site was full sun(yay for the solar panel!). On Beach Road in the campground there's 2 rows of full hookup sites, but they go FAST! I tried.

NO PETS! Including dogs.

   No WiFi, but there's cell service. At least 5 dump stations. 

 The beach was popular. 

  There was a stream running from a pond that kids were playing in. 

 They have a beautiful Nature Center. A couple of easy hikes through one of the preserves.

  This was a good base camp for the area. Gillette Castle & other state parks are within driving distance. Connecticut is a beautiful state!!

Selden Neck State Park is an island in the Connecticut River with no roads or development other than 4 campsites. 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. (Entering and parking at the boat launch requires a permit Memorial Day to Labor Day.)

It's about a 20 minute paddle across the river to the island. If it's a nice day, you're going to encounter some wake from passing boats so make sure your gear is in waterproof bags. Once you get to the island, follow the bank north until you spot the sign for your campsite.  

My 5-year-old and I camped at site 2, Hogback. I haven't visited the other sites, but probably will just book this one again because it was so good. Plenty of flat area to pitch a tent, nice picnic table and fire pit. There's a private outhouse. At low tide, a couple of beaches emerge to play on.

The sunset view was amazing. There was a little noise at night from boat traffic but it didn't keep us up. 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.

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.