Looking for tent camping near Belchertown? Find the best tent camping sites near Belchertown. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invites you to come relax at Tully Lake. There are a variety of outdoor recreation activities for you and you family. Although the dam was built primarily to reduce flood damages on the Millers and Connecticut Rivers, the 1,300-acre reservoir area provides a place for you to get away from it all and connect with nature.
Tully Lake offers many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Activities in and around the lake include mountain biking, camping, disc golf, hiking, picnicking, boating, and fishing and hunting in the appropriate seasons.
The Tully Lake Pavilion is located in the recreation area and offers picnic tables and grills. Maximum group size is 50 people with parking for 25 passenger vehicles at the upper gravel lot. The recreation area has a small playground for young children, volleyball court, and a horseshoe pit. Bathrooms are provided, but there is no running water.
The 1,262-acre Tully Lake property is managed to sustain a healthy ecosystem for future generations. The thriving biodiversity of the Tully River Valley and the interconnections of our forests, wetlands, waters, and wildlife are valued and managed for the long term. Tully Lake is home to a wide variety of wildlife, from tiny insects and song birds, to large mammals such as deer and moose. Fifty-five percent of the reservoir area is wetlands, providing habitat for fish, waterfowl, song birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals such as beaver, mink and otter. The rest of the property provides habitat for upland species such as deer, coyote, fisher, owl, fox, raccoon, skunk, porcupine, rabbit, and squirrel. The forest within Tully Dam's reservoir area is composed primarily of white pine, providing habitat for owls and woodpeckers, red-tailed hawks, and white-tailed deer.
When visiting Tully Lake there are several opportunities for visitors to explore in the surrounding area. At the north end of the lake there is a tent only campground run by the Trustees of the Reservations which provides a perfect launching point to enjoy the outdoor attractions nearby. Ten miles away is the Birch Hill Dam, another Army Corps project that provides miles of trails and river to explore. The Quabbin Reservoir is also within a short ten mile drive of Tully Lake and serves the city of Boston as its water supply. The Quabbin is a unique area; there were four towns flooded to create it, and it has some of the most interesting blends of human and natural history in the region.
Please review the cancellation and refund policy at the bottom of the webpage. In general, we will require at least two weeks prior to your reservation to consider a request.
$40 / night
Barton Cove specializes in rustic tent-only camping. The campground is open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Each campsite has a picnic table, grills and campfire ring. Vehicle use in the campground is restricted to unloading during arrival and loading during departure. Showers are available near the ranger station, and there are two group sites available for larger parties interested in camping together. Two sites suitable for pop-up trailers or class C camper vans are also available. The sites have no utility hookups. Scout groups can camp by special arrangement through November.
$22 - $30 / night
Caboose Camper Rental! Camp in an authentic 1919 railroad caboose! Drive right to the site. Electricity available. Outdoor cooking/eating facilities. Camp beside the busy CSX Boston Line. Need more room? Set up tents on the lawn.
$50 - $100 / night
This town-owned park consists of 190 acres of wooded, rocky mountainside. Trails here are relatively easy on the flat but significantly more difficult on the hillside. The ground can be very wet after rains. Onion Mountain Park is accessed on the west side of West Mountain Rd. just south of Shingle Mill Rd. Visitors will find a good size parking lot.
$14 - $23 / night
$25 - $30 / night
Scout
Very peaceful overnight camping, no permit required. Small campsite, first come first served basis. Other posts claim you can park right the site, but you can not. It’s up the yellow or blue trail depending on which one you take. However, it’s not a long walk to the parking area from the campsite.
Scout
Quiet (besides occasional plane overhead) lots of trees, spacious sites, clean and modern bathrooms and showers, nice friendly helpful staff.
Scout
Site 47 pull thru. Nice clean campground ! No neighbors left and right. Staff very nice. Very noisy tho in sites by the river due to Rte 10. We enjoyed the campground. Small and cozy. Nice size sites
Traveler
Campground is a bit crowded with sites close together. The facilities were clean but quite old. There are some nice hiking trails along the river.
Scout
We booked last minute (2 hours before we arrived) and were met with the friendliest staff ready to help us at 7:30PM and get us checked in. Perfect spot if you don’t mind a 40 minute ride over to The Big E fair which is what brought us out to this part of MA. The restaurant was so nice, and to my surprise more than accommodating as I have celiac, they really went above and beyond. We will definitely be back next summer for a longer stay.
Ranger
I don’t mind paying a little extra some places because of being out of state, but paying $54 a night for not even any hookups when MA residents pay $17 is insane.
Scout
Paid in full for a week in July, we stay here every year. Learned in May that I had cancer and would need surgery and weekly chemo until the end of September. Contacted Forest Lake Campground in May to cancel reservation, discussed options and was told we could carry our week over for later. Just received the all clear from my Dr today. Called to make reservations and was told they would not honor our already paid week. They said we would not get our money back either. Won’t stay here again as they are not people of their word.
Guide
This campground has a lot of amenities for what you pay. You can get a site with just water, or electric and water. Can do RV or tent. Warm showers and playground for kids with communal areas. Quiet and dark both nights and the staff is very friendly, the campground is in the family. Will definitely stay here again!
Scout
Very peaceful! Little hidden gem! We loved our weekend away
Scout
JUNE 30,2024 my husband & I were seasonals at waters edge campground Lebanon Connecticuit gave them a 30 day notice we were leaving this place wasnt for us just awful the owners are just money hungey thieves they told us they were keeping our deposit wich we expected because it says non refundable deposit so okay fine but we paid for the whole season its open april15 to october15 gave a 30 day notice left june 30 they refused to give us back the money for july ,august,september,to october 15 they ket 750 plus 2500 dollars told us were not getting our money back So iam sure they rented the site thats double dipping so fair warning I dont want this to happen to anyone else they will Rob you blind oh and they broke our ice maker when they dewinterized our trailer and never owned up to it came down to my floor in camper soaked with water from my freezer and didnr bother to clean tthe mess and said it must have been broken nefore so they are also dirty liars I didnt want to even give a one star rating but had to put somethin i give the a big fat 0
Traveler
Very clean campground with a big pool and pond to fish at. There always easy to make accommodations and it’s always a good time with the family there
Traveler
Dyrt says $17-$54 went through all the hoops to book one for tonight said $17 per night went to check out expecting a few extra fees, $58.50.....that's over the max advertised....DYRT YOU NEED TO GO THROUGH AND DELETE BAD ENTRIES. YOU ARE A DISSAPOINTMENT.
Traveler
First off no same day reservations or walk ups allowed, second it yells you that the fee is $17.50 per site, I expected a little added extra fee for booking etc.... check out was $58.50 per night. I would have if they weren't so manipulative about it.
Traveler
The best activities for children and adults, great amenities, clean restrooms, Awesome pool thanks to ASHTON, Thanks so much.
Traveler
We had our very first camping experience with our new camper at this campground and it was everything we could have imagined and more. It’s a beautiful campground, the gentleman and his family who own it are sooooo nice and they helped us a lot when it came to learning how to properly use our camper. All the fellow campers that we met were extremely nice. It’s a quiet campground, located right on a river. My children spent hours in it playing and fishing. Looking forward to returning.
Scout
This was our families first time staying at Brialee Campground. The cabin was absolutely beautiful and clean. The staff were friendly and helpful. The activities were great and kept my grand children busy. Swimming and the lake were fun. I cannot say enough wonderful things. We had such a great time I booked my reservations for Next July 2025 before I left.
A special thank you to Sherri for the personal tour and showing us the ropes! She is the best.
The D'Avanzo Family
Ranger
We got a sit right on the river, so that adds to this. But this place is great, a river, hiking trails, no phone signal, what else could yoy ask for? Oh yeah clean bathrooms, and guess what, they have those too!
But honestly this place is great, the staff is the most friendly DCR staff I've met, the buildings are well kept, the sites a large! I'd gladly go back, and I am!
Traveler
This was our first time visiting and my entire family enjoyed themselves so much, that we've already reserved a site for a few weeks from now. Arts and crafts, tractor rides, and of course the tubing down the river. Lots of built in entertainment for the kids! The grounds were clean, the playground was nice, and the people were all friendly. We did a late checkout for $5 extra, but the noon checkout and two dump stations would make leaving on time a non-issue as well.
Of note: We camped with friends, who were given a spot next to a large group of people (weekend prior to 4th of July is to be expected). The group were very polite and abided by quiet hours, but they were having fun and a bit loud for my buddy's 2 month of baby. They requested to move sites, and the management was super accommodating and apologetic. Helped him move his site and threw in some firewood for the troubles.
Guide
We had an excellent experience at this camp ground. The Staff and Rangers were polite and welcoming. We were able to see some boat races and played a round of disc golf on property. Once the boat races finished each day the camp was very quiet and peaceful. Had a great weekend
Guide
We had a nice weekend at Peppermint Park. This was our 2nd visit with a camper (2022 & 2024) and stayed about 20 years ago in tents.
It's family and dog friendly, has a pool, hot tub, newer playground with a sandbox, camp store with large lodge attached, horseshoe, volleyball and other outdoor game areas. There were several activities planned for father's day weekend including a BBQ food truck, BINGO, corn hole, horseshoes, and kids crafts. There is also wifi, but the signal is not great. It did save me on data usage though so I appreciated it.
There is a large number of seasonal's and everyone we interacted with was very friendly. My 11 year old granddaughter quickly made friends with some of the seasonal children. We attended BINGO, which was packed, and it was clear they are a friendly group. The grounds, pool, buildings and bathroom are all well maintained.
Our site, 111, was a nice flat grassy site with water and 20amp electric. We were sunny in the morning and got nice shade starting late in the morning. We had season sites all around us with only a few of them occupied so it was pretty quiet in our section. Sites are a bit closer together than we prefer, but do have trees and brush in between.
We were in between 2 bathroom buildings. One of them having only 1 shower, 1 toilet and sink in each side and the other had 1 shower, and 2 toilets on each side. I believe there is larger bathrooms with more showers in the lodge but we did not check them out.
Our only negative is the wood for sale is on the greener side so it takes a bit to get it going. We had the same issue 2 years ago and ended up buying lighter fluid from the store then. We did not have any with us this trip and did not want to pay camp store prices so we used sticks from the area and some match light charcoal to get it going well.
We did not venture outside of the campground this trip, but do know there are some nice ponds/lakes close by and hiking trails.
Overall it's a nice friendly campground that we will continue to visit.
TravelerCame for the boat races, very relaxing weekend
Traveler
I loved my stay here! I just stayed 1 night passing through, the drive to the campground was gorgeous. checking in was super easy. Finding my site and the bathroom was a breeze. THE BATHROOM was the best I’ve seen camping very clean and updated and honestly gorgeous. Everyone else there was super nice and quiet. Quiet hours start at 10 but it was silent after about 9 which was so amazing. I would definitely stay again!
Scout
I've stayed at Clarksburg State Park with my young son for a few years in a row and have always been consistently impressed with how clean and peaceful it is. Maybe we've just gotten lucky, but each time we've stayed, no matter how busy the campground is, it's quiet, especially at night. The park and the campground feel quite secluded for the location - very close to North Adams and other towns in that part of the Berkshires. The pond and the hiking trail around it are beautiful. We'll definitely return! My only complaint is that Massachusetts charges out-of-state residents 3x as much to camp.
GuideThis 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.
Guide
Spacious Skies Minute Man is a forested haven so close to Boston that you think you are in the country. There are so many cool things to do just a short drive away. The nearby town of Ayer is right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Concord is only 30 minute drive away with two full days of revolutionary historic sites, and famous people home tours such as Louisa May Alcott. Lots of good coffee spots and restaurants in historic downtown Concord so spend a morning in this special city.
Scout
This used to be my favorite campground! Short hike in, well for water, composting toilets, secluded campsites where you can't see or hear other people, lot's of hiking, cheap and easy. However, they've been closed for four years and have no idea when it will open again - not anytime in 2024. Worse, they're doing construction so that it will no longer be a primitive campsite! Adding bathrooms with running water, buildings, etc. I have called and emailed and hoped every spring that this would be the year, but with the renovations I am no longer interested in camping here. Very disappointed.
Traveler
We visited for a our kids' spring break. Not many campgrounds open that early here in CT. The staff were super pleasant and helpful, and were all working hard the entire time we were there to prep that campground for their official "opening weekend".
The sites were all clean and seemed well spaced. The kids loved the playground, and they were putting a fresh coat of paint on things while we were there. The river that flows the length of the campground seemed clean and awesome. Staffers and other campers said kids tube down it when it's warmer, then just hop out and walk back through the camp to start over again.
Walmart & Aldi's is 10-15 minutes away. Pizza places/breakfast spots in the same area as well. Lots of state land to explore nearby.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Belchertown, MA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Belchertown, MA is Tully Lake Recreation Area (MA) — Tully Lake with a 4.7-star rating from 9 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Belchertown, MA?
TheDyrt.com has all 17 tent camping locations near Belchertown, MA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
