Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Chilmark? Finding a place to camp in Massachusetts with your tent has never been easier. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Welcome to Sandy Neck Beach Park. Thousands of years have allowed this barrier beach to develop into 4,700 acres of dunes, maritime forests, and marshes. It is a living museum, exhibiting dynamic landscapes rich with ecological activity and recreational opportunities. Each year thousands of visitors are attracted to Sandy Neck to soak up the sunshine, swim, and beach comb as they witness the power of the ocean. While extremely satisfying, these activities represent a fraction of the possibilities for any visitor seeking to enjoy a quality outdoor experience.
$20 / night
Specialty camping on three (3) miles of undeveloped beach frontage is available at East Beach State Campground, located in Charlestown, Rhode Island. East Beach is one of the least developed of the Rhode Island state beaches, with limited parking and a half dozen changing rooms. This barrier beach and 10 site campground location offers four Clivus Multrum Composting Toilets for restrooms along with 3 miles of undeveloped beach frontage. Parking is very limited and fills up early on sunny summer days. A small portion of the beach is staffed with lifeguards on a seasonal basis. Utilities ARE NOT available at this campground. Special Camping/Vehicle Equipment requirements are required for camping at this location.
$55 - $65 / night
Specialty camping on three (3) miles of undeveloped beach frontage is available at East Beach State Campground, located in Charlestown, Rhode Island. East Beach is one of the least developed of the Rhode Island state beaches, with limited parking and a half dozen changing rooms. This barrier beach and 10 site campground location offers four Clivus Multrum Composting Toilets for restrooms along with 3 miles of undeveloped beach frontage. Parking is very limited and fills up early on sunny summer days. A small portion of the beach is staffed with lifeguards on a seasonal basis. Utilities ARE NOT available at this campground. Special Camping/Vehicle Equipment requirements are required for camping at this location.
All camping units MUST BE self-contained AND equipped with 4-wheel drive. A self-contained unit is defined as “A camping unit which contains permanent holding tanks for potable water, grey water and black water. Bathroom equipment must be permanently affixed to the unit.”
Tow trailers or Fifth Wheels are not allowed.
All campers MUST obtain a Barrier Beach Permit prior to their stay.
Beach Vehicle Permits/Trail passes can be purchased from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC)
A beach parking fee will also be required for any vehicle using the East Beach Sand Trail during the summer beach season unless registered for a campsite.
Closure of part or all of East Beach Campground may occur during the camping season due to the nesting of a tiny shorebird called the Piping Plover. The Piping Plover is listed as a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act. If a closure should occur, reservations will be cancelled and refunded in full.
Registered campers after having checked in to East Beach Campground will be allowed to utilize the Septic Dump Station and Water Filling Station at Burlingame State Campground and/or Fishermen’s Memorial State Campground, one time at no charge. Additional dumping or use of the water filling station will be subject to the Septic Dump Station Pass Fee
Must show proof of active and valid reservation.
Tent camping is not allowed.
Pets are not allowed.
Registered campers after having checked in to East Beach Campground will be allowed to utilize the Septic Dump Station and Water Filling Station at Burlingame State Campground and/or Fishermen’s Memorial State Campground, one time at no charge. Additional dumping or use of the water filling station will be subject to the Septic Dump Station Pass Fee
Address: East Beach Road, Charlestown, RI 02813
$28 / night
Scout
Good size sites. Trees. Decent WiFi. Clean and quiet. Not much for amenities - no camp store, pool, activities.
Scout
I booked Deluxe Cabin 1 at the Boston KOA based on my past experiences in VA and NC. BOSTON was the WORST KOA I've stayed at. The cabin SMELLED of mildew and cigarettes(pic of ashes in the tub), and there was NO HOT WATER, which is against MA law. It was FILTHY, the pots needed to be replaced, and you have to request blankets. I informed the after hours staff about the water, blankets, and smell. The next morning, I went to the office at 9 am and talked to LORI. She was COMBATIVE and confrontational which is weird because she just started her day. As a person of color, I had to walk away because I was frightened. When I returned, BOB Brammer(He wanted to write his name down, so I got it right(his words)) lacked empathy and had a facial expression of annoyance. He was also CONFRONTATIONAL as I explained there was no hot water and the cabin smelled. I informed the national KOA feedback team(Kaitlyn& Tiana) and they said it's handled internally, whatever that means. If you read the reviews about bad customer service, believe it. You can see CUSTOMER SERVICE IS BADDDD! The KOA will probably respond to this review, but NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. I'll be reaching out to TOBY O'ROURKE and OSCAR TANG so they are aware the BOSTON KOA is tarnishing the KOA brand.
Legend
General: HUGE state park with over 700 sites. It does not fully open for the season until May 1 and when we were there in mid-April, only two sections, Fish Camp and Mills Camp were open. The Ranger station is staffed 24 hours a day, with a ranger on site until 11 pm. You need to show your pass to get inside the gate leading to the campsites. There are no hookups in any site (as far as I could tell). Sites are designated for tents, small trailers, large trailers, and RVs. As with other RI state parks, non-residents pay double the price of residents which kind of ticks me off (I don't mind a nominal upcharge but double is excessive IMO).
Site Quality: The site numbers throughout the park are painted on rocks but the sites themselves are not very clearly defined. There is no designated camping pad. Our site (114) had a water view but was not level. It was large enough for us to park horizontally and make it work for one night. Some sites had excessive roots and also were not level. Some picnic tables have been replaced with new ones, but others badly need it.
Bath/Shower house: The one in Fish Camp was adequate and clean. There is hot water, but you need to run it for a while before you get any. There was no garbage receptacle, and the toilet paper is so thin, that you can see through it. Showers are $.75 to get it started for the first three minutes. After that, the amount per minute increases to $1, $1.25, $1.50, and so forth. Machines take up to 22 quarters. There is a change machine at the Ranger Station. I did not use the shower so I cannot comment on how well they work.
Activities/Amenities: There is a camp store that offers wood, ice, coffee, basic groceries, propane, and canoe rentals. It was open with limited hours during our stay. Fishing, boating, swimming - all in season. Even though the park was only about 10% occupied, there was a strong Ranger presence. He circled our small loop three times just before check-out time and wanted to make sure we were leaving not a minute past the designated time.
This was just an overnight stay for us in a convenient location but there is no way I would stay at the height of the season!
Legend
General: Over 450 sites (tent 20 amp w/e; 30 amp w/e; 30 amp w/e/s; 50 amp w/e/s; 50 amp w/e; 30, 50 or premium seasonal)
Site Quality: Generally good. Sites are gravel. We had originally reserved Site 98 but there was a large rock and tree roots making it challenging to position our van. We were able to move to Site 95 which was much better. Each site has a picnic table and rock firepit. Trees provide some amount of privacy between many sites.
Bath/Shower house: Spotlessly clean. The cleaning schedule indicates it is cleaned three times daily.
Activities/Amenities:
*Some are seasonal and were closed when we were there in October. These include three pools, a food truck, coffee, and ice cream.
* Others include a pristine laundry room (but you have to purchase a laundry card, so one load is a minimum of $10), shuffleboard, playground, tennis/pickleball, volleyball, basketball, horseshoe pit, soccer and baseball fields, firewood and propane fill, free cable and WiFi, dog park. I’ve probably forgotten a few but you get the idea…
We chose this campground because of its proximity to the Woods Hole ferry terminal. It is not our typical preferred campground but for one night in the off-season, it was very pleasant. It is billed as a family-friendly campground, and I imagine it would be very different during high season. We gladly forgo seasonal amenities for a quieter stay. The staff was very present and welcoming. Note that it is located on a busy highway and if you are approaching from the south, the turn into the campground is hair-raising! There is some road noise at some sites but not for most of them.
Scout
In Sept the campground was quiet and sparsely populated. Sites were big and fairly well spaced.
There’s 12 miles of hiking trails to explore. You can hear the highway from many of the sites and trails, but for the most part it’s just part of the background noise with the insects and other nature noises.
The park was easily accessible from the highway and easy to get through with a trailer.
Guide
Nice warm showers and our tent site was kept away from a lot, so it was calm and quiet. Nice staff and would definitely visit again.
Guide
$18/night if you live here, but $36 if from out of state. Large tent campground with lots of spaces, so everyone is in pretty close together. My main concern is there are showers in the bathrooms you can pay for, but ones outside that are free, but cold water and no curtain, so you literally have no privacy.
Scout
We were treated very poorly by staff and management. We here humiliated in front of our family members and the public. We were made broken promises and called liars by staff and management and then intimidated to leave the premises. It was a very bad experience that ruined our family vacation.
Scoutee
Guide
Pinewood has all of the basics covered. Great place to spend 1-3 nights under the stars. Hot showers were awesome (.25 cents per 3 minutes) and the stone fire pits were a hit. Pond was pretty dirty and you’ll be in close proximity to a shooting range and municipal airport (be wary of noise levels).
ScoutStayed for a week mid-July; during the week had almost an entire loop to ourselves which was wonderful - it felt like having the entire park to ourselves. Things picked up on Friday/Saturday but overall we lucked out with no neighbors who were disrespectful of the quiet hours (10p - 7a). Bathrooms, dumpsters, and portapotties are plentiful, but not always well maintained. Staff are seen frequently throughout the park and are very willing to be helpful when asked - our site had a few Yellowjacket nests and they took care of them for us almost immediately when asked. It’s worth investigating the various sites ahead of time - there are a number of sections much more likely to be busy than others, and lots of low-lying sites that show signs of easily being washed out in anything more than a moderate rain. With multiple great east coast beaches minutes away (as well as conveniences like fuel/stores) we will definitely be back.
ScoutRelaxing by the river w ur family is the best way to go
ScoutNothing like coming home to NARRAGANSETT..... BEAUTIFUL, clean campground.... Quiet & peaceful..... Bathrooms are very nice..... Not far from ROGER WHEELER BEACH & SCARBOROUGH BEACH.....Right down the street from great RI food.....
Scout
Such a beautiful destination for tourists, travelers, & beach goers....Talk about being right on the water with access to excellent swimming. Such a lovely vantage point with your tent location from the top of FORT GETTY. Who knew??? Mackerel Cove is awesome....beach, beach, beach.... Bathrooms are ok. Such a hidden gem on the wonderful island of Jamestown!!!! Bring your tent....
TravelerWe really enjoyed our stay. The privacy, facilities and near by local places to go and explore exceededour expectations.
TravelerI stayed here several times overnight in an RV for the Pan Mass Challenge. They were always very accomdiating, the facilities are clean and it’s in a great location
TravelerWe camped here from Friday to Sunday. The staff in the main office was very inviting and friendly, the rangers kept everyone in check . The bathrooms were kept clean, but the showers in the Legiontown area are kinda crappy, it's mainly the shower heads...they feel like bullets hitting you and you can't even adjust the shower head nozzle. The showers are $1.50/8mins I only put $1.00 in for 5 minutes which was more than enough time for me. There's a beautiful lake and you can rent Kayaks or a canoe for the day I believe it was around $45.00. there's a nice general store, an arcade, playground, trails, cabins... And the sites are pretty big. No real big complaints, except that the staties are usually waiting for you to come back from the bars since there's no alcohol allowed on the property. So if you are to drink off the property, make sure you have a Designated Driver. They love handing out DUIs. (I did not have this issue, but my friends did.)
ScoutMy wife and I camped last weekend and it was everything we were looking for. Awesome staff, the perfect location, and clean bathrooms. We will definitely be back!
Ranger
I like this campground and prefer site 14 on Flax Pond, the quieter of the 2 (Cliff Pond). This campground gets very busy in summer. Hikes around the ponds and swimming is lovely.
Your camp pass gets you into an underutilized beach across the road.
TravelerWe had an amazing stay at Shawme Crowell State Forest. The campsite we had was very large, private and shady. The playground was also just up the hill from us and was a HUGE hit with our 3 year old. Beaches, biking and hiking all close by along with grocery stores and restaurants if needed. Bathrooms were super updated and always clean!
ScoutVery lush and green, and the showers are close to the sites and make longer stays more comfortable
Scout
Serves all of our purpose. Good basic campground
Scout
Clean and Fun
GuideThis is a great spot that’s perfect for a weekend camping. I ended up getting a cabin here and stayed the night. It was thwir opening weekend and the weather was pretty cold so we didn’t have to foght the crowds too much. That said, they have a huge capacity and during summer the place is swarmed by RV’ers and folks staying for longer stays.
Legend
Ashley here with The Dyrt. We're happy to welcome this new listing to our platform. Check them out and come back here to leave them some love!
TravelerVery clean variety accommodations thru out campground . Site 309 Pull thru with fire-pit , cement pad gas grill , chairs and table ,level site with grass for dog not all sandy Lots shade trees
Guide
Booked site in early July for Sept stay. Paid for a premium glamping site 2200 Sq ft with paver patio. Didn't pay site lock fee as I didn't care which site I got as long as was the same type of site and I think the sites are expensive enough. Arrived and was given a site in "motorhome row". Very small and no paver patio. Prayed the whole time neighbor didn't use his grill as he was that close. Left two days early we were very disappointed. Alot of seasonal sites and some were pretty dumpy looking
Tent camping near Chilmark, Massachusetts offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the stunning coastal scenery. With a variety of campgrounds to choose from, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Chilmark, MA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Chilmark, MA is Waquoit Bay National Estuarine with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
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TheDyrt.com has all 4 tent camping locations near Chilmark, MA, with real photos and reviews from campers.