Best Campgrounds near Gloucester, MA

Camping near Gloucester, Massachusetts ranges from full-service private grounds to state parks with more basic setups. Wakeda Campground has good-sized campsites for families and includes standard bathroom facilities. Many campers head to Pawtuckaway State Park Campground for its hiking trails and lake access. Bear Brook State Park Campground has both standard sites and simple cabins where you can see stars clearly on clear nights. Wompatuck State Park Campground allows dogs on most trails and tends to be quieter than other nearby options. The summer months fill up fast in this area, so you'll need to reserve spots months ahead. Keep your food secured since raccoons and other wildlife are common around campsites. The fall camping season brings cooler nights and red and orange leaves throughout the forests. Some brave campers stay during winter, but you'll need serious cold-weather gear. Spring camping means fewer people but sometimes wet conditions as the ground thaws. Most state park campgrounds have basic bathrooms but limited hookups, so check what each place has before you go. You might need to bring your own water to some of the more remote spots. Being close to the coast means you can camp and still take day trips to beaches around Gloucester. Both tent campers and RV owners can find spots that work for them in this region. Try to leave your campsite as clean as you found it. The mix of forest and coastal areas makes this part of Massachusetts worth the trip for weekend campers.

Best Camping Sites Near Gloucester, Massachusetts (80)

    1. Cape Ann Camp Site

    16 Reviews
    Gloucester, MA
    2 miles
    Website
    +1 (978) 283-8683

    $36 - $44 / night

    "Cape Ann Campground is located close to Gloucester and Rockport. The campground is clean and quiet with beautiful tent sites. The RV sites are not as secluded as the tent sites."

    "Perfect location with access to Rockport - a beautiful place to visit, shop, eat & a great little trail with great views Beach down the street was big, beautiful and low tide was unexpected as you"

    2. Salisbury Beach State Reservation

    25 Reviews
    Salisbury, MA
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (978) 462-4481

    $28 - $38 / night

    "However, you can’t beat the location and it’s a great place to go with a group."

    "The feel here is electric, and positive. Lots of RV’s that stay here all summer long. Feels like you are in a tight-knit community, very friendly folks, packed tightly together."

    3. Winter Island Park

    14 Reviews
    Salem, MA
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (978) 745-9430

    $35 - $105 / night

    "Many of the RV sites are located in the main parking lot; others are in a field just to the right of the entrance."

    "We drove 3-1/2 days from Idaho to get to a COVID testing site which would take non MA residents and turn the results around under 48 hours. We needed quiet camping and not have it cost a fortune."

    4. Lorraine Park Campground — Harold Parker State Forest

    32 Reviews
    North Reading, MA
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (978) 475-7972

    $17 - $35 / night

    "Every site seems to have its own water spigot, though it's not necessarily conveniently located if you want to hook up a trailer/RV. There are 11 sites with water/electric."

    "You could be tucked away from everyone or closer together depending on the site you choose but they are all pretty decent in size. All sites have water which is a plus."

    5. Beach Rose RV Park

    13 Reviews
    Salisbury, MA
    17 miles
    Website
    +1 (978) 463-0226

    "Beach Rose RV Park in Salisbury, Massachusetts is a small, friendly, family-owned campground near the beach."

    "Kids had enough driving for the day so we had to stop. We called last min and were thankful they had a spot. Arrived at dark and they were friendly and accommodating."

    6. Wompatuck State Park Campground

    43 Reviews
    Hingham, MA
    31 miles
    Website
    +1 (617) 895-8245

    $17 - $23 / night

    "Ours (R002) was large, beautiful, and mostly surrounded by forest."

    "I chose a spot away from others and was glad I did. Behind me was nothing but quiet woods and a deer meandered through a couple times."

    7. Wakeda Campground, LLC

    16 Reviews
    Exeter, NH
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 772-5274

    $48 - $97 / night

    "We had bathrooms located near our site. They were four separate bathrooms that had a sink and toilet and were clean. They did offer showers in another area but I did not use them."

    "Our full hookup site was very close to other sites, so unfortunately we had to deal with some noise issues."

    8. The Pines Camping Area

    4 Reviews
    Salisbury, MA
    17 miles
    Website
    +1 (978) 465-0013

    $35 - $46 / night

    "There’s not much around here to do, but for us we enjoyed the calmness."

    9. Hampton Beach State Park Campground

    7 Reviews
    Hampton, NH
    20 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 926-8990

    $70 / night

    "One side of the campground is bordered by an inlet that fishing boats use to head out from the harbor. Another side is sand dunes, that are the south end of Hampton beach."

    "Hampton Beach SP is a small beachside campground for self-contained RVs only; if you’re in a tent, you may want to look south to Salisbury SP just a few miles across the border into MA."

    10. Tuxbury Pond RV Campground

    14 Reviews
    South Hampton, NH
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (888) 707-1477

    "entrance (seems to happen frequently, I guess)."

    "We went just for one night with a tent because our 5 years old loooves camping, so we reserved this at the last minute, and when we get there, well, the tent sites are way too close to each other, thank"

Show More
Showing results 1-10 of 80 campgrounds

2025 Detourist Giveaway

Presented byToyota Trucks

Review Campgrounds. Win Prizes.

Enter to Win


Recent Reviews near Gloucester, MA

515 Reviews of 80 Gloucester Campgrounds


  • SkipperAllen C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 8, 2025

    Wompatuck State Park Campground

    Very nice stopover

    Good place to spend the night.It was quiet comfortable and plenty of room between campsites

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 6, 2025

    Beach Rose RV Park

    Nice park

    Owners were helpful on arrival, level concrete pad full hookups. Sites close together but quiet.

  • G
    Sep. 3, 2025

    Coastal Acres Campground

    Favorite campsite of all time

    Absolutely adore this campground. Much of what others have said in the reviews is true – the sites are small and there’s not a ton of privacy in many spots (although you certainly can find more private spots if you know which to book). But none of this is really matters given the location. Less than 10 minute walk to downtown Provincetown, and an extremely safe, enjoyable walk. You cannot beat the access to one of the best towns in the world. The campground also felt very safe and incredibly quiet.

  • Utshob A.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 2, 2025

    Bear Brook State Park Campground

    Convenient and fun

    The park was easy to get to, only about half an hour from Manchester. It has kayak rentals and a very well stocked camp store, that was close to the camp sites. Our campsite was only about a hundred feet away from the camp store but still felt private.

    Our campsite also had a fire pit and a picnic table which were great.

    The size of the sites varies quite a bit though as well as their isolation, some were out in the open.

    For cell service: ATT seems to have pretty decent coverage but not Verizon.

  • d
    Aug. 19, 2025

    Cape Ann Camp Site

    25 cents for a shower

    The aerial photos of this place are very deceiving. This camp ground is the foreground of the main house which, is situated on the top of the hill. The sites are all dirt. There is no concrete pads. There is no WIFI. There is no sewer hook up however, near the street there is a "dump station."  The camp ground is run down and unmaintained. Our site had a fire ring which, was filled with ash. Our first night we woke up to a trailer filled with smoke because, someone near by had a fire in 92 degree heat. Most campers are full time residents. There is no sight of them during the day light hours but, at night they are up and about on bikes and mingling with each other. 

    25 cents per 5 minute hot shower is offered in the public restroom. Some shady people immediate started to hover near the public restroom once we drove up the hill to use the public restrooms. For $70/nite for a view it's not worth it. I was glad to leave- very creepy.

  • R
    Aug. 15, 2025

    Sun Outdoors Wells Beach

    Zero wifi or cell signal

    Stayed back in 2023 with travel trailer and experienced almost zero wifi signal as well as verizon cell signal. Returned this past week and found no improvement whatsoever. This on back half of property. Manager stated they are awar and working on it. (For 2 years?). Could not plan anything, check weather unless you walked or drive up front. Light globes at various sites next to campers lit all night and were annoying so covered with bag. Some sites are just bad..huge pine tree at 428 caused camper to park his angled. Fire wood being sold is all pine & burns up immediately.

  • Cassie G.
    Aug. 12, 2025

    Winding River Campground

    Fun laid back place. This campground has a lot of potential. Some info on their website and Facebook isn’t accurate.

    I would like to share my experience this past weekend at Winding River in Exeter NH. My family of 3 Stayed at tent site 523 in the Oak area. We also had family at 553 and 554 and Cabin 2.

    About site 523: I clearly had one of the largest and most private tent sites. It was set back with a long driveway tucked between 522 and 524. It’s a very steep drop into the river making most sites a little nerve wracking with a little one. Online it said water available nearby. Most sites had a hookup but there wasn’t a one on my site. It looked like there may have been one to share on the road, but I didn’t end up needing to figure that out.

    Tent sites 522 and 524: Along with most of the tent sites these sites were very close to each other, much smaller and closer to the road. I wished my family members had gotten 552 and 553 as they blended together nicely if you are tenting in side by side spaces. The ground was very rocky making staking tents down difficult. They were right next to the bathroom which was convenient but loud. Ventilation in the bathroom was not good so the doors were propped open much of the time and loud hand dryers.

    Shower:

    • This is the smaller of the two bathrooms in the campground. There are 2 showers there. Each with a single insufficient curtain and no hooks on the wall or bench to place things down. Water was hot enough, pressure was ok if you set it to the high power massage-like setting.
    • The showers in other bathroom (near the town center area) had a door and two curtains. Some had hooks (some of which were broken). I almost tripped going in and out of these bathroom stalls because they are raised up but there is no marking on the ground to indicate that.

    Cabin 2: Ac worked well. There was a good sized bed downstairs, smaller beds in two lofts. I was surprised the couch didn’t pull out. Fridge and all dishes were nice and clean. All the cabins seem to have different back porch setups. This porch was smaller than C1. There was a propane grill that smelled rancid with sooo much caked on The burners. The location of the ceiling fan under the other lights in the ceiling gave them a flashing effect that really bothered me.

    Pros:

    • Lower price compared to other campgrounds (but I don’t feel like I got everything advertised on the website)
    • Two playgrounds, both were nice.
    • Water slide was fun
    • We arrived Thursday at the gate and were told how to get to our site, to set up and then come over to the office which was nice.

    Cons:

    • The river is very low and yucky so none of the boating or fishing advertised was possible. likely causing the massive amount of mosquitos.
    • The whole arcade building was was “out of order”
    • The laundry room had two washers (one was broken) and two dryers 2.50 each per load. Not sufficient for a campground this size (especially when people leave their clothes in the machine for 30 mins after they’re done!)
    • Camp store was poorly stocked (multiple empty coolers).
    • Ice $3 per SMALL bag.
    • Wood $10 per bundle and rules say you can’t bring from off-site. I saw people with huge metal bins of wood but was never offered that option when I payed for multiple bundles.
    • Camp store closes at 3 on Sunday and doesn’t open until 11 am during the week (which is also checkout). This made it a little confusing when I wanted to return the golf cart. They have a small area with icecream that is scooped and maybe a kitchen. I never saw it open but I think the sign said open morning to 12 and then again in the evening.
    • The pool was green and cloudy on day 3. I called the office and was told they had just shocked it and that was a result of the copper. I am not informed enough on pool safety so I opted out of swimming on the hottest day of our stay. My son was bummed.
    • Planned activities were only scheduled for Friday and Saturday, when online mentions “daily”. During adult kareoke there were plenty of kids and really poor wifi (wasting so much time between songs).

    And just to add:

    • Staff I encountered was friendly enough, but It would be nice if they wore shirts to identify themselves.
    • Golf cart was great, but cost more than the site per night.
    • Pedal go-carts were available for rent (I didn’t ask a price).
  • Rae Y.
    Aug. 11, 2025

    Saddleback Campground

    Uncomfortable feeling for my girls

    I made everyone stay in the trailer every night , we just didn’t feel comfortable with our girls being out after dark. There was def a lot of questionable rif raf that were definitely on something and it was obvious that there were a few girls there that were working.   Always men working on vehicles.  Family will not go back. Don’t want my daughter around that


Guide to Gloucester

Camping near Gloucester, Massachusetts provides access to both coastal shorelines and wooded inland settings throughout Essex County. Most campgrounds in the region maintain operating seasons from May through mid-October due to New England's cold winters. Cape Ann Camp Site features wooded sites with electricity and water hookups just 2 miles from Gloucester's beaches and fishing areas.

What to do

Beach access and fishing: Cape Ann Camp Site sits close to several beaches where campers can swim, fish, and explore. "Cape Anne is beautiful. Perfect location with access to Rockport - a beautiful place to visit, shop, eat & a great little trail with great views. Beach down the street was big, beautiful and low tide was unexpected as you could walk for ever," notes Ron C.

Urban exploration: Winter Island Park campground provides an ideal base for visiting Salem, less than 2 miles from the ferry terminal. "We spent two nights at this campground- the closest camping to Boston. The campground is right on the ocean with incredible harbor views. It was an easy bike ride to the Salem Ferry to get access into Boston for the day," reports Rae M.

Hiking and biking trails: Lorraine Park Campground at Harold Parker State Forest offers extensive trail networks through 3,000 acres of conservation land. "Large sites. Clean bathroom. There are lots of trails and ponds," explains Kelly F. The trails range from beginner-friendly loops to more challenging terrain suitable for mountain biking.

What campers like

Secluded wooded campsites: Cape Ann Camp Site provides natural settings with substantial privacy between sites. "Very nice folks, great sites with A LOT of space between them. Spectacular views and wild turkeys, deer, etc.," according to John S. The wooded terrain helps create natural separation between campsites.

Oceanfront camping: Salisbury Beach State Reservation offers direct beach access with full hookup sites for $47/night. "Clean facilities, super quick access to the beach, friendly staff, sites are pretty close together with little separation between each other. RV & tent sites available. Our family loves both the ocean & camping so it is a win-win!" says Sara D.

Wildlife viewing: Sites throughout the region provide opportunities to observe native New England wildlife. "Walking around we saw wild turkeys, bunnies, and a hummingbird," reports a visitor to Wakeda Campground. Bird watchers should bring binoculars, especially during spring migration from April through June.

What you should know

Shower facilities vary: Some campgrounds charge for showers while others include them. At Winter Island Park, "The park has a full time bathroom attendant from 8 AM to 8 PM, so restrooms and showers were well kept," notes Cynthia K. At other locations, quarters may be required for hot water.

Mosquito preparation: Bug spray is essential, especially in areas near marshland. One camper at The Pines Camping Area reported: "The con of this camp ground was the misquote, we went through 3 deep woods cans in just the first night. They were crazy and kids were eaten alive."

Fire regulations: Many campgrounds prohibit ground fires or limit fire sources. "There are no ground fires allowed here, but you can rent a portable fire pit from the camp store for $10," explains a Winter Island Park visitor. Always check specific fire rules when reserving sites.

Tips for camping with families

Playground access: Wompatuck State Park Campground includes recreation areas designed for children. "We had a lot of fun camping at Wompatuck. Definitely bring bikes to do some exploring. We found a large pond and an underground bunker to venture into," suggests Jess G.

Site selection matters: Request sites away from bathhouses if you have early-sleeping children. "There was a gentleman that started setting up for a comedy show that they would be doing that night. A staff member came to our site and let us know that there is an 18+ comedy show but there was a children's movie being played on a big screen on the other side of the campground," reports a visitor to Tuxbury Pond RV Campground.

Wildlife education: Many campgrounds feature ranger programs about local wildlife. "A ranger ran a program to teach about the area fauna which was pretty interesting for kids and adults alike," notes one visitor to Harold Parker State Forest.

Tips from RVers

Seaside hookups available: Beach Rose RV Park offers full-service sites approximately 1 mile from Salisbury Beach. "Great campground, though spaces are small, place is clean, nice pool and staff is very friendly, helpful and responsive! It's only about a mile from the beach. We rode bikes to Salisbury Beach and my young adult son rode his longboard to the beach," shares Ray C.

Site dimensions matter: Some campgrounds have limited space for larger rigs. "Many of the sites are short but since you can park on the grass that turns out not to be a problem," explains a visitor to Salisbury Beach State Reservation. RVs over 35 feet should call ahead to confirm site suitability.

Early booking essential: Most campgrounds within 30 minutes of Gloucester require reservations months in advance, especially for weekend stays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Sites at Hampton Beach State Park Campground often book up a full year ahead, with one visitor noting it "is extremely popular" with its oceanfront location.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the best campgrounds near Gloucester, MA?

Several excellent campgrounds are located near Gloucester, MA. Cape Ann Camp Site offers clean, quiet accommodations with beautiful tent sites and RV options just minutes from Gloucester and Rockport. The campground features clean bathrooms with pay showers, and the owners are known for being helpful with reservations. Another option is Winter Island Park, which provides basic campsites with electric hookups available for RVs. Most RV sites are in the main parking lot or a nearby field, while tent sites are generally grassy. These campgrounds serve as great base camps for exploring Gloucester's scenic coastal areas, historic sites, and fresh seafood restaurants.

Is there beach camping available at Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester?

There is no official beach camping available directly at Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester. The beach is a day-use area that closes in the evening and doesn't permit overnight camping. For beach camping near Gloucester, consider Salisbury Beach State Reservation, which offers beachfront camping about 30 minutes north of Gloucester. The reservation features water and electrical hookups, though sites are close together with minimal privacy. For a private beach camping option, Beach Rose RV Park in Salisbury provides a clean, family-owned facility near the beach with a swimming pool and friendly staff.

Can you RV camp in Gloucester, Massachusetts?

Yes, RV camping is available near Gloucester, Massachusetts. Hanscom AFB FamCamp offers RV sites with hookups for military families and active duty personnel, located within reasonable driving distance to Gloucester. The wooded setting provides a pleasant atmosphere for RVers. Another option for RV enthusiasts is Lorraine Park Campground at Harold Parker State Forest, less than 25 miles north of Boston and within easy driving distance to Gloucester. The campground provides a convenient base for exploring the Massachusetts coast while offering various on-site activities. Most RV parks in the area require reservations, especially during peak summer months.

What camping options are available in Cape Ann near Gloucester?

Cape Ann offers several camping options near Gloucester. The Pines Camping Area provides drive-in access with reservable sites, water, toilets, and accommodations for big rigs near the Salisbury area of Cape Ann. For those seeking a coastal camping experience, Coastal Acres Campground offers sites within the Cape Ann region. The area around Cape Ann typically features campgrounds with basic amenities, though facilities vary by location. Most campgrounds in this scenic coastal region provide convenient access to beaches, hiking trails, and charming New England towns. Due to Cape Ann's popularity, especially during summer months, advance reservations are highly recommended.