Looking for the best options for tent camping near Gloucester? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Gloucester, including sites, reviews, and tips. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Gloucester, Massachusetts's most popular destinations.
The campground, also known as Lorraine Campground, has 91 campsites that are spread out sufficiently to provide a real "forest" camping experience. Each campsite is equipped with a picnic table, fire ring and a pedestal grill. A water spigot is located on each campsite and a dumping station is available. We are pleased to inform you that we now have eleven campsites with 20/30/50 AMP hookups! The comfort stations have showers and flush toilets. Comfort station 3 and 4 are accessible.
$17 - $54 / night
$36 - $44 / night
$35 - $50 / night
Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park welcomes campers to one of many campsites located on Peddocks Island.
Enjoy a night under the stars at Boston Harbor’s second largest island, featuring wooded campsites, miles of trails, and scenic beaches. Campers can reserve a tent site or one of many newly installed yurts featuring bunk beds and electricity.
Peddocks Island can be accessed by park ferry from Hingham or by private boat.
Experience the ultimate urban escape with an overnight camping stay on the Boston Harbor Islands!
Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park welcomes campers to one of many campsites located on Peddocks Island.
2023 camping reservations open on Wednesday, April 19!
Enjoy a night under the stars at Boston Harbor’s second largest island, featuring wooded campsites, miles of trails, and scenic beaches. Campers can reserve a tent site or one of many newly installed yurts featuring bunk beds and electricity.
Peddocks Island can be accessed by park ferry from Hingham or by private boat. Island Campgrounds
Peddocks Island tent campsites can accommodate up to 4 adults or 2 adults and their dependent children. Group sites are also available and can accommodate up to 30 people.
Yurt campgrounds are also available on Peddocks Island. Yurts accommodate up to 6 people and feature bunk beds and electricity.
All campsites feature composting toilets and picnic tables. Running water and flush toilets are available at the Visitor Center near the ferry dock. Grills and shade shelters are available within close walking distance of most sites.
Resident staff live on the Island during the visiting season and provide Island supervision, emergency communication, park and campground management
$8 - $70 / night
Camp Nihan is the perfect place for your next group camping experience. There's plenty of opportunities to learn about the local habitat. Explore a variety of nature and wildlife across 65 acres.
Scout
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. Clean Bathrooms and pay showers (5 cents). The owners are very helpful. Call and they will help you find a spot if you have questions.
Traveler
we have tent camped here 4 Times. its so clean and beautiful
Traveler
I haven’t been tent camping in years but this past weekend I stayed while attending the Levitate festival. I was very comfortable, the bathhouses were clean. Can’t wait to go back!
ScoutWe had a great time camping and going to the beach. The camp ground is full of beautiful boulders and fire pits. We were tent camping and were very happy with our site.
Scout
So my fiance and I we had called and asked if they had tent sites they put us at 9T ( which to any other campground T with the number means tent) but the owner comes up this morning being a complete ass saying that it wasn’t a tent site & that we requested to move sites and now all of a sudden it was a problem so paid 60?which was supposed to be paid for two nights & basically told that we had to pack up and leave with no refund & a very sour taste in my mouth from that campground. I will never return
Traveler
Facilities are very clean. The staff are great. We book a site every year. The tent sites are large and well maintained.
TravelerLocation works well. Very narrow road coming in after 128. More for smaller RVs and tent camping. Picnic tables could be replaced. Grass was cut while we stayed which is a good thing as it was quite long. We might stay again.
Scout
Nice RV campground with alot of seasonal residents. Plenty of tent sites. On site general store with grill. Fishing and swimming on property along with a club house.
Scout
Overall, a well maintained campground with clean bathrooms and clean clear pond to swim in. Tent sites were good sized and not right on top of other people.
Scout
Great seasonal RV park with enough tent sites to satisfy demand. Steps from Short Sands Beach and within ear-shot of the animals in York’s Wild Kingdom. Truly a unique experience.
Ranger
My daughter and I were traveling from Buffalo NY to Maine and I got too tired to drive. we tent camp. the owners were very nice and allowed us to tent, and set up at night, and it was a very nice stay, but it’s definitely not very private and setup for campers. my daughter loved the pool.
Scout
They charge 50 dollars for a tent site with no electric, the spots are right next to eachother and touch the bath house. There’s more rules than a state park.its easy to get in and out of.
Ranger
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!
Scout
I’ve stayed here many times both in tent sites and RV sites. Not a lot of amenities, you stay here for the seashore and town. But clean showers and bathrooms, decent people. Weekend warriors can be loud but hopefully you are there to enjoy yourself too.
TravelerThis is a great place for military members. Full hook ups, houses to rent, tent sites, and lots to do. Once the season closes very quiet, lots of stores in the area close. The base it self is very clean and quiet with beach access during low tide.
GuideNeed to make reservations before 2pm!! This campground is nice and calm with a lot of space and bathrooms. There are water hookups at tent sites. Didn’t have any issues, just it is a little expensive for someone from out of state. We paid $54 because we are from Ohio
Traveler
I was so impressed by how well the grounds were kept and how clean the bathrooms were. The tent sites were large which was great as we had two tents at ours. The park is very dog friendly for camping as well as hiking. The trails were very well marked and really conveniently close by to the campsites.
Will definitely be returning!
Ranger
Quick review on Hidden Valley RV Park/Campground —
Owner, I believe her name was Donna, was wonderful, welcoming & very accomodating! Pros: friendly staff, wknd campground activities to do if you’re looking for some socializing/mingling, a little pond for fishing, a pool, a bigger pond that had a little beach, quiet at quiet time (minus saturday night karaoke running a little late but it wasn’t like annoyingly loud), large campground, if you golf there’s a golf course, they have a restaurant & a nice little camp store, bathrooms were decent & free hot showers. Little swimming beach located on the grounds.
Cons: quite a bit of trash throughout the campground on the sides of sites, picnic tables were ready to fall apart, many of the tent sites had little to no separation without trees in between the sites (note-we asked for the most secluded tent site & was given a site that had a little separation), only one main bathhouse with porta potties spread out throughout campground.
Overall, a nice little spot to go camping.
ScoutI've used it twice just as a stopover between the coast and a vacation in VT, both times coming in dusk and leaving after dawn, using a tent site to van camp. Chosen because I travel with dogs. Didn't check out facilities other than bathrooms (clean and convenient). LIke it very much for the kind of use I need.
Traveler
We took our family of 5, and my mom for a weekend getaway! It was perfect. So much to do. Women’s room by the tent sites had a couple problems, like a shower stall out of order, but not a big deal. Very quiet at night, which is helpful in such a family environment. We will definitely be back again!
TravelerI would probably nitpick stay at this park again. The site we had paid for was not given to us. The shower in the bathroom did not provide hot/warm water until the end of my shower, and then the water would not turn off. Also, the lady camping beside us was tent camping, and she literally smoked weed the whole time she was there. We have children, and while she was there, you couldn’t do anything outside without smelling it. Overall, not the best campground.
Scout
I stayed one night here to experience Salem during Halloween at a tent site. Positives are access to Salem, Uber and Lyft are available though scarcer as the night gets later (10:30 pm), it is also on the trolley line if you need transportation during their business hours, great view for sunrise. Negatives are there is no privacy at the sites, everything is very open, fires must be off the ground, and the bathrooms are old and may not be stocked.
Scout
This campground is beautiful, the tent sites are set up right on the water. Other than loosing power twice due to mother nature its been a pretty good stay. They have a special beach for your dog if you're a puppy owner like me this is one of the only campgrounds that is very pet friendly. They also have free DVD rentals for those rainy days and some games up by the office if you have kids its also a wonderful campground.
RangerNot far from Boston, making this a nice escape but also a pretty crowded day use park and campground. Excellent hiking, beach, wildlife-filled wetlands, girding, geology, forests, and water to enjoy. Pretty serious trail up and around some mountains, to a fire tower, ponds. There are at least three campground areas, one of which is on an island and has tent sites along the water. If possible, reserve those to ensure the best spots (the sunrise!), but all of the campground sites are nice.
ScoutThe sites are well spaced with very few amenities. All sites have non-potable water spigots. The sites are wooded and relatively level. There are multiple restrooms with showers, although we didn't use them. There are some RV sites with hookups but not many.
We stayed for 4 days in a large site that had about 5 hours worth of good solar access using portable panels so we could park in the shade. Not many sites have an open canopy for solar. There are plenty of good tent sites!
Traveler
The campground was very busy with families events activities, etc. If you prefer a noisy fun experience and a more social experience with your very close neighbors, this is the pot for you. Our preferred style of camping requires more space and less noise. The pool bathrooms were gross, but the other facilities area near the tent sites was very nice and clean.
The food was great and the staff is friendly. Overall we had a great time, but its unlikely we’ll return mostly due to the noise level.
Legend
First of all, the location is a little quirky and I think I only arrived once without a wrong turn! Watch the GPS carefully. That said, it’s very close to Hampton Beach and you can easily drive or bike over. The campground is parallel to US1, so there is some road traffic noise. Some of the tent sites overlook the marsh. The tent sites are definitely tighter than trailer sites. Some sites back up to each other and it takes a moment to understand where one ends and the next begins.
I was here early in the season and placed in a seasonal site with water/electric. Site was level. Neighbors were friendly. The bathroom was a short walk away and spotless. I did notice that in the tent areas, the main bathrooms are supplemented with portable toilets. Sites are mostly wooded, which will offer nice relief from the heat. It's a nice base for exploring the area.
There’s a gated entry and turtle-speed limit that they take seriously. The pool was not yet open. There’s a small store onsite for ice and essentials. All the big box stores and a number of restaurants are nearby. For a change of pace from seafood, I picked up Shane's Texas Pit BBQ and brought it back to my site.
You may request a reservation online, but you have to confirm and pay for it via the phone. You’ll need to arrive before 9pm to check in. Bring $10 for a cash deposit on the gate card. Only 1 vehicle and 1 camping unit (tent or trailer) allowed on a site.
Downside: They charge for showers, the amount and duration is unclear and the duration varies depending on which shower you choose! Given the rates they charge, this seems petty.
Tent camping near Gloucester, Massachusetts offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the coastal charm of the area. With several well-reviewed campgrounds nearby, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Gloucester, MA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Gloucester, MA is Lorraine Park Campground — Harold Parker State Forest with a 4.5-star rating from 31 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Gloucester, MA?
TheDyrt.com has all 7 tent camping locations near Gloucester, MA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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