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Best Tent Camping near Holliston, MA

638 Reviews

Several tent camping areas surround Holliston, Massachusetts, ranging from established campgrounds to more rustic options. Boston Harbor Islands State Park Campground offers tent sites on multiple islands accessible by ferry from either Long Wharf in Boston or Hingham. Camp Nihan Education Center provides tent camping with access to picnic tables, toilets, and trash disposal in a wooded setting. Cape Ann Camp Site in Gloucester offers tent-specific sites with level ground in wooded surroundings approximately 60 miles northeast of Holliston.

Most tent sites require advance reservations, particularly during the peak season from June through September. Boston Harbor Islands tent sites are primitive with limited amenities, requiring campers to pack in their own drinking water. Camp Nihan features recently renovated bathroom and shower facilities convenient for families with small children. Cape Ann provides tent sites with more privacy than their RV areas, featuring natural wooded surroundings with boulders and fire pits. Sites typically include picnic tables, and some offer fire rings or grills, though restrictions may apply during dry periods. Many locations have composting or vault toilets rather than full facilities.

Tent campers at Boston Harbor Islands experience unique island camping with views of the Boston skyline and opportunities to explore historic forts. The islands require careful planning as one camper noted, "Getting to the island was a bit of a hassle...We ended up making a fire pit on the beach and a flat rock 'grill' to make our burgers." Sites at Federated Womens Club State Forest provide a more secluded backcountry experience with walk-in access and rustic amenities. Cape Ann Camp Site offers tent campers wooded privacy within walking distance of beaches. A visitor observed, "We had a nice perfectly level site in a beautiful wooded area." Seasonal availability varies by location, with most tent-only campgrounds operating from May through October, though some close earlier depending on weather conditions.

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Best Tent Sites Near Holliston, Massachusetts (12)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Holliston, MA

24 Photos of 12 Holliston Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Holliston, MA

638 Reviews of 12 Holliston Campgrounds

  • Jean C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 2, 2021

    Fearing Pond Campground — Myles Standish State Forest

    Wooded sites near a pond

    There are 2 Fearing Pond loops at Myles Standish State Forest, the H & I loops. The H loop entrance is closer to the Charge Pond loops and is higher above pond. This loop is better suited to the larger trailers/tents with more space to drive around a loop , but some spots have slopes. The I loop's best feature is a small beach that is easily accessible from all sites. They've done a lot of site restoration and the fact that it didn't open in 2020 helped. In spite of that, many of the sites have awkward approaches and there is a large parking lot closer to the bathroom. There are no hookups, but there is a dump station available. Water is available, but no electric hookups. Fire rings and picnic tables provided.

    The forest has miles of biking trails, ponds for swimming, fishing, and boating, and even cranberry bogs to explore (though harvest is late in the camping season and this section is not open at that time).

    Cell phone coverage is poor to absent in the forest, so download maps for offline use prior to your arrival.

    Plymouth is nearby for a any forgotten provisions and for sightseeing. Erickson's ice cream cafe is near the entrance if you need a treat!

  • K
    Aug. 20, 2022

    Fort Getty Campground

    No shade no rule enforcement. Great place for a big group to party if that’s what you want.

    Loud campers in large groups.

    Rules regarding quiet hours, no generators, number of tents per site and late arrival and setups were not enforced.

    People next to us crammed 8 tents on 3 sites. I counted a group of at least 20.

    There is no privacy, people were constantly walking through our site and stepping over our tent guy lines.

    People partied until 2:00am and woke up at 5:30am shining headlights and idling cars.

    Bathrooms were dirty, sites boundaries not marked and crammed together. No shade.

    Beautiful location, rangers were nice.

    RV folks were surly, seemed like a lot of them stay there for the entire season. One said hi, the rest stared when we drove by.

    We booked and paid for two nights and left first thing after just one night.

  • Migdalia G.
    May. 29, 2019

    Lorraine Park Campground — Harold Parker State Forest

    Nice Wooded Campground in Awesome Area

    We stayed at Harold Parker State Forest Campground during Memorial Day Weekend. Reservation through Reserve America was a breeze. Check in till 9:00 pm was convenient. Checkout by 11:00 am but we paid for an additional night to be able to leave at night the day we checked out. Totally worth it!

    Nice large campsites. The sites’ privacy is very diverse. 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. All have a fire pit/box, charcoal bbq and a picnic table. Most of them are drive in. 

    Quiet hours from 10 am to 7 am. No alcohol allowed (although I didn’t see an actual enforcement of this rule and guess it’ll happen only if people act out). Rangers are constantly patrolling. Felt pretty safe at night. You can’t bring wood. Bundles are $5 each and it burns really well. 

    Lots of biking/hiking/walking trails, a nice small pond/beach, boat access, a few basketball courts, a volleyball court and a common huge fire pit added to the fun. A ranger ran a program to teach about the area fauna which was pretty interesting for kids and adults alike. 

    Bathrooms were fairly clean although small and showers were free! Some sites were right in front of a lovely pond and there were many group sites available as well. 

    The location is pretty good. Salem, Andover, Boston Are accesible while staying here. Close proximity to Richardson Ice Cream which you CANT miss if you decide to stay.  They have cheap but amazing ice cream, mini golf and battling cages which was entertaining for my whole crew. 

    It rained a lot during one night of our stay and the site (301) did not flooded at all. All sites seemed in pretty good shape the morning after as well. 

    Beautiful and will recommend to families with small kids, groups and couples too.

  • 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.

  • Sable W.
    May. 16, 2018

    Lorraine Park Campground — Harold Parker State Forest

    Spacious, Quiet, Clean and Conveniently Located

    Five friends and I decided to compete in Questival, which came to Boston for May 11-12, 2018. There aren't many campgrounds open in Massachusetts this early in the season, but Harold Parker State Forest was! I snagged a group campsite since we'd have four tents. We had to set up after dark, so we wound up congregating in one corner of the group site. When we woke up we could see just how HUGE the group site was! We had 4 two-person tents; you could easily fit 3x that number of tents. PLENTY of flat ground to set up on, and we were far enough back from the road that we never heard or saw other campers arriving, even though we know most other Questival competitors stayed at this campground. It was about a 5 minute walk to the bathrooms and showers, and potable water was available right on the site. Even though it was early in the season and not very leafy, we could only occasionally see our neighbors' headlamps. There were 4 or 5 fire pits, 5 large picnic tables, and 3 driveways that could fit two cars each. Great value for the cost! We were pleased with the privacy, space, cleanliness, and amenities.

  • Jean C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 2, 2021

    Barretts Pond Campground — Myles Standish State Forest

    Small campground near a small pond at Myles Standish

    This campsite loop at Myles Standish State Forest is closest to the headquarters and borders a small pond with beach. In addition to tent/RV sites, there are 3 yurts available with bunks. Sites that appear to be near the pond are pond view rather than pondside. Approaches to Yurt JC and J5, J 26, J27 are sloped. J14 is a little awkward. J33 is probably among the largest and nicest with a pond view. The sites aren't as large as those in the Charge Pond loops, but it's a smaller campground.

    The loop has flush toilets and showers. Water is available, but no electric hookups. Fire rings and picnic tables provided. Cell phone coverage throughout the forest is poor to absent; download maps for offline use if you want to be sure to know where you are or find directions. There are miles of bike trails and ponds for fishing, swimming, and boating. There's a larger beach and picnic area at College Pond.

  • D
    Jun. 7, 2019

    Green Falls Campground

    Small but cozy

    Great off the beaten path place to camp. Sites are large but close together. Each contain a rock built fire ring. There are toilets but no showers. Good parking for camper but limited for guests. Reservations are required in advance. Stones throw to beach/pond area

  • D
    Jul. 6, 2022

    Otter River State Forest

    Some sites are hit or miss with privacy

    My site (number 1) was good for not being on top of my neighbor but it was next to the tanger station. Some sites are pretty out in the open, close to the campsite road so they feel less like the woods. I would say the best site that feels most like you are in the woods and have the most space is 28. I would book there. The pond is kind of deceiving. There are 2 roped off spots where you can swim and those spots are small and not deep.  You cannot have floats. So its better for a quick dip than a hang out. Bathrooms are fine. Could use one more as its a hike in the morning when you really have to go(!) depending on your site. One thing with my site (1), it was listed as a shaded site but it absolutely was not a shade site. During mid day there is no shade at all. In the morning, as the sun rose (when I took the pics) there was some shade but thats because the sun was still rising. It was big enough to fit a 10 and 12 person tent with a canopy. Not all sites are that big but this one worked. Verizon service was limited to none depending on location, ATT was good

  • Jean C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 1, 2020

    Wolf Den Campground — Mashamoquet Brook State Park

    Basic campground with hiking trails in the area.

    This small state park campground offers basic campsites with running water and showers, open Memorial Day to Columbus Day.  This is NOT Wolf's Den Family Campground in E. Haddam, CT. Also, be aware there are 2 campgrounds at this State Park; the other one, Mashamoquet Brook, does not offer running water/showers, so if you want these amenities, be sure to select a campsite 1-35.

    There's a small playground in the middle of the loop, a number of hiking trails throughout the park along with a few geocaches (download details for offline use a phone connection is spotty), a swimming pond, and a small brook with an old mill and blacksmith shop that is sometimes open on weekends for tours. It's a nice place to explore and have a picnic. In 2020 with Covid, there were restrictions on visitors to the campground, reservations required, and swimming was not allowed. 

    The parking pads are paved and a few have overhanging branches, but the trees provide  separation and some shade on largely open sites that tend to open up toward the back with open areas for pitching tents. Sites have fire rings with grills and picnic tables. Site 20 is the only one with electric. The ones toward the back of the loop back up toward the woods and give you some more privacy. 

    They don't allow hammocks in the trees or pets. For some reason, silly string also makes the list of prohibitions.

Guide to Holliston

Tent camping near Holliston, Massachusetts offers a variety of scenic spots where nature lovers can unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. With options ranging from rustic sites to more developed campgrounds, there's something for every tent camper.

Tent campers like these nearby activities

Tent campers should check out Camp Nihan Education Center

Tips for tent camping near Holliston

  • Make reservations well in advance, especially for popular spots like Boston Harbor Islands State Park Campground, as sites fill quickly during peak season.
  • Pack light and bring your own water and cooking supplies when visiting rustic sites like Buck Hill Campground, where amenities are limited.
  • Be prepared for varying conditions and check campground amenities, such as restrooms and showers, at places like Willard Brook State Forest to ensure a comfortable stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Holliston, MA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Holliston, MA is Boston Harbor Islands State Park Campground with a 4-star rating from 8 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Holliston, MA?

TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Holliston, MA, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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