Best Tent Camping near Norwell, MA

Scusset Beach offers an extended camping season, although the extended season is restricted to self-contained units as the restrooms are turned off.  Also, there are only 5 designated tent sites during the peak season, so if you want to tent camp here, you'd best make a reservation well in advance.. You cannot reserve an RV site for a just a tent, though if you have a trailer, you may also have a tent on the site. The 5 tent sites have their own fire pits, but the RV sites must use a community fire pit, though in mid-November, just before the campground closed for the season, RVers used the firepit at a tent site that provided some additional protection from the wind.

The RV sites have paved parking pads and picnic tables, but the area to the side of the parking pads sometimes slopes away, so it's less usable for chairs, etc.  In the 2020 camping season, every other campsite was closed (thus the picnic tables across the entrance of the parking pad). Some of the sites, 32 34, 36, are along the back of the campground closer to the trees/scrub, and so have some degree of privacy and protection as compared to the others in the wide open park.

The campground is on the north shore of the Cape Code canal and provides access to a sandy beach, a jetty, and the Cape Cod Canal Trail for biking and walking. There's a nice playground for youth. You can fish from the shore or jetty, No need to cross the bridge to the Cape. Plymouth is also nearby to explore.

we have tent camped here 4 Times. its so clean and beautiful

The best!! Our site was perfect for tent camping and pets!

Restrooms and showers are close and clean. Loved the tent site.

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!

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.

Great tent sites well wooded and spaced far apart. Book in advance in August. Pets welcome a big bonus. Right next to Cape Cod National Seashore.

Beautiful grounds with all the amenities you’ll need. Un level grounds so specify what you need. Very tight tent sites and very very busy so not very private.

Scusset Beach Reservation overlooks Cape Cod Bay and accommodates a multitude of RV sites. The campgrounds aren’t the most attractive, but the pull here, of course, is the beach- which is actually pretty amazing.

Not nearly as crowded as a majority of the nearby Cape beaches and rather quiet- especially shocking for the weekend just before the July 4th holiday- Scusset Beach has all the amenities you could really want for a low-key beach outing. The beach is clean, with beautiful, white, rock-free sand. There’s a small snack bar with basic food options, bathroom and locker room facilities, picnic tables and plenty of parking. Lifeguards begin their work around 10am and are pretty serious about announcing all the rules.

In the grounds, you’ll find rows and rows of RV sites. Not much in terms of privacy- basically a glorified parking lot with the occasional tree and nearby nature center. The Park, however, also has 5 tent sites towards the back that are really your best bet if you want anything close to a true camping experience. Tent sites 1, 4 and 5 are the most attractive options, offering shade and a fair amount of privacy. Each is set up with a grill, fire pit and picnic table and are pretty decently sized.

Additionally, there are several trails around the Reservation. A nice bike path along the waterway is literally feet away from the tent sites; and there also seemed to be smaller paths dispersed throughout.

If you’re a fan of the Cape and ocean, definitely give Scusset Beach a try- especially one of the tent sites. You can literally walk to the shore and stores and restaurants are a quick car ride down the street.

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!

Need 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

This campground is primarily RVs, although we still had a nice time at our tent site. The beach is only a few hundred feet away, and the campground has basic facilities. The beach is small and quiet, and has some great shells and rocks. All in all, a quiet campground with the fundamentals.

Great campground on the outer cape, CC Rail trail goes right behind it so you can hop on your bike and ride. Showers and bathrooms were clean and the tent sites were good size. Office staff was very friendly and they have a store at the beginning of the camp ground so you can get whatever you need.

Will be going back!

I 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.

This is a cute little campground that’s easy to access. It’s 20 minutes from downtown Newport and about 45 minutes to downtown Providence.

It’s well shaded, has a nice playground, bathhouse, and a laundry room. My biggest complaint is the dryers are terrible. I had to dry my clothes 3 times ( that’s 3 hours). Nobody has time for that. Also if you’re tent camping, the bathrooms are very inconvenient.

Finally, our site was not angled and that made it tougher to get in to it.

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.