Best Tent Camping near Randolph, MA

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!

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 stayed here for a season and loved it! The staff from the front desk to the front gate are incredibly friendly and welcoming!

Pros-

Front office is open late (9pm)

Offers wood, ice, fire starters, hoses and adapter cap for gray water drain.

Country Store

Ice Cream

Amazing views of the canal.

Bike path along the canal, easy access.

Lots of playgrounds for different ages

Bounce pad (in-ground)

Pool

Stair access to canal bike path.

Dump station

Inexpensive to have visitors\

Located near so much! Walmart, Market Basket, Target all within 15min.  

Cons-

No on site drainage for black water (grey takes an adapter). You will need a poop tote.

Lots of tight spaces

Anyone can pay to access canal, so they can access any campsite even without staying there. 

Highway noise.

BRIDGE TRAFFIC- if you know you know.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This is a really cool option for those interested in visiting Cape Cod and also backpacking. The park has 5 dispersed sites located 3-4 miles from the trailhead with picnic tables and an outhouse. The hike in to the sites can be particularly difficult because it requires trekking through sand without any sun coverage and with all of your gear. It’s also a bit of a gamble because the sites are not reservable ahead of time. In order to secure a spot, you must show up at the park headquarters where sites are handed out on a first come first served basis. A nice amenity is that the park staff will send someone to the sites to deliver 5 gallons of water for free as well as firewood for a small fee so you don’t have to carry those resources. The sites are tucked away from the beach a bit into the brush which provides a nice relief from the wind. Fires are permitted at the beach and I was lucky to witness a really beautiful beach sunset. I did not encounter too many bugs during my time of visit but I’ve been warned that it can get quite buggy in mid to late summer. Overall, this is a 5 star primitive spot for me because it’s secluded, requires a bit of leg work and has a great view.

Stayed here with my partner for her birthday while we were up in the Plum Island/Rockport area. Beautiful ocean access and great facilities. We stayed in a site right next to a large bathhouse with showers, plentiful stalls, and water bottle fill-up and rinse off station. We were situated next to a kind family who lent us fire starter and offered us some of their snacks they were making when we arrived, while we were setting up we did lose some egg rolls to a hungry seagull but I think he needed them more than we did. Not very private and sites are packed close together, but that is what I expected based off the map! I would absolutely return again, this time to check out the beach and surrounding area!