Best Tent Camping near Vineyard Haven, 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

$18/night if you live here, but $36 if from out of state. Large tent campground with lots of spaces, so everyone is in pretty close together. My main concern is there are showers in the bathrooms you can pay for, but ones outside that are free, but cold water and no curtain, so you literally have no privacy.

Great stay at the only campground on Martha’s Vineyard! Immaculate tent sites as well as bath houses, very clean shower and toilet facilities. Camp store is well stocked, including fire wood, and staying here you are close to all of the quaint MV towns…..whether by car, bike rental, or the island bus line that goes by the camp entrance. The ferry to Nantucket is only a few minutes away too for a day excursion! Very personable staff…..be sure to make at least a few minutes each day to pet the campground dogs!!

Scusset is a very popular beach and campground in the summer. It's located close to the Sagamore Bridge on the mainland side. Traffic can be messy in the summer, especially on weekend days!

The campground itself is a haven for RVs. There are 5 "wooded" tent sites, where campers are allowed to have tents as well as a fire on the site. All other sites are located in a wide open area and are best suited for motor homes and trailers. Note, only the tent sites are allowed to have fires, all other sites you must do your cooking on a stove, and no fires are allowed. There is a communal fireplace near the entrance of the campground where everyone gathers at dusk to share a nice big fire.

Most sites have a paved driveway for your camper and space for a small car, and there is an overflow parking lot if needed. Flush toilets, sinks and showers are available in the main bathroom building and are cleaned on a regular basis. During beach season there is another restroom down by the beach with outdoor showers to get off all the sand! Sometimes the refreshments stand is open.

The beach is big, open and beautiful with lots of shells to hunt and marine life to check out. At the edge of the beach is the beginning of the Cape Cod Canal, and its walking/bike path. Along the canal are inlets to let you back into the campground.

In the morning you'll see lots of folks fishing, watch for old line/hooks.

Because the camp has so few trees, the winds can be gnarly. On the flip side, the lack of trees gives you a great spot to stargaze, especially if you focus your view out over the ocean, away from the lights of the mainland.

This was our first trip in our new camper. I love was extremely happy with this park. We stayed on the A loop with w/e hookup. Our site 8 was spacious with a tent site, 7, perfect for camping in a small group. Our family stayed on site 9 that was very private and we loved how woodsy it was there! The bath houses were clean and a short walk from our site. The only reason I did not give 5 stars was for the lack of sewer hookup, but considering we only stayed for the weekend it was perfectly fine without it.

When my boyfriend and I decided to camp on the cape, he had mentioned Nickersons but said he hasn’t been there since he was little. I decided to check it out online and found you were able to make an online reservation. This seemed appealing and I felt was the easiest way to go about it. Unfortunately it wasn’t the easiest process as the website itself that they use (reserveamerica) was very hard to navigate and super confusing. After awhile of trying to figure it out, I finally was able to reserve a site and pay right online. We even got the Massachusetts resident discount with his home address. When we arrived, it was a very easy check in. They gave us directions to our site and even to the store to buy fire wood. The tent sites were a little close together but luckily our neighbors were quiet and easy going. The bathrooms were right behind out site which was really nice. We only stayed one night but it was very enjoyable at Nickersons and we will most definitely be back!

Pay $300-$500/night for a hotel or this campground for $35/night? I’ll take the campground any day. Several years now I’ve packed a suitcase w a tent, tarp, air mattress and sleeping bag and had some of the best weeks of my life! The bus picks up and drops off just outside the campground and with a weekly bus pass you can be anywhere on the island within minutes. Every day was a new adventure to Edgartown, Vineyard Haven, Menemsha etc. Large shared male and female bathroom/shower complex next to the camp store and office as well as an outdoor shower for those more adventurous. Most sites have electric and water nearby. The management/owner takes pride in the campground and loves what he does. It’s the best way to experience Martha’s Vineyard!

I've been coming to Nickerson St. Park with my family for several years now and find I'm happy just staying there instead of running all over the Cape to hit beaches, P-Town, etc. The clean, freshwater swimming at the kettle ponds (which are usually uncrowded and within less than a minute's walk from our campsite) is incredible. The bike path and network of trails through the park (that connect to the beautiful 22 mile long Cape Cod Rail Trail) make for great bike riding and early morning running. Water is convenient to all the tent sites, and I really don't have any big criticisms on the park! this year, they seem to have sandblasted the inside bathroom doors as there's been some poorly drawn graffiti there over the years, but no more! There are multiple camping loops (7) for various sized groups/vehicles/campers, etc,. All in all, Nickerson is a true gem as far as state parks go.

I would say this campground is definitely better suited for RVers. There are very few tent sites in the park, and it's pretty loud between road noise and generators from the RVs.

Pros: The site we stayed in was pretty large and private. The campground is centrally located, so if you're visiting the area it's a great spot to be in if you'll be going off for day trips all over the area. The bathhouse was fairly decent.

Cons: The prices are a bit steep, even in the off season (we paid 42 bucks a night for the last weekend they were open in fall!). It is not quiet and relaxing either - we could hear car traffic all night over the bridge (a given since it's directly under the canal bridges), but also on route 6.

I wouldn't suggest this as a place to relax and get away into the woods. I would recommend it as a cheap alternative to hotels for visiting the cape. I probably won't be back here.