Best Tent Camping near Wales, MA
Looking for the best options for tent camping near Wales? The Dyrt helps you find campsites with tent camping near Wales. You're sure to find the perfect tent campsite for your Massachusetts camping adventure.
Best Tent Sites Near Wales, MA (18)
1. Tully Lake Recreation Area (MA) — Tully Lake
Royalston, Massachusetts9 Reviews•90 Photos•3 SavesOverview
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invites you to come relax at Tully Lake. There are a variety of outdoor recreation activities for you and you family. Although the dam was built primarily to reduce flood damages on the Millers and Connecticut Rivers, the 1,300-acre reservoir area provides a place for you to get away from it all and connect with nature.
Recreation
Tully Lake offers many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Activities in and around the lake include mountain biking, camping, disc golf, hiking, picnicking, boating, and fishing and hunting in the appropriate seasons.
Facilities
The Tully Lake Pavilion is located in the recreation area and offers picnic tables and grills. Maximum group size is 50 people with parking for 25 passenger vehicles at the upper gravel lot. The recreation area has a small playground for young children, volleyball court, and a horseshoe pit. Bathrooms are provided, but there is no running water.
Natural Features
The 1,262-acre Tully Lake property is managed to sustain a healthy ecosystem for future generations. The thriving biodiversity of the Tully River Valley and the interconnections of our forests, wetlands, waters, and wildlife are valued and managed for the long term. Tully Lake is home to a wide variety of wildlife, from tiny insects and song birds, to large mammals such as deer and moose. Fifty-five percent of the reservoir area is wetlands, providing habitat for fish, waterfowl, song birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals such as beaver, mink and otter. The rest of the property provides habitat for upland species such as deer, coyote, fisher, owl, fox, raccoon, skunk, porcupine, rabbit, and squirrel. The forest within Tully Dam's reservoir area is composed primarily of white pine, providing habitat for owls and woodpeckers, red-tailed hawks, and white-tailed deer.
Nearby Attractions
When visiting Tully Lake there are several opportunities for visitors to explore in the surrounding area. At the north end of the lake there is a tent only campground run by the Trustees of the Reservations which provides a perfect launching point to enjoy the outdoor attractions nearby. Ten miles away is the Birch Hill Dam, another Army Corps project that provides miles of trails and river to explore. The Quabbin Reservoir is also within a short ten mile drive of Tully Lake and serves the city of Boston as its water supply. The Quabbin is a unique area; there were four towns flooded to create it, and it has some of the most interesting blends of human and natural history in the region.
Charges & Cancellations
Please review the cancellation and refund policy at the bottom of the webpage. In general, we will require at least two weeks prior to your reservation to consider a request.
- Pets
- Fires
- Reservable
- Tents
- Group
- Trash
$40 / night
3. Onion Mountain Park
West Simsbury, Connecticut3 Reviews•9 Photos•146 SavesThis town-owned park consists of 190 acres of wooded, rocky mountainside. Trails here are relatively easy on the flat but significantly more difficult on the hillside. The ground can be very wet after rains. Onion Mountain Park is accessed on the west side of West Mountain Rd. just south of Shingle Mill Rd. Visitors will find a good size parking lot.
- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Tents
- Alcohol
5. Federated Womens Club State Forest
Petersham, Massachusetts1 Review•22 Photos•25 Saves- Fires
- Phone Service
- Tents
- Group
- Picnic Table
- Toilets
6. Willard Brook State Forest
Ashby, Massachusetts4 Reviews•38 Photos•69 Saves- Pets
- Fires
- Reservable
- ADA Access
- Tents
- Standard (Tent/RV)
$14 - $23 / night
7. Barton Cove Campground
Greenfield, Massachusetts2 Reviews•2 Photos•69 SavesBarton Cove specializes in rustic tent-only camping. The campground is open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Each campsite has a picnic table, grills and campfire ring. Vehicle use in the campground is restricted to unloading during arrival and loading during departure. Showers are available near the ranger station, and there are two group sites available for larger parties interested in camping together. Two sites suitable for pop-up trailers or class C camper vans are also available. The sites have no utility hookups. Scout groups can camp by special arrangement through November.
- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Tents
- Group
$22 - $30 / night
8. Chester Railway Station
Chester, Massachusetts1 Review•2 Photos•14 SavesCaboose Camper Rental! Camp in an authentic 1919 railroad caboose! Drive right to the site. Electricity available. Outdoor cooking/eating facilities. Camp beside the busy CSX Boston Line. Need more room? Set up tents on the lawn.
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Tents
- Cabins
- Picnic Table
$50 - $100 / night
9. Gillette Castle State Park Campground
Hadlyme, Connecticut2 Reviews•26 SavesFour public camps along the Connecticut River at Hurd, Gillette Castle, River Highlands and Selden Neck State Parks offer primitive, riverside sites with fireplaces and pit toilets for individuals traveling on the river.
Use of river campsites at River Highlands, Hurd and Gillette Castle is restricted to canoers and kayakers only.
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Tents
- Market
- Trash
- Picnic Table
10. Selden Neck State Park Campground
Hadlyme, Connecticut1 Review•10 Photos•11 SavesSelden Neck offers 4 sites: Cedars site - 20 campers Hogback site - 6 campers Springledge site - 8 campers Quarry Knob site - 12 campers
- Pets
- Fires
- Reservable
- Tents
- Picnic Table
- Toilets
$5 / night
Showing results 1-10 of 18 campgrounds
Recent Tent Reviews in Wales
581 Reviews of 18 Wales Campgrounds
- K
Kevin A.
Traveler
Sun Ridge Resort
Nudist Campground
The Campers are very friendly and welcoming. This is a nudist Campground so you need to be nude around the pool and hot tub. Friday and Saturday night there are things going on in the Pavilion. Tennis courts have been converted into Pickleball courts.
Lee D.
Legend
Hopeville Pond State Park Campground
Small campground in three sections on Hopeville Pond
General: There are three sections to this campground: five canoe sites; 16 sites including one cabin behind the ranger station and what I would assume is the main section with 61 sites. Some sites have water and electric hookups, but the majority of the sites have no utilities. Note: Pets are not allowed at this campground!
Site Quality: We arrived in the rain after the Ranger station had closed and circled the main section several times trying to find the site with the least amount of water. We did not know until the next morning when we went to pay that we ended up in an ADA-accessible site. It was not marked in any way and I’m guessing that the only reason it was designated as such was its proximity to the restrooms. All sites appeared level and even though they were supposed to have gravel pads, they were mostly a mix of dirt (or mud) and grass with a little gravel.
Bath/Shower House: In the main section, there is a very large and clean indoor bathhouse with free showers. Did not use the shower so cannot comment. Appreciated that there was immediate hot water at the sinks. The other two sections have vault toilets.
Activities/Amenities: In season there is swimming, but the beach is very small. Fishing, canoeing, and kayaking are also popular. There are also some trails for walking/hiking, a basketball hoop, a dump station, and recycling.
This was an overnight stay for us but the rate for out-of-state campers, while higher than for residents, was reasonable at $30. We would return to this campground.
- Ricky H.
Scout
Onion Mountain Park
Quiet overnight
Very peaceful overnight camping, no permit required. Small campsite, first come first served basis. Other posts claim you can park right the site, but you can not. It’s up the yellow or blue trail depending on which one you take. However, it’s not a long walk to the parking area from the campsite.
- Missi N.Scout
Northampton / Springfield KOA
Cute little campground
Quiet (besides occasional plane overhead) lots of trees, spacious sites, clean and modern bathrooms and showers, nice friendly helpful staff.
- Matt O.Scout
Odetah Camping Resort
Great place
We love camping at Odetah. Clean facilities. Great staff. New pool and hot tub. Will definitely come back
Kathy T.Traveler
Salt Rock State Campground
Clean, but dated facilities
Campground is a bit crowded with sites close together. The facilities were clean but quite old. There are some nice hiking trails along the river.
- ffallonScout
Sunset View Farms
Lovely spot in the woods
We booked last minute (2 hours before we arrived) and were met with the friendliest staff ready to help us at 7:30PM and get us checked in. Perfect spot if you don’t mind a 40 minute ride over to The Big E fair which is what brought us out to this part of MA. The restaurant was so nice, and to my surprise more than accommodating as I have celiac, they really went above and beyond. We will definitely be back next summer for a longer stay.
Lucy P.
Ranger
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Campground — D.A.R. State Forest
Ridiculous out of state markup
I don’t mind paying a little extra some places because of being out of state, but paying $54 a night for not even any hookups when MA residents pay $17 is insane.
Accounting-Robert M.Traveler
Strawberry Park
Updates
Updates
Note that some of the photos submitted to this site were taken in areas that were NOT IN the Park. Also the Park is NOT under new ownership.
Shannon S.Scout
Otter River State Forest
Perfect escape
Very peaceful! Little hidden gem! We loved our weekend away
carol T.Scout
Waters Edge Family Campground
BEWARE WATERS EDGE CAMPGROUNDS THEY WILL KEEP ALL YOUR MONEY
JUNE 30,2024 my husband & I were seasonals at waters edge campground Lebanon Connecticuit gave them a 30 day notice we were leaving this place wasnt for us just awful the owners are just money hungey thieves they told us they were keeping our deposit wich we expected because it says non refundable deposit so okay fine but we paid for the whole season its open april15 to october15 gave a 30 day notice left june 30 they refused to give us back the money for july ,august,september,to october 15 they ket 750 plus 2500 dollars told us were not getting our money back So iam sure they rented the site thats double dipping so fair warning I dont want this to happen to anyone else they will Rob you blind oh and they broke our ice maker when they dewinterized our trailer and never owned up to it came down to my floor in camper soaked with water from my freezer and didnr bother to clean tthe mess and said it must have been broken nefore so they are also dirty liars I didnt want to even give a one star rating but had to put somethin i give the a big fat 0
- DDavid P.Traveler
Stateline Campresort & Cabins
Clean and easy
Very clean campground with a big pool and pond to fish at. There always easy to make accommodations and it’s always a good time with the family there
SomadNomad M.Traveler
Granville State Forest
Gotta chance
Dyrt says $17-$54 went through all the hoops to book one for tonight said $17 per night went to check out expecting a few extra fees, $58.50.....that's over the max advertised....DYRT YOU NEED TO GO THROUGH AND DELETE BAD ENTRIES. YOU ARE A DISSAPOINTMENT.
Jeffry D.Traveler
Quinebaug Cove Campground
Awesome Campground
The best activities for children and adults, great amenities, clean restrooms, Awesome pool thanks to ASHTON, Thanks so much.
Matt S.Legend
Mystic KOA
Great campground for coastal CT & RI
We stayed at Mystic KOA in North Stonington, Connecticut, to be tourists in Mystic. Spoiler alert… we had a great stay!
This campground is just 15-minutes from Mystic and about an hour’s drive to Newport, Rhode Island. It’s just a few minutes from I-95 and so close to Mystic Aquarium, downtown Mystic, Mystic Seaport, and all the local spots.
It’s a well-maintained campground with 2 pools(though the larger one was closed for maintenance during our stay), lots of play areas and daily activities for little ones, and a cool“pub truck” for adult drinks. Our site(#408) was about 85’ long with plenty of room for our 45’ motorhome and toad(and then some!). It was level and gravel with a nice fire ring and picnic table. The hookups worked fine with 50-amp electric and decent water pressure. Cable TV had nearly 50-channels, but the wi-fi didn’t quite reach our part of the park.
Due to a family issue, we needed to leave about a day-and-a-half early. We called the office as a courtesy to let them know as we were pulling out and received a partial credit for a night’s stay on our credit card. Didn’t even ask, they just did it. Thanks Mystic KOA!
We’ll definitely be back. This is a great place to stay when visiting the coastal Connecticut/Rhode Island area.
- LLauren H.Traveler
Peppertree Camping
Amazing stay
We had our very first camping experience with our new camper at this campground and it was everything we could have imagined and more. It’s a beautiful campground, the gentleman and his family who own it are sooooo nice and they helped us a lot when it came to learning how to properly use our camper. All the fellow campers that we met were extremely nice. It’s a quiet campground, located right on a river. My children spent hours in it playing and fishing. Looking forward to returning.
Laura D.Scout
Brialee Family Campground
Best Camping Experience
This was our families first time staying at Brialee Campground. The cabin was absolutely beautiful and clean. The staff were friendly and helpful. The activities were great and kept my grand children busy. Swimming and the lake were fun. I cannot say enough wonderful things. We had such a great time I booked my reservations for Next July 2025 before I left.
A special thank you to Sherri for the personal tour and showing us the ropes! She is the best.
The D'Avanzo Family
- RRobert M.Scout
Strawberry Park
Large campground with 3 pools, many amenities and scheduled activities
Large campground with 3 pools, many amenities and scheduled activities
Eddy B.Scout
Whispering Pines Campground
Fun for the family
Great privately owned family campground. The pool, splash pad, live music and activities for the kids were great!
AT&T service had only one bar. Couldn’t stream but worked for calls and texts. Campground WiFi was strong but as expected struggled to keep up on this busy 4th of July.
- aaliyyah A.Traveler
Normandy Farms Campground
Very Enjoyable 1 night stay
We enjoyed our tent site with a wooden lean-to. Overall very private and peaceful, however the only drawback is that people took frequent casual walks pass the area all day long. There's really no way around that.
We did not get a chance to enjoy the amenities, but they all looked nice and well thought out.
We will return.
Beth R.LegendMystic KOA
Nice amenities
Pros: 15 minutes from Mystic CT 50 AMP, sewer & water hookup Nice amenities
Cons: Gravel site No shade Tight site & hard to get in/out for big rig
- MMichaelTraveler
Charlie Brown Campground
Riverside Delight!
This was our first time visiting and my entire family enjoyed themselves so much, that we've already reserved a site for a few weeks from now. Arts and crafts, tractor rides, and of course the tubing down the river. Lots of built in entertainment for the kids! The grounds were clean, the playground was nice, and the people were all friendly. We did a late checkout for $5 extra, but the noon checkout and two dump stations would make leaving on time a non-issue as well.
Of note: We camped with friends, who were given a spot next to a large group of people (weekend prior to 4th of July is to be expected). The group were very polite and abided by quiet hours, but they were having fun and a bit loud for my buddy's 2 month of baby. They requested to move sites, and the management was super accommodating and apologetic. Helped him move his site and threw in some firewood for the troubles.
Jason L.
Guide
West Thompson Lake Campground
Pleasantly surprised
We had an excellent experience at this camp ground. The Staff and Rangers were polite and welcoming. We were able to see some boat races and played a round of disc golf on property. Once the boat races finished each day the camp was very quiet and peaceful. Had a great weekend
Rae-Ann W.Guide
Peppermint Park Camping Resort
Relaxing & family friendly
We had a nice weekend at Peppermint Park. This was our 2nd visit with a camper (2022 & 2024) and stayed about 20 years ago in tents.
It's family and dog friendly, has a pool, hot tub, newer playground with a sandbox, camp store with large lodge attached, horseshoe, volleyball and other outdoor game areas. There were several activities planned for father's day weekend including a BBQ food truck, BINGO, corn hole, horseshoes, and kids crafts. There is also wifi, but the signal is not great. It did save me on data usage though so I appreciated it.
There is a large number of seasonal's and everyone we interacted with was very friendly. My 11 year old granddaughter quickly made friends with some of the seasonal children. We attended BINGO, which was packed, and it was clear they are a friendly group. The grounds, pool, buildings and bathroom are all well maintained.
Our site, 111, was a nice flat grassy site with water and 20amp electric. We were sunny in the morning and got nice shade starting late in the morning. We had season sites all around us with only a few of them occupied so it was pretty quiet in our section. Sites are a bit closer together than we prefer, but do have trees and brush in between.
We were in between 2 bathroom buildings. One of them having only 1 shower, 1 toilet and sink in each side and the other had 1 shower, and 2 toilets on each side. I believe there is larger bathrooms with more showers in the lodge but we did not check them out.
Our only negative is the wood for sale is on the greener side so it takes a bit to get it going. We had the same issue 2 years ago and ended up buying lighter fluid from the store then. We did not have any with us this trip and did not want to pay camp store prices so we used sticks from the area and some match light charcoal to get it going well.
We did not venture outside of the campground this trip, but do know there are some nice ponds/lakes close by and hiking trails.
Overall it's a nice friendly campground that we will continue to visit.
Theresa H.TravelerWest Thompson Lake Campground
Great campground
Came for the boat races, very relaxing weekend
Kerry G.ScoutOdetah Camping Resort
“Camp”grounds that discriminates against tent campers
Odetah Camping Resort called us today 24 hours prior to our arrival- after 4 years of camping there- to cancel our site unless we rented an RV and didn’t use tents. We were allowed to book and had the booking for 4 months. I was on the phone with them while I booked for assistance since it’s a group booking for 16. I called later to book a cabana too. They never once said anything. Then they called 24 hours in advance because our reservation said tent and that’s not allowed. Then they charged us a cancellation fee. Even tho they cancelled ON US.
But my favorite part is them saying that the camping industry is moving to no longer allow tents. They think they are*kind* to still allow tents-a handful of sites on a rocky hill that don’t have electricity or water. So those with medical needs cannot use those sites. Those with mobility limitations cannot either.
WHAT?!
Camping= tents. Change your name if you are going to discriminate. Don’t worry tho, you can put on a tent NEXT TO an rv on the sites. You just cant put only a tent.
Their customer service was horrendous. The experience was horrendous. What a shame.
- Theresa H.Traveler
Devil's Hopyard State Park Campground
Nice for a small campground
This was our first stay at Devil’s Hopyard campground. We enjoyed our stay and were happy with our site. It was great to hike and see the waterfall.
Guide to Wales
Tent camping near Wales, Massachusetts offers a variety of options for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature. With several campgrounds nearby, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and enjoy the great outdoors.
Some prices for tent camping range from $20 to $40
- At Buck Hill Campground, campers can enjoy a rustic experience with large clusters of sites accommodating multiple tents.
- Sodom Mountain Campground offers a quiet retreat with dirt roads and a friendly atmosphere, perfect for those seeking a peaceful getaway.
- For a unique experience, consider Chester Railway Station, where you can camp in a caboose and enjoy the sounds of passing trains.
Tent campers should check out Tully Lake Recreation Area
- The Tully Lake Recreation Area features walk-in sites that provide a serene environment for fishing, kayaking, and swimming.
- Barton Cove Campground offers rustic camping with tent platforms and a beautiful view, making it a great choice for nature lovers.
- At Onion Mountain Park, campers can enjoy a peaceful overnight stay with hiking trails nearby, perfect for those looking to explore the area.
Tent campers like these nearby activities
- Fishing and kayaking are popular at Tully Lake Recreation Area, where you can enjoy a variety of water activities.
- Hiking enthusiasts will appreciate the trails at Onion Mountain Park, which lead to stunning views and primitive camping spots.
- For a family-friendly experience, Sodom Mountain Campground offers activities and a welcoming atmosphere, making it ideal for creating lasting memories.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Wales, MA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Wales, MA is Tully Lake Recreation Area (MA) — Tully Lake with a 4.7-star rating from 9 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Wales, MA?
TheDyrt.com has all 18 tent camping locations near Wales, MA, with real photos and reviews from campers.