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Best Tent Camping near Westwood, MA

627 Reviews

Tent camping near Westwood, Massachusetts provides access to several unique campgrounds within a 30-mile radius, including rustic island experiences and wooded inland sites. Boston Harbor Islands State Park Campground, operating from June through Labor Day weekend, offers tent campsites on multiple islands including Peddocks, Lovells, Grape, and Bumpkin. Camp Nihan Education Center in Saugus provides a more accessible tent camping experience with walk-in sites. For primitive tent camping options, Buck Hill Campground in Rhode Island features large tent sites in a heavily wooded setting approximately 35 miles from Westwood.

Most tent campgrounds in the region require advance reservations, particularly during peak summer months. Boston Harbor Islands tent sites are accessible only by ferry, requiring careful planning and packing. According to reviews, campers must "bring everything, including water" for island camping, though Peddocks Island does provide running water. Cape Ann Camp Site (open May 15-October 15) offers wooded tent sites with more amenities, including picnic tables, fire pits, and access to bathrooms with pay showers. Most campgrounds permit fires in designated rings, though Boston Harbor Islands only allows fires below the high tide line using scavenged wood.

The tent-only camping experience near Westwood varies dramatically between coastal and inland options. Boston Harbor Islands provides a unique backcountry tent camping experience despite proximity to Boston, with one camper noting that "sitting on the beach watching the sun set over Boston was awesome and made everything entirely worth it." The islands offer exploration opportunities including historic forts, rocky shorelines, and swimming areas. Camp Nihan provides what one visitor called "a perfect blend of rugged and convenient" tent camping, with sites that are "super close to parking and yet the terrain is rugged enough that it always felt like we were really in the woods." Buck Hill Campground offers a more remote primitive tent camping experience with minimal amenities but access to Wakefield Pond for swimming and paddling.

Best Tent Sites Near Westwood, Massachusetts (9)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Westwood, MA

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Tent Camping Reviews near Westwood, MA

627 Reviews of 9 Westwood 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!

  • Jean C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 27, 2020

    Scusset Beach State Reservation

    Coastal campground open late in season

    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.

  • Our Greight Escape ..
    Oct. 27, 2020

    Bourne Scenic Park

    Wonderful campground!

    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.

  • 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.

  • Meg T.
    Jul. 30, 2025

    Salisbury Beach State Reservation

    Seagulls hungry for Egg Rolls and sunsets galore!

    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!

  • Rachel P.
    Jun. 30, 2019

    Scusset Beach State Reservation

    An RVer’s Paradise

    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.

Guide to Westwood

Tent campsites near Westwood, Massachusetts offer a mix of private and public camping experiences within a 35-mile radius. The area features camping options situated between 50-300 feet in elevation, creating varied terrain for overnight stays. Summer temperatures typically range from 60-85°F, making May through October the most comfortable camping season for tent sites around Westwood.

What to do

Swimming opportunities: Cape Ann Camp Site provides access to a nearby beach where campers can enjoy the Atlantic waters. According to one visitor, "Cape Ann Campground is located close to Gloucester and Rockport. The campground is clean and quiet with beautiful tent sites."

Kayaking and canoeing: Buck Hill Campground offers access to Wakefield Pond, which is "big enough lake for canoe/kayak/etc." One reviewer notes this campground is ideal for those who "just come and unwind, fish, cook" without expecting extensive amenities.

Historical exploration: When camping at Boston Harbor Islands State Park Campground, visitors can investigate the islands' past. A camper describes, "Exploring the island was awesome. We found all kinds of bunkers and a brick house." The islands feature remnants of coastal fortifications dating back to the 18th century.

What campers like

Secluded tent sites: At Cape Ann Camp Site, the tent camping areas provide more privacy than RV sections. One camper observed, "The campground is clean but very rustic. Facilities are on the old side. Great beach access and friendly staff."

Wildlife encounters: Camping near Westwood offers opportunities to observe local fauna. A reviewer at Cape Ann mentioned seeing "wild turkeys, deer, etc." which adds to the natural experience despite proximity to urban areas.

Island camping atmosphere: Water's Edge Campground offers tent sites with waterfront views that create an island-like feel. The campground permits both boat-in and walk-in access, allowing campers multiple ways to reach their sites.

What you should know

Ferry logistics: For Boston Harbor Islands, transportation requires planning. A camper advises to "Check the ferry schedule. Figure out which departure makes the most sense for you. You may choose to leave from Long Wharf, near the Aquarium T stop on the Blue line, or from Hingham, with overnight parking available."

Reservation timing: Popular tent sites fill quickly during summer months. For Boston Harbor Islands, one visitor recommends: "Reservations open 6 months in advance and sites fill quickly, so plan ahead if you're counting on a particular day."

Shower facilities: At Camp Nihan Education Center, recently renovated bathroom and shower facilities make cleanup convenient. A visitor noted, "A recently renovated bathroom and shower facility makes clean ups easy."

Tips for camping with families

Short hikes for children: Camp Nihan offers family-friendly terrain despite its rustic setting. A family camper shared that "We went camping here with our SpiralScout Circle, kids aged 4-8. The group site is super close to parking and yet the terrain is rugged enough that it always felt like we were really in the woods."

Beach day options: When staying at Cape Ann Camp Site, families appreciate the nearby beach access. One reviewer noted, "We had a great time camping and going to the beach. The camp ground is full of beautiful boulders and fire pits."

Junior Ranger activities: Boston Harbor Islands offers educational opportunities for children. The islands participate in the National Park Service Junior Ranger program where kids can earn badges while learning about the natural and historical features.

Tips from RVers

Site selection at Cape Ann: RV campers should note that tent sites offer more privacy. According to a reviewer, "The RV sites are not as secluded as the tent sites," making site selection important for those seeking more natural surroundings.

Utilities and hookups: Frosty Hollow Camping Area provides tent campsites with electrical hookups including both 30-amp and 50-amp options, plus water connections for more comfortable extended stays.

Leveling considerations: Cape Ann Camp Site offers suitable terrain for RVs. One camper reported, "We had a nice perfectly level site in a beautiful wooded area," which makes setup easier for those bringing camper vans to tent camping areas near Westwood.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Westwood, 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 Westwood, MA?

TheDyrt.com has all 9 tent camping locations near Westwood, MA, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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