Best Tent Camping near Downe, NJ

The tent site was big with lots of choice locations for your tent. There is a lot of privacy between the tent sites because of the trees.

The bathrooms were clean and modern. The camp store had lots of little items that I needed. And there was a Little Library.

The hikes in the campground are beautiful. The historic aspect of the Cape amazed me. It was a site for WWII soldiers to watch for enemy invaders. The towers are still there.

The ocean is beautiful but a bit of a walk from the tent campsites.

We stayed in the G loop which is the group loop off the side of all the main loops. We were tent camping. If staying in the main loops, the center rows barely had room for tents and looked aimed for RVs. It would have been very tight if we tent camped at some of the inner loop sites. The tent sites were along the sides on the T sites and the even numbered A sites. The bathrooms were clean enough and there were ample showers that were free. There is a coin operated laundry facilities, a dish washing station and a playground in the middle of the loops. The wood was a bit wet and sappy. It was about a mile walk to the beach. There are multiple parking lots if you want to drive a bit closer to a beach entrance. We have two young kids and it was a bit too long a walk for them from the camp site. Bikes are prevalent and a great way to get around. We were there in July and it was very hot which is obviously to be expected. Friendly staff.

Nice drive on sites for tent camping. A few well managed trails. A little heave on the rules(must use the wood they sell, clotheslines must come down overnight.

There were so many great things about this campground. It was beautiful and had so many different amenities including a little man made beach in the center of the campground. Our only issues were it was pretty pricey for tent camping (65 a night) and the mosquitos were INSANE! Also, a few of the showers were down, so it was difficult to get in there and everything cost extra. It was a quarter run shower. The location was perfect if you wanted to visit Cape May or go into Wildwood only 15 minutes away. I’d say it is perfect for RV’s, campers, or if you are renting a cabin for your family, but as a tent camp location it was a little extravagant for what we were looking for with our trip.

This campground is situated tightly between route 1 and the bay but very low laying ground. This campground is perfect, but only with PERFECT weather. One medium rain/thunder storm will turn the tent camping area into a water covered mess! We were in 'spot 45' avoid this area if there's even the slightest chance of rain!

The amenities are great however, free hot showers, close to beach and bay and very friendly volunteer staff.

Will not go tent camping here again and cannot recommend this camp ground for tenters!

Sites are full hook up with about 5 tent sites.

All are pretty much level.

Close to shopping if needed.

Wharton Forest has several campgrounds.

We tent camped at Atsion in 2015: had flush toilets and was close to the checkin station/store as well as the beach on the lake. Some sites were right on the water and the sites were very big.

We wanted a more rustic experience and tent camped at Bodine campground in 2018. Our site was right on Wading River and we launched our kayaks right at the site! Our tent is has a full view of the sky and at night it was like a planetarium as we admired the sky from our cots. Pit toilets, pump water, fire ring, nice big site. Road in is sandy but it is the pine barrens. Although we were there on Friday the 13th, sadly neither Jason or the Jersey Devil stopped by for s’mores.

Not a good place for tent camping. All tent spaces very packed together and without any foliage undergrowth separation whatsoever. More privacy in a subway car than these sites. Dogs allowed and poo everywhere. Wash stations a long walk away. Excellent system of paved bike paths.

The boyfriend and I stayed for a weekend at one of the primitive tent sites. Our site was private and secluded. We had a great time.

Two thumbs up on this small campground with spacious, wooded sites!

We stayed here on a Thursday when the campground was almost empty, but there was a reservations list that showed the campground would be full for the Columbus Day weekend. We have good luck walking up to campgrounds during the week, but we look ahead to weekends and make reservations.

Spacious, Wooded Sites

- Lots of shade and trees on large sites and space between sites make this a pleasant campground.

• Parking pads on the electric loop are asphalt.

• There's very finely crushed rock on the non-electric loop. This includes the parking pad and tent pad.

• There are 8 camper cabins, 4 on each loop. There are beds for 4 or 6 people, and the cabins have air conditioning, a ceiling fan and electricity. These are a nice alternative to camping in a tent.

• Bathrooms are located in the middle of each loop, and there are spigots on the loops with potable water.

Small Park But Many Activities

• Canoe/kayak launch between sites 46 and 48. The walk to Tuckahoe Creek from the parking area is very short, and the creek leads to Tuckahoe Lake (no gasoline motors) with more of the creek on the other side of the lake.

• Fishing

• 20 miles of hiking trails are also open for biking and horseback riding.

• Archery range

• Disc golf

• Hunting - as a hiker, I am extremely wary of hiking in parks at a time when hunting is allowed.

A small koa but very nice, I stayed in a cabin for my MTB race weekend. Great! Pool is a tad small. Restrooms very clean and good looking tent sites.

The amenities are good and nearby nice, but expensive restaurant within walking distance. You can go out on a fishing boat in the ocean on the north side of the inlet. There are virtually no trees here and none in tent camping areas. Bring your own shade.

We stayed here for 3 nights while visiting family In Philadelphia. It is a 20 minute ride into Philly and Uber was was quick and responsive.

*note- this does close for winter and reopens in April but call park for exact closure dates because they do change.

This is a nice KOA with full hook ups, tent sites,cabins, and even glamping cabins. There is a pool that is open Memorial Day- Labor Day. They also have a catch and release pond and we found a pickleball court at a nearby city park.

We did Chinatown and walked part of the Schuylkill River trail which we accessed by parking near Fairmount Park. This is a great area to explore with gorgeous views and easy access to the River trail. (There are rentals for everything here- kayaks/bikes etc)

IF we had a car with us- we would have considered taking the ferry from Camden’s Ferry Terminal next to Wiggins Park to Philly. (This is also near the Adventure Aquarium and the battleship New Jersey) Here is a link to information about the ferry-

https://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/places/riverlink-ferry

This is a great location for exploring Philadelphia.

Happy Camping! Pamela and Keith

Beautiful park right across fron the beach. Took a group of 20 tent camping here and it went great! Have done it for multiple years now and every time it is a great experience. However, it does flood in the rain. Also this beach is not to packed and has great sunrises!

This was our first visit to this park and we really loved it. We stayed in a tent site which included a fire ring and picnic table, and we had two tents and plenty of space for everything. While we were there, I believe all of the cabins were full and some other tent sites reserved, but the grounds were still very quiet and peaceful. The bathrooms and showers were modern and very clean and looked to be only a brief, flat walk from most of the sites/cabins in the loop. The loops were smaller than I expected, but that wasn't a bad thing. There is also a large sink on one side of the bathhouse which was nice for cleaning up after cooking. AT&T phone service was slow but available. While in the area, we also visited WorkHorse Farm for a tour, First Fruits Orchard for PYO blueberries, and Denton Station antique mall.

We came back for another visit this September and the campground has undergone lots of renovations since I was here last so I wanted to provide an updated review.

As always, the biking and walking trails in the park are top notch! The Gordon's Pond trail offers beautiful salt march views with lots of birds especially first thing in the morning. Beach access is quick and easy from the campground, too!

We stayed in tent site 114 which was among a cluster of tent sites. Here you have to park in a parking lot and cart your stuff into your actual site. It's not a long haul but could be a pain in the neck if you tend to bring a lot of stuff with you when you camp. From our site there was a small path through the back of the site that provides quick and immediate access to the bike trails in the area.

The sites have newly built picnic tables (very heavy and sturdy) as well as new concrete pad fire rings with grates. They sit a little high off the ground than a traditional fire pit but are nice and well maintained thus far. As I mentioned, the tent site we were in was among a cluster of sites spaced out relatively evenly. However, if all of the sites had been full it would have been a bit close together for my liking. One thing that is nice about these sites is the amount of shade, super helpful in the late summer heat.

The bathroom facilities are also nice and well maintained. Be advised that many Delaware state parks require that you pack out all of your trash at most of their day use areas, the campground however DOES have a dumpster available for trash.

If you can get a reservation here it's totally worth the stay!

Our group stayed for an extended weekend trip at one of the primitive tent sites. It was awesome, and we all had a great time. Unfortunately, we had neighbors that were being obnoxiously loud for multiple hours past the "quiet time", but even that didn't ruin our trip. Bonus points for being driving distance to multiple locations that we could take our kayaks.

This is a state campground on both sides of Indian River inlet. The south side is more set up for tent camping and the north side is newer and more rv oriented. 

The sites are close together and pretty wide open, but this isn't unusual this close to the beach. Literally a couple hundred yards walk to tje beach. Nearly new bath houses, and shore fishing along the inlet. The south side probably has the better beach facility, but your car pass gets you into any Delaware State Park facility free. We went down to Fenwick Island to meet up with friends. An easy 5 min drive. Full hook ups, clean and well maintained, super friendly staff.

My husband and I have stayed at Elk Neck twice. It’s a great campground with lots of different loops to choose sites from. The bath houses are very clean, and the folks responsible for their upkeep are great. There are sinks for washing dishes outside the bathhouses, making cooking cleanup very convenient (especially if your site is close by, like ours). I can’t speak for the camper/RV sites, as we tent camp. But overall our experiences at Elk Neck have been consistently great.

I arrived on a Tuesday a few days after they closed the pool, and by Wednesday I had the whole row of tent sites to myself. Maybe that's why it was so peaceful, but every night after my cacophonous conference in Philadelphia, I couldn't wait to turn down Timberlane Road and see that little KOA sign glowing in the darkness. In addition to the peaceful vibe, the people are friendly, the little office store has everything you forgot to pack, and if you look around the campground edges or follow the walking trail into the woods, you will find wonderful native plants like blueberry, viburnum, clethra, and meadow beauty.