Best Campgrounds near Elwood, NJ

As a returning traveler to Spacious Skies Campgrounds – Country Oaks in Dorothy, New Jersey, I continue to be impressed by the peaceful atmosphere, well-maintained facilities, and welcoming hospitality, even during the winter months. The sites are spacious with full hookups that easily accommodate larger RVs, making it an ideal spot for both short and extended stays.

One of the highlights of staying at this campground is the exceptional service, and much of that is thanks to the wonderful host, Sadie. From the moment you arrive, she greets you with warmth and enthusiasm, making you feel like a valued guest rather than just another traveler passing through. Her attentiveness and dedication to ensuring every guest has a comfortable and enjoyable stay truly set this campground apart. Whether you have a question about your site, need assistance with hookups, or are looking for local recommendations, Sadie is always ready to help with a kind and welcoming attitude that makes you feel right at home.

Even in the colder months, this campground remains a quiet and relaxing escape. The grounds are clean and well-kept, with easy access to nearby nature spots for peaceful walks and exploration. The staff, led by Sadie’s incredible hospitality, ensures that guests feel safe, comfortable, and well cared for throughout their stay.

Winter camping here has its own charm, offering crisp air and a serene environment perfect for unwinding. Whether you’re looking for a peaceful retreat or a base for exploring the area, Spacious Skies Country Oaks provides a great experience year-round. With hosts like Sadie making sure everything runs smoothly, it’s no surprise that I keep coming back.

After such consistently wonderful experiences, we are thrilled to take the next step and plan to purchase a seasonal site in the near future. We can’t wait to make Spacious Skies Country Oaks our home away from home!

General: Smallish (64-site) county park campground. There are also three cabins. As soon as you turn off the main road to the park, all roads are dirt, which was a bit surprising. They were well-maintained and in dry weather, not a problem, but probably not if it was rainy. The campground is in five loops with the bathhouse located in the D Loop. 

Site Quality: Sites in Loops B-E all have pull-thru driveways. Sites are all level, very generous in size, and reasonably spaced apart for privacy. A lantern hook, picnic table, and fire ring complete each site. As mentioned, all roads and camper pads are dirt. There are some ADA sites but the only thing distinguishing them from others is their proximity to the bathroom. 

Bath/Shower House: Very clean. Soap and paper towels are provided. The only thing missing were hooks or shelves for toiletries but there was a large bench that could be used. Since it is located in the D Loop it would have been helpful to have pathways leading from the other loops. Did not use the shower so cannot comment. 

Activities/Amenities: There is a lake with a boat dock and a small boardwalk. Kayaking/Canoeing, fishing, and swimming. In the summer, canoe, kayak, paddle boats, and row boats are available for rental. Several short (longest one is 2.5 miles) hiking trails that are fairly well-marked but can be a bit confusing at times. Some sections of the trails were muddy due to swamps and bogs but passable. There is also a fitness trail. There is an archery range and a council ring (campfire). There is a dump station and laundry facility with brand-new washers and dryers (however, you need to pay using an app on your phone). The office is open until 9 pm and sells ice, firewood, and bait. There are age-appropriate playgrounds both in the campground and by the office. 

There are not a lot of camping opportunities in NJ, and this was a nice one. The campground was only about 20% occupied when we were there at the end of April, so our stay was a quiet one.

It was cold so we asked to be put close to bathrooms so we could leave camper winterized. They accommodated us nicely. The park is better looking toward the back but the sites are kind of crowded together and bare.

Website says no tents any more

I went there very often as a kid with my mom and her husband my grandparents met Wonder earful friends had a blast it was such fun going there for weeks at a time ine time went for a whole month it's good to see it still looks the same

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.

We did 2 weekday nights with our dog and 19’ RV in Aug ‘24.

The dog friendly sites are limited & not the sites with lake access. It will also cost an extra $5/night.

Check in was confusing as it is across the street & closes promptly at 4pm. (Not at the recreation area where we pulled in first)

Site 34 was close to the road with regular traffic noise & car headlights even shined in the camper at night. There is also a fair amount of plane traffic from a small local airport…and several other campers were running generators so it was not exactly quite camping.

Bathrooms are the typical old nj state park set up- it does the job but it’s seen better days. Dump station works well with trash & recycling drop off next to it. The roads are soft sand and can get rough after a rain storm.

If you are looking to kayak or canoe on the lake it has a ramp to drop in. That is the main attraction here & there is a beach on the other side of the lake.

Overall- nothing too special It’s not a site I would return to unless we could get water front, but dogs are not allowed there - so we won’t be rushing back because of that & the proximity to the road .

My familiy an I stayed at Ocean City Campground for a weekend get away. The staff was was very friendliy and the campstore/snack stand was impressive. The campground has a nice pool and covered area. They also had organized activities. The site we had was nice, It was level and well kept as were all the other sites we saw. The sights do seem a little on the smaller side though. Cell service with AT&T was good overall. This campground is about a 15 minute drive from Ocean City. There are plenty of stores close by as well.

This was our 5th and final trip to this campground. This time campground seemed to have LOTS OF little things that needed upkeep.

Positive - close to Cape May, nice pool

Negative - lots of airplane noise all day (due to local airport), nightly sites are slowly being turned into permanent sites. Lake seemed filled with algae on sides. Store was nice but not stocked as previous trips.

I went there in late June and it was my first time camping. The campsite was clean overall. Staff were friendly and helpful.

There was no platform, so you need to set up the tent on the ground. Most of the sites were not on grass but just dirt ground.

Going camping in a forecast during summer time might not be the best idea. There were many bugs and many of them got in my tent as I forgot to zip the door after setting it up.

The bathroom (shower room?) was reasonably clean, but I have only been to this camp site, so there is no comparison. One of the restroom has broken lights.

There is little to no signal inside the park. But once you drive out, you will have some signal. The campsite is close to a Walmart and a few other restaurants, which is good.

Pros: 50 AMP, sewer & water hookup Nice amenities

Cons: Sand sites Overpriced Tight site & hard to get in/out for big rigs

I get you need to have rules to keep order, but when I say the people at this campground were a little extra, I mean it. We stayed 2 nights at Land & Shore and the first night was Friday night and all 6 families that are members with our own sites were hanging out around a fire pit and at 1016pm someone security person drove by with one headlight and told us at 11pm we would have to pit our fire out. I think it was a little bit overkill and there was other campers that had a fire going, we were not being loud or anything and when she came by or anything so we didn't understand the urgency of telling us that, plus when did quiet time mean you couldnt sit by the campfire. The next day when I was in the hot tub my daughter walked up to me to ask if I could get her a drink and she was not about to get into the water but the over concerned lifeguard walked up to say ... you need to be 18 to be on the hot tub and we all looked at each other that were in, and the old man next to us says well we all are and he said we'll she's not and he replied for me l, that good thing she wasn't in then ... let a parent be a if you see someone not obeying the rules, okay, but we were, and we don't need your 2 cents because you're not even 18. I liked the area but wouldn't go back to this same campground, the sites are way too close for me and your practically on top of your neighbors, but we went with family so... the beach is within 10ish minutes and is beautiful but your suppose to have passes, we biked around the area and along the beach it was very nice. I did like the lake and waterpark. However, the water in the waterpark was ice cold.

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nice clean campsites with good electric and water hookups. Great activates at the lake and playground. Site was level. Bath house was a little run down , but serviceable.  Overall good value for the price.