Elwood is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Elwood. Find the best campgrounds near Elwood, NJ. Read helpful reviews and tips to find the perfect camping option for you and your crew.
Campsites: There are 176 tent and trailer sites with fire rings and picnic tables. Flush toilets, showers and laundry facilities are within walking distance of all sites. No hook-ups provided. Each site accommodates a maximum of six campers, two vehicles (including trailers) and two tents. Trailer sanitary station is open March 1 through November 30. Campsites are open all year.
Group Campsites: Six group campsites with water and pit toilets are within walking distance. Each site accommodates a maximum of 25 campers. Parking is directly on the site. Open all year. We highly recommend that group leaders carefully estimate their group size so not to overestimate because refunds cannot be made later. Six licensed vehicles only are permitted to park on each group campsite, within the campsite limit signs. Additional vehicles (two per site) are required to pay $5 per night and park in the designated parking area.
Lean-tos: There are nine accessible lean-tos located on the south shore. All lean-tos have a hardwood floor, woodburning stove, outdoor picnic table, fire ring and grill. Flush toilets, showers and laundry facilities are close by. Lean-tos are open year round and accommodate a maximum of six people. Pet Friendly Camping South shore campsites 1 through 85 are designated pet friendly. There is an additional charge of $5 per night if you bring a pet. Pet friendly camping is limited to domestic dogs and cats with a maximum of two pets per camping permit. A Pet Registration and Certification form is required during the check-in process which will be retained in the area files. Dogs and cats must have current rabies vaccinations. Written proof of the pet's current rabies/distemper vaccine and license (if a license is required by the resident's state) must be provided during the check-in process. Pets are not permitted in cabins, shelters or lean-tos.
Shelters: Six shelters located along the north shore of Lake Absegami, each with two bunk rooms, one double-deck bunk in each room, a living room with a picnic table and bench, wood-burning stove and screened double door. All shelters have an outdoor grill for cooking, fire ring, table and benches. Flush toilets and shower facilities are within walking distance. Shelters are open from April 1 through October 31 and accommodate a maximum of four people.
Cabins: Six cabins located along the north shore of Lake Absegami contain a living room and fireplace; two bunk rooms with double-deck bunks; kitchen with running water, electric stove, refrigerator; bathroom with shower, toilet and sink; and electricity. The screened-in porch faces the lake and there is an outdoor fire ring, grill for cooking, picnic table and bench. Cabins are open April 1 through October 31 and accommodate a maximum of six people.
$42 - $79 / night
Brendan Byrne State Forest is in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, a unique ecosystem known for its sandy soils, acidic waters and diverse plant and animal life. Campers can explore the forest's numerous hiking and biking trails or go fishing or boating in the nearby streams and lakes. The forest also offers a range of educational programs and interpretive displays, providing visitors with the opportunity to learn about the region's natural and cultural history. Visitors can also enjoy a meal at one of the forest's many picnic areas, or spend the day exploring the nearby towns and attractions. There’s also disc golf and guided nature walks.
$3 - $60 / night
$43 / night
$20 - $65 / night
Campsites: There are 176 tent and trailer sites with fire rings and picnic tables. Flush toilets, showers and laundry facilities are within walking distance of all sites. No hook-ups provided. Each site accommodates a maximum of six campers, two vehicles (including trailers) and two tents. Trailer sanitary station is open March 1 through November 30. Campsites are open all year.
Group Campsites: Six group campsites with water and pit toilets are within walking distance. Each site accommodates a maximum of 25 campers. Parking is directly on the site. Open all year. We highly recommend that group leaders carefully estimate their group size so not to overestimate because refunds cannot be made later. Six licensed vehicles only are permitted to park on each group campsite, within the campsite limit signs. Additional vehicles (two per site) are required to pay $5 per night and park in the designated parking area.
Lean-tos: There are nine accessible lean-tos located on the south shore. All lean-tos have a hardwood floor, woodburning stove, outdoor picnic table, fire ring and grill. Flush toilets, showers and laundry facilities are close by. Lean-tos are open year round and accommodate a maximum of six people. Pet Friendly Camping South shore campsites 1 through 85 are designated pet friendly. There is an additional charge of $5 per night if you bring a pet. Pet friendly camping is limited to domestic dogs and cats with a maximum of two pets per camping permit. A Pet Registration and Certification form is required during the check-in process which will be retained in the area files. Dogs and cats must have current rabies vaccinations. Written proof of the pet's current rabies/distemper vaccine and license (if a license is required by the resident's state) must be provided during the check-in process. Pets are not permitted in cabins, shelters or lean-tos.
Shelters: Six shelters located along the north shore of Lake Absegami, each with two bunk rooms, one double-deck bunk in each room, a living room with a picnic table and bench, wood-burning stove and screened double door. All shelters have an outdoor grill for cooking, fire ring, table and benches. Flush toilets and shower facilities are within walking distance. Shelters are open from April 1 through October 31 and accommodate a maximum of four people.
Cabins: Six cabins located along the north shore of Lake Absegami contain a living room and fireplace; two bunk rooms with double-deck bunks; kitchen with running water, electric stove, refrigerator; bathroom with shower, toilet and sink; and electricity. The screened-in porch faces the lake and there is an outdoor fire ring, grill for cooking, picnic table and bench. Cabins are open April 1 through October 31 and accommodate a maximum of six people.
$42 - $79 / night
Traveler
Turkey Swamp is a great spot, a lot of different things to do. Fishing, Tent Camp, Van Camping, Open Field, BBQ, Kayaking, Canoeing. The list goes on. I’ve been here a few times, every time I’m here I barely touch my phone.
Traveler
People are very friendly, never had a problem. Met some good people. They have internet, TV, open gear around, city water, sewer, always there to help.
Traveler
Bathrooms were clean but most of the faucets on the sinks were broken. The water has a very high iron content. I couldn't even use it for tooth brushing. Most of the showers were out of order. The toilets were clean but had the orange staining from the iron in the water. I stayed at Site#8 in a travel trailer. Site was level and easy in and out. Large site off the main road to other sites. Nice hiking trails. Staff very nice. The dump station is sometimes secured has a combination lock. Ask for the combination during check-in. Note: Some sites are right next to hiking trails. If you want privacy, don't choose them.
Verizon cell service was between 1 and 2 bars.
Scout
Website says no tents any more
Scout
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
Guide
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.
Ranger
The campground is very close to home, and a lot of people around our area (central jersey) go there yearly or have seasonal sites there, but for us, it was our first time at the campground. The campground was full of plenty of amenities like basketball, volleyball, cornhole, playground, pool, crafts, bands, a lake, and fishing. The place was clean, and there was no garbage around.
The positives were there were plenty of things to do and they also have this great river that goes through the place so you can walk and throw your tube in and float to the other side of the park 30 mins later get out and do it again. They campground will also bring you up the river further and drop you off on a canoe trip. There is an added cost for rental. I like that they allow you to bring your own golf cart and/ or electric scooters or bikes. They had an old school playground which was better then any new one out there. The store was fully stocked with anything you could possibly want or need. They had a band which played Saturday night and people lined up golfcarts from all over and just lived for this concert.
The negatives are for me campgrounds spots were right on top of one another but they were big spots they dont have tons of trees or shade which. They did have many seasonal sites, which sometimes turns me off and can make the place look a little trashy. The other negative was that the pool was freezing because they would pump water out every night. Someone told us there was an issue with the chemicals, and the pool looked greener every day. The bathrooms by the pool were older and always dirty.
LegendWe stayed in New Jersey for our 5th campground on the East Coast: Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold. This is a County park.
Near some Revolutionary War battlefields.
I really liked this park! They have 2283 acres. A 17 acre lake. Some hiking trails & a nice campground! The sites are all pullthrough. There's lots of vegetation for "privacy". We had a site on the perimeter, which are forest views. Only problem is none of the roads are paved. All are packed sand. We could tell it rained recently because of the muddy tracks. Fortunately it didn't rain while we were there!
Shower/bathrooms are clean, but dated. They're checked regularly. The bath house is for the entire campground. 3 out of the 4 women's were working. There's a shared dressing area.
There's a laundry that doesn't take quarters. EPay.
There's a nice playground in the campground.
They have 3 cabins for rent, with forest views.
The lake has fishing & boat rentals. No gas motors. There's no swimming at the lake. Cell service was fair.. No WiFi.
They have an archery range.
This was my favorite campground on our trip! I really enjoyed camping here! There's a rustic retro quality to the place. I adored the campsites & I didn't see any really bad ones.
Traveler
We stayed on a mon/tues at the end of August and the campground was fairly empty and quiet except for a few generators running & air planes/ helicopters going over. There is an air force base in the area.
Site 33 is the back corner so we did get a bit more traffic going past to get on the sand trails. There is also background noise from the road, but not too loud. There are not many RV sites in the 3 loops - just a handful which is a shame because many of the sites marked as tent only look like they could easily accommodate most RVs, especially smaller rigs.
The dump station is locked so get the combo from the office if you want to use it. The ranger station is a bit of a drive from the camping area so if you don’t have cell service make sure you get it at check in.
Go down to the pond and check out the carnivorous plants- one of the most unique things in this area!
Several choices for hiking, but it’s the pine barrens so it is flat and sandy and ticks can be overwhelming at some times of the year.
Overall this is one of the nicer & quieter options for pine barrens camping
Traveler
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 .
Guide
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.
Scout
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.
Guide
We stayed here for 4 nights. We usually stay at a different campground but we unable to book there so we thought we'd try out SRA. Upon arrival we were met by a pleasant man at the gatehouse who gave us our parking pass, gate key, and map. Our site was easy to find and parking was easily maneuvered.
The grounds were well kept, the pool was clean, the bathhouse was clean AND air conditioned!!!!! Loved the mini golf. Every staff member we encountered was friendly. This is a nice, flat campground so great for bike riding. While there are MANY seasonal sites, we never felt unwelcome - quite the opposite!
We were kind of annoyed by the loud music of other campers. It was late (but not yet quiet hours), we were in our camper, with our air conditioner running and our TV on, and we could still hear their music. This only happened one night but it went on for hours.
Scout
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.
Legend
Pros: 50 AMP, sewer & water hookup Nice amenities
Cons: Sand sites Overpriced Tight site & hard to get in/out for big rigs
Ranger
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.
Legend
We stayed in Site 122, a Red Carpet Pull-Thru RV site, at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp Resort South Jersey for Father’s Day weekend. This was our third stay at this campground, but the first since new owners took over and converted it to a Jellystone.
THINGS I LIKED:
1. Everything, including our site, was in great condition, clean, and good working order
2. Our site was directly across from the Pavilion which was great for Saturday night’s live band
3. Our site included a nice concrete pad big enough to park our 45’ motorhome+ toad
4. Our site was roomy with plenty of mature shade trees
5. The pool and surrounding amenities are nice and clean including lake, snack bar, and ice cream
WOULD WE COME BACK?
Absolutely, this is a nice place for a few days of downtime.
Ranger
Small campground right on the Batons Trail. Water is seasonal. Be bear aware.
Scout
.
ScoutCool
ScoutGreat spot
Guide
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.
TravelerThe campground was clean and well maintained. It's very close to civilization but you get the camping experience. There were a lot of ticks when we stayed in May so keep that in mind.
GuideVery nice campground! It seems as everything has recently been updated! Pool was very nice with splash pad for the kiddos. Pavilion and camp store was brand new. Mini golf was Free yes free and also new. They also had a nice corn hole area. Our site was one of the bigger sites and was easy to back into. Site 181. Would recommend and we will be returning!
LegendWe stayed at Adventure Bound Tall Pines in Elmer, New Jersey, for Memorial Day weekend for a quick getaway. Despite reserving and paying for a“Premium” site, it fell far short. But there were still a few things we liked…
THINGS I LIKED:
1. Super-friendly staff, especially Allie, who was courteous and seemed to try to make things right
2. Lots of mature shade trees
3. DJ at the pool Saturday and Sunday and live band Saturday evening
4. Close proximity to Delsea Drive-in Theatre and Cohenzick Zoo
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH:
1. I reserved and paid-in-full for a premium site which listed 50-amp service and a concrete pad. Nope. Only 30-amp service and no concrete pad. When I called the office, assuming there must’ve been a mistake, I was told by two different staff members that their website is“wonky.” I wouldn’t mind as much, but this weekend was 90-degrees each day and humid, so it would’ve been good to have air conditioning.
2. The entire park was dirty sand with weeds growing everywhere
3. This place is not big-rig friendly, difficult to navigate some of the turns in our 45’ motorhome and taking scratches from tree branches that should be trimmed
4. I paid$432 for 3-nights and feel like I was taken
WOULD WE COME BACK?
Nope. I’m sticking with campgrounds that give you what you paid for.
GuideBass River has become my go-to destination for quick weekend getaways. The south shore campground has a ton of sites with varying degrees of privacy, but all are easy to get to and within a short walk of the restrooms.
The staff at this location is fantastic. I wanted to make some adjustments to my reservation and they took care of everything without issue. The only noise you’ll get is from Stage Road, but it doesn’t have a continuous flow of traffic, especially at night. Amenities nearby include Walmart, Tractor Supply and Wawa, all within a 10-minute drive. I haven’t done much hiking here, but they do have a few great trails.
Overall, this a great campground for just about anyone.
LegendWe stayed at Ocean City Campground for the Newmar Kountry Klub Mid-Atlantic States Rally.
THINGS I LIKED:
Park is within 30-minutes drive-time to Cape May, Ocean City, and Wildwood
Everything we saw was in great condition, perfectly working order, clean, and looked new
Had fun interacting with staff, especially Leslie and Mitch
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH:
Having to leave to go home!!
Our site(#220) could barely accommodate our 45’ motorhome— but we made it work
WOULD WE COME BACK?
Camping near Elwood, New Jersey, offers a variety of experiences for outdoor enthusiasts. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or a family-friendly adventure, there are several campgrounds to choose from.
Camping near Elwood, New Jersey, has something for everyone, from families to solo adventurers. Just remember to plan ahead and enjoy the great outdoors!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular campground near Elwood, NJ?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Elwood, NJ is Atsion Family Camp — Wharton State Forest with a 4.2-star rating from 23 reviews.
What parks are near Elwood, NJ?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 12 parks near Elwood, NJ that allow camping, notably Gateway National Recreation Area and Blue Marsh Lake.
