Best Glamping near Ridgewood, NJ

Easy access from Rt 80 and located close to the Lakota Wolf Preserve. With tours leaving them campground twice a day on both Saturday and Sundays for the wolf preserve, I was glad there was camping so close. The camping selection of sites is excellent with Cabins, Glamping tents, primitive tent sites and of course RV sites. I choose to stay in one of the glamping tents and was pleasantly surprised at the space inside the tent even with a double bed and two other fold out couches to beds. Water is available at the site. A small lake for swimming and boating. And lots of trails linking you to the Delaware river water gap area.

Campground Review

Stokes State Forest has four campgrounds. The Steam Mill Camping Area is tucked out the of the way and is the most primitive. It is the smallest of the campgrounds with 27 sites only suitable for tents or small trailers/campervans. No pets or alcohol allowed.

The campground has a pit toilet and a well. Each large campsite has a picnic table, fire pit, and lantern hook. Some sites also have a tent platform. Many sites are a bit rocky.

We selected site T219. It was a solid choice: private but close to the toilet and water. Some sites located around the opposite side of the ring back up to a babbling brook. The rushing water will soothe you to sleep.

Remember, this is bear country so proper food storage is a must. Bear lockers are not provided. The area also has ticks and rattlesnakes.

Outdoor activities in the area abound. Go fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, and more. There are 21 marked trails that cover over 63 miles within the boundaries of Stokes State Forest. Twelve miles are part of the Appalachian Trail. Pick up a hiking map at the park office or download the Avenza Maps app.

This visit we hiked the Tillman Ravine trail (tip: make the trail a loop and visit both the ravine and the nearby old cemetery).

You can also drive or hike to Sunset Mountain Scenic Overlook for a view of High Point Monument. High Point Monument is the highest elevation in New Jersey and is located in High Point State Park which borders Stokes State Forest on the north. High Point State Park also offers camping, hiking, sightseeing opportunities. And, on the western border of Stokes State Forest is the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. So, there is lots of outdoors to get out and explore!

Product Review

We camped at the Steam Mill Camping Area in Stokes State Forest in our campervan over a chilly autumn weekend. We had the opportunity to cook some soup on our stovetop and chill out by the campfire. And, as Rangers for The Dyrt, we get products to test from time to time so we were psyched to try out some new dinnerware and cutlery. This included the FlexiBowl and GoBites from humangear.

What made these humangear products pretty awesome? Well, the fun colors to start. I mean, seriously, my orange bowl rules. The FlexiBowl also has some neat features: it’s flexible - just like the name suggests - and foldable. The bowl can be squished and stuffed anywhere. And, the top section can be folded down to create a smaller bowl. The FlexiBowl is versatile yet durable. It held my hearty, warm soup just perfectly.

I paired the FlexiBowl with one of the GoBites utensils (the Uno model). The Uno model is my favorite - it has a fork on one side and a spoon on the other side. Very simple and convenient. The other GoBites models include the Duo (separate fork and spoon that can snap together) and the Trio (a fork, spoon, and knife - with bottle opener - in a case).

PRO TIP: I keep the Trio GoBites model in my travel pack at all times. It recently came in handy on a (non-camping) trip to Sardinia. The knife on the Trio allowed me to slice some delicious local cheese to pair with bread, jam, and wine that was purchased from the grocery store. YUM.

My first trip to this campground was September 2020. We wanted to get out of the house, but stay clear of other campers during the pandemic. This campsite, CS52, was in the woods and we were able to get the illusion of privacy by parking the cars along the road as a makeshift wall and pitching our tents beside them, facing inward. The other 3/4 of the campsite was bound by trees and shrubs which was nice and why we chose the spot. Other sites are more open and only the darkness of night will give you privacy. Each campsite has a firepit/ring, picnic table, and lantern hook.

We hung out at the campsite mostly, using the fire pit, playing frisbee, and relaxing in our hammocks. When we did roam a bit, there was a nice lake, with seating every so often and a boat dock ramp thing in the campground. There was also a playground, beach, pavilion, and picnic tables, but we did not use any of that. 

Campsite sells fire wood. Clean bathrooms with flush toilets and showers, masks required for the pandemic.

I really enjoyed camping at Shotwell. To get there, you have to drive about 2 miles down a road away from the welcome center. This is nice because it is quiet from traffic from cars. Each campsite is fairly big and far enough away from each other so you feel like you have your own space. Some of the sites had a platform to set up your tent on which is nice, especially if you are going after it recently rained. Our site had a picnic table and fire ring. There was a communal bathroom which was fairly well maintained and a large dumpster near the front of the site to drop off your trash. They did have a cabin-like option but I did not stay in it and do not know much about renting those.

We stayed in a RV and a tent. There were eight people in total sleeping on the site. We stayed July 1 and 2nd. The actual site was nice and was close to the bathrooms. There was plenty of shade as the sun moved throughout the day. The park used to be a swim attraction but the water is not safe to swim in because of a dangerous algae bloom. While walking around, it gave off an abandoned summer camp feel. There were maybe six structures (concessions, changing rooms, etc) that were all boarded up. Thursday night was quiet. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the sounds of nature. The next night, there were many more people there. In one site, campers set up at least five tents. They were very loud past the curfew time of 10. Quiet hours were not taken seriously on that night.

The minute we arrived at Camp Taylor we knew we were in for something special. Our campsite was very spacious and backed up to a creek, and we appreciated the effort the owners made in keeping all of the sites private and spread out from each other. We booked this trip based on the wolf preserve that is on the grounds (separate fee and reservation), and not only was the tour fantastic and informative, hearing wolves howling from our campsite is something we will never forget.

We expected the tour to be the highlight of our trip, but we were so wrong. We spent four days at Camp Taylor, never left the grounds, and filled our days with the perfect amount of activity and relaxation. The kids immediately took to exploring the creek and woods behind our campsite and of course they loved the small arcade and playground. There is a cute 9-hole mini golf course on the premises, and after renting clubs and balls, had one of the best times of our whole trip laughing and competing for top spot. There was also a lake with a swimming beach, but we did not partake this trip.

We did some fantastic hiking here. One day we headed up past the wolf preserve to the Wildlife Lake. Another day we took the Mountain Trail up the side of Mt. Tammany (the trail goes 500 ft straight up the side, but our four kiddos under 10 were able to manage ok) and took the Fire Road Trail out to the Mt. Tammany overlook. Here you are afforded a great view of the Delaware Water Gap and Mt. Minsi across the river in PA. The whole hike was about 7.5 miles round trip and took our slow moving crew around 5 hours, but the views and wildlife were well worth it. We didn’t see any bear, but saw lots of bear scat, and passed a super chill doe and her two fawns casually grazing next to the trail.

The staff were super friendly and helpful. The camp store had a few necessities and importantly for us, frozen treats (which we used as a bribe for some of our less enthusiastic mini-hikers) and chocolate for s’mores (which we somehow forgot). The facilities were clean and well-maintained. We very much appreciated the separate family/handicapped shower with its own toilet and sink for helping our little ones. Quiet hours were strictly enforced, which we appreciated, but we also found that being so far away from other campsites made everything seem quieter and more secluded in general.

We felt like this was family camping at its finest. We’ve done a lot of great camping this summer, from state parks to privately owned campgrounds, and this was by far our favorite trip.

This is a good platform campsite, with a lot of gravel parking or extra tent space. It is not very private/secluded as it is right by the road, but we enjoy waving at neighbors driving or walking by. Short 5-10 min walk to the restroom and water, no sinks or showers. The weather was warm and while it didn't rain, there were some morning drips and drops from the mountain dew or whatever condensing in the tree tops.

The setup is a bit weird, with an upper campsite trail/path cutting through the lower campsite. Twenty-nine is the lower campsite, 30 is the one up the hill. There might be some awkwardness if you did have neighbors at 30. They would be walking in between your tent and campfire, which would be awkward. However, there is a marked parking spot for 30 down the road a bit and also a rocky, more adventurous path through the woods up to the campsite. If asked, we would probably let 30 park with us since there is so much space and safer footing. It would probably be awesome to get both campsites if you had a larger group, 6+. Party campsite at the top and business campsite at the bottom? lol.

We didn't have neighbors at 30, but the campsite across the road, down by the lake, did park nearby. Setting up the hammock was a bit awkward.

Spiders, omg, spiders. So many spiders! I had to clear off so many spiders from my "porch" to sit without fear from above. I will bring a broom now to brush off my foes, the bane of my camping experience. If you can get over that, this is a very good campsite.