Best RV Parks & Resorts near Island Heights, NJ

We 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.

We stayed at Baker’s Acres Campground in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, for a weekend in mid-August. So did the rains of Hurricane Henri! 

Our site(#Zoo-1) was a level back-in with 50-amp electric, water, sewer, and cable. It was easy to pull in and accommodates larger rigs. The hook-ups were all well-maintained and worked fine. We had plenty of room to fit our car too. The site included a picnic table and fire ring. My favorite thing about this campground is that most of the sites have plenty of trees and shrubs for semi-privacy, shade, and a rustic feel. 

This campground has been family run for over 50-years and has an interesting history that’s worth reading more about. Our site is located across from the pickle ball court which used to be a petting zoo(now the site# should make sense, right?). We came because we wanted to experience one of New Jersey’s oldest campgrounds. We liked the interesting vignettes they created around the campground as well as the goldfish pond near the office and store. 

Baker’s Acres is well-maintained. The amenities include a swimming pool, lots of sports courts/fields, and a bunch of family-friendly scheduled activities. There is a camp store with all the usual items as well as bath and laundry facilities. The wifi service was ok, but costs$1 per day per device. Our Verizon cell service worked fine. 

The front office staff were all friendly and we love that, especially when checking in at a new campground. 

Drive time to Tuckerton Seaport is about 10-minutes and Long Beach Island is about 35-minutes depending on traffic. There are plenty of stores within a 5-mile drive if you should need anything including Walmart, super markets, convenience stores, and several restaurants. 

Our only minor negative was that our site was sandy dirt which created a bit of a mess, especially after the rain. It is the Jersey shore, after all. This would have been 5 stars if the site had gravel, grass, or was finished with concrete. It’s a pet peeve, but I hate having to constantly clean up to keep the sand out of our RV. 

This is a great old-fashioned campground close to LBI. We’ll can’t wait to go back!

Atsion Family Campground

Off US 206 and about 1/2 a mile up Atsion Road in New Jersey’s Wharton State Forest, you’ll find the Atsion Family Campground. The facility is run by the Dept of Environmental Protection and offers Tent, Trailer and Group Sites. There are also Cabins for rent as well, but only available during the summer months, After Memorial Day until October. AFC is one of several campgrounds in WSF and is the largest with 50 camping sites. Amenities include a handicapped accessible restroom/shower building, several drinking water spigots, and a waste dump for trailers. There are no electric hook ups and cell service is low, but manageable. Plenty of sun (shady too) so bring your solar powered generators and cell signal boosters if you need to stay connected. AFC is also pet friendly, so bring your 4 legged furry family members, after registering them with the camp site.

The individual sites are spacious with a pic-nick table and fire ring grill. Some sites have lake-side water access, so bring your canoes and kayaks and reserve these sites (4, 8, 10, 12, 20 and 22) early as they are popular. The ground is sandy and relatively level for easy camp set up. Some sites are close to a roadway, so you do get some car noise, and like all unmonitored camp sites, loud, unruly campers can be lurking among the pines. Be sure to get your fire wood from the guy that lives across the street from the campground entrance. 5 bucks, on the honor system, a good amount of wood, open 24/7.

Nearby is the Atsion Recreation Area, which offers fishing, walking, biking and horseback trails, a life guard monitored beach by the lake with restrooms and snacks (Summer Months). Only 15 minutes away, a quick drive, is Batso Village, an old iron and glass community from the late 1700s to early 1900s. NJ State Park Rangers are working hard keeping the area clean, rehabilitated, and educational center allowing you to walk through the old buildings and time as you image what life was like back then. Wharton SF is huge, over 122,000 acres of sandy terrain, towering pine trees, lakes/rivers and off roading trails!! Y’all should come and play in the Pine Barrens

5 Stars / Labor Day Weekend 

We stayed at Holly Acres Campground in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, for Labor Day weekend. We’re so glad we did! 

Our site(#A28) was a level pull-thru with 50-amp electric, water, sewer, wifi, and cable. It was roomy, shady, and easy to pull in and out. The hook-ups were all well-maintained and worked fine. We had plenty of room to fit our car too. The site included a picnic table and fire ring. 

The gated campground was clean and well-maintained. The swimming pool was inviting. The store was a bit small and date, but stocked with basic essentials like supplies, fire wood, and snacks. Most of the neighboring RVs were nice and in good shape. The park has bath facilities, a dump station on the way out, and a fishing pond. 

This park is just a few minutes from the Garden State Parkway and close to Atlantic City, Brigantine, Historic Smithville, and Absecon— all within 30-minutes drive-time. You can visit casinos, the Absecon Lighthouse, and several beach towns without going far. 

For Labor Day weekend, the staff walked around Jezel, a friendly horse, and hosted a BBQ in their pavilion. 

This is a nice campground with plenty to do nearby. We can’t wait to go back!

Not Much of a ‘Resort’

We stayed at Shady Pines MH& RV Resort for a one-night getaway just for the camping experience. 

The park was easy to find and located just under 3-miles from the Garden State Parkway. 

The front office staff person was polite and prepared for our arrival. 

I reserved this site using Campspot. The rate was$65 plus$23 in fees for a total of$88 for one night. 

Even though I provided accurate dimensions for our motorhome, the site was inadequately sized to accommodate the full length. The much bigger problem was that it sloped so much it was impossible to level. I didn’t have enough blocks to prop up the leveling jacks enough to level the RV. I called the front office and was given another site to try. That didn’t work any better. I called back and was given a third site which was the worst so far. Then, at the fourth attempt we could get level. The site was still on a decline, but not as bad as the other three. 

Our site (#71) was too short for our 37’ motorhome. I made it fit, but measured just 3-inches of air between the back of my RV and the back of our neighbor’s RV. Three inches! The site had not been checked since its last guests left because there was refuse(used bandages, a used propane canister, etc.) that should have been cleaned prior to check-in by new guests. The water, 50-amp electric, and sewer hookups worked fine.

Other than a small swimming pool and a small fenced area for dogs, there were no amenities.

In speaking with our neighbor, it became apparent that there are several people working on assignment for a nearby decommissioned nuclear power plant who live at this campground. Shady Pines caters to long-term and year-round guests as well as manufactured homes/trailers that are permanent. We were the only motorhome in the entire park. This is ok, but a sign that while this place suits their needs, it doesn’t do much to attract couples and families on overnight trips and vacations.

Due to the sloped and not-so-clean sites, lack of amenities, and full-price rate charged, we won’t be back.

Turkey Swamp Park is a great find! Heavily wooded and supremely quiet, it’s located not far from anywhere you’d want to be. 30 minutes to the shore. Every site is a pull-through, large and spacious with great woodland views. 30amp and water. Dump station.

The park has miles of shady forested trails for hiking and dog walking. there’s a large lake here too, for water based recreational activities.

The bathrooms, showers, and laundry are co-located in a centrally situated structure. Everything inside is clean and well-maintained.

We’ve got good cell signal with Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. (We use all three.) Good OTA television signal also.

We spent three days here in July 2021.

Campground is nice, wooded, level, hard-packed sand lots. The roads are narrow getting to the ground and very tight inside especially for larger rigs. We have a 36ft, 5th wheel and it was tight getting into the spot. The roads are also uneven. Otherwise the full hookup site was good with a picnic table and fire-ring. Staff were very friendly and helpful at check-in. Cell service, (Verizon), was weak and the local wi-fi ok when it worked. It went down during the second night and never came back on. Location is convenient for central Jersey shore. Lots of full time rigs and seems to be very kid friendly. Overall very happy with the campground and will be back when in the area.