Best Cabin Camping near Red Bank, NJ

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.

   We 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.

Flat site, no tent bed, enough space to park two cars. Campsite decent size, but some don't have clear boundaries to neighbors, and sometimes not optimally configured (e.g., the site next door's fire pit was placed on the edge of its site/right next to my site). Could hear the traffic on Rte 72 at night despite being a half mile away.

Bathrooms were clean and stocked, warm/hot water available. No issues with firepit, water, plenty of tinder nearby. Bought firewood at the office for $7, but there is plenty of dead wood lying around outside the campsite. Picnic tables were somewhat hacked/battoned for kindling, but many sites had a log lying around for such purpose.

Went during the week and there were only 3 other campsites in use, ran into very few people on the trails. Ticks were definitely present but wasn't too crazy - found 2 on me in 3 days, no mosquito bites... thanks permethrin!

Pros... Located right next to six flags great adventure. Staff is very nice! Lots of sites for RVs and tents. Lake, mini golf, golf cart rental, huge pool, snack stand, small store Packed with food & everything you could possibly need for camping. Bathroom/ showers were decently clean.

Cons... Small camp site. Fire ring seemed to be an old truck rim (no grill, but they'll sell you one 🙄). Old beat up picnic table in the weeds. No privacy. Could definitely be maintained a little better. Trash in the lake, old out of service chairs, boats, and junk next to the lake. Didn't seem to be any hiking trails. Due to covid restrictions the pool was limited to 71 people at a time and was plenty crowded! I'd hate to see it at full capacity! After 2 hours of swimming a panty liner was spotted floating around. We alerted the staff who then came, picked it up and threw it out. We left in disgust. There was a group campsite of about 30 people a few sites down from us that partied like the world was ending and basically ruined our stay. Complained to staff multiple times and every time they warned the rowdy site. Staff was very apologetic to us and even comped our groceries. I got the impression that a lot of the trailer campers live there year round (or maybe just the summer). You walk around, meet some people and it seems a little like a trashy trailer park. Then the rowdy campers. Is this place a trash magnet? Again the staff was really nice and tried their best but I wouldn't go back. Oh and the wood they sell you is dog shit! Only time I've ever seen a burning log go out on it's own after a few minutes.

4½ Stars Quick Weekend Getaway 

We stayed at Butterfly Camping Resort in Jackson, New Jersey, for a 2-night weekend in late-August. We’re so glad we did! 

Our site(#90) was a level pull-thru with 50-amp electric, water, sewer, 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, charcoal grill, and fire ring. 

The gated campground was clean and well-maintained. The swimming pool was large and the water crystal clear. The store was stocked with typical 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 lots of play areas. 

The front office staff were all friendly and we love that, especially when checking in at a new campground. When I called for a last-minute reservation, they seemed glad to have us. 

This park is close to Great Adventure and not far from the Jersey shore if that’s in your plans. 

There were two observations I’d categorize as ‘no park is perfect.’ The site was sandy. The whole place is sandy. This is messy, especially after a bit of rain(which we had), and makes it a constant challenge to keep the sand out of the RV. If the site had gravel, grass, or some other surface, this would be a 5-star review. They offer wifi which is nice to have, but it didn’t work very well. I realize this is a common complaint at many campgrounds, but we’ve come to want to stay connected(at least, a little). 

This is a really nice campground with inviting pool and facilities. We can’t wait to go back!