Best Equestrian Camping near South Orange, NJ

Stokes is nestled in a beautiful part of New Jersey and it’s just remote enough that you can get away from the crowds and activity while still being in a short driving distance of restaurants, grocery stores, etc. We stayed at Lake Ocquittunk, which was a little disappointing. The site itself (T001) was absolutely massive and stunningly beautiful. Unfortunately, when the site was cleared, trees were cut down to the stump and the stumps were just left there. This posed both a tripping hazard and a driving hazard. You have to weave your way around the various stumps and small boulders protruding from the ground in all lighting conditions. The site is on a gentle slope, which made it difficult to find a level area for the tent, but we found a spot that suited us perfectly. The campground overall needs some improvement. It almost felt neglected or abandoned. The bathrooms weren’t great, but I’ve seen much worse. The park staff were incredibly helpful and generous with time and information. Directions were easy to follow and we felt comfortable staying there. Ultimately, we would gladly return in the future, but we might visit in a warmer season.

   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.

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.

First off, the rep on the phone who says Love all the time is just pure joy!

This campground is like a parking lot, with absolutely nothing but a spot to park. It’s pricy, but if your planning on seeing everything NYC has to offer, you can’t get a better base camp unless you got a room in the city.

It’s super close to public transportation. There’s cute good food spots all around. You feel safe for being in a big city. You can see Lady Liberty from the park.

Was it my favorite place to stay, no. But for the time we spent at home at the campground, which was minimal, it worked perfect. We got to spend 8 days in the city exploring, we were exauhsted, but we felt we did the city good!

This RV park is literally just a parking lot and quite expensive for what it is.

The location is great, but the surrounding streets may be hard to maneuver with an RV if you’re a newbie. You can see the Statue of Liberty from the park, and there were several cafes and restaurants within walking distance.

If you’re looking for actual amenities, this probably isn’t the park for you. But if you just need a base camp for doing tourist activities in NYC then this place will do.

There is 24 hour security which is nice as well. We felt safe while we were there, but it was also fairly empty too.

I would give this place a 5-star review based on how convenient everything was.  There us a ferry 100-yards away that takes you to Wall Street M-F.  There is a great market about 1/4 of a mile away, and the path that can take you to WTC or 33rd Street area is only a mile away.  

However, it is just a gravel parking lot, with water and electricity.  There is a dump station, but not the easiest to use.  The laundry was not working properly and ate a good $5 of our quarters.  We went to the office where the security guard told us that they cannot do anything and that we would need to come back when the office was open, we did that and they said they would look into it and call us back.  No one did anything.

But, again if you are looking for a place to crash and hit up the city or Liberty Island, this place is great, just not 5-star.