Camping in Rhode Island

Recent Reviews in Rhode Island

190 Reviews of 34 Rhode Island Campgrounds

• B

  Barry S.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 13, 2024

  Newport RV Park

  Nice and quiet

  Good size sites. Trees. Decent WiFi. Clean and quiet. Not much for amenities - no camp store, pool, activities.

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 7, 2024

  Burlingame State Park Campground

  HUGE state park

  General: HUGE state park with over 700 sites. It does not fully open for the season until May 1 and when we were there in mid-April, only two sections, Fish Camp and Mills Camp were open. The Ranger station is staffed 24 hours a day, with a ranger on site until 11 pm. You need to show your pass to get inside the gate leading to the campsites. There are no hookups in any site (as far as I could tell). Sites are designated for tents, small trailers, large trailers, and RVs. As with other RI state parks, non-residents pay double the price of residents which kind of ticks me off (I don't mind a nominal upcharge but double is excessive IMO).

  Site Quality: The site numbers throughout the park are painted on rocks but the sites themselves are not very clearly defined. There is no designated camping pad. Our site (114) had a water view but was not level. It was large enough for us to park horizontally and make it work for one night. Some sites had excessive roots and also were not level. Some picnic tables have been replaced with new ones, but others badly need it.

  Bath/Shower house: The one in Fish Camp was adequate and clean. There is hot water, but you need to run it for a while before you get any. There was no garbage receptacle, and the toilet paper is so thin, that you can see through it. Showers are $.75 to get it started for the first three minutes. After that, the amount per minute increases to $1, $1.25, $1.50, and so forth. Machines take up to 22 quarters. There is a change machine at the Ranger Station. I did not use the shower so I cannot comment on how well they work. 

  Activities/Amenities: There is a camp store that offers wood, ice, coffee, basic groceries, propane, and canoe rentals. It was open with limited hours during our stay. Fishing, boating, swimming - all in season. Even though the park was only about 10% occupied, there was a strong Ranger presence. He circled our small loop three times just before check-out time and wanted to make sure we were leaving not a minute past the designated time. 

  This was just an overnight stay for us in a convenient location but there is no way I would stay at the height of the season!

• 

  Ioan P.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 1, 2024

  Meadowlark RV Park

  Quiet place

  Bit expensive

• 

  Jacob D.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 18, 2024

  Fishermen’s Memorial State Campground

  Somewhere to stay, not the best

  $18/night if you live here, but $36 if from out of state. Large tent campground with lots of spaces, so everyone is in pretty close together. My main concern is there are showers in the bathrooms you can pay for, but ones outside that are free, but cold water and no curtain, so you literally have no privacy.

• 

  Cynthia K.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 30, 2024

  Wawaloam Campground

  Nice!

   Wawaloam Campground in Rhode Island was our 3rd state & campground on our East Coast trip. Not a lot of choices in Rhode Island, but we liked this camp ground in a rural wooded area. 

     This is kid heaven. Families laughing & enjoying themselves. Besides the pool they have a splash pad, a water slide, mini golf, a nice pond for fishing. The playground is nice. The grounds are well taken care of. The bathroom& showers were checked often. The showers are now free!

    In wooded, rural Rhode Island, but an easy day trip to Newport.

• A

  Arno W.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 26, 2024

  Meadowlark RV Park

  Cramped but close to Newport

  This is an RV camp with mostly regulars and a couple of spots for passersby and short stay.

  We were received very friendly by a nice lady who told us everything about the camp and its surroundings.

  Our site had power and water. There are no showers of toilets. They have a dump station.

  This camp was not our favorite but it was close to Newport and the beach.

• 

  ml Z.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 1, 2024

  East Beach State Campground

  q

  ee

• K

  Kristi J.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 29, 2024

  Burlingame State Park Campground

  Pros outweigh the cons

  Stayed for a week mid-July; during the week had almost an entire loop to ourselves which was wonderful - it felt like having the entire park to ourselves. Things picked up on Friday/Saturday but overall we lucked out with no neighbors who were disrespectful of the quiet hours (10p - 7a). Bathrooms, dumpsters, and portapotties are plentiful, but not always well maintained. Staff are seen frequently throughout the park and are very willing to be helpful when asked - our site had a few Yellowjacket nests and they took care of them for us almost immediately when asked. It’s worth investigating the various sites ahead of time - there are a number of sections much more likely to be busy than others, and lots of low-lying sites that show signs of easily being washed out in anything more than a moderate rain. With multiple great east coast beaches minutes away (as well as conveniences like fuel/stores) we will definitely be back.

• L

  LEAH R.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 15, 2024

  Fishermen’s Memorial State Campground

  FEELS LIKE SUMMER

  Nothing like coming home to NARRAGANSETT..... BEAUTIFUL, clean campground.... Quiet & peaceful..... Bathrooms are very nice..... Not far from ROGER WHEELER BEACH & SCARBOROUGH BEACH.....Right down the street from great RI food.....

• L

  LEAH R.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 15, 2024

  Fort Getty Campground

  HEAVEN ON EARTH

  Such a beautiful destination for tourists, travelers, & beach goers....Talk about being right on the water with access to excellent swimming. Such a lovely vantage point with your tent location from the top of FORT GETTY. Who knew??? Mackerel Cove is awesome....beach, beach, beach.... Bathrooms are ok. Such a hidden gem on the wonderful island of Jamestown!!!! Bring your tent....

• 

  Eddy B.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 8, 2024

  Whispering Pines Campground

  Fun for the family

  Great privately owned family campground. The pool, splash pad, live music and activities for the kids were great!

  AT&T service had only one bar. Couldn’t stream but worked for calls and texts. Campground WiFi was strong but as expected struggled to keep up on this busy 4th of July.

• 

  Mia S.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 24, 2024

  Burlingame State Park Campground

  Enjoyed myself this weekend

  We camped here from Friday to Sunday. The staff in the main office was very inviting and friendly, the rangers kept everyone in check . The bathrooms were kept clean, but the showers in the Legiontown area are kinda crappy, it's mainly the shower heads...they feel like bullets hitting you and you can't even adjust the shower head nozzle. The showers are $1.50/8mins I only put $1.00 in for 5 minutes which was more than enough time for me. There's a beautiful lake and you can rent Kayaks or a canoe for the day I believe it was around $45.00. there's a nice general store, an arcade, playground, trails, cabins... And the sites are pretty big. No real big complaints, except that the staties are usually waiting for you to come back from the bars since there's no alcohol allowed on the property. So if you are to drink off the property, make sure you have a Designated Driver. They love handing out DUIs. (I did not have this issue, but my friends did.)

• B

  Bill C.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 17, 2024

  Fishermen’s Memorial State Campground

  Perfect stay

  My wife and I camped last weekend and it was everything we were looking for. Awesome staff, the perfect location, and clean bathrooms. We will definitely be back!

• 

  Jay H.

  Scout

  

  May. 26, 2024

  Fishermen’s Memorial State Campground

  Quiet, with good amenities

  Very lush and green, and the showers are close to the sites and make longer stays more comfortable

• 

  Ryan A.

  Guide

  

  May. 15, 2024

  George Washington State Campground

  An OK Campground but not Great

  Camped out here for two nights after reading about this place in the"Best Tent Camping: New England" book. It's better than the other campgrounds in Rhode Island that I looked at (Burlingame, Fort Getty) but isn't my favorite campground. If you're not a Rhode Island resident the fee for most sites is$36/night. Is it worth it? Eh, probably not unless you're really jonesing to camp for a weekend in the Ocean State. 

  It does have some great things going for it, namely the hiking trails and views of the lake. There are some tent-only sites which are numbered T1-T5. I stayed in T5 and it was the best of the bunch because it had the most privacy and space, including a grassy area. The other tent-only sites were fairly small and if you go to any mixed use sites you run the risk of having an RV next to you. The A1-A7 sites are remote and hike in, but you're going to have to hike either 0.4 or 0.6 miles through some uneven terrain. The next best group of sites would be 19-24 which are on their own small loop near the lake. 

  The things I didn't like were the streetlights over the port-a-potties that shine all night. There is a manned gate where you check in and you have to get let into the campground during the day, but at night the gates are wide open and it seems like some people know this because there are a few oddballs around in the early morning. There is swimming at the lake but it looked way too dirty. 

  Overall the place was managed very well, the sites were cleanish and the grounds were taken care of. The employees drove by at least once an hour, I thought they were collecting trash from dumpsters but the only place with a dumpster is near the entrance. I couldn't figure out why they kept driving by so often. I had a good time, it was relaxing and scratched the camping itch.

• 

  Jake C.

  Legend

  

  Mar. 1, 2024

  The Giddyup Getaway at The River Haven Sanctuary

  New to the Dyrt!

  Jake from the Dyrt here! We're excited to have this campground on the Dyrt and ready for you to book, check them out and make sure to leave a review!

• 

  Paul R.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 5, 2023

  Burlingame State Park Campground

  Friendly but busy

  This is a great spot that’s perfect for a weekend camping. I ended up getting a cabin here and stayed the night. It was thwir opening weekend and the weather was pretty cold so we didn’t have to foght the crowds too much. That said, they have a huge capacity and during summer the place is swarmed by RV’ers and folks staying for longer stays.

• c

  chris

  Scout

  

  Sep. 17, 2023

  Newport RV Park

  Top Platz!

  Der Camping Platz ist super ausgerüstet. Die Plätze sind grosszügig und gut gepflegt. Auch wenn der Platz eher teuer ist, bekommt man dort sehr viel. Das Personal ist sehr zuvorkommend und flexibel. Von der Lage her ist man auf ein Auto angewiesen.

• N

  Name

  Scout

  

  Aug. 27, 2023

  George Washington State Campground

  Top tier

  Very clean, not as busy, and has all the basics. Everyone complains about the local small wildlife getting into your food but basic practices can keep them out so it’s not a problem I had

• 

  Jessica D.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 21, 2023

  Wawaloam Campground

  Family friendly, great campstore, quiet

  We stayed here from a Tuesday to Thursday with our 21ft travel trailer & our dog. We had site 50. It was private, a great size & has water/electric. We had good cover on our site & the area our site was in was super quiet. There are both seasonal and regular sites on this campground. The camp store has everything you might need. The front gate staff are friendly and helpful. There seemed to be lots of activities on the weekends & it's definitely a family friendly/kid friendly spot. Dog friendly too! Lots of other campers had their dogs w them. We used this as our home base to visit Newport, which is about 35 min from the campground.

• 

  Sarah A.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 13, 2023

  Newport RV Park

  Nice, but further out than we thought

  This park was very nice, but they advertise being 5 miles away from historic Newport, and it’s more like 8. There are zero bike paths that are immediately accessible and Newport drivers are not walker/biker friendly. No sidewalks on the Main Street to get you here. Ubers and Lyfts can be scarce and very expensive depending on the time of day. Between $16 to $78 rides…so, if you’re not towing, just something to be aware of. Neighbors were super nice and there is a great dog park (we think it’s city owned) with super nice doggo humans. Was good for a short stay - we just wish we had known how far out it really was because we really would have loved to spend more time downtown.

• 

  Laurie M.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 19, 2023

  Burlingame State Park Campground

  Once a gem, but steadily declining.

  Burlingame state park campground is 3100 acres and many of the 739 reservable campsites are well spaced out and you could obtain great privacy if you know which site to pick. The condition of the park has steadily declined since about 2016. Plans are in the work to update all bathroom facilities, but it keeps getting pushed back year after year. Burlingame State Park campground is the only state park managed by an outside corporation who assumes the day to day responsibilities for campsites, dumpsters and bathrooms. Ongoing issues, especially on holiday weekends have been noted by hundreds of campers.  The new pre-registration offered through Reserve America has been a great improvement. It allows to avoid the long lines at the check-in station and drive straight up to the gate. Lack of staff on the management level, and Rhode Island state park department level definitely shows. Rhode Island DEM is allowing this wonderful campground to deteriorate. Flooding issues during even minor rainfall is apparent in a large portion of sites, so beware which campsite you reserve. Camper created group called Bound4burlingame has filmed every campsite and put them on YouTube and has created a private group on FB where the camping community of Burlingame contributes daily to an extremely popular public forum. Best place to gain info and insight. Get campsite recommendations straight from the people who actually camp there.

• 

  Laurie A.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 9, 2023

  Oak Leaf Family Campground

  Seasonal campground

  If I had any idea before arriving that this was a seasonal parking lot I never would have booked here and suggest you don’t either. Rules are not enforced for seasonals, so it’s party time, all the time! The teenie swimming pool is wall to wall kids with adult swim for a single hour in the middle of the afternoon. If you’d like to jump into a cesspool be my guest.  Water pressure in the showers was seriously lacking and the bathrooms needed to be cleaned. This campground is near nothing!  And the dump station is located on the wrong side. I couldn’t wait to leave!!

• A

  Amy S.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 9, 2023

  Burlingame State Park Campground

  Wouldn’t return unless I had a self contained RV

  The sites in the 500 section are nice and big, and that’s about where the positives end :( There was a huge party that went on till 3 AM with crazy loud music, if you like quiet nights this is not your place. I really don’t mind loud people though so if that had been the worst of it I would have been ok. For me the bathrooms and dumpsters were absolutely unacceptable 🤢 I think the bathroom was cleaned once the 3 days we were there. There was feces on the toilet 2 of the 3 days, people washing dishes in bathroom sinks, floors covered in garbage. The dumpster smelled so bad and you couldn’t even throw garbage away, it was so full people just kept tossing it on top. Most of the time there was one person checking people in at the desk and trying to let people in the gate which takes forever since they have to check papers and license plates. Also, the mosquitoes are relentless so bring bug spray, lots of it.

• M

  Monique C.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 5, 2023

  Newport RV Park

  Sites

  Sites were not bad. They did have stone down for a base. Sites are 1/2 in wooded areas and 1/2 in open field. We went on a Holiday Weekend but they were not very personable and did not give us events going on around. There is no pool here. Beaches are about a 15-20 min drive

• 

  Greg S.

  Ranger

  

  Jun. 27, 2023

  Wawaloam Campground

  4.6 stars

  Large sites, great stone fire rings, full hookups, huge pool, waterslides, splash pad, playground, great camp store... this place brings a lot to the table for a very fair price of 60 bucks. There is a large seasonal camper section in the back, most are really well done, a few bad apples but overall nice. The front camping section is very pleasant and well spaced out. We had a lot of fun here.

• 

  Christine C.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 23, 2023

  Wawaloam Campground

  Large campsites

  Pool and slide were great - wish the slides were open the whole day. It may have just been the time of year we were there though. Site was huge. Having food and ice cream there was a plus. Not many kids activities, but again, that may have been because we weren't there during peak summer time.