Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Benson? The Dyrt helps you find campsites with tent camping near Benson. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of Benson, Vermont's most popular destinations.
Hearthstone Campground rests at the end of picturesque Lake George just 2 miles north of the Village of Lake George; this has become a very popular vacation location in New York. Lake George region offers some of the most diverse recreation opportunities in NYS. A Junior Naturalist Program is also offered at Hearthstone, and the successful camper can earn a naturalist patch for their efforts.
The park is divided by Route 53. 19 tent/RV sites and 7 lean-to sites are on one side of the highway in a heavily wooded area, and 17 tent/RV sites are located along the perimeter of a grassy open area near the beach. There are restrooms with flush toilets, hot and cold running water and coin-operated hot showers. There is also a concession stand selling snacks, drinks and beach toys.
Nearby hiking trails to scenic vistas, waterfalls, caves, mountain lakes and streams provide outstanding hiking opportunites. Mountain biking trails are also nearby. There is fishing and boating on Lake Dunmore (canoe, kayak, rowboat, and pedal boat rentals are available at the park).
There are many general forest areas available on the Green Mountain National Forest for rustic or dispersed camping. These areas provide a place to camp and enjoy nature’s solitude at no charge. Visitors can camp anywhere on the forest unless the area is posted closed to camping. Camp in existing sites or stay the strongly recommended 200 feet from roads, streams, trails, and bodies of water to disperse impact. Do not cut any vegetation. There is a camping limit of 14 days in any 30-day period on the Forest. Please leave the campsites clean by using Leave No Trace Principles, such as carry out what you carry in.
Forest Road 35 in Pittsfield, off of State Route 100, provides many camping opportunities in the woods and along Michigan Brook. The road is not recommended for low clearance vehicles.
Turtle Island is in the Mother Bunch and is a favorite among locals. It does not take long to discover that Turtle Island is the best kept secret of Lake George with jumping rocks, beautiful islands, and quieter waters.
$28 / night
UNPLUGGED!!!!! Two options: 1.) Secluded Tenting or Hanging right on the creek. 50 yards from waterfall. 2.) Fully loaded 32' Cherokee Camper. Sundeck, hammocks and floats. Huge private Swimming hole, waterfall and cave. Adjacent Penfield foundation 1500 acres of creek's, waterfalls, pond for hiking and fishing. 5 ADK lakes within 15 min, ADK hiking trails 20 min. Revolutionary war forts and ruins 15 min. Outhouse and Cape Cod shower not far away.
$35 - $100 / night
$23 / night
There are many general forest areas available on the Green Mountain National Forest for rustic or dispersed camping. These areas provide a place to camp and enjoy nature’s solitude at no charge. Visitors can camp anywhere on the forest unless the area is posted closed to camping. Camp in existing sites or stay the strongly recommended 200 feet from roads, streams, trails, and bodies of water to disperse impact. Do not cut any vegetation. There is a camping limit of 14 days in any 30-day period on the Forest. Please leave the campsites clean by using Leave No Trace Principles, such as carry out what you carry in.
Forest Road 35 in Pittsfield, off of State Route 100, provides many camping opportunities in the woods and along Michigan Brook. The road is not recommended for low clearance vehicles.
Guide
Access to campground is on a gravel road but my van did okay. It is small and primitive and there is a camp host who is very nice. Within walking distance from the campground are accesses to hiking / biking trails. Sites are spacious and shady.
Scout
It was a very quiet location. There was plenty of room between sites. The roads going in and leaving were well maintained. I accidently booked a tent site, and my popup camper and truck almost didn't fit. We will have to go back and get a shelter site. This way we can get the beautiful views of the mountains. We both enjoyed the Coolidge State Park
Scout
This is a picnic area that people insist on camping there and because of this kind of stuff is why we keep loosing free camping sites
Scout
There are a lot of camping sites for tents at this location. Quite a few lean-tos to rest . Restrooms with coin operated showers. Every site has a picnic table.
Scout
I needed a place to stop, been traveling for 6 hours. Nice enough for me. Everything was wet from last night's rain. Everyone was pleasant.
Traveler
small number of sites and a bit hard to find
Legend
This is a great spot to stop for a night with your RV and enjoy the river for a night.
Easy to get to, just off of a one-way paved road.
Legend
There are a handful of sites to camp at along the river here, each offering a slightly different experience. The dirt road along the river is an easy drive, though it is single lane in a few locations, so be aware of oncoming traffic. Some of the sites are drive in, some are walk in, but all are primitive.
There is no electricity, no cell coverage, not outhouses in this area. Be prepared to pack out everything you bring in.
This area is being heavily use and some spots are being shut down from abuse, please be aware that you have a lot of impact, and that impact can be positive or negative. Choose Positive!
This area is closed in the winter due to snow, by the GMNF
Scout
I strongly urge anyone considering Getaway Mountain Campground to stay far away. Our experience here was nothing short of appalling. From the moment we checked in, the owners were extremely rude and unwelcoming. After staying for the weekend, we extended our stay due to the campground’s cleanliness, thinking it would be perfect for our family, including our three children with special needs and our service animals.
Unfortunately, the owner’s behavior quickly escalated. One day, the man running the office drove by on his golf cart and began yelling and swearing at me, accusing us of not picking up after our dogs. I explained that we always clean up after them, but he refused to listen. We decided to leave for the weekend to avoid further conflict, but when we returned, we found piles of dog poop deliberately placed near our motorhome. Things worsened when one of our children, who is nonverbal, picked up a pile of the mess.
When we addressed the issue with the office, the owner’s wife not only refused to acknowledge their behavior but also accused us of lying. The man’s hostile behavior escalated again, yelling and swearing at us in front of our children. He threatened to have us thrown out by the police, which he followed through on. The officers who responded could see that this was a personal issue and were baffled as to why they had been called. We were told to leave, but not before being denied a refund for the remaining days we had already paid for.
To make matters worse, we’ve since learned that the owners of Getaway Mountain Campground have been actively calling around to other campgrounds, slandering our name. They falsely claim we don’t pick up after our dogs and that my husband chased the owner with a 2x4—an outright lie. The current campground we’re staying at informed us of this and has stated that they’ve seen no issues with us or our pets. In fact, the surrounding campers have no complaints, and the campground owner is willing to write a statement about the situation, including notifying the authorities of this baseless harassment.
The entire experience left us feeling targeted and mistreated. We have traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and have never encountered anything like this. Save yourself the trouble and avoid this campground at all costs.
Verdict: AVOID Getaway Mountain Campground.
Traveler
I like the atmosphere at Bridgeview Harbour Marina! The serene views and vibrant community make it a perfect spot to unwind. Speaking of unwinding, if you ever find yourself overwhelmed with writing assignments or projects, I highly recommend trying out domypaper.com writing service. They provide excellent support and can help you tackle any writing task with ease. Whether it’s for school, work, or personal projects, their team of experts ensures top-notch quality and timely delivery. So, after enjoying a day at the marina, consider getting some writing help to keep your stress levels down. Cheers to good times at the marina!
Ranger
Came in on a Wednesday afternoon in late September and found several available camp sites.
There are no amenities at this campground. It is an open field on the left side of the road with two or three sites on the right side of the road that are walk in sites.
The scenic beauty of this place is amazing. There was some color in the forest but most of it was still green. There are wide open views of 3 mountain ranges. There are many flowering plants, wild apple trees on the right side of the road. Lots of birds, butterflies, and bees (they were not agressive).
The campground was very quiet at night except for an occasional owl hoot.
We were fortunate to have perfect weather for our stay. This would be an awesome place to see the fall colors.
Traveler
Snowbird is very wet and some sites are rooty. There is no lean-to. There are roughly seven campsites within ~20' of each other. Three sites could accommodate a 4 person tent and the other four would need a 1 or 2 person tent. You could potentially squeeze in another 2 person ternt sight somewhere. There is a privy. There is a small stream for filtering water ~50' down trail from the campsite that will likely be running all year. Snowbird is the only campsite that is above 4000' in the park. The location is awesome for tackling the great range, but how muddy the sites are is a major con. Just be aware that some if not all sites could have several inches of water at anytime of the year.
Scout
In addition to the descriptions of this campground in other reviews, I add charm and utility of site design, and the friendliness and intelligence of the staff. Enjoy the serenity of the forest surrounding you, while you glimpse stars, and warm your innards beside a fire.
Guide
We stayed in the rustic campground right down the road from the main campground. We parked in a lot and walked about 5 minutes to the campgrounds on the lake. They were beautiful and well kept, even had a small pile of fire wood for us.
The site had a relatively nice outhouse, a picnic table, a fire pit and a grate for grilling. It was right on the lake. There were a ton of other people in the main campground but only one other camper in the rustic area. $25 a night to camp.
There was some noise from the highway but not too bad. Coyotes were howling all night and definitely heard some around our campground.
Scout
This place is really amazing it's like https://tunnelrush3.com so. Cool and fresh, how enjoyable.
Scout
Absolute worst campground we have ever been to(and we do a TON of camping in state parks both in NY and out of state and private campgrounds as well). When we arrived our site was covered in trash and the picnic table was in the site next to ours with old propane tanks sitting on them. Beer bottle caps and cigarette ends were EVERYWHERE on our site, crushed cans and bottles scattered around, tons of garbage throughout the site(plastic spoons, cardboard pieces, plastic wrappers, a huge metal pipe, etc.) We spent the first half hour there cleaning up all the trash on our site and we didn't even get it all. All of the sites next to us had just as much trash in them as well and were never cleaned up the duration of our stay either. When walking around we noticed tons of other sites with garbage left in them too. I don't think any of the sites are checked after checkout and if they are they are definitely not cleaned up at all after check out. We stayed on the'other side of the road' and the bathrooms were absolutely disgusting and falling apart. They were never cleaned at all during our stay(although we seen workers sitting in the golf cart goofing around and talking several times instead of actually cleaning the bathrooms). The only thing the workers did was add toilet paper(and not even enough because there were several times we went and there was no toilet paper). We were there 5 nights and the trash can wasn't emptied once and none of the garbage or toilet paper on the floor was ever picked up. There was also poop smeared across the wall and door in the one stall and poop all over one of the other toilets that was like that our whole stay as well. Mirror was literally tapped together with black tape, there was only one faucet handle and locks on the stall were broken. We had to go across the street into the other side of the campground to shower and the showers were absolutely disgusting. Black mold covered the shower curtains, was all in the lights and on the lower and higher sections of walls and it smelled like mildew. It was gross and cannot possibly be safe. This is definitely a party campground and no quiet hours are enforced. People were up partying, drinking and blasting music literally all night. It's such a shame because the location of this campground is amazing and it has the potential to be a great campground but we will never go back. We have never been to any campground this dirty, unkempt and with workers who literally just don't care or do their jobs. Such a disappointment. Wish I had seen all the other bad reviews before going.
TravelerWe booked this spot sight unseen as there were no pictures available. Tucked back in the woods and quiet. The front section was much wider open and more state parkish. Excellent showering facilities and a cook wash up station that was well maintained.
ScoutThis site was lovely, but signs say No Camping. There were a few spots with fire rings and picnic tables and would be a great place to camp though! Not sure how strict that is. There was someone camping for a least a week given their tent was there the whole week I was in the area. So I guess it's not that strict. Signs indicate this offshoot road where these sites are is also FR-25, then FR-25 picks up again as a spur off of VT 100 a little farther south down 100 where there were permitted (but full) camping sites.
ScoutAll the sites were full when I visited (6 to 8 sites, approximately, but i didn't go down a couple little gravel paths to check each spot as you couldn't turn around easily) , so I didn't get to camp there. There was a NFS sign along FR-25 posted asking people to clean up after themselves (litter and human waste) as there'd been complaints to the extent that they were considering closing the sites if people didn't do better. There were some fire ring sites along Vermont 100 where FR-25 intersects it, but those are marked as No Camping (though one tent had been there at least a week). That area along 100 is supposed to be a day-use picnic area.
The sites looked lovely though. Some people were really entrenched with string lights etc.
Scout
Do you enjoy staying up until sunrise, underage drinking, staff that don’t give AF, and rules that don’t matter? Then this is the state park for you! I wanted to give the park a try even with all the bad reviews, because the location is awesome. Now I realize the views are not worth it if you’re sleep deprived. I thought since it was a not a holiday weekend it wouldn’t be that bad, I was wrong. If you still plan on coming, I’d avoid the first week in August. Some garbage family from New Jersey rents out a bunch of sites and gives their teenagers their own site, because they hate them too. All in all, it was not a good time. There are plenty of other parks around if you want to actually enjoy camping. This one isn’t it. 10/10 would not recommend 👎
Guide
Highlights of the trip included a somewhat secluded site by the river, pavilion tater tots and the pool. This campground was once thriving with activities and events and a real sense of community. Now, it seems hollow and unkept. Bathrooms and Showers were filthy.
Guide
Road goes in pretty far. Some parts are muddy and very rough. Higher clearance would be advised!!!
Guide
Love this site! The very last spot on the right hand side. If you’ve reached the closed gate you’ve missed the site! Keep it clean!
RangerThis campground is the northwest side of the lake. There are not many amenities or services for the phones but that could be good if you want an off the grid type of camping. We were lucky enough to score a few days in one of the group sites. They had a bathroom with just a potty & sink. At the end of the site, they had water that was able to be used to clean dishes but not consume. The views out the camper were just amazing. The bathroom with the showers by the beaches were gross, and the amount of crap on the ground was super unacceptable, like people haven't cleaned it in weeks. The showers up closer to the sites were very nice and clean. They have a cool beach but make sure to bring water shoes because everything is gravel. I wish they had a playground for kids to play. We brought bikes but it was very hard to ride with the hills and gravel so we didn't use then often. We moored our boat directly out from out site and you could swim out to it. Great lake, super clean, beautiful breeze can't wait to go back.
Traveler
This campground was perfect for our group that had 5 small children. The kids were able to safely ride bikes on the camp roads, sites were large and well spaced out from each other, great playground and fun playing in the river. Amazing programming options from the ranger staff each day
GuideCampground is small and clean. We only stayed 2 nights and felt like we saw and did all it had to offer. Nice hike up Slack Hill!
GuideWe had a wonderful couple of nights here. I highly recommend the lean-to’s. The bathrooms were clean and the coin-operated showers were great. Each site was neatly maintained. Above all else, the staff here was phenomenal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Benson, VT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Benson, VT is Hearthstone Point Campground with a 3.9-star rating from 16 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Benson, VT?
TheDyrt.com has all 45 tent camping locations near Benson, VT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
