Best Camping near Jay, VT

The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Jay. Jay is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.

Best Camping Sites Near Jay, VT (93)

Showing results 1-10 of 93 campgrounds

Pet-friendly camping near Jay

Recent Reviews In Jay

325 Reviews of 93 Jay Campgrounds


  • Miccal  M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Kettle Pond State Park
    Sep. 24, 2024

    Kettle Pond State Park

    Wonderfull area for a hike in or boat in camp.

    I scouted this area a couple of years ago and stayed in one of the lean-tos, this is a great area in the winter when no-one else is around.

    There is a parking lot near the main road where you can park.  The hike around the pond is nice, but wet, rocky and you need to be a sure-footed person.  Views are great, the pond is amazing, and the campsites are well maintained.

    Most sites have a lean-to and a well-built fireplace as well as an outhouse.  Keep in mind this is a pack in pack out location.  You are not allowed to cut wood, and only fallen dead is available for use.

  • Christa W.
    Camper-submitted photo from Onion River Campground
    Sep. 21, 2024

    Onion River Campground

    DO NOT STAY HERE IF YOU HAVE KIDS

    I just found out that Onion River Camground just willingly hosted a MAP(minor attracted person aka pedofile) meeting at their campground. I am so disgusted the owners of Onion River Campground that hosted this meeting allowed my family with two young girls to BOOK a campsite the SAME WEEKEND as this meeting with no warning of what was going on!!!! By the grace of God, we cancelled two weeks ago(for other reasons) and rerouted to another state. I’m sitting here reading this imagining my beautiful kids walking around a campground innocently with nasty individuals looking at them in a sexual way without my wife or I ever knowing what was going on right under our noses. It’s digusting and appalling that the campground owners support these pedofiles and would let ANY family book a stay there without making us aware. I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS SOMETHING I NEEDED TO LOOKOUT FOR BUT I THINK OTHERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS. I don’t agree with supporting MAPs at all but if you are then make it an adult only campground for heavens sake.

  • Timothy M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Kettle Pond State Park
    Sep. 12, 2024

    Kettle Pond State Park

    Rock Solid

    Pretty pond, good lean-to's, nice toilets, central put-in for canoes and kayaks, friendly people. Big groups in one area, individual remote sites far enough away to be private. Nicely maintained, friendly staff when you do see them. Went September 6 and 7 2024. Only 3 hours from Boston.

  • Drew H.
    Camper-submitted photo from Stillwater State Park
    Aug. 28, 2024

    Stillwater State Park

    Helpful staff, clean camp, kinda busy

    Great spot, especially for families, it is a bit expensive, at $30 for tent spot and $40 for lean to. the staff was helpful and kept the grounds clean. We ended paying more for the lean to because it was more secluded and quiet, the rest of the park was busy.

    Our spot was right on the brook which was peaceful and beautiful. It also had a fire pit with a grill grate and they sold firewood at the front gate.

  • AThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Lone Pine Campsites
    Aug. 26, 2024

    Lone Pine Campsites

    OK for two nights

    We stayed for two nights to visit Burlington and lake Champlain.

    It was not our favorite campground. The site are open, so no privacy and the sites are fairly small.

    Toilets and showers are ok but nothing fancy. A bit worn.

  • Miccal  M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from New Discovery State Park
    Aug. 25, 2024

    New Discovery State Park

    Drove through on my way past

    This easy-to-access campground has made it on my list of places to stay.

    There are two loops of sites, some deep in the woods with great-looking trees, others in a field, and some in between. There are even sites with stalls if you're into horses.

    The bathhouse looks typical and clean.

    Not much cell service, but some in places.

    Easy access to a lake and a picnic pavilion.

    Noticed more than a few sites that I could hang at.

  • Miccal  M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Big Deer State Park
    Aug. 25, 2024

    Big Deer State Park

    Nice enough campsites...

    This is a small campground, really it's an extension of Stillwater just up the road. Check-in happens at Stillwater, purchase your firewood and drive the 2 min down to Big Deer.

    For Vermont, these sites felt close, but we could still get privacy. We did have to change sites due to our neighbors yelling at their kids and using less-than-appropriate language to do so. We could still hear them on the other side of the campground :(

    The site itself was nice, even though it lacked privacy.

    Boulder Beach Road is an easy dirt road access to these campgrounds.

    We had 1 bar of AT&T service.

    The bathrooms were adequate, nothing special

    But we made a last-minute decision to camp and this was a decent location for that. I would camp here again, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

  • Stilyagi
    Camper-submitted photo from Lake Carmi State Park
    Aug. 25, 2024

    Lake Carmi State Park

    A great place to visit for Canadian travelers.

    Our first time in Vermont, we were coming from Montreal, Quebec. And while there are many nice campsites to visit in Quebec... we've done them all, within a 2-hour radius. Well, guess what? Lake Carmi in Franklin (Enosburg?) Vermont, is less than 1 1/2 hours from Montreal! I think it must be the closest campsite to Quebec, in Vermont. The drive there was really pleasant too. It wasn't all highway. It took us mostly through very scenic routes in both Quebec, and Vermont.

    After booking, I had read some bad reviews about the place - which gave me second thoughts. About the staff being very unpleasant, etc. Well I'm happy to say, that turned out to be absolutely untrue! To say that Kathy, Daniel and really, the entire staff that we met, was very friendly to us, is an understatement. They literally saved our bacon!

    It's a long story, but in short... our car broke down at one point, and we had to get it towed. Our phone wouldn't work, and it was by the good graces of the Lake Carmi rangers and staff, and the use of their wireless, that we were eventually able to return back home to Canada.  I don't know what we would have done, if they weren't there to help us! So - big thanks to the amazing staffers at Lake Carmi.

    We had reserved a site by the lake, and saw that the campground itself was quite nice. Just acres and acres of lush green forestation. Clean grounds and washrooms. A beautiful sunset over the lake. No electrical 'pollution'. No noise pollution - except for crickets, in the field. Other than the car trouble - quite a pleasant stay! We'll be returning next year.

  • eva M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Mallets Bay Campground
    Aug. 11, 2024

    Mallets Bay Campground

    Do not go here if you don’t need to

    We were with RV. Mostly permanent places, showers and toilets are full with mould and not clean as is said on the website. Rates are not transparant. The pool was nice for the kids.

  • Miccal  M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Maidstone State Park
    Jul. 29, 2024

    Maidstone State Park

    Still a great campground!

    I come back to this area every year; I missed my spring trip this year though.  A friend was camping and invited me to join them.  We had a site on the B loop, I have only camped on the A loop... 

    The site was nice with some great rock features, the sites have enough space between them to give privacy, but you know you're not alone.  The facilities on the B loop are vintage 1950s, simple clean but not new or the same caliber as the facilities on A loop.  Plenty of water faucets on the B loop.  

    Both A & B are easy to get around on, all of the roads are dirt but well maintained.  Both loops have their own Trash and Recyling. The access road into the park is a well-maintained dirt road and about 5 miles long.  Look for the bears, and other cutouts creatures in the clearings on the way in.

    This campground is remote and it's about 45 min. to the nearest town.  There is no cell service, even with a booster.  The lake is wonderful.

  • É
    Camper-submitted photo from Black Creek Maple's Nature Escape and Tent Haven
    Jul. 22, 2024

    Black Creek Maple's Nature Escape and Tent Haven

    Peaceful and charming

    We spent the night at this beautiful campsite with a magnificent view of Mount Mansfield. The small amount of camping space made the experience quite unique and private. The host, Dianne, was really friendly. Many amenities such as wood, water and outhouse nearby. Very nice experience.

  • Bojangles R.
    Camper-submitted photo from Underhill State Park
    Jul. 20, 2024

    Underhill State Park

    Terrific Camping

    Spent a few nights here as a base camp while hiking some of the mountains in the area. Camp spots were far enough away from one another, trees helped with privacy, and the tent site had a great area to setup the tent.

    Facilities were accessible and clean. Quiet hours were definitely observed. Easily one of the best camp sites I’ve stayed at.

  • Admin A.
    Camper-submitted photo from Champlain Resort Adult Campground
    Jul. 8, 2024

    Champlain Resort Adult Campground

    Wonderful Experience-Highly Recommend

    We recently bought a travel trailer and this was our first camping trip with it. Emma and JC were wonderful from start to finish. They own the property and you can tell they take such great pride in this gem. The grounds are beautifully kept and both were very helpful. We arrived much later than expected because of traffic and this being our first time traveling with the travel trailer. They were very accommodating to our later than expected arrival. Once we got all set up at our site, we were very happy. JC is very helpful with helping guide you in to your spot if you need it. There's a nice bath house with toilets and private showers. It was kept very clean and it was nice to know we could use that if needed. There's a beautiful spot to go down by the lake and watch the sunset over Lake Champlain. We absolutely loved our time there and will be happy to return again. JC has quite the sense of humor and my partner and him had fun conversing. Emma was great at communicating from start to finish and made everything easy and convenient.

  • Ronald C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Lakeside Camping
    Jun. 27, 2024

    Lakeside Camping

    Tight spaces

    The first thing that happened is you go over the train tracks to go to the office to register and you have to turn your rig around to go to Riverside which the sites are extremely small had a 42 foot fifth wheel and took me 15 minutes to get set so I could disconnect. good thing there was no one next to me on both sides so I had room to move around otherwise I would’ve never made it in there. The view is beautiful. The lake is pretty. They have seasonals set up on the lake and when we were there, they were pretty obnoxious and loud cursing every two seconds no one came around to check anything. They have a lot of rules, but they don’t enforce any of them. If you want to go to pull through you go on the other side of the camp where you have to climb a huge hill and then maneuver around to get into a pull through that’s only about 10 foot wide. So my suggestion would be if you have a small camper great if you have anything over 30 feet find somewhere else.

  • Beth R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Smugglers Notch State Park
    Jun. 27, 2024

    Smugglers Notch State Park

    Newly Developed … Work in Progress

    Pros: Full hookup (sewer, water, 50 AMP) 1.7 mile from #7 Ranked World's Best Disc Golf Course: Fox Run Meadows New fire ring New picnic table Gorgeous Mountain View

    Cons: Grass site No amenities No Wi-Fi Soft ground, sinked during setup

  • Ronald C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Apple Island Resort
    Jun. 20, 2024

    Apple Island Resort

    Amazing views

    This campground is located in a central area between Burlington and north hero. The views of lake Champlain are amazing. Ex check in and plenty of amenities.

  • Julia S.
    Camper-submitted photo from Waterbury Reservoir Remote Sites — Waterbury Center State Park
    Jun. 13, 2024

    Waterbury Reservoir Remote Sites — Waterbury Center State Park

    The best sites you could imagine.

    These remote sites are so peaceful. Be sure to launch from cotton brook road if your site r11-27. We made the mistake of parking at little River rd the first time and the paddle to r14 from there was way too long. It was about 30 minutes from the cotton brook launch to the site and was much more doable for all the trips we took bringing our gear in. The bathroom is a composting toilet that you’ll share with fishing spiders the size of your hand, slam the lid before use! Also the spot where you set up tent at this site was on a slope, others sites might be better.. still 10/10 will return, these sites are all prime locations!

  • Alex R.
    Camper-submitted photo from Burke Campground
    Mar. 2, 2024

    Burke Campground

    Burke mountain lean-to # 1

    First of 2 lean-to

    On the red trail ...near the split for red-blue options.

    With fire pit.

  • Lisa L.
    Camper-submitted photo from Camp Kiki
    Oct. 27, 2023

    Camp Kiki

    Love this location and campground

    Great spot if you are looking for a simple place to stay.  Amazing location.  Can walk right into town and never use your car the entire time you are there.   Bike trails are right off the campground.

  • Lilly K.
    Camper-submitted photo from Little River State Park
    Oct. 23, 2023

    Little River State Park

    Nice stay but room for improvement.

    We generally enyojed our stay. Really nice reservoir. However the campground is a bit pricey and doesn’t offer dishwashing sinks. You need to somehow fill water in some kind of bucket and then make a mess on your campsite..

  • Meghan B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Smugglers Notch State Park
    Oct. 19, 2023

    Smugglers Notch State Park

    Smugglers Notch State Park Campground

    Nice, wooded sites. Staff was great and very helpful. I didn't see the restrooms with the showers on the one end of the campground, but the restrooms I did see on the end that I stayed were like outhouses but with flushable toilets--kinda meh.

  • Meghan B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Little River State Park
    Oct. 19, 2023

    Little River State Park

    Little River State Park Campground

    Nice, wooded sites. The restroom is a bit dated and dingy, but clean. The shower is coin-operated and could offer a bit more privacy (the stall wall is quite low and right next to the door entering the restroom.)

  • RThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Smugglers Notch State Park
    Oct. 11, 2023

    Smugglers Notch State Park

    Gorgeous in early October

    we camped here in early October and it was gorgeous. Well spaced out sites. Friendly staff , flush toilets, showers, Quiet and peaceful. Good spot to summit Mansfield from.

  • DThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Apple Island Resort
    Sep. 9, 2023

    Apple Island Resort

    Great place to visit

    Beautiful views of Lake Champlain. Plenty of spots for in and out visitors. Seasonals are mostly elderly residents but set back from the non-seasonal sites. I would definitely revisit.



Guide to Jay

Camping near Jay, Vermont, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled getaway, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.

What to do:

  • Hiking: Explore the trails around the area. Many campers enjoy the proximity to Mount Mansfield, with one reviewer noting, "Great hiking trails from easy to difficult" at Elmore State Park Campground.
  • Fishing: If you love fishing, check out the lakes nearby. One visitor at Lake Carmi State Park Campground mentioned, "Walleye fishing has always been good here."
  • Disc Golf: For disc golf enthusiasts, Smugglers Notch State Park Campground is just 1.7 miles from a top-ranked course, making it a great spot for a quick game.

What campers like:

  • Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate well-maintained restrooms and showers. A reviewer at Brighton State Park Campground said, "The cleanest showers I’ve seen at any campsite so far."
  • Spacious Sites: Many campgrounds offer roomy sites. One camper at Kingdom Campground remarked, "Clean spacious beautiful views right from campsites."
  • Friendly Staff: Campers often mention helpful staff. A visitor at Mountain View Campground noted, "The staff were incredibly friendly."

What you should know:

  • Limited Amenities: Some campgrounds may not have all the amenities you expect. A camper at White Caps Campground pointed out, "No dump site on property, I was told my only option was to go down the road."
  • Noise Levels: Be prepared for noise, especially at popular spots. One reviewer at Prouty Beach Campground mentioned, "There was an ongoing summer camp for kids which was a little annoying."
  • Seasonal Access: Many campgrounds have specific seasons. For example, Lake Carmi State Park Campground is open from May 19 to October 9.

Tips for camping with families:

  • Choose Campgrounds with Activities: Look for campgrounds that offer activities for kids. One family at Mountain View Campground enjoyed the "small putt-putt course, a corn hole set and a short hiking trail."
  • Privacy Matters: Select sites that offer some privacy. A camper at Underhill State Park Campground appreciated that "the tent site had a great area to set up the tent."
  • Plan for Meals: Bring easy-to-cook meals. A visitor at Brighton State Park Campground mentioned, "The bathrooms are always exceptionally clean," making it easier to manage family needs.

Tips from RVers:

  • Check Hookups: Ensure your site has the right hookups. A reviewer at Kingdom Campground noted, "All RV sites have water, sewer, and electric."
  • Be Mindful of Space: Some sites can be close together. One camper at Mountain View Campground said, "When we first pulled into this campground and saw how close our site was to our neighbors, we were a little dismayed."
  • Explore Nearby Attractions: Take advantage of the location. A visitor at Lake Carmi State Park Campground mentioned, "The park is large with 2 loops that can accommodate campers and tents."

Camping near Jay, Vermont, has something for everyone, from families to RVers. With beautiful landscapes and a variety of activities, it’s a great spot to unwind and enjoy nature.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What camping is available near Jay, VT?

    According to TheDyrt.com, Jay, VT offers a wide range of camping options, with 93 campgrounds and RV parks near Jay, VT and 1 free dispersed camping spot.

  • Which is the most popular campground near Jay, VT?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Jay, VT is Smugglers Notch State Park with a 4.7-star rating from 22 reviews.

  • Where can I find free dispersed camping near Jay, VT?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there is 1 free dispersed camping spot near Jay, VT.

  • What parks are near Jay, VT?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there are 9 parks near Jay, VT that allow camping, notably Union Village Dam and Green Mountain National Forest.