Best Cabin Camping near North Troy, VT

This hut has it all and its pet friendly! It's a short walk from a roadside parking area (though a little longer in the winter due to the parking being moved across the road). There is a lovely wood burning stove and fire wood is supplied. There's a nice deck outside with a picnic table and fire ring there as well. The river is a few steps away and water can be treated from there. 

There is a well maintained privy outside the cabin and toilet paper was available. The cabin has a sleeping loft with a few foam mattresses but the stairs are quite steep, too steep for a four legged doggo to make it up and down. There is a futon downstairs that can be used as a couch or sleep two people. There are dishes and everything you need from knives to bottle openers. There is a propane stove and a kerosene lamp. 

The Nulhegan section of the Silvia O. Conte wildlife refuge is a short drive away with a lot of hiking options. There is a general store less than five minutes away in Bloomfield, VT. This spot really can't be beat!

Can’t say enough good things about this place.  It is a private landowners land, and she has various camping options including a cabin, hives, or open locations for rv or tent camping.  We stayed for a long weekend with friends in a separate rv, and then a friend who rented a hive.  The land is 8 acres, and you feel a sense of privacy and serenity. You hear roosters in the morning from a local farm.  The views are vast, and it’s relaxing.

Logistically, there is a good place for rv parking below the garden hoop house.  It is a flat long gravel area, which can access power, but you’ll need an extension chord or two to reach it.  The hives are set back from this area and behind other gardens, near a water source.   There is a cabin in the middle of the property, and then additional rv or tent camping in another area above the main house, which also has an electric hookup.  Each area is far enough away from the others that you feel a sense of privacy and serenity.  

There is a common area building on the property with Wi-Fi, a bathroom and a kitchen area, which seemed to be used mostly for making tea or accessing the kitchen sink for water.  I am not sure if you could use it for cooking - you would need to ask the landowner.  It has a small sitting area with tourism/hiking/sightseeing guides and maps.  We used it to check email and make phone calls, as cell access is spotty in this general area of Vermont and we didn’t have a cell signal by our rv.  You can shower and use the toilet.  I would recommend bringing your own soap and shampoo.

There are a few fire pit areas on the property, and the land owner will show you where you can find wood in the surrounding woods.  The gardens are full of flowers and vegetables.    There is also a sauna and a yoga room, neither of which we used. 

It truly is a magical environment.  You are a few minutes away from Cabot, which is very small.  The area is a hiking and gravel biking hot bed.  The “Ride the Ridges” gravel ride passes the property, so you can do the course from there.  There are numerous hikes of all distances and difficulty in this area of Vermont.

Rudy's looked mostly to be an RV park, so my stop was maybe not the usual for this campground. I stopped for one night while I was thru-hiking the Cohos Trail in New Hampshire and had a great experience. There seemed to be much more space at this campground for RV and van travelers, though I didn't check out that part of the facility

I booked a tent site beforehand and on arrival had the choice of right next to Clarksville Pond or another area that I didn't check out since pondside sounded amazing, so my review is specific to the tenting experience.

I stopped by Rudy's before my hike, and they held onto a food drop for me (in a sealed big plastic container) for free, and held onto some extra gear for me so that I didn't need to carry it 

There are maybe ~3-4 tent sites right along the edge of the pond, in front of a few permanent cabins. They are basic tent sites right on the grass, with a fire ring and a picnic bench. The sites were flat and the views were amazing along the pond. 

I was able to get in a morning fly fishing session 5 feet from my tent! The wind was a bit high so no luck for me, but I saw the fish jumping when I stopped by after my hike to pick up some gear I left. Kathleen, the owner of the property, offered a free fly fishing lesson during my stay, but I had to decline to keep up the pace of my hike.

There was also access to the bathhouse with free heated showers, full bathrooms, and coin-op laundry. This was a great free amenity after 7 days on my hike for a necessary refresh.

The owner and other residents of the campground were super friendly. This was a great stop along my hike to refresh and connect with a few folks along the way.

General: Large state park with two loops, both of which are lakefront. A mix of primitive sites (no w/e/s), lean-tos, and two cabins, one in each section. Sites/lean-tos are designated premium (lakefront) or non. There is also an ADA-accessible lean-to. Upon check-in, you are given a gate code to enter. 

Site Quality: Our site, like all others, was generous in size and a back-in site. Most sites don’t have clearly defined camper pads, and the surface is grass/dirt (or mud if it has rained recently). A large wooden picnic table and fire ring complete the site. There are plentiful trees, so each site has at least some shade and some are very shaded. Lakefront sites have a filtered view of the lake through the trees. 

Bath/Shower House: The one closest to us was very clean. Three stalls and one shower. Cold water only at both the sinks and the shower (at least I didn’t get any hot water). The showers do take quarters and although you get five minutes for each quarter (up to 15 quarters, although I can’t imagine taking that long of a shower), it was quite possibly the wimpiest shower I’ve experienced in quite some time. But, after I finished, I saw my quarter had been returned. The toilet paper was so thin, it was nearly transparent! 

Activities: Although swimming is allowed, the “beaches” are very small and there was a bacteria warning in place when we were there advising against swimming. There are two boat launch areas, one in each loop. Great for kayaks, and canoes, and we saw what looked like a fishing boat. There was one very annoying motorboat revving its engine while doing circles in the lake. The day-use area has a small, dated playground, fire pit, horseshoe pit, and volleyball net. There is a short nature trail and one other small walking trail. Nearby is access to the Missisquoi Rail Trail. 

A surprise was a family of ducks who visited our site when I was outside reading! Our stay was very quiet during the week after Labor Day, but I imagine the vibe is quite different during summer weekends, especially given the sign in the restroom stating that quiet hours are strictly enforced. We were annoyed by one loud boat so I can’t imagine what it would be like if the lake was filled with boaters. This is why we prefer shoulder-season camping!

We made a single nights reservation, for a tent, based on recommendation from Kingdom Trails website. The campground is located in a beautiful area of Vermont, but....the tenting campground, a bit dismal. We arrived to find a teeny tiny space, right next to other spaces...in fact, had we set up our small tent, we would be less than ten feet from adjacent tents. Within less than 20 feet across the dirt path were side by side tent trailers and rvs. We would not have been able to use the metal fire ring because the fire would have been within 6 feet of our small tent. When we backed our car onto the narrow space, it was within a foot of the picnic table. Basically, it would have been like camping in a WalMart parking lot on a Saturday morning...if the parking lot was a treeless dirt lot. Within 3 minutes, we decided there was no way we could stay here, we were just not that desperate! We stopped at the rest room on the way out...gross! Smelly, wet, dirty, dingy. As we left, we decided that this was the best 25.00 we ever wasted...in fact, you could not have paid us to stay there . We cannot believe Kingdom Trails continues to suggest this disaster. I will add, the girl at the store/office was quite friendly...but she did not seem surprised when we returned for our bathroom key deposit so quickly! We were fortunate in that we could just head home...but if you are planning on a peaceful nights rest after mountain biking or hiking, this is not the place. There are beautiful state parks that we could recommend, and we just don't want folks that end up here to think that this is typical for Vermont camping!

I’d say this was one of Vermont’s best kept secrets, except I don’t think it’s exactly a secret. Even in October, the Park seemed full with visitors and Stowe was hopping! Leaf peepers were in full force and the grounds were absolutely spectacular- I really picked the perfect time of year to go. Nights got pretty brisk, but the foliage was breathtaking.

The Park, located along scenic Rte108, has about 20 tent sites and 14 lean-to’s well dispersed throughout the grounds. A couple spots were drive-in sites, accessible to those with disabilities; most had small pathways and/or stairwells leading to their platforms. There was not a bad site within the entire vicinity. All were fully shaded and extremely private. Although, I’d be curious about checking out Sites 1 or 16 next time around!

Bathrooms were clean and the main office sold firewood at the entrance. Facilities are also pet friendly. Plus, there are so many hiking trails and recreational opportunities in and around the Park-from Stowe Mountain Resort to the quaint shops in town and local craft breweries. And even with the Park seeming “full”, the grounds were perfectly quiet, without the incessant sound of generators you find at larger state parks.

Without a doubt, Smugglers Notch State Park is a favorite of mine!

This is the only campground in the area I will stay at. It has so many benefits, I may not be able to do it justice in this review. The sites are huge. We fit two camper vans, two tents and put up a 20x20 rain tarp on Site 5. The site was freshly raked when we got there, and the leftover wood was stacked next to the fire pit. Picnic table easily seats 8. Lots of bathrooms around the park, each with showers. Firewood and Ice, along with some necessities are available at the office. Cell phone service is touchy depending on where you are in the park. There is fresh water available. Lots of activities to do here, from the Nature Center and hiking trails to seriously wicked mountain biking trails designed by Mr. Knight overlooking the reservoir where boating of all kinds is allowed. And the fishing in the river below is quite stellar. There's even an abandoned town up on top of the mountain for younto check out.