Best Tent Camping near Norton, VT

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.

This campsite is along the Forest Legacy Trail and while the trail is managed by one entity, the remote campsites are managed by another. The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust maintains the trails in and out while Cupsuptic Campground manages the campsites.

There is a tent platform at Smudge Cove but it is in desperate need of repair and it sounds like that's in the plans for next summer. There is a nice picnic table available as well as an established fire ring. The site is just off the water and there is a nice long dock that makes it super easy to boat into and unload. You can also backpack in and enjoy some pretty cool Maine forests along the way. There is also relatively easy access to the water by way of the rocks, beside the dock.

These sites are secluded and offer a lovely amount of privacy and rest assured, the only sounds you will hear at night are the loons!

This is an RV campground w a handful of tent spots. We stayed at T4, a site w electric right on the lake. I was initially very excited to be so close to the lake but my enthusiasm waned a little after a swim- the lake bottom was murky sticky mud which is fine it’s just not my favorite. My fiancé went swimming and got a leech or leech-like thing on his foot so swimming for him was pretty much over. Being at the lake meant a lot of noise from others including the campers that use the facility, I mean like actual camp, like groups of kids and counselors. I don’t mind kids but others might. It was the usual kid squealing and stuff. When we arrived a counselor was using our site and picnic table, spilling cheese-it’s all over the place which made us popular with the many many seagulls. She left when she saw us pulling in but left the mess behind so the birds were an issue. They continued to be an issue the whole 3 days we were there- every day we’d come back to our tent to find our stuff scattered a bit- not a huge problem but a present nuisance nonetheless. We tried to keep our things contained but still they tried to carry some stuff away. On the lake shore was a lot of seagull feathers and goose presence, poop, it’s not my favorite way to swim. The bathrooms were ok, pretty basic, very much reminiscent of when you get sent to camp as a child, bare bones. The stalls in the bathroom are uncomfortably short so when you stand up your head is poking out over the door, you can make eye contact w everyone else in the room which is just weird! We went two days without paper towels being restocked to dry your hands, I finally had to call the office. (Everyone in the office was super awesomely nice, always!) Sunday morning there is a group that makes breakfast in the pavilion I guess for donations which they use to beautify the campground. This is a lovely gesture. However the pavilion is right next to the tent sites and the group started setting up about 6:30 AM, which included honking their car horn, and talking very loudly with complete disregard for quiet hours or the full row of tent sleepers. My fiancé finally approached them and told them they must be unaware of how much their voices are carrying but that everyone was still sleeping. They didn’t apologize or say anything and honestly I don’t think they cared or lowered their voices at all. Our site was comfortable, water and electric worked fine, clean fire ring, we didn’t use it. The group next to us talked late past quiet hours (I didn’t not approach the campground about it we just dealt w it), and used a drone which was extremely uncomfortable, loud, and disruptive. I did call the office about that the next day and asked if there was a drone policy, she said there was not but that she would address it if they used it again, they ended up leaving so it wasn’t a problem but there should definitely be a policy about it. All in all, people were nice but the lake location meant a LOT of additional noise from other users and there did not seem to be any reminders about quiet time. Don’t come here if you’re looking for solitude but do come here if you’re looking for a great location in northern Vermont close to a cute town and amenities. Just set your mindset that it’s not a secluded or quiet spot but a spot w stuff to do and lots of people to interact w. We did not use the boat rentals or tennis courts or other stuff.

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!

General: 27 sites with electricity and water, two cabins, 33 remote campsites, and four remote cabins in isolated locations around Umbagog Lake accessible only by boat. 

Site Quality: Some sites have a lake view while some are tucked in among the trees. Site 1A was the fourth up from the lakeshore but still gave us a decent view of the lake. A fire ring and picnic table were at the site. My one complaint is that the electric hookup was so far from where we had to park that we were unable to access it without a very long extension cord (which we did not have). Fortunately, we did not need electricity.

Bathhouse: Quite possibly the most immaculate campground bathroom I’ve ever encountered! They are cleaned at 8 am but when we arrived at 6:30 pm, they were still very clean. Soap and paper towels are appreciated. There was also a vault toilet closer to the wooded sites, although it would not be an unreasonable walk to the main bathhouse. 

Activities/Amenities: Boat launch and slips, fishing, and swimming. Canoe and kayak rentals are available. The building that has restrooms, laundry, and showers also has a large deck with chairs so you can enjoy the view. The sunsets can be spectacular! There is a small store at the office. 

Although just an overnight stay for us, it was very enjoyable. We conversed with a ranger in the morning, and he told us that even when the campground was full (in the summer months), it is a very quiet campground.

This site, while in a beautiful spot perched above Cupsuptic Lake, it is so impacted that in the rain it was a literal mud pit. While there was a picnic table to get up off the ground, finding a spot to pitch a tent where water wouldn't puddle would be impossible. We hiked in, but you can paddle into the site just know that the exit/entry to the water is a bit tricky and not as easy as some of the other sites available along the way. 

There is a large fire pit, also a mess in the down pours. The picnic table is in far better shape here than the one in Eagle Cove (rotting) and Cedar Bay (non-existent). The site is quite small and wouldn't be able to accommodate more than two small tents. I wouldn't make a special trip to stay here.

Here I am, going to ruin it... no, really pretend you didn't read this... The main campground is nice, it has some great group spots, and some close sites, even a few semiprivate ones. After all it is a campground build on an old section on RTE 16.  The campground as others have mentioned is right on the river, and a wonderful river it is.

This is primitive camping, no water, no electrical, but it does have pit toilets and boat rentals and a day use area.

The hidden spots though are totally private and not at the main site but else ware on rte. 16, the ranger told me about them.  They are amazing (I didn't say that)

Access is easy for any vehicle, minimal cell coverage.

They are currently doing a dig and finding some amazing artifacts!