The best camping near
South Burlington, VERMONT

A lovely family camp ground with rv and tent sites, all near the bathrooms, amenities galore, and a great camp store. Visited in early October and was not disappointed. A wonderful stay.

Checked in late so we weren’t too picky where we set our tent up, but loved all the room there was. Nice table and fire pit and LOVED the view we had!! Bathrooms are clean and take quarters. Wood and ice are able for purchase.

We travel in a 17-foot camper van, but no one ever believes that we are no bigger than a standard cargo van and can easily fit in a regular size parking space. Upon arrival at Ausable Chasm, we were told we had to take a site with water and electric since we had a camper van. These sites were $13 more per night and we really did not need the hookups. We were finally able to convince the staff that we could take a standard tent site, which was more than big enough. 

The road through the campground is dirt and rutted but the speed limit is 5 mph, so it wasn’t that bad, but it would be a mess if it was raining. 

Bathrooms and shower rooms are individual rooms, but the doors are not labeled so it’s a game of “what’s behind door number 1?”  There was no light in the shower room that I looked at so a night shower would be out of the question. The bathrooms were clean and had soap, paper towels, a garbage receptacle, and a mirror in each. 

Lots of ant hills throughout the campground so be cautious where you set up a tent. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. Large and nice-looking playground, pool, volleyball net, disc golf and mountain biking/hiking trails. It also looked like there were cross country ski trails but not sure if the campground or cabins would be open in the winter. 

Biggest advantage is that Ausable Chasm(a separate business) is directly across the street from the campground and it is very close to the ferry that will take you to Burlington, VT, our next destination.

Smugglers notch was not only beautiful but the campground was one of the best ones I’ve stayed at. We stayed in cherry (leanto) site which was fairly private and big enough for us to set up our 8 person tent. They were pet friendly which is always a plus. The bathrooms were the cleanest ones yet. The staff was friendly and helpful. They make nightly rounds to check on the campers and make sure no one has any questions or concerns. There were trails leading from campgrounds and beautiful views. We had an unforgettable weekend. Would 100% camp there again in the future!

It made me sad to think what this campground used to be (either that or the website was terribly misleading, however, since the property is for sale, I am thinking that it may have fallen on hard times). 

I called a week ahead to make sure there would be space. Heath, the owner, called back later the same day, very apologetic that it took him so long to return my call (less than a day did not seem to be too long to me). He assured me there was space, so we made our plans. We did not plan on arriving after dark, but we did, having had too much fun admiring the fall color. I called ahead to let Heath know we would be arriving late and left a message (it took three different phone numbers to reach an answering machine). No one was there when we arrived. It was challenging in the dark, but we found two open spaces and backed into one of them. We were not able to use the electrical connection as it required both input and output 30 amp connections and we need a 110 for one of the connections.

I was so tired that, despite the heavy road noise from Route 2, I fell asleep shortly after 9 pm. However, we were woken out of a sound sleep at around 2 am to the sounds of a woman shouting loudly and angrily (at her kids, husband, someone). This went on for a few minutes and no one sounded in distress and then all was quiet again. Even the road noise had subsided. 

The bathrooms were small but reasonable. There was a laundry area and a game room/lounge, stocked with a pool table, couch and chairs, books, (recent) newspapers, and games. There was also an above-ground pool and a separate tent area. Cell service was strong and WiFi is available, but we did not use as we did not have the password. 

RV sites were$35 and tent sites were$25, cash or check only. The next morning, we checked the office again and it was still locked up with no trace of anyone having been or being around. There was no place to leave the money and we never heard back from Heath, so we left. There could be so much potential to this conveniently located campground and I hope that someone is able to revive it.

We stayed here 2 nights. Wanted to see the sights like Green Mountain Coffee, Ben and Jerry’s and Trapp Family Lodge. Nice quite place. We had a pull through, and nice green grass sights.

Nice state campground. The amenities list is incorrect. There are no hookups, electric or water. There is wood for sale when the office is open, a dump station and it has showers. The showers were free however we froze. The bath house was unheated and the showers were lukewarm at best.

Very nice campground, nice staff, the sites are spacious, the grounds and facilities are clean. They have a par 3 golf course and boat docks on site. FHU, at&t worked but not well. Would definitely stay here again.

This campground was mediocre in my opinion. It was right off the highway and there was a lot of road noise. Also, the campground is literally in the middle of a neighborhood, which wasn’t my favorite environment. The campground did have free showers and decent bathrooms. Considering the scarcity of good campgrounds in the area, this was an okey choice.

We stayed at a leanto, which have the better views of the lake! These sites are the same price, so it is worth it. The campground has a trail to the shore line, which is nice! There are showers and full bathrooms as well.