Best Glamping near Wells, VT

We stayed in the Venus yurt from Saturday August 3rd thru Thursday August 8th 2024. We were going to stay until the 10th, but we had an incoming hurricane and decided to leave before the exit flooded. 

Overall, their website pictures are NOT current and I believe the reviews on their website to either be inaccurate or very old. 

Day 1: the yurt smelled heavily of febreeze and was smaller than the pictures showed. The mattress, which had no cover on it, had been turned over(the bottom had nubs on it so it wouldn’t slide- this was face up). When we flipped it over, there were obvious fresh red fluid stains and other stains on the top of the mattress. For the price we paid, we would have expected either a waterproof cover enclosing the mattress or that the owners would have swapped out this mattress. The fact that the cleaning staff felt it was ok to turn it over expecting nobody to check was a bit revolting. We went to the office to get it removed, but the best they could do was provide 2 comforters to place between the mattress and our sheets. 

When we left to meet up with friends, we found the door lock was broken. We could only lock it from the inside. Our friends were in RVs and apparently the site was digging for new sewer lines, so when the wind shifted, we got a fresh scent of raw sewage. 

When we went to take showers at the facility nearest the yurts, we found there was no hot water, the showers had to be pumped to run(no continuous water flow in either the showers or the sinks), and only 1 of the 4 stalls had lockable doors. Both of these were reported to the office the following morning. 

Day 2: found that by the store were 6 showers with hot, continuously running water. 3 were out of service and only 1 locked. This was reported to the store/office multiple times. 

The lifeguard on duty at the smaller pool across from the store was sitting down in a regular chair with a table with an umbrella between her and the pool, face down in her phone with one hand, holding her sunglasses up with her other hand, while 3 small children(~8 years old) were sliding and playing unsupervised. As a former life guard/ wave pool certified lifeguard, I would have fired her on the spot. That is an unacceptably dangerous situation. 

The mini golf course was in disrepair, the arcade was empty of machines, and the activities touted on their website were nonexistent. 

The charcoal grill, which we would have used, had a large rusted hole in the bottom right side taking out~25% of the usable bottom, making it basically useless. Thank goodness for butane camp stoves.

 Day 3: shower lock situation had not improved(did not improve during our stay despite the office being made aware) Our neighbors left the yurt to our left and the person cleaning the yurt did a cursory cleaning at best. No sign of COVID cleaning discipline whatsoever. We spent the majority of the day offsite  

Day 4: lawn mowing started at 8:15 am. The grass absolutely did not need to be mowed. Very loud stand behind rider mower that kicked up dust more than anything as it had been very dry. Took them~3 hours. As a person on vacation, this clearly woke me up early. Very disappointing.

 Day 5: got a bit cold in the early morning, so we turned on the heat. It blew dust, filled the entire yurt with a burning smell and caused my partner to use her rescue inhaler. We turned it off quickly, opened the door and 2 windows to clear the air, and found the heater had not been cleaned. 

Day 6: decided to leave due to the pending hurricane. As I was checking out, a gentleman checking in was told he had been moved further into the campsite in case the river flooded and was told that, if the river did flood, they had a plan and to not be surprised to see RVs in the road. That was their plan?!?!? 

Overall, we will not be returning and will not be recommending this to anyone. If anything, we will encourage anyone looking to camp in the Adirondacks to avoid this campground.

Beautiful campground in south central Vermont.  On a lovely emerald green small lake with nice beach. Good for fishing and kayaking.  Well kept. Was very quiet when we visited though I suspect it's much busier in mid summer.  Near Manchester, which has numerous great restaurants and a fabulous bookstore.

I have stayed here a couple times and loved it. they sites are nice and private. The views on some of the sites to the lake are beautiful. the grounds and facilities are well kept. and you are close to both Bennington and Wilmington. a great spot to camp at in Southern Vermont!

Unfortunately, we stayed here on a pretty rainy weekend in June, but I have nothing but good things to say about our visit to Half Moon Pond. We stayed in site T06, which is right on the water. We were easily able to go straight from the tent to our kayak, which was so awesome. 

The bathhouse was very clean, the swimming beach is small but perfect, and there are even cabins for rent on the other side of the pond. Bomoseen State Park is right down the road, but I recommend staying at Half Moon and taking advantage of the large swimming area at Bomoseen, as well as all the cool ponds, lakes, and hiking trails nearby. 

Of all the Vermont State Parks we've camped at, Half Moon Pond is high at the top of the list for its privacy, quiet paddling, and proximity to other cool attractions. I wish I had more photos to share, but rain...

I've stayed at 10 of the state parks of VT. Gifford Woods takes the cake in friendliness of its staff. The park is amazingly clean, well run, located just of RT 4 and very near to Killington, Vermont. It has multiple lean-to sites which are in wooded areas. Cool stone bathrooms and playing fields for kids but the highlight (for me) is access to the Appalachian Trail. The AT runs directly through this park. While on a 4 state section hike I traveled by foot through this park. The ranger gave me an ice cream, pointed me to the showers and then chatted with me for an hour about my hike so far. He also gave me a ride to the Inn at Long Trail to pick up a resupply box since I was a few days behind schedule and low on food. I'll always remember his kindness. Living just across the state line in NH, I have frequented Gifford Woods on 4 other occasions for day hiking with family. Enjoy! I sure did!

This campground is the number one rated in Vermont for a reason. The staff were wonderful, the sites are pristine and picturesque, the faculties are decorated with wildflowers. We met a number of AT through hikers, who were very willing to share their adventure stories.

Plenty of space between sites. Decent bathroom situation--I've seen better and I've seen worse in Vermont. The (AT&T) cell phone reception was pretty good, but could be slow at times (which could be because of the area or because of the busy fall color season.)

We stayed at this campground in a travel trailer for one week spent hours floating down the river biking took day trips to Lake Placid and Burlington Vermont lots of seasonal campers but for a day camping the sites are really nice would highly recommend. There was a single bathroom right up from our site which was a plus.

We stayed here as a stopover on our way home to NJ from Maine. It's 5 min down the road from Wilmington, one of our favorite towns to visit. There are no hookups at any Vermont state parks (Molly Stark included). We stayed at site T16. It's a pull through RV site with a fire ring & picnic table. T16 is right next to bathrooms- unfortunately the map shows showers there too (there are not). We boondocked- there's a spot up top near the other bathrooms where you can fill your fresh water tank. We had a slight issue with our fresh tank overflow valve & the park worker was INCREDIBLE, helpful and so kind. I think his name was Jerry?. He came right over and even rigged up a fix for it in his workshop. We got him a 12pack as a thanks before we left :). Campground is quiet & nestled in the woods. We didn't see any bear, but it is an active bear area. Some tent sites have lean to structures as well. There's a large pavilion at the top of the campground for eating etc. If we stayed longer we would have definitely done the Mt Olga Fire-tower trail. This is no frills, primitive & refreshing camping. And yes- we would stay again!!

We just finished six nights at Emerald Lake State Park.  Camping at Vermont State parks is always top notch.  We had a lean-to site and good privacy from the sites around us.  There was plenty of room for our tent and screen tent.  Everyone was respectful and quiet, even on the weekend when it was busier.  Bathrooms were cleaned daily, showers were fine.  50 cents for 5 minutes and then extra time for each additional quarter.  Two bars of AT&T.  Manchester was an easy 10 minute drive away for provisioning, and we enjoyed a great hike to Lye Brook Falls (the trailhead was around a 20 minute drive).  We would definitely come here again.

We have camped at Woodford State Park in the summer and fall. It's a small park, but it never feels crowded. Most park activities are based around a small, 25-acre lake. You can rent canoes or kayaks, fish for trout, or hike the loop trail around the lake. Here's what we love most about camping here:

1)It's the highest elevation campground in Vermont, which means that when the temperatures soar in the valleys, you can come here for a noticeable temperature difference.

2. It's one of the most dog-friendly state parks. Dogs are allowed everywhere except three of the camping cabins.

3. The fall foliage is unreal!

There are great waterfront sites, cabins if it's too cold to tent, and the bathrooms are modern and clean.

This park is close to my house in southern Vermont. We usually visit during the day to hike to the top of the Mt. Olga firetower. It’s always clean and very quiet, so this summer we decided to give camping a shot. We stayed in one of the lean-tos because it was threatening rain. I wish I could remember the name of it. We love the site. The only thing we didn’t like is that is was facing the neighbor’s campsite, and we felt like we were always staring at them. They were friendly, though, so it all worked out.

The hike up Mt. Olga is 1.7 miles (round trip). There’s a fire tower at the top, which provides awesome views of the Green Mountains. It’s also fun to explore the relics of the old Hogback Ski Resort. They are rested remnants of the ski lifts and warming huts, and they are slowing crumbling back to the earth. The trails from the park connect to the Hogback Mountain Conservation area trails, so there are actually many miles of trails you can explore without having to drive anywhere. If you do want to embark on a little road trip, check out the little town of Wilmington, which has an awesome lake for swimming, or the bustling town of Brattleboro, which is perfect for shopping and nightlife.

This is such a well maintained park. Well taken care of sites, gardens all around, cute lean-tos, new bathrooms/showers, hiking trail to MT. Olga, and friendly staff. You can continue on the hiking trail to a cute brewery/pizza place or even a distillery. If hiking is not for you it’s a 3 minute car ride away. Super nice campground!

We will be back! Very well manicured Camping Area, clean updated restrooms. Friendly campers and great view!