Tent Camping in Vermont

Onion River Campground

26 RV Sites, 24 Tent Sites

Onion River Campground in Plainfield, Vermont, offers 26 RV sites and 24 tent sites along the Winooski River, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 25 feet. Full-hookup and water-and-electric back-in categories at both amperages join walking trails, a community fire pit, and forested grounds. Twenty-six back-in sites span back-in 30-amp, back-in 30-amp water-and-electric, back-in 50-amp, and back-in 50-amp water-and-electric categories, carrying water, sewer, and electric where noted, sized to 25 feet. Two things to plan around carefully: the 25-foot cap is genuinely restrictive and rules out most modern RVs, so this suits vans, small trailers, and truck campers rather than coaches, and the water-and-electric categories do not carry sewer at the site. Twenty-four tent sites make this substantially a tent property. A dump station, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. Walking trails, a community fire pit, and the surrounding forest fill the grounds, with swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, biking, and picnicking on and around the river. The dark central Vermont sky makes for excellent stargazing. Pets are welcome. Vermonters called the Winooski the Onion River for the wild leeks along its banks before European settlement, and the name stuck to the campground. Plainfield sits 10 to 15 minutes from Montpelier — the smallest state capital in the country and the only one without a McDonald's — with Goddard College, the Groton State Forest, and the Northeast Kingdom all close. Summer and foliage drive demand. Reserve ahead, and check your rig against the 25-foot limit.

from $32/night

10 Acres Campground

15 RV Sites, 5 Tent Sites

10 Acres Campground in Addison, VT, offers 15 full-hookup RV sites and 5 tent sites, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and room for rigs up to 50 feet. The three categories say what you get: lake view full-hookup sites with water, sewer, and 50/30-amp power; pool side RV sites; and water-and-electric sites. Full-hookup sites carry water, sewer, and electric with site-delivered WiFi, a fire pit, and a picnic table. Laundry, a bathhouse with showers, a general store, firewood, propane fills and exchange, and a dump station cover the essentials, and pets are welcome. An outdoor pool, a pavilion, a playground, horseshoes, walking trails, and a pond fill the grounds, with lake access for fishing, boating, swimming, and kayaking, plus planned activities. A restaurant is a mile out and skydiving is two and a half. Addison sits on Lake Champlain — 120 miles of freshwater inland sea studded with islands, the Green Mountains on one shore and the Adirondacks on the other. Shelburne Museum and Lake Placid are both day trips. Rates for sites and tent spots are on the booking page. Lake view sites are limited and book first.

from $35/night

Pine Hollow Campground

49 RV Sites, 3 Tent Sites

Pine Hollow Campground in Pownal, Vermont, offers 49 full-hookup RV sites and three tent sites in a small scenic valley at the southwestern corner of the state, with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 45 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. A spring-fed stocked trout pond with paddleboat rentals and a beach anchors a genuinely traditional New England campground. Forty-nine sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp in back-in and pull-through configurations, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits, picnic tables, cable TV, and site WiFi. Pull-through sites are limited, so request one if the largest motorhomes need drive-through access. Three tent sites cover simpler camping. A general store, laundry, dump station, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. The stocked trout pond is the centerpiece — spring-fed, with paddleboat and boat rentals, fishing, and a beach. A green meadow bordered by towering pines gives the campground its setting, with a playground, pavilion, horseshoes, shuffleboard, and picnicking filling the grounds. This is a campground rather than a destination resort, and in a region where the best sites have largely been commercialized, that character is much of the appeal. Pets are welcome. Pownal sits in Bennington County where the Berkshires extend north into Vermont's wooded hollows, less than 10 miles from both Bennington, Vermont and Williamstown, Massachusetts. Directions from the north: from the junction of Route 7 and Route 9 in Bennington, take Route 7 south 6.4 miles, left onto Barbers Pond Road 1.5 miles, right onto Old Military Road half a mile, then follow the Pine Hollow signs. Fall foliage is the peak — reserve well ahead.

from $40/night

Jericho Gateway Family Campground

4 RV Sites, 7 Tent Sites

Jericho Gateway Family Campground in Berlin, New Hampshire, offers four back-in RV sites without hookups and seven tent sites across 300 family-operated acres in the White Mountains, with a big-rig-friendly layout taking rigs up to 100 feet and a dump station on site. This is genuine dry camping at the northern gateway to the White Mountain National Forest. Four back-in sites operate without hookups, and the big-rig-friendly layout accommodates rigs to 100 feet — an unusual combination that suits large self-contained coaches. Seven tent sites cover simpler camping. A dump station serves RV guests, and firewood is available on site. Guests should arrive fully self-contained and plan water and power accordingly. The 300 acres are the amenity. Walking trails run the wooded property for hiking and biking, and the family operation means guests deal directly with the owners. The scale gives a real sense of remove that smaller White Mountain campgrounds cannot match. Pets are welcome. Berlin sits in Coos County on NH-16 at the confluence of the Dead and Androscoggin Rivers, 20 miles south of the Canadian border. The Androscoggin carries fishing and whitewater, the Mahoosuc Range offers some of the most demanding hiking in New England, and Dixville Notch's mountain pass is within reach. This is the edge of the Great North Woods, the largest unbroken forest in the northeastern United States. The campground serves the northern New Hampshire season. Summer hiking and fall foliage are the two peak windows, with foliage in late September and early October drawing heavily across the White Mountains. With four RV sites, reserve as far ahead as you can.

from $35/night

Shady Oaks Camping Resort

12 RV Sites, 2 Tent Sites, 1 Glamping Site

Shady Oaks Camping Resort in Plattsburgh, NY, offers 12 full-hookup RV sites, 4 tent sites, and 1 glamping site, with 20 and 30-amp service and room for rigs up to 40 feet. Sites come in two categories, back-in 30-amp and pull-thru 30-amp, both carrying water, sewer, and electric with site-delivered WiFi, a fire pit, and a picnic table. Note the electrical: service is 20 and 30-amp, so a rig wired for heavier draw will need an adapter and some load management. Laundry, a bathhouse with showers, a general store, a community fire pit, and recycling cover the rest. Pets are welcome. Horseshoes, corn hole, and picnicking fill the shaded grounds, with the lake and beach a short walk. Plattsburgh sits on the western shore of Lake Champlain in the North Country between the Adirondack foothills and Vermont's Green Mountains. The campground is three quarters of a mile from the City Beach. Rates for every accommodation type are on the booking page. Twelve sites near Lake Champlain in a short northern season — reserve well ahead for summer.

from $25/night

Moosehead Family Campground

24 RV Sites, 8 Tent Sites

Moosehead Family Campground in Greenville, ME, offers 24 RV sites and 8 tent sites, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and back-in sites for rigs up to 45 feet. Sites come in two categories, back-in 20/30-amp and back-in 20/30/50-amp, each carrying water and electric with a fire pit and picnic table. There's no sewer at the site, so plan on the on-site dump station. A bathhouse with showers, a general store, a library, on-site dining, and a playground cover the essentials. Pets are welcome. The water access is what sets the place apart: a marina, boat docks, fishing guides working from the property, plus a pond, creek frontage, walking trails, sport courts, tennis, and basketball, with boating, kayaking, fishing, hiking, biking, and birding. Golf is nearby. The campground sits at 312 Moosehead Lake Road on Route 15, one mile south of Moosehead Lake and the town of Greenville — Maine's largest lake, the largest moose population in the lower 48, and the wilderness canoe routes of the Katahdin-Moosehead region. Rates for sites and tent spots are on the booking page. Maine's short summer means July and August book far ahead.