Campgrounds and RV parks near Boston, MA

Boston sits on Massachusetts Bay at the mouth of the Charles River, and its camping options reflect that coastal geography. Overnight stays close to the city are limited to the Boston Harbor Islands, a state and national park where tent sites and yurts are scattered across Peddocks Island and small group sites operate on Grape, Bumpkin, and Thompson islands. For RV travelers, the nearest developed campground is Harold Parker State Forest Lorraine Park, roughly 20 miles north of downtown in Andover and North Reading. The state forest covers more than 3,000 acres of hardwood, hemlock, and white pine, with a pond-side campground that accepts trailers and motorhomes up to about 40 feet. Because Boston itself has no in-city RV park, most visitors base at Harold Parker or at private parks farther out and commute in by car or commuter rail. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation manages both the island sites and Lorraine Park through the ReserveAmerica portal.

Both the Boston Harbor Islands and Harold Parker State Forest Lorraine Park are reserved through the Massachusetts DCR ReserveAmerica system at massdcrcamping.reserveamerica.com. The booking window is four months in advance of the arrival date, so summer weekends open on a rolling basis through the spring. Walk-in camping is not permitted at Lorraine Park, and harbor island sites require a reservation plus a separately booked round-trip ferry ticket from Hingham Shipyard for Peddocks. Group sites on Grape, Bumpkin, and Thompson islands are booked through the same portal, with larger groups asked to submit a Group Authorization Form. Firewood must be purchased on site at Lorraine Park, since transporting outside firewood into DCR campgrounds is prohibited.