Campgrounds and RV parks near Avenel, NJ

Day trips split naturally between city and shore. Liberty Harbor RV Park puts the PATH train, NY Waterway ferry, and Liberty State Park within walking or short-transit distance, with views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Manhattan skyline. Floyd Bennett Field adds hiking, paved bike paths, an archery range, and access to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, home to some 300 species of migratory birds. Inland, Turkey Swamp Park features a 17-acre lake and offers four playgrounds and over eight miles of multi-use trails through pitch pine and oak, plus an archery range and fishing for bass, catfish, and bluegill. Allaire State Park is known for its 19th-century Allaire Village iron-making town and the Pine Creek Railroad narrow-gauge train, with the Manasquan River providing trout fishing and a large network of hiking and multi-use trails. Six Flags Great Adventure and the Jersey Shore beach towns are also within easy reach.

Camping season in this part of New Jersey is shaped by state and county park calendars. The Turkey Swamp Park campground is open from April 1 through November 15, with reservations accepted after January 1 for that year. Allaire State Park family campsites are currently closed due to construction of a new bathroom and shower facility, though group camping remains open April 1 through December 15. Camp Gateway at Floyd Bennett Field is open April through October and offers tent and RV camping, with peak demand on summer weekends. Liberty Harbor RV Park in Jersey City operates year-round. Summer brings warm, humid weather and the highest booking pressure, especially on holiday weekends and near the shore. Spring and fall offer cooler nights, fewer bugs, and easier availability, though mosquitoes and gnats can be heavy at Floyd Bennett Field, with mosquitoes especially problematic from July through October. Winter is quiet, with most state and county campgrounds in the region closed.

Sites in this region range from urban parking-lot style to fully wooded state park loops. Liberty Harbor is essentially a fenced gravel lot inside a marina with electric and water hookups, restrooms, showers, and laundry; sites are close together and green space is minimal, but the location is the draw. Turkey Swamp Park has 64 wooded, pull-through campsites with water and electric hookups, drinking water, a dump station, picnic tables, modern restrooms with hot showers and laundry, and fire rings for charcoal cooking and campfires, with quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Allaire State Park has 45 campsites in a forested setting near the Manasquan River, plus 10 shelters, drinking water, flush toilets, showers, and a seasonal RV dump station open mid-April to mid-October, with a table, fire ring, and grate at each site. Camp Gateway at Floyd Bennett Field has RV sites on open paved areas with no shade and tent sites backed by wooded patches, with seasonal showers, drinking water, flush toilets, picnic tables, and a dump station. Black bears are present in New Jersey parks, so follow park bear-safety protocols, and ticks and mosquitoes are common in wooded and coastal areas.