Campgrounds and RV parks near Montclair State University, NJ

Montclair State University sits in Essex County, northern New Jersey, about 15 miles west of Manhattan. The area is dense suburbia, but campers within an hour's drive have access to the New Jersey Highlands, Harriman State Park across the New York line, and urban RV parking along the Hudson waterfront. The closest true RV park is Liberty Harbor RV Park in Jersey City, positioned as one of the closest RV parks to New York City. To the north and northwest, campers can reach Camp Wyanokie in West Milford, adjacent to Norvin Green State Forest, along with Wawayanda State Park in the NJ Highlands. For state-park camping with lake access, Beaver Pond Campground sits within the 46,000-acre Harriman State Park in Rockland County, directly adjacent to the Lake Welch Recreation Area, with 125 sites and select sites able to accommodate trailers or RVs up to 30 feet. Floyd Bennett Field, part of Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn, is the closest National Park Service campground and reachable via the Holland Tunnel and Belt Parkway.

Each park uses a different reservation system. New Jersey state parks, including Wawayanda, book through the state portal at camping.nj.gov. Beaver Pond in Harriman uses the New York State Parks system on ReserveAmerica. Camping reservations can be made up to 9 months in advance, with sites released at the 9-month window at 8AM weekdays and 9AM weekends between March 15 and Labor Day. Floyd Bennett Field uses Recreation.gov, with advance reservations required and same-day walk-ups discouraged. Liberty Harbor takes reservations directly by phone or through its website and does not use a public agency system. Camp Wyanokie is operated by a local nonprofit and books through the operator, not a public portal.