The Best Campsites inside the U.S.

No matter how you slice it, sleeping out of doors is wonderful. Hell, with our basic wishes met—trails to discover, a campfire to ogle at, a few cold Pale Ales, and excellent buddies to percentage it all with—we’ll sleep pretty much everywhere. But there’s no arguing with the fact that some campsites are a cut above the rest. So to help you decide wherein to pitch your tent this summertime, we picked some of our faves from across the united states.

East CoastBest “Castaway” Experience: Cayo Costa State Park, Florida

Perched on the warm Gulf of Mexico south of Tampa, this state park can be reached simplest with the aid of a ferry or personal boat. But it’s really worth the attempt, as the island is ruled by lush tropical foliage and has 9 miles of untouched, sugar-white seashores. Grab a domain at the west side of the island (some have hammock posts), and also, you’ll be steps away from the sand and heat-water paddling.

Best Wild Horse Viewing: Oceanside Campground, Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland

You’d assume the seashore would be the draw of tenting on this barrier island just off the coast of Maryland. And while the seaside is amazing, it’s the island’s wild horses that you’ll keep in mind the maximum. So grab a pressure-in or stroll-in spot inside the Oceanside Campground, tucked into the grassy dunes simply feet far away from the Atlantic, and spend your days surfing, swimming, and watching the feral horses which have been roaming the island since the 17th century.

Campsites

Best Lean-to Camping: Duck Harbor Campground, Acadia National Park, Maine

Acadia’s most far-flung campground, Duck Harbor, boasts a handful of campsites on Isle Au Haut, simply off the coast of Maine. Each site comes entire with a three-sided, lean-to-fashion refuge (so no tent necessary) and has immediate get right of entry to to the island’s enormous trail device, which explores the park’s pine woodland and rocky shoreline and a number of the maximum lovely landscapes and various flora and fauna on the Eastern Seaboard. Best Uncrowded Camping in America’s Busiest Park: Balsam Mountain Campground, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina

Avoid the crowds and head straight for this campground in a far-off corner of the park near Cherokee, North Carolina. The campground has forty-two websites on the pinnacle of a ridge that sits at five, three hundred ft above sea level. Rugged trails go away from the ridge and hit excessive-elevation balds, and massive elk are acknowledged to wander along the ridgeline.

Best Paddle-in Camping: Devils Fork State Park, South Carolina

This national park gives drive-in sites that sit down on the brink of Lake Jocassee, a 7,565-acre lake at the bottom of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, the wall of mountains that separates South Carolina from North Carolina. Grab a boat and paddle to the waterfalls that tumble off the cliffs into the lake, or head to one of the 13 paddle-in-handiest websites at the shore of the lake underneath Musterground Mountain.

Midwest

Best Lake Superior Camping: Twelvemile Beach Campground, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan
On Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Pictured Rocks are named for the tall, colorful cliffs that line Lake Superior. Twelvemile Beach Campground will position you inside the thick of the action, with 36 websites perched on a sandy plateau on the threshold of the lake. Take the stairs down to the shore for a sandy seashore and paddling galore, or hike a piece of the North Country Trail, a 4, six-hundred-mile trail that passes via the campground.

Best Midwest City Escape: Kohler-Andrae State Park, Wisconsin

Just a 3-hour pressure north of Chicago, Kohler-Andrae State Park has it all: miles of trekking and biking trails, get admission to the pristine Lake Michigan coastline, and tons of tenting. The park’s own family campground comprises both automobile and tent camping. Want to reveal up with just a snoozing bag? Rent the park’s tepee for unique and pared-down nighttime under the celebs.

Samantha W. Hodgson

I love to travel, and I like sharing my knowledge of it. The travel world is vast, and there are so many places to visit and things to learn! My goal as a travel blogger is to take my readers on an exciting journey through beautiful, exotic, and historical destinations. I am always eager to discover new places to explore, so I am always looking for more tips and advice for other travelers. I can't wait to meet you!