Camping on the North Shore of Long Island

Pack your tent and camping gear for an affordable adventure at a North Shore campground where the fun begins with fishing and paddleboarding and ends with karaoke around the fire. An hour’s drive away, rent a tent site for as little as $9 a night at campgrounds from Middle Island to Greenport. Live the outdoor good life fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking and toasting s’mores, all a short walk from vineyards, quaint downtowns and scenic waterfronts.

Here are North Shore campgrounds where you just might forget you’re still on Long Island.

Know before you go 

Don’t just show up. Reserve your campsite, generally on a first-come, first-served basis, by phone, website or app. RV sites generally fill up faster than tent campsites and overall demand tends to be highest on summer weekends, so try booking on weeknights, says David Zapasek, manager of Wildwood State Park in Wading River.

Wildwood State Park

790 Hulse Landing Rd., off Sound Avenue, Wading River

Camping at Wildwood, you “feel like you are somewhere off Long Island,” says Joseph Recchion, 56, of East Quogue, an electrician who unplugs on summer camping trips in his 34-foot camper trailer. “It’s much less crowded on the North Shore.”

Wildwood’s 767 acres encompass a hardwood forest, 14 miles of hiking and biking trails and 1½ miles of Long Island Sound beachfront for fishing and lifeguard-protected swimming. There are snack and gift shops and a camp store, sports facilities (including horseshoe pit sets), playgrounds, movie shows and entertainment for kids.

There’s even a “take a book, leave a book” nook, maintained by Recchion. “You won’t believe how many kids read books while camping,” he says.

• COST Over 300 tent and RV sites, $20-$37 per night; Reserve: Reserveamerica.com or 800-456-2267. 
• MORE INFO 631-929-4314, parks.ny.gov

Peconic River Campground

312 S. River Rd., Calverton

Tyler Histand’s grandfather owned a duck farm in the 1940s on what is now a rustic campground drawing nature lovers and campfire singers.

Campsites come equipped with stone fire rings, a picnic table and Adirondack chairs. “The campers bring their own karaoke machine and stereo system and have a grand old time,” says Histand, 29, of Calverton.

Matthew Niederberger, 36, of Bellmore, says camping here offers a “perfect getaway” from his day job: licensed funeral director. Niederberger paddleboards on the Peconic River, photographs snapping turtles with an underwater camera and cooks “deep dish pepperoni campfire pizza” before lights out.

Then, says Niederberger, “I get some of the best sleep of my life knocked out like a baby listening to this owl behind my tent.”

• COST Choose your own site in a hilly or grassy area; $35 per night, book with Hipcamp app.
• MORE INFO 631-484-4931, peconicrivercampground.com

McCann’s Campground

2600 Moores Lane, Greenport

RV sites tend to book up fastest at the Village of Greenport’s “old school, very basic campground,” but tent sites are usually available throughout the season, camp manager Lisa Otis says. Each site includes a firepit, picnic table and Wi-Fi, and there’s an on-site bathhouse and sink for washing up.

“We don’t have a lot for kids, no pools or playground, so we get an older crowd," says Otis, 58, herself a longtime camper. For family fun, walk to downtown Greenport’s restaurants, thrift shops and galleries.

• COST 50 tent and RV sites, $46-$63 per night. Reserve by phone.
• MORE INFO 631-477-0043, villageofgreenport.gov

Cathedral Pines County Park

116 Yaphank-Middle Island Road, Middle Island

The campground on the Carmans River boasts a new playground, splash pad area and, later this summer, will open new pickleball and sports courts, says Suffolk County Parks spokesperson Hilary Hoffman.

“Campsites are both basic and electric, depending on location, with water and fire rings on site,” Hoffman says.

Amenities range from a picnic area and ice cream concession to a mountain bike trail. At adjacent Prosser Pines Nature Preserve, hike or photograph wildlife on a 0.7-mile trail looping though a rare white pine forest planted in 1812.

• COST 152 campsites, $9-$36 per night.
• MORE INFO 631-852-5502, suffolkcountyny.gov

Indian Island County Park

Off Cross-River Drive, Riverhead

This nearly 300-acre wooded park and campground boasts one of Suffolk's most scenic picnicking areas, with tables, grills and benches looking out on peaceful Flanders Bay. Activities include kayaking and fishing. 

• COST 100 trailer and tent campsites, $9-$36 per night.
• MORE INFO 631-852-3232, suffolkcountyny.gov