Tent camping and glamping spots on the East Coast

There’s something magical about sleeping in a tent. Whether it’s reconnecting with nature or escaping the electronic world, campers extol the virtues of spending the night under a cozy piece of canvas. "It was very important for us to use canvas," said Katharine Manning, who runs Highwood Retreat in Vermont. "You feel like you’re sleeping outside, but you’re not walled off," she said. "When the sun shines through the canvas, there’s a heavenly, soft glow."

The good news — you don’t have to pitch your own. Tents can be found ready to go all over the Northeast, from small campgrounds that offer basic accommodations to more luxurious locations that truly put the glam in glamping. From upstate New York to Maine, here are six spots to consider:

New York: Wild Hudson Valley Eco Camp

408 Lake Mills Rd., Cairo

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM LI: About 2½ hours away 

If a luxury hotel and a state campground had a baby, the result would be Wild Hudson Valley, wrote one former guest. The camp’s goal is "to inspire people to get out in nature and connect with it," said Anna Plattner, who owns the camp with her husband, Justin Wexler. "We want to be more than a campground," she said, explaining that they offer programs on things like wild foods, local history and Indigenous cultures.

Campers can pitch their own tents on two grassy sites on 95 acres, or book one of two "glamping-style" waterproof canvas bell tents that can sleep four (queen bed and twin with trundle). They come with two solar-powered lanterns, enamel dishes and cookware; extras like bedding and towels can be booked as add-ons. A bathhouse is nearby, with cedar-lined showers and changing rooms. Guests can hike through the woods and along two creeks — fishing is encouraged. The camp has a nature center with displays on local ecology and a demonstration garden with traditional Hudson Valley crops like corn and squash. There’s a welcome campfire every Friday night (yes, there are s’mores) and regular events, also open to public, include foraging walks, nature hikes and farm tours.

• SEASON Open weekends Memorial Day through Labor Day
• COST Rates start at $195 a night for glamping tents, $95 for campsites for two people (two-night minimum) additional guests are charged $30 a night to cover programming and use of facilities
• MORE INFO 518-469-1258, wildhudsonvalley.com

New York: Hengarth Farm

290 Post Rd., Prattsville

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM LI: About three hours away 

Hang out with a flock of sheep (and one guardian llama) at this working farm nestled between Hunter and Windham mountains on 101 acres. Four spacious tents are set  among private woodland, two with transparent tops to allow for stargazing.

The tents sit on an expansive meadow, each with a queen bed (cots can be provided to sleep four). Tents have an outdoor area with picnic table and a firepit, and linens, cooking equipment and utensils are included, along with a charcoal grill, camp stove, cooler and solar lanterns. Each tent has a private bathroom, with compost toilet and hot shower. Communal spaces include a BYO bar and dining space, a 600-foot deck for yoga or dancing (the farm loves to host weddings), and a 19th century wood barn/reception area overlooking the sheep pasture. Guests are encouraged to make friends with the animals, heritage sheep that come from Wales.

• SEASON Open late May through mid-October
• COST Tents start at $165 per night with a two-night minimum
• MORE INFO hengarth.com

Vermont: Highwood Retreat

237 Randall Hill Rd., Springfield

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM LI: About four hours away 

Run by a husband-wife team with film and theater backgrounds, this collection of three luxurious tents offers a refined experience that’s as much five-star hotel (plus robes, high-end linens) as campground. The retreat opened in 2022 after Sam Parsons and Katharine Mangold left Hollywood mid-pandemic for a quieter life. The goal for guests, Mangold said, is for them to be immersed in nature, to "experience something they haven’t before."

The tents are set in a spacious field on 160 acres  at the foot of the Green Mountains and are far enough apart that mingling with (or even seeing) your neighbors is unlikely. The tents, meant for one or two adults (children 14 and under not allowed) are raised off the ground to discourage marauding critters, and have queen beds and elegant chairs and furnishings (think vintage desks, stuffed chairs and oil paintings) you wouldn’t expect to find in a tent. All have wood-burning stoves (firewood provided), a deck with fire pit, private baths with composting toilets and outdoor showers operational from May to October. The camp runs on battery power (no Wi-Fi but cellphones work) and has no cooking facilities. Coolers with ice are provided for any food you bring and there’s a small room service menu — signature cocktails and cheese/charcuterie boards are plenty for dinner, and breakfast options include bagels and lox.

• SEASON Open year-round
• COST Rates start at $195 and there’s a two-night minimum spring/summer weekends and daily during foliage season
• MORE INFO highwoodretreat.com

New Hampshire: Lumen Nature Retreat

11 Sugar Plum Lane, North Woodstock

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM LI: About five hours away 

The A-frame tents at this cozy spot on a pond in the White Mountains "have everything you need and nothing you don’t," the website says. Translated, the tents have room for a queen bed, a couple of chairs, and not much else, which makes for the cozy experience Susan Zhao and Boris Mordkovich were after when they opened the camp in 2022.

The couple decided to create the business after their honeymoon took them on a 20,000-mile road trip from Boston to Argentina, traveling with a rooftop tent that allowed them to camp everywhere from the middle of Bolivian salt flats to the side of a volcano. The grounds 20 acres  are smaller than some of their competitors, which is part of the plan. "The property was designed with coziness and comfort in mind," Zhao said. The goal, she said, is "to encourage calm and contentment without distraction."

For a little more space, stay in one of the safari-style tents that can be configured with one king bed, or one queen with two twins or a bunk bed. Lumen also offers two Nordic cabins with fireplaces and kitchenettes.

The accommodations, most with waterfront views, come with linens, lanterns, kitchen equipment and a cooler (bring your own ice; propane stoves and firewood are available for additional fees.) Hammocks, firepits and two saunas dot the common areas and a new bathhouse, stocked with private showers and toiletries, is a two-to-five minute walk from every tent or cabin.

• SEASON Cabins are open year-round, rates for an A-frame tent beginning in May
• COST Start at just under $170 a night (two-night minimum weekends)
• MORE INFO 603-633-8790, stayatlumen.com

Maine: Fortland

House Island, Portland

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM LI: About six hours away 

Camping on the grounds of what used to be a fort on 16 acres  has major appeal to history buffs. Fortland opened in 2021 on the grounds of Fort Scammel, when founders Stefan Scarks and Travis Bullard decided to keep the historic site alive by constructing tents and yurts over existing granite gun foundations. "The whole thing is unique in its construction," said Scarks, who has a background in engineering. "Everything was done with preservation in mind."

The fun starts with a 10-minute boat ride — the only way to get to the island (accommodations include a parking space on the mainland). Once on the island, guests can chill on three beaches or explore two underground tunnels that were used in the days the fort guarded the harbor during the War of 1812. Each campsite sleeps two to four guests and includes linens, solar packs to charge electronics, lanterns, Adirondack chairs and a portable outdoor shower. Shared bathrooms with composting toilets are nearby, as is the community kitchen, where you’ll find propane grills and cooking equipment and utensils. Other than ingredients for s’mores around the firepit, no food is available, so you need to pack an ice chest with everything you need.

• SEASON Open Thursday through Sunday (plus some additional holidays) June through mid-October
• COST Rates start at around $300 a night (two-night minimum might apply for Friday and Saturday nights)
• MORE INFO 207-200-1267, fortlandmaine.com

New Hampshire: Under Canvas

700 Blakslee Rd., Dalton

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM LI: About eight hours away 

With locations coast to coast — everywhere from Yellowstone to Yosemite — this chain in making the most of the glamping experience. Opening in June, the 86-acre New Hampshire location will offer safari-style tents in the heart of the White Mountains.

The tents feature West Elm furnishings, king beds, deluxe linens and private bathrooms with hot showers. For more space, there are "suite" tents with separate sitting areas, and families can book an adjacent kids tent with two twin beds, some connected by a private deck. Resort amenities include on-site dining, live music and activities for children. There’s even a concierge, rather an "experience coordinator," to help plan adventures like hiking the nearby Franconia Notch State Park or riding the famous Mount Washington Cog Railway.

• SEASON Open June 4 through Oct. 11
• COST Rates start at $251 per night
• MORE INFO 888-796-1148, undercanvas.com