The best camping in Waterbury Center State Park, VT

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Discover the serene beauty of Waterbury Center State Park.  

The best camping in Waterbury Center State Park, VT

Public campgrounds here are often sold out.
Vermont Ranch & Riverside Retreat

5. Vermont Ranch & Riverside Retreat

99%
(339)
6.1mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 3 sites · Tents, RVs · Moretown, VT
⛰ 🌲 Drive right to your secluded site and wake to the sound of nature and water in this private retreat, situated squarely on the confluence of 2 rivers. Eventually, once part of a much larger working merino sheep farm owned by the Cobb family in the 1700s-1800’s, part of the land transitioned to a dairy cow farm operation, c.1940. Today, we steward 10 acres specially designed with horses in mind. Adjacent to a 40-acre cornfield on one side and Mt. Cobb on the other, with sweeping views our place overlooks the confluence of the Mad and Winooski Rivers. From here, you can mountain bike or hoof it to access miles of trails and bucolic scenery. Come visit this gateway to the Scenic Mad River Valley! 🌲🏊🐟The Swimming/Fishing/Tenting site ("site 1") is perched directly aside the Mad River and the Sweet Meadow Side site ("site 2") is just a 2-minute walk across the grassy meadow and down the secluded riverside path to our beloved Mad River beach. This is a semi-secluded beach, river's edge, and swimming holes. Swim, tube, fish and relax up or down the river and in the confluence of the Winooski and Mad Rivers.. 👢👓 Get curious about the history of this place by checking out the old abandoned Massey Furgeson hay baler tucked in the woods, the Cobb family cemetery, and more gems from many years gone by. Leave from either site on foot to access a sweet trail that travels along the river, over a private bridge, down a beautiful dirt road and into the forest. 🚴 Our property is located on the CROSS VERMONT TRAIL: "a multi-use path connecting communities, and the natural areas in between - across Vermont!" Check out their website (Cross Vermont Trail Association) for maps, guides, events and outings! Many adventurists also enjoy nearby, mountainous and beloved trails: Camel's Hump, The Long Trail, Mt. Mansfield, Stowe Pinnacle, Smuggler's Notch and more. There are a plethora of shorter, scenic and gentle hikes in our region, "the crossroads and recreation center of Vermont"! We are located just 2 miles from Interstate 89 and we reside on Vermont State Route 100B, allowing ease of access to points North, South, East and West Explore our on-site activity offerings: 🐴 Introduction Session: Get acquainted with our horses, tour the barn, and learn about equine-guided education and grooming. $45 for 1 hour for 1-6 people. 🐴 Horsemanship and Riding Lessons: Learn non-forceful bareback and bit-less leading and mounted techniques step by step. $100/hour or $150/1.5 hours for 1-2 people. 🐴 Family Team Building-Bonding (Most Popular): Enjoy an adventurous, fun, and challenging experience together as a family with exercises and activities facilitated by Lucinda. Non-mounted equine guided education at its best! $250 for 2.5 hours. These rates are discounted for our onsite Hipcampers 🙏🏼 Visit our website for more details: Horses and Pathfinders dot com. We'd love to hear from you! You are welcome to review all the varied, detailed and descriptive reviews and photos from other guests' experiences. This is a working ranch and sometimes equipment is running, but never for more than an hour at a time. Horses are on site and they have full access to this property. If you have an untrained, young or problematic dog, please consider a long lead line and read the dog rules and limits carefully. This is not a deep-woods, wilderness site. Please review the map and note our proximity to the interstate and the route where we reside. ❤️ Many guests, families and couples return here year after year as their destination vacation and getaway. We welcome you to experience what they enjoy so much -- right on site and in this special region, the heart of Vermont. ❤️
Pets
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from 
$57
 / night
Verbena Vista at Dreamland

6. Verbena Vista at Dreamland

99%
(87)
7.6mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 3 sites · Lodging · Worcester, VT
Welcome to Verbena Vista, the magic cottage at Dreamland~ /|\ We now offer Custom Crafted Retreats for our guests; an opportunity to sink into sanctuary and be held in your journey to wholeness with Fearn as your guide. Scroll down to the bottom of this description for more details. Go to "EXTRAS" to reserve your Ritual Retreat! Verbena Vista is: ~a tiny guest cottage committed to sustainable, simple living. ~off grid, unplumbed, solar powered and uses only natural cleaning products. ~secluded, quiet, immersed in many acres of forest with meandering brooks, pond, trails, sacred well, stone circle and labyrinth. ~Less than 10 miles from Montpelier, the state capitol; a charming small city. 2 miles to general store/gas station. Unplug, slow down, and sink in to retreat on sacred land.10 x 20’ cozy, bright cottage. Off grid with small solar system.Unplumbed- Tank systems for sink and shower. Compost bucket toilet. Double sized bed and single pull out couch. Please bring your own linens! Propane cook top and heat. Unplugged- No wifi. Limited cell reception. Quaint front porch with rocking chair and awesome vista of gardens, pond, stars, hills; Firewood for sale, $5 for an armload. Please inquire for more info and leave $ in basket in yurt. Please use fire pit in front of cottage, not in stone circle. Feel welcomed to use our temple spaces for solo or respectful group connection quiet time. Please no drinking or smoking in these spaces. Welcome LGBTQIA and BIPOC! Your Ritual Retreat at Dreamland A custom crafted Ritual Retreat is a special opportunity to step away from the busyness of your daily routine to tend to your body and soul, heart and mind. Because sometimes life requires us to unplug, to unplug, unwind and remember our deep connection to Nature and Spirit. Imagine being guided in a customized sacred ritual while held in a breathtakingly beautiful and magically tended land. Once your Ritual Retreat is booked we can chat here to custom craft your rite at Dreamland.
Pets
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from 
$64
 / night
Robbins Mountain

8. Robbins Mountain

98%
(23)
9.9mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 1 site · Lodging · Bolton, VT
Enjoy the sounds of nature when you stay in this unique place. Imagine all the amenities of a campground, but you scored the only site on a 500 acre working maple syrup farm. Its a 10 minute uphill walk from your car. We have a wagon for you to shuttle your gear if needed and for an additional fee we can shuttle your gear up to the site based on host availability. We provide the tent, cots with insulated mattress, outhouse, and water for the outdoor kitchen. For an additional fee we will also provide sleeping bag with liner, and pillows for up to 4 guests. The tent has room for 4 people, if your group number exceeds 4 you will need to bring an additional tent and sleeping gear. We have 2 single and 1 queen size cot. To fit 4, the single cots will need to transition into bunk beds. There is plenty of hiking and back country skiing right outside the door. At the base of the driveway there is a popular river suitable for swimming, paddling and floating. We are close to multiple mountain biking trails, local restaurants, breweries and are just off the long trail.
Pets
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from 
$99
 / night
Singing Wood Farm

12. Singing Wood Farm

100%
(49)
12mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 9 sites · Tents, RVs · Morristown, VT
Singing Wood is located on 77 acres in Morristown Vermont, Lamoille County. Our farm offers gorgeous all season views of Vermont’s Green Mountains. We are located on Bull Moose Road and Mud City Loop. The farm is sits just outside the edges of Mount Mansfield State Forest with views of White Rocks, Bull Moose Hill, Sterling and Morse Mountains. A hidden tranquil gem in the Vermont countryside surrounded by forest and farmlands, bordered by the pristine trout brook Beaver Meadow Brook. Our family farm features forest trails, wildflower meadows, berry patches, herbs, cut flowers, honeybees, wood fired maple syrup and vegetables. Our farm store is filled with our own farm fresh products as well as a small selection from other quality food artisans and crafts people. The Catamount trail (a 300 mile long winter trail system) passes through our property and offers some of Vermont’s finest backcountry skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. We are just 20 mins from the ski area and town of Mt. Mansfield in Stowe, 35 minutes to the ski areas of Smugglers Notch and Bolton Valley. 1 Hour to Burlington International Airport. We are located near many fine restaurants and breweries (Lost Nation, The Alchemist, and Rock Art among many others). The area is full of year round recreational opportunities.
Pets
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from 
$63
 / night
Peck Farm Orchard Pond

13. Peck Farm Orchard Pond

98%
(68)
12mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 1 site · Tent, RV · East Montpelier, VT
    Over 200 years ago, our ancestors established the Peck Farm to sustain their families and build a community.  Eight generations later, we strive towards the same goals. Our farm is conserved through Vermont Land Trust and is an active farm featuring cropland, maple sugar woods, and apple orchard.Learn more about this land:Your camp site is a flat mowed lawn next to our orchard irrigation pond. The pond is fed via solar pump which is located in the wetland cow pasture just beyond the site. The camp site is situated between 2 woods a wetland and our pick your own apple orchard. A variety of bird species can be seen and heard throughout the day and in the evening. The area is a well used animal transition zone with deer, black bear, bobcats, turkey and many others. A fire pit is available, swimming in the pond is allowed. There is a traditional 2-hole outhouse 600ft from the campsite. Power hookup for charging is available on the property as well. Fall campers will have full access to our corn maze, apples, apple cider, cider donuts, dry hard cider and hay rides. The site is 6.5 miles from the capitol of Montpelier. Our town forest featuring miles of hiking trails is located just one mile from the site. Our parking area is often used by bikers and walkers for convenient parking.
Pets
Potable water
Toilets
from 
$45
 / night
Woodbury Meadows Entrance

15. Woodbury Meadows

99%
(403)
13mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 8 sites · Tents, RVs · East Calais, VT
We live on 52 wooded acres in a natural area surrounded by lakes and ponds just 14 miles north of Montpelier VT. We are located on the Green Mountain Gravel Growler bike packing trail and 7 miles south of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. We have lots of hiking , biking, boating and swimming opportunities nearby. Our amenity's include a bath house with two flush toilets and a hot shower. We also have a washer and dryer available for our campers. We have two 30 amp RV sites with full hook ups and 4 tent/small RV non electric sites. We are 100% solar powered and have good WIFI but no cell service. We cater to small quiet groups who can enjoy our peaceful setting. If your are bike packing and our sites are booked just text or stop in we will accommodate you. The campground is located along our town road and the sites are 50 - 100 feet apart along our driveway. This is not a wilderness experience you will have neighbors, including us We are a family friendly, non smoking campground. We are open early May till late October. Pets on leashes are OK. Quiet time is all the time :~). 12 and under free, no Generators.
Pets
Potable water
Toilets
from 
$40
 / night
Hoolie Farm

16. Hoolie Farm

99%
(43)
13mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 3 sites · Tents, RVs · Calais, VT
Our organic vegetables are spread out over 129 acres of flat river bottom fields and high sandy plateaus. The Pekin Brook winds down the middle of the farm and has a couple deeper pools for swimming. Head 1/4 mile up the road from our farmhouse and discover our Flower Maze, the largest in VT. It's built like a corn maze, BUT with flowers. Please visit our website for more details. (2025 Update: There is no flower maze this year) We are 20 minutes from our state capital, Montpelier; 60 minutes from our nearest large city, Burlington which is located on Lake Champlain and 40 minutes from Waterbury, home to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. Some fun attractions in our neighborhood are: Chickering Bog- an easy hiking trail with rare plants, variety of nesting birds, and frogs. # 10 Pond - Our local gem for swimming, boating and fishing Kent Corner Museum- Various VT Artists featured in a historic Calais home The Whammy Bar @ The Maple Corner Store- food, music, and community Morse Farm Maple Sugar Works Coburn Covered Bridge- travel over a historic covered bridge Worcester July 4th Fireworks Spectacular Barre Opera House Lost Nation Theater (Fall Attraction)- Peck Family Orchard
Pets
Potable water
Toilets
from 
$40
 / night
Dog in the Dog River

17. Dog River Run

95%
(32)
14mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 4 sites · RVs · West Berlin, VT
Surrounded on three sides by two brooks and the Dog River, our property covers a bit more than one acre in size. It is situated on a residential road in Riverton (or West Berlin), VT, near route 12, just six miles south of Montpelier, and four miles north of Northfield. So it's rural, but still very close to grocery shopping and laundromat. We have electrical hook-up available. From mid-July through late October, there is WIFI available although the signal is not strong up by the electrical hook-up. It's strongest towards the river. Mountain bike trails are close by. Boyer State Forest is two miles away (for hiking and biking). Norwich University, five miles away in Northfield, has hiking and biking trails. Ellie's Farm Market (one mile distance) has local organic produce in season as well as local cheese and maple products. NOTE: Previous campers have suggested that future campers NOT use Crosstown Road to get here, no matter what your GPS says. One weather event makes it VERY unfriendly to RV's.
Pets
Campfires
from 
$23
 / night
View of site from Texas Hill Brook

18. Texas Hill Brook

98%
(105)
15mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 3 sites · Tents, RVs, Lodging · Huntington, VT
Learn more about this land: Texas Hill Brook camp site The Texas Hill Brook site is a flat, wooded campsite on Texas Hill Brook in Huntington. The campsite is roughly 10m x 30m (30' x 100'), large enough for several tents or a small camper/RV. It is accessed by a sloped 50m (about 150') gravel driveway. The narrowest part of the driveway is 2.6m (about 8.5 feet). There is a 3m x 3m (10' x 10') tent platform and a large picnic table. Firewood is provided. Near our home about 120m/400 feet away through the trees but relatively private. Within a short pedal or drive to some of the best mountain biking and hiking Vermont has to offer, 15 minutes to Richmond and Hinesburg, and just a half hour to Burlington. Electricity on site, primitive fire pit, but no other facilities, so ALL waste must be packed out. We have a bucket commode to loan if you don’t have your own.
Pets
Potable water
Toilets
from 
$45
 / night
For Dogs Farm

20. For Dogs Farm

96%
(28)
17mi from Waterbury Center State Park · 1 site · Tent · Elmore, VT
Enjoy beautiful, vast western views from the Worcester Range over to Mt. Mansfield and to Jay Peak. Feel free to enjoy the trails on my 32 acres.....you might chance upon a doe and her fawn. Enjoy the gardens on your stroll. Feel like fresh veggies for dinner? Enjoy complimentary seasonal produce fresh from the gardens. Sit under the stars at your campfire - firewood is supplied. Papi, Lulu and Bubba J, my English Setters, will greet you upon arrival. Pets are welcome. The property is minutes away from the scenic Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which is great for all biking skill levels and family bike day trips. Want to swim, kayak, or hike? Elmore State Park is 3 miles away. The lean-to sleeps up to 6 people comfortably. The lean-to is approx. 250 yards from the parking location. I can help transport your gear. There is an outhouse available and a shower is attached to the main house for your convenience. Enjoy!
Pets
Potable water
Toilets
from 
$40
 / night

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The best camping in Waterbury Center State Park, VT guide

Overview

About

Nestled in the heart of Vermont, Waterbury Center State Park offers a tranquil escape with its pristine waters and lush surroundings. Engage in a variety of activities such as swimming, boating, and fishing in the Waterbury Reservoir, or explore the scenic trails that offer accessible routes for all. With 27 remote paddle-to campsites, adventure awaits those looking to immerse themselves in nature's embrace.

Notable campgrounds

  • Remote Paddle-to Campsites: Experience seclusion amid Waterbury Reservoir's shoreline with 27 remote sites accessible only by boat.

Tips for snagging a campsite

  • Book early to secure your spot, as remote campsites are popular and can fill up quickly during peak season.
  • Use the online reservation system or call the Reservation Call Center at 1-888-409-7579 for convenience.
  • Keep an eye on cancellations, as last-minute openings can provide unexpected opportunities.
  • Explore nearby camping options to maximize your chances of finding the perfect site.

When to go

The best time to visit Waterbury Center State Park is from the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend through the second Monday in October, when the park is open and fully operational. Outside of these months, the park's services, including remote campsites, are limited due to seasonal closures.

Know before you go

  • Day use hours are from 10am to official sunset, so plan your activities within this timeframe.
  • Pets are not permitted in the park, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for all visitors.
  • Remember to bring heat-treated firewood or purchase it locally to prevent the spread of invasive species.
  • Accessible trails and fishing platforms are available, making the park's natural beauty available to everyone.
  • Boat rentals are offered until Labor Day, so plan accordingly if you wish to enjoy water activities.
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