- New York City
Popular camping styles for New York City
Airstreams in New York City with hot tubs guide
Overview
Pack your sleeping bag—yes, even for the city that never sleeps. Look beyond the busy streets of Manhattan, Staten Island, and Brooklyn, and let NYC camping surprise you. Across the boroughs, hiking trails and camping sites abound. Tent sites at Floyd Bennett Field make for a unique camping experience, while Fort Wardsworth more than accommodates all kinds of campers. Once you’ve explored the actual city, try a camping set up in New York State, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania. Check into your lake campgrounds or pitch your tent in a state park. You’ll quickly realize there’s more to NYC’s great outdoors than Central Park.
Where to go
The Gateway National Recreation Area
For a camping trip like no other, choose a park via The Gateway National Recreation Area. These NYC-area parks run the gamut, from Queens’ Breezy Point to New Jersey’s Sandy Hook. Check-in to your Sandy Hook tent site and savor your view of the Manhattan skyline. While you can certainly camp all over NYC, some of the best campgrounds are just a bridge away.
Long Island
If you’d rather go all-in on NYC’s beaches, look no longer than Long Island, which has long been a summer oasis for New York campers. Take your pick of beachfront tent sites, family-friendly RV campsites, and spacious state park campgrounds. Just don’t miss Hither Hills State Park, which is a relaxing place to spend your nights … and stretch out your days.
Make your way Upstate
For campers who prefer lush forests to sandy shorelines, drive north of NYC, where you’ll have your pick of quaint towns, gorgeous trails, and verdant trees. The Catskills are a popular getaway, as is New York’s other, major green space: the Adirondacks. If you’d rather stay on the other side of the Hudson River, explore Fahnestock State Park and Canopus Lake.
When to go
A NYC summer can’t be beat, when the city’s best outdoor spaces—we’re looking at you, Governors Island—become a picnicker’s playground. During the warmest months, tent sites, as well as lake campgrounds, are at their most accessible, though the shoulder seasons shouldn’t be overlooked. New York stuns during the fall, when campsites transform into their most colorful selves. It may be too chilly to swim, but what better time to roast s’mores around your campsite’s fire ring?
