Lakeside Camping at Its Finest, Close to Me
Lake Camping with Tentrr
This country is dotted with lakes. Minnesota may be the Land of a Thousand Lakes, but the United States is estimated to have at least 102,000 lakes across 50 states. Every one of those lakes can be a vacation destination for the intrepid adventurer. Some of the lakes are easy to access, while others require some backpacking, horseback riding, or four-wheeling to get to.
However you get to a lakefront campsite, you can have a delightful time, swimming, fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, skipping rocks, or swinging on a rope out into the deep and letting go. You name it, you can do it at one of America’s lakes.
Let’s look at some of the lakes that are close to you. Obviously, we can’t cover every recreation area or even every state– there’s simply too many campgrounds by lakes for us to name them all. But let’s look at some of our favorites.
Below are a few popular Tentrr lakeside sites in New York, Maine and Michigan. Click here to search for Tentrr’s ready-to-go campsites on a lake near you.
Lakeside Gunks Retreat
This beautiful lakeside glamping spot in upstate New York has a gorgeous view of Shawangunk Ridge. Imagine resting on the shore of an 11 acre private lake, or canoeing, kayaking, fishing or swimming. This site is right next door to the Mohonk Preserve, a nature and wildlife preserve that is full of trails and activities, including the Weinstein Butterfly Garden where you will be dazzled with colorful butterflies while you walk, or the LaVerne Thompson Nature Trail, which has 16 stops to learn about plants, animals and geology.
If you’re into fishing, the lake is stocked with largemouth bass and sunfish, and has a number of native species as well, and you don’t even need to bring your own boat--a rowboat is waiting at the dock for you! There’s also 60 acres of wooded land just waiting to be explored.
Kiwanis Beach at Watchic Lake
This wonderful glamping site is near the 448 acre Watchic Lake in Maine. This quiet lake in the country is fed by Page Brook and Paine Brook, and the water is full of small and largemouth bass, pickerel, perch and sunfish. Perfect for fishing either from the shore or from a canoe. And don’t forget to watch out for the snapping turtles while you look for crayfish!
This lake is especially well known for its birdwatching, as it’s home to orioles, kingfishers, cormorants, chickadees, titmouse, grosbeaks, finches, woodpeckers, doves, and loons. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of an eagle or an osprey.
This camp is a Coleman Site, meaning it is well supplied with Coleman camping gear: a Coleman stove, a Reunion Cooler, Packaway kitchen, OneSource Lantern and more.
Lake Genero in The Poconos
There’s more than one glamping site at this cozy little lake in the Poconos, but don’t worry--at 44 acres, there’s more than enough room for everyone.
Only 2.5 hours from New York City, and the same time from Philadelphia, this is an ideal weekend camping getaway. Paddle around Lake Genero in your canoe or relax in the Adirondack chairs on the tent deck. There’s a volleyball area, corn hole and ring toss, and of course a fire pit for making s’mores. There’s even a food truck frequently at the lake if you don’t want to make your own food.
And for more lake excitement (or relaxation) the much larger Lake Wallenpaupack is just 15 minutes away. The second-largest lake in Pennsylvania, Wallenpaupack is a Lenape word for “The stream of swift and slow water,” and it’s the home of boating, swimming and fishing. Small and largemouth bass, rock bass, bluefull, walleye, rainbow trout, catfish and more fill the lake and bring anglers from all around. If you’re watching, you might catch a glimpse of whitetail deer or even brown bears.
Sleeper State Park on Lake Huron
If you want a much, much bigger lake, go to Lake Huron in Michigan. This breathtaking campsite right on the shore of the lake has a view of the beach and you can listen to the waves lull you to sleep at night.
Sleeper State Park is 723 acres of forest, wetlands, and sandy shoreline in Saginaw Bay. There’s even forested dunes, which have to be seen to be believed. Hunters may be interested in trekking just over the hill to Rush Lake State Game Area, where hunting is allowed (in season) for eastern wild turkeys, mallards, and pheasants. In the off-season, target shooting is allowed.
Saginaw Bay is known for its perch and walleye, with the common sport species being lake whitefish. The bay is the largest contiguous freshwater coastal wetland in the United States, and when glamping at Lake Huron you’ll have all of that bay to play in.
