Connecticut Off-Season Tent Camping

[tim1014]

Hello, all.

It's mid to late March and I want to do some tent camping in the state of Connecticut. But unfortunately, all of the state park sites are closed until mid April to early May. Are there any campgrounds or state land spots that anyone here knows of that are legal for me to go camping in until then? An answer to this would be appreciated because I'm growing restless and am not having much luck with any of my Google searches. Connecticut is preferred, but I would even settle for surrounding areas such as Rhode Island, Massachusetts, southern upstate New York, southern New Hampshire or southern Vermont. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance.

 

[ppine]

Most public campgrounds are closed until the threat of frost is passed. Your best bet is some National Forest dispersed camping until they unlock the gates. I was up in the Plumas NF in northern California this weekend. The only place I could find in the dark was a boat ramp. Everything else was locked up.

 

[Simplify]

I lived in Mass for 20 years. Most state parks are closed during winter. Try wilderness camping instead. I wilderness camped in winter all the time there, mostly in New Hampshire, and had great fun.

 

[tim1014]

I lived in Mass for 20 years. Most state parks are closed during winter. Try wilderness camping instead. I wilderness camped in winter all the time there, mostly in New Hampshire, and had great fun.

I would like to do this, but don't know how to find such land that I can camp on. I mean, how would I go about finding it? Would it be legal? Are there any sites that could tell me where to find these areas?

 

[Simplify]

I camped in the White Mountains of New Hampshire all the time. I would snowshoe in, find an area to break camp, and stomp down the snow in the area I would set my tent in.

You can get a trail map of the White mountains and wilderness camping is legal all year. You have to camp at least 200 feet away from a water source and off of the main trail.

Vermont also has a lot of good hiking. The long trail goes for the entire length of the state and wilderness camping is legal there also.

 

[tim1014]

Vermont also has a lot of good hiking. The long trail goes for the entire length of the state and wilderness camping is legal there also.

This is a really good idea! I remember back in the fall of 2012 I did some camping in Vermont that was in the wilderness. A park ranger suggested the area to me. It was the most beautiful spot, I wish I could remember where it was. I think it was near a town called Manchester. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion. I think I'll drive two extra hours and do Vermont.

 

[tim1014]

I'm going to go to Vermont to do what you suggested, but I'm going to have to do Connecticut the night before because we're leaving NY at 5:30pm. I am having so much trouble finding anything that is open all year. Or at the very least, what I'd rather do, which is find somewhere to park my car and some wooded area to pitch a tent in. This is the best I could find:
http://freecampsites.net/#!1598&query=sitedetails
Please, someone with experience in the Connecticut area, please help.

 

[Simplify]

Unfortunately I do not know about hiking/camping in Connecticut. When I lived in Mass I did all my hiking in Vermont, NH, and Maine.