Established campgrounds that welcome vehicle-based travelers, from public campgrounds on the way to somewhere to private camps worth a stay of their own.
We’re working on adding the latest campgrounds in Rhode Island here.
In the meantime, BLM campgrounds are already on the public land map, with the fees and stay limits the agency publishes and a link to each one.
About 20 inches on Block Island and the southeastern bay shore, 40 to 55 inches in the west
Five state campgrounds and no federal one
Our build of the federal recreation database finds no federal campground a vehicle can reach anywhere in Rhode Island, so the state system carries everything. Burlingame has approximately 700 sites and 20 cabins with no utilities; George Washington has 74 gravel sites, hike-in tent sites, two group sites and four cabins; Fishermen’s Memorial has 147 trailer sites and 35 tent sites with hookups in two of its four areas.
Charlestown Breachway and East Beach are self-contained only. The stay limit is two weeks with a seven day break, or seven nights in three weeks at those two.
Developed campgrounds have numbered sites, toilets, often water, usually a fee and sometimes reservations. They are the easy night on the way to somewhere.
Dispersed camping means no facilities and no fee. It is allowed on much Bureau of Land Management and National Forest land, within local rules on where you can pull off, how long you can stay and whether you can have a fire.
Private campgrounds and ranch stays add showers, laundry and hookups: the reset day in the middle of a long trip.
How to find a good one
The managing agency's own page is the only source for current status.
01Check the agency page for closures, fire restrictions and water before you drive in.
02Check the stay limit. Many public lands use fourteen days within a set period, but it varies by office.
03Check vehicle length limits and the condition of the access road.
04Arrive before dark, and have a second option.
Camp so it stays open
Most closures of dispersed areas follow the same pattern of trash, new fire rings and driving off the track.
01Use sites that already exist rather than making new ones.
02Pack out everything, including human waste where it is required.
03Have fires only where and when they are allowed, and drown them.
04Leave gates as you found them.
Questions people ask
Is dispersed camping legal?
On much BLM and National Forest land, yes, within local rules on where you can pull off, how long you can stay and whether fires are allowed. Rules are set by the local office and change with conditions, so check before you go. The public land map shows who manages the ground.
How long can I stay?
Many public lands use a 14-day limit within a set period, but it varies by office and by area. The campground details on the public land map show the stay limit the BLM publishes for each site.
Do I need a reservation?
For popular developed campgrounds in season, often. Many public campgrounds are first come, first served. Recreation.gov handles reservations for most federal campgrounds that take them.
How high is Rhode Island?
From Galilee at 5 feet to Jerimoth Hill at 812.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
West GreenwichBig River, Wickaboxet and Tillinghast, one exit off the interstate546 ft
ChepachetThe village at the George Washington Management Area gate428 ft
CoventryThe eastern side of Big River and Nicholas Farm426 ft
PascoagBurrillville services for Buck Hill and Black Hut422 ft
ExeterThe northern approach to Arcadia on Ten Rod Road272 ft
WyomingOn Route 138 between Arcadia and the Carolina area115 ft
Hope ValleyThe Arcadia headquarters village, and the nearest fuel to the area82 ft
PawtucketOld Slater Mill and the Blackstone park headquarters39 ft
WesterlyMisquamicut, Woody Hill and the Quonochontaug sand trail37 ft
NewportAquidneck Island services, and the way to Sachuest Point28 ft
CharlestownBurlingame, the Breachway and the East Beach sand trail22 ft
New ShorehamBlock Island itself, about twelve miles offshore20 ft
ProvidenceThe one full-service city, and the last of it before the western woods9 ft
JamestownConanicut Island, Beavertail and a bridge at either end8 ft
WakefieldSouth Kingstown services, and the coastal council’s own office6 ft
GalileePoint Judith, the state boat ramp and the year-round island boat5 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Jerimoth HillThe state high point, in Providence County. USGS publishes 812 feet; our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 811812 ft
Durfee HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Providence County, above the 2,466-acre management area of the same name805 ft
Buck HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Providence County, above the 3,192-acre management area of the same name736 ft
Bald HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Kent County629 ft
Beacon Pole HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Providence County544 ft
Mount TomOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Washington County. The Arcadia motor route includes a Mt. Tom Road431 ft
Tower HillOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, in Washington County183 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
