Public land camping
Camping in New Jersey
2 federal places to camp in New Jersey, from National Park Service, on the land they sit on.
- 2
- federal places to camp
- 2 National Park Service
- 23
- campsites you can book ahead
- At the 2 places that take reservations on Recreation.gov. The rest are first come or not listed there
- 403 ft
- the highest of them
- Rivers Bend Group Campground
- 1
- counties with federal camping
- 0 gateway towns, each with three or more within 30 miles
The New Jersey campground map
Select a pin for its elevation, its sites and its page. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see how you get there, and use the finder for a campground, a town or a peak.
Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.
Map layers
Legend
Federal land, by managing agency
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Federal campgrounds, by agency
- Forest Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Park Service
- Army Corps of Engineers
- Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others
State and local land (USGS PAD-US)
- State land
- County and city land
- Regional agency or district
- Land trust or conservancy
BLM roads and trails
Roads Managed for Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Roads Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Trails Managed for Public Motorized Use
Trail
Trails Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
- Trail
Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map
Roads
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal- Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
BLM Wilderness
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
BLM recreation sites
- Camping
- OHV area
- Trailhead
Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.
Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.
Select any point to see who manages the land.
The map could not start in this browser.
It needs WebGL, which is turned off or unavailable here. You can still browse public land by state, or use the BLM’s own maps.
Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.
Camping near a town
No town by that name has three federal campgrounds within 30 miles. Try the county list below.
Every federal campground in New Jersey
2 places
- Camp Gateway - Sandy Hook Park Service · Gateway National Recreation Area 13 ftelevation 18sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Rivers Bend Group Campground group campground Park Service · Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area · Sussex County 403 ftelevation 5sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
Nothing matches those filters. Clear one and try again.
Camping rules worth knowing in New Jersey
- Camping is by permit, in marked places only
- There is no dispersed camping on New Jersey state park land. A person shall not camp on State Park Service property except in areas designated and marked for that purpose, and not without first obtaining a camping permit and a site assignment. Camping on any beach under State Park Service jurisdiction is barred outright. Stays are capped at 14 consecutive nights, after which you cannot re-register for seven calendar nights, further stays come in blocks of no more than seven nights with seven nights between them, and nobody may occupy a state park camping facility for more than 40 nights in a calendar year. Source 8
- Fires, permits and the three restriction stages
- Under the General Forest Fire Act you must contact the nearest Forest Fire Service office for a permit before having any fire in a forested area. Recreational permits are free, should be requested at least ten days ahead, are not transferable and must be carried and shown on request. Three restriction stages can take effect without prior notice: Stage 1 bars all fires directly on the ground in wooded areas, Stage 2 bars all fires in wooded areas unless in an elevated prepared fireplace, elevated charcoal grill or a stove burning electricity, liquid or gas, and Stage 3 bars everything except electricity, liquid or gas. Violations can bring fines to $5,000 plus the cost of putting the fire out. Source 22
By agency
By county
Campground records: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), read September 19, 2026. Elevations: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Fees, seasons and limits change; confirm with the managing office before you go.