Shelburne Camping Area

Vermont is quite beautiful. And what is striking is the absence of billboards and advertisements along the expressway. Welcome and uncluttered forested views abound and the mountains are sublime. But the rain was relentless and heavy at times. Construction along the freeway often resulted in one lane roads and dangerous conditions due to tight squeezes and curves. Upon entering nearby Burlington and Shelburne there was robust development of typical vinyl clad subdivisions and condos which totally did not fit with the Vermont landscape. But that is America as we know it today.

We came here to Shelburne for the Folk Museum and Farm. Both properties were amazing and we couldn’t recommend them more passionately. We are so grateful that Electra Havemeyer Webb and her generous women friends saved a large piece of history for all of us while saving themselves in the process. As long as there are humans on this planet visiting these natural museums these women collectors and preservers will never be forgotten. Amazing places. Much appreciated.

The Shelburne campground is one of the old-time RV parks. Gravel and dirt roads. Tiny cabins. A pool and camp store. The rains this summer made the roads muddy and some of the campsites were under water. My shoes got plenty soaked while setting up our camp. It rained every day. One bar of AT&T and it was irritatingly spotty and slow. The campground does boast of providing WIFI but the first night it wasn’t working. I called the office a few times and finally it started connecting. But the connection was erratic, spotty, and slow. But the family owner-operators of this campground are extremely friendly and do try to help. Somewhat. We did have water and electricity at site 20. The Dump Station and dumpsters are on the way out. The fairly recent remodeled bath and shower rooms were covered over, inside and out, with vinyl siding. Plenty of hot water and clean. The pool is likely not heated. Sites are typical of RV parks and sitting on top of each other. Site 20 does have a few trees and bushes separating campers from their other neighbors. But we were here for the attractions, those being the folk museum and farm. We did not have enough time to visit the homestead museum and historic site of Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen. But Amtrak runs through here so we just might make it back.

I choose to stay at this campground because it was A) close to home and B) open year round. (A rarity in Vermont.) Brand new to RVing and wanted a place to stay that was close to supports as I got my feet under me.

The campground seems to be filled primarily with permanent residents--and, to be fair, they were fantastic. Very helpful to me in getting set up and offering tips and tricks and answering my questions.

The sites are closely spaced gravel squares with little to no barriers/trees/shrubs/anything between them. The site was fairly level, but it was a mess of wet mud and clay and gravel. Granted, mud season in Vermont is a real 5th season, but this was beyond. It looked as though the gravel had not be refreshed in years, and there were 6 inch deep ruts in the site from wheels. Things might be different in the in-season months when things are drier and greener.

The entire campground was noticeably free of trash and rubbish, and the grounds seemed to be maintained in that sense. (Though the dumpsters were overflowing.)

I was at a full hook up site. The water spigot was in a well about a foot into the ground that was completely filled with brackish water and moldy hay (used to insulate in the winter months). I couldn't see the spigot to connect until I emptied the water by hand. Once connected, it was obvious that there was a leak at the spigot--a visible leak--but when I told management about it (winter hours 3pm to 5pm Wednesday through Saturday), he insisted that there was no leak and it was simply ground water. To cap off the water woes--they were doing massive construction at the front of the campground the entire time I was there, and on the last day the crew hit the water main, cutting off water to the entire park. The water remained off for the entire day and into the next morning when I was attempting to pack up to leave. Totally fine. Stuff happens. But there was no communication from management about the outage or when it was expected to be resolved; campers were left to figure it out on their own.

The location is convenient to the greater Burlington area and is easy to get to and from, being off a busy main road just off the freeway.

None of the listed amenities (shower, laundry, etc) were available during my stay. Again, understandable in the off season. But this was not communicated to me in any way prior to my stay.

Overall, I was able to do what I needed to do to get started with my RV, but I could not, in good conscience, recommend this site for anything other than utility usage when passing through the area.

This is a combo of older cabins and RV park with many long term residents, but you don't feel like an interloper if you're just there for a night, and it has a campground feel, not a transient camp feeling, It was nicely mown and landscaped. Some sites are grassier and more private than others. We were next door to the bathhouse (but screened by trees and shrubs) and it'd been raining, so a tad muddy but good wifi from that building and super convenient for showers. The bathhouse was so clean and nice. It even had a COLOR scheme. We ate dinner up the road at the Shelburne Tap House, which was delicious and had some outdoor seating that allowed our dog. Shelburne was not a suburban fringe of Burlington like map had looked, but a cute town in its own right. Got b'fast to go from the Dutch Mill, which is a few steps away. Pretty decent fare. Camp owners were all family, 3 generations of them, and super nice. Good OATV and Verizon. The only not-great thing was that a skunk sprayed our van in the night. We heard a big THUNK, then smelled the odor, and it seems to be faintly persisting a day later!

This campground has a mix of cabins and seasonal and daily RV/tent sites.

Although all of the sites around us were occupied, it was very quiet because the sites are separated by trees and shrubs. Also, many of the gravel walkways are lined with flowers and shrubs.

Our site had a sturdy picnic table and a fire ring. The electrical and cable TV boxes looked fairly new. The free camp wi-if signal was strong.

The shower house was exceptionally clean and well lighted. All fixtures were in working order, and there were fresh cut flowers in both the men and women’s bathrooms.

The camp employees were all very friendly and helpful. The adjacent Dutch Mill restaurant had great breakfasts!

Stayed here at the end of March and had full hook-ups. That in itself makes this a unique campground, since nothing else is available then except boondocking in the Green Mountains. It has mostly permanently occupied sites and the amenities are limited. The location is great to access the Burlington area and if you are coming from the south it avoids any city traffic concerns. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the residents seemed nice. Some traffic noise in the morning. The wi-fi was hit or miss and we used cell signal instead. The site was a tight fit but we got in okay. Since we were there during Vermont mud season it is hard to comment on the site quality and cleanliness. We will come back again just for the convenience and location.

Reasons we picked this park:
1) open after Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day
2) near Burlington
3) not closed due to COVID

This is not the most picturesque park by any means with lots of more permanent units, a weird collection of cabins and motel out front that I'm not sure are part of the park or not and mostly dirt sites that were a muddy mess from the rain the day before our stay.

That being sad its conveniently located to Shelburne attractions and to everything in Burlington, the bathrooms are clean and the workers were friendly.

We would stay here again if we were in the area but wouldn't make this park a destination.