Camping in or near Newport

Planning on taking a long weekend to camp in RI this summer or fall (not sure when yet) -- in the Newport/Portsmouth area.. somewhere near there. Looking for suggestions for some campgrounds to consider staying at. Any state parks around there that offers camping? Private campgrounds are okay too.. as long as they are wooded and the sites aren%26#39;t RIGHT NEXT to one another. We like sites that are at least somewhat wooded and and somewhat spaced apart. We will have our 3 young children with us (6+mths by summer/fall time, 2 1/2 yo and a 5 1/2 yo) so a pool, playground, etc would be nice to have too. Also if it is near a beach -- that works as well. What are some good family/kid friendly beaches we can visit to play and swim, etc?

Thanks for any info you can give me about camping in RI.. :o)

Camping in or near Newport

The only place I%26#39;ve ever been camping in RI was Burlingame State Park in Charlestown and about 45 minutes from Newport. It was so many years ago, anything I tell you will be outdated except that there are lots of trees, a small store and a pretty lake for swimming or fishing. It%26#39;s also an short drive to the Charlestown Beaches. With kids that age, I%26#39;d recomment the fresh water pond beach in Ninnegret Park, just a bit down Route 1 from Burlingame. They have picnic tables, clean restrooms, a playground and very clean water (it%26#39;s the Charlestown reservoir) with no waves at all.

Here is a camping link that might help you more:

http://riroads.com/archive/bestricamps.htm

Camping in or near Newport

There%26#39;s actually three in the area.You can view more in info here.

visitri.com/current_category.1044/companies_…

I agree that Burlingame is your best bet. I have visited (not stayed at) most of the private campgrounds in RI and find them to be generally less than satisfactory compared to Burlingame. The campground at Melville in Portsmouth is not too bad but the only private wooded sites (of which there are only a few) are at the very very end of the road and far removed from the rest of the facilities.

By contrast, the state beaches are all well suited to families. The state beaches at Misquamicut (Westerly), and Scarborough and Roger Wheeler (Narragansett) have the best facilities, followed by Matunuck (S. Kingstown). Newport%26#39;s First and Second Beaches are also fine, but without as good facilities and more expensive to park.

(There is state camping near Roger Wheeler Beach at Sand Hill Cove, but it is not wooded.)

For a fun water alternative, you might want to consider the water park at Yawgoo Valley in Exeter though it is pricey.