North Beach Park Campground, Burlington, Vermont
The best thing about North Beach Park Campground in Burlington, Vermont, is the location. It’s in the city proper, directly on Lake Champlain with access to the Burlington Greenway.
That’s not to say the park itself doesn’t have its pluses, but there are some minuses.
By the lake, there’s a swimming beach, watersports rentals, and a snack bar (which serves cocktails) – all a short walk from the campground.
The grounds were generally well-kept and shady, but the campsites are pretty close to each other. The bathhouses are okay, but there aren’t enough showers for the number of campsites. Just four stalls – two men’s and two women’s – serve the 137 sites. Because we had a full hookup site, and were able to dump grey water, we used the shower in our camper.
I also saw that while the sinks and toilets were regularly cleaned, and the trash was emptied, it appeared that no sweeping or other upkeep was performed.
The campground fees were a little high — $55 a night during high season for a FHU site – but you can’t beat the location as a home base for riding the Greenway and exploring Burlington. We’d definitely camp here again for that convenience. Watch the video below for a tour of the campground.
Campground Tour
Campground Details
Number of sites: 137 sites for RVs and tents. Three lean-tos are also available.
Hookups: 29 sites with full hookups (30 and 50 amp electricity, water and sewer); 39 sites with electric and water; the rest are tent sites. A dump station is available.
Connectivity: OK on T-Mobile, we got one to two bars of 5G.
Bathrooms: There is one main bathhouse with toilets and showers and a second bathroom with just toilets. We did not use the showers in the bathhouse because we had full hookups at our site.
Campground amenities: North Beach Park is located on Lake Champlain and has a developed swimming area and concessions with watersports rentals and a snack bar which serves cocktails! The Burlington Greenway goes right through the park, so it’s easy to hop on and go for a bike ride or a nice walk. Take the Greenway south to downtown Burlington, or north to the Colchester Causeway. There is no camp store – just a very small campground office with brochures and information. Firewood is available.
Reservations: The campground is open May 1-October 15. Online reservations for the season begin around March 15. In-person and phone reservations are accepted after the park opens on May 1. Visit the Burlington Parks and Recreation website for more information.
Campground rating: 3.5 out of 5
Nearby
There is so much to do in and around Burlington. We had a short stay and fit in as much as we could. Here are a few things we experienced and recommend.
Burlington Greenway: I’ve mentioned the Greenway twice already because it was our favorite part of camping at North Beach Park. It has eight miles of paved path connected to the Island Line Trail, a 13.4-mile rail-trail that crosses Lake Champlain on the Colchester Causeway. You’ll need to take the bike ferry to cross the 200-foot gap to South Hero Island and Colchester. One day we rode the Greenway to the Island Line Trail until it ended at the bike ferry. The ferry wasn’t running that day, but it was fine. We had a wonderful ride.
Another day, we walked north on the Greenway to one of the Rock Point trailheads. The Rock Point land is privately owned, but the Lake Champlain Land Trust holds a conservation easement on the Rock Point Peninsula, and stewards the land and trails. Access to the trails is free, but visitors are asked to obtain a free trail pass.
The trails offer a sweet vantage point for views of Lake Champlain and Burlington Bay. Parts of the trail are steep, but generally we found it to be a moderate hike.
Zero Gravity Brewery: We stopped at Zero Gravity after we checked out of North Beach Park, on our way to our next stop. There are a lot of craft breweries in Vermont. We decided to try Zero Gravity because we wanted a place we could have lunch that had options for parking our camper. When we arrived, the parking lot was full, but we found a shady spot on a side street to park. Score!
Zero Gravity has a nice, dog-friendly covered porch in front with plenty of seating. Inside is large and dark. We had Blaze with us, so we sat outside and ordered our beer and food at the bar. They have a full food menu, with lots of vegetarian and vegan options. I had the Korean-style lettuce wraps, and Vic had the Gold Star Burger with fries. Both were fresh and delicious. We paired them with a generous mug of Green State Lager. The service was friendly and efficient. All in all, a great stop!
