This award-winning campground in northern New Hampshire pretty much has it all: location, gorgeous sites, a slew of activities, and a knowledgeable, friendly staff. It’s pretty, too — set between the Saco and Ellis rivers, with views of the surrounding White Mountains. And no matter what style of camper you are, there’s an option for you here.

Bring your boat! There’s a marina at this luxury campground on the shores of Lake Ossipee, along with indoor and outdoor pools, a snack bar, camp store, community pavilion, and more than 2,000 feet of sandy beach. This is camping in style, with full hook-up RV sites and a variety of luxury cabins, sleeping from two to 20, most with full kitchens or kitchenettes.

Breathe in the salt air and listen to the clang of buoy bells and the crash of surf as you nod off under an inky sky. This privately owned island campground on Casco Bay, about an hour north of Portland, is perfect for campers who don’t mind a little rusticity, in trade for a spectacular ocean setting. Each tent site (small pop-ups and truck campers also allowed) comes with a picnic table and firepit.

Love the ocean-to-mountains scenery of Acadia National Park but hate the crowds? This campground, the newest in the park, is located on 203 wooded acres on the less crowded, quiet Schoodic Peninsula. The are full hook-up RV sites, but if you prefer more privacy and space, the tent and small RV sites, or even the primitive hike-in sites, might be more to your liking. There are ranger-led programs, and hiking trails that leave from the campground.

Water, water, everywhere! Located on South Hero Island (a.k.a. Grand Isle), this campground, the second largest and most popular state park in Vermont, has 4,150 feet of shoreline along Lake Champlain. There are kayak rentals, a swimming beach, boat launch, and a nature center with guided programs.

Can’t decide between hiking and biking and beaching? You can do it all from this large state park campground located in the Mt. Mansfield State Forest on the shores of the Waterbury Reservoir. You can access miles of hiking and mountain biking trails from this campground, through forests, along brooks, and to historic sites. Or spend your day at the swimming beach. There’s also a boat launch and nature center.

We’d be remiss (and receive tons of reader complaints!) if we didn’t include this Cape Cod beauty. It’s a favorite among locals and visitors alike, an outdoor lover’s paradise, sprawling more than 1,900 acres with forests and fields, punctuated by eight freshwater kettle ponds. There are eight camping areas in the park with more than 400 sites.

Camping here means you have easy access to one of the most popular (and pretty) beaches in the Massachusetts state park system. The campground, with some 100 tent and RV sites, is surrounded by 800 acres of barrier beach and salt marsh. There are nice views of Buzzards Bay from the 2-mile-long beach, and plenty of activities to keep you amused, including swimming, fishing, rockhounding, and shell hunting.

This popular campground, set on the site of former Fort Greene protecting the west side of Narragansett Bay, is a great base for exploring the area. It’s about a mile to the Block Island ferry and only a 30-minute or so drive into Newport. The campground, set on 91 acres, has tent and full hook-up sites, sports courts, a playground, and its own sandy beach.

Thousands of beach-goers flock to this 710-acre state park on Long Island Sound, surrounded by expansive salt marshes and a tidal river. Lucky you if you’ve reserved one of the campsites, where you’ll have easy access to the beach (and get to stay longer than those day-trippers)! There are 160 simple sites (no hookups), each with a picnic table and fire ring. There are also three rustic cabins to rent.