AuSable Chasm Campground

We travel in a 17-foot camper van, but no one ever believes that we are no bigger than a standard cargo van and can easily fit in a regular size parking space. Upon arrival at Ausable Chasm, we were told we had to take a site with water and electric since we had a camper van. These sites were $13 more per night and we really did not need the hookups. We were finally able to convince the staff that we could take a standard tent site, which was more than big enough.

The road through the campground is dirt and rutted but the speed limit is 5 mph, so it wasn’t that bad, but it would be a mess if it was raining.

Bathrooms and shower rooms are individual rooms, but the doors are not labeled so it’s a game of “what’s behind door number 1?” There was no light in the shower room that I looked at so a night shower would be out of the question. The bathrooms were clean and had soap, paper towels, a garbage receptacle, and a mirror in each.

Lots of ant hills throughout the campground so be cautious where you set up a tent. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. Large and nice-looking playground, pool, volleyball net, disc golf and mountain biking/hiking trails. It also looked like there were cross country ski trails but not sure if the campground or cabins would be open in the winter.

Biggest advantage is that Ausable Chasm (a separate business) is directly across the street from the campground and it is very close to the ferry that will take you to Burlington, VT, our next destination.

Called and made reservations without issue, arrived for Columbus Day weekend. The campground is easy to find and just off the main road. There are also signs for Au sable Chasm that look almost the same! The chasm is not at the campground. We arrived and stopped at the office who was very nice and helpful by answering our questions with ease. This is where is gets....a little tricky. We were given a campground map that showed roads...but the road was hard to pick out. They weren't gravel, they weren't stone, but just pine needles and tree roots, so they were hard to pick out. We made our way from the office to our site which had water and 30 amp electric and was pretty level. The sites are pretty close and I worried about the neighbors camp fire. The grounds were quiet, the showers were a short walk and they have a small play area. They have a pool (but it was closed for the season) and a camp store that sells grocery items as well as clothing and fire wood.. Dump station on the way out was easy to get to. Its really a "plain Jane" campground, nothing special, capable to handle big rigs (50 amp) down to tents. Just a short drive was the Chasm you can see some from the road but have to pay to get on to the trails. Good cell reception, no wifi that we found. If in the area, I'd stop again, just because I labeled the plain, doesn't mean they were bad just nothing fancy.

We really enjoyed our trip here. The campsite is quiet and well maintained. The staff is friendly. They have awesome bike paths. Our site was large enough to play games on. Good fire pits on each site. The picnic tables should be upgraded, and the laundry room is nice , but the machines are really old and off balance. I would recommend this campsite. Nice and shady.

The campsite was well kept. The staff was friendly and helpful. Clean bathrooms. Our campsite was a good size. Some others seemed a little tighter. It was shady, which was a tremendous plus, since it was a hot week. The restrooms and showers were fairly new and clean. Loved the location and the bike trails. All in all a good family campground. They could use some new picnic tables and update the washing machines. Nothing major. Considering the coronavirus, I think they are doing a good job.

The location for this site was as great at the service. This campground is within walking distance to the Chasm with tubing, rafting, and walking through it. There are a bunch of mountain bike trails connected to the campground.

Campground signs were hard to read and the dirt/sand roads were all washed out. Lots of sites on hills and uneven. Lots of pine trees and Sandy sites. The power and water on our site made it so the fire pit was behind the camper. Pool was a joke. Super tiny and only 3 feet deep. Disc golf course was hard to find and super confusing to follow. Bathrooms were closed every morning for cleaning at the worst possible time when everyone is waking up. Showers all had the knobs missing and were hard to control temperatures. The only plus side was it was across the street from the chasm road so a quick drive. A few close stores nearby as well. Camp store was small and had few things.

The campground is owned by the same company that owns Ausable Chasm and is a simple half-mile walk to the chasm with all of its myriad of daytime activities. Some felt it wasn't private and very noisy with kids.

Wonderful natural wooded setting. Arrive before dark as sites are hard to determine after night fall. The park does not have pavement as to keep everything as natural as possible. Walking distance to the chasm. Staff is top notch!