Raise your hand if you love Halloween and camping! Below we take a look at campgrounds near famous haunted places around the country.
Whether it’s touring a hundred-year-old sanitarium or spotting ghosts in a Gothic-style church, we have a spooky spot for you to celebrate the spirit of Halloween. Each of the six selections includes a nearby campsite, and drive times to the haunted spot from the campsite to help you plan your haunted camping trip.
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1. Skidaway Island State Park, Georgia
- Local Haunt: Sorrel-Weed House in Savannah
- Drive Time from the Campsite: 30 minutes
Savannah is home to dozens of celebrated haunted houses and hundreds of ghost sightings, earning it the title as “the most haunted city in the United States.” Arguably the most famous haunted house in the city is the Sorrel-Weed House, which you may recognize from the opening shots in the movie “Forrest Gump.” Two vengeful ghosts haunt the Sorrel-Weed House: the wife and the rival lover of shipping merchant Francis Sorrel, who built the house in the 1840s. Sightings include figures, sounds, and unexplained smells.
A campsite near Savannah, Skidaway Island State Park has beautiful campgrounds and is worth a trip even without the scary tour of a haunted mansion. The park consists of a maritime forest – a mix of live oaks, cabbage palmettos, southern red cedar, and pines – spread out over salt marshes and tidal creeks. The campground is nestled in a wooded area mostly shaded with a mix of hardwoods and pines.
2. Winter Island Park, Massachusetts
- Local Haunt: The House of Seven Gables, Salem
- Drive Time from the Campsite: 5 minutes
The House of the Seven Gables is in the middle of the town, Salem, which is best known for its witch trials in the 17th Century. The house also inspired the classic novel of the same name. The facade of the home is breathtaking, in a spooky kind of way – a good indication of the spirited sightings that have occurred there. Tales of paranormal activity and ghost sightings within the house come largely from staff members’ personal experiences. To celebrate the house’s ghostly aspect, ghost tours and weekly performances of two plays, The Legacy of the Hanging Judge and Spirits of The Gable, occur here every October.
Just down the road from the house is Winter Island Park. It is located on Salem Neck that separates Beverly Harbor from Salem Harbor and is a great getaway for fishing and boating.
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3. Lake Shelby State Park and Campgrounds, Kentucky
- Local Haunt: Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville
- Drive Time from the Campsite: 45 minutes
The Waverly Hills Sanatorium was built on a windswept hill on the edge of Louisville in 1910. The gothic, bat-winged building has all of the spooky architectural features that can be considered an archetype for haunted hospitals and insane asylums.
The hospital was originally built to treat victims of the “white plague” of tuberculosis that was ravaging the country. At the time, there was no cure for what was then an often fatal disease. Doctors tried experimental methods to ease the symptoms, and the community was soon rife with stories of illicit medical experiments that were worse than the disease. Today, tours of the hospital, including into the morgue, detail its checkered past and alleged paranormal activity.
Campers can stay at Lake Shelby Park and Campground, which is located along Clear Creek and Lake Shelby, within the city limits of Shelbyville, Kentucky.
4. Clarence Fahnestock State Park, New York
- Local Haunt: Sheffield Island Lighthouse, Norwalk, CT
- Drive Time from the Campsite: 1 hour
Built in 1868 to guide ships to Connecticut’s Sheffield Island, this Victorian-style lighthouse is fabled for its troubled past. In 1972, the lighthouse’s keeper died suddenly and inexplicably while watching passing ships with a spyglass. In 1991, an archaeologist working on historic site preservation reported mysterious happenings that are attributed to the paranormal, including mystical music emitting from the shores, distant cries for help, and the sound of a foghorn – despite no foghorn being on the island. Legend has it that the sounds are from the ghost of Captain Robert Sheffield, who originally purchased the islands in the early 1800s.
Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park is about an hour away from Norwalk and boasts abundant opportunities for boating, hunting, fishing, and birding along Canopus Lake, considered the jewel of the park.
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5. Boyd Lake State Park, Colorado
- Local Haunt: The Stanley Hotel
- Drive Time from the Campsite: 50 minutes
The Stanley Hotel is famous for being haunted and for inspiring Stephen King’s book “The Shining.” Dubbed one of the “most spirited hotels” in the U.S., the Stanley offers “a spirited night tour” that takes guests to areas of known paranormal activity. The hotel also throws an annual Halloween Ball the weekend of Halloween to celebrate the hotel’s unique haunted happenings.
Less than an hour’s drive from the Stanley, Boyd Lake State Park boasts a large lake that is a favorite for boating, fishing, sailing, and more. The park’s sandy beach and the seasonably warm water in Northern Colorado make Boyd Lake a favorite all year-round.
6. Government Canyon State Natural Area, Texas
- Local Haunt: San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio
- Drive Time from the Campsite: 50 minutes
The San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio is the oldest church in the entire state and is a stunning example of Gothic Revival architecture. The church’s haunted folklore goes back nearly a century. When construction workers started renovating the church in 1936, they unearthed bones, nails, and tattered military uniforms near the altar that are believed to have belonged to three soldiers of the Alamo. Since this time, visitors have reported seeing shadowy figures and orbs in their photographs, as well as sightings of ghosts in the back of the church. Other visitors claim to have seen a man dressed in black and figures in hooded, monk-like clothing.
Less than an hour’s drive from the church is Government Canyon State Natural Area, located along gently rolling grasslands and rugged canyons. Campers can explore the area on a well-maintained trail system.
Are you ready for your adventure? Plan your camping trip!
Check with your Local Government Organization
Many policies have been established to counter and control the coronavirus outbreak. State and local officials have been taking decisive action to stop the spread. The policies vary by state, sometimes to a great degree. When you book a reservation, make sure to review the park and state’s latest rules and regulations prior to your visit.
For COVID-19 updates, please visit our Impacted Park List and Reservation Guide for the latest information.