Spruce Run Recreation Area

Great arrival experience—the office has their act together—but you registration closes at 4pm. This was our second visit to the sleepy NJ park and campground and our first time renting a shelter along with a campsite to accommodate different levels of camping comfort. The shelter has two sets of bunk beds. Combining campsite 54 with the adjacent Shelter C gave us the opportunity to spread out and have a great area for all of our gear including our badminton set. Shelter C is surrounded by many lovely trees so there is lots of shade. Campsite 54 has no trees and is nestled up against a thicket of bushes which is home to many birds, rabbits, and deer—a great site if you bring your own shade.

This is a relatively rustic campground though it does offer a dishwashing station. The bathrooms need to be renovated—busted up fixtures—and are not well-tended/cleaned, though the staff is very friendly. (It didn’t seem like they were equipped with good cleaning equipment/products to achieve good results.)

Prices above are for NJ residents—$48 for shelter, $20 for campsite.

So we liked that the RV space is located on the blacktop parking lot and we didn’t have to work to position the camper. It was flat with lots of space between campsites. Also, great views of the lake and wonderful tree covering. But….the bathrooms left a lot to be desired. Not well cleaned and even less maintained. The toilets rock when you sit on them. The shower was blah and the sink wasn’t much better.
Oh there were BIG groups staying in some of the campsites and they were having a lot of fun. If you mind noise, might not be the place for you.
We would stay here again for this price but it’s good to know what kind of place it is.

Love this place. Some have full hookups but it’s basically a parking lot situation. The best spots are dry camping spots along the waters edge. Nice spots with grill/fire ring, table and lantern hook. Nicely wooded while also being open. Some spots face East 15/17 seem to be great spots on the water. I stayed on the west facing side which was great for sunsets. There’s a boat ramp about 3/4 mile away. The views are wonderful. Verizon LTE 2/3 bars at site. But 5 bars at the beach area. Definitely coming back.

The campgrounds were just okay. If bringing your RV, the safest bet is to reserve a spot with no shade as the other spots often times have very low hanging tree limbs.

It was very loud and rowdy into the late night. There were campers making lots of noise, arming/disarming their car alarms, slamming doors, cars driving in/out, bright lights flashing, etc. all PASSED 2am!!

Otherwise, the park itself is very nice during the day.

We live 25 minutes from the Spruce Run Recreation Area. When we find we want to enjoy the reservoir's atmosphere, we try to grab a waterfront site. Dry Camping only with onsite dump station and fresh water. We don't use the bathroom facilities and cannot comment about them. It's close to the historic town of Clinton, various shopping and restaurants to meet your needs.

We get the senior pass and are NJ residents, therefore the $18. We camped during the week when crowds were down. Sites aren't extremely level but I've managed to level our TT each time. Shade is plentiful if you need it. Site 7 gave enough sunlight to keep our batteries charged throughout our 4 day stay. We camped in our 27' TT in June and mid October (#15) and enjoyed the summer heat (90s) with breezes and temperatures approaching the mid 30's with wind, sun, and gorgeous moonlight over the reservoir.

We'll be here every year. Planning to bring family and grab some adjacent campsites for the experience with the grandchildren.

The sites aren't too large here, and they are a bit close together, but it's still a nice park. The beach is the best part as they have nice showers, a food stand (seasonally) and a lifeguard.
My site was gravel and not too level, but it had a good view of the lake.

This park probably has close to 100 picnic tables, so plan on picnicking here ;)