Camping

Deer Lake is one of only a few local camping facilities open year-round and we’re open to everyone who enjoys the peace of the outdoors and connecting with friends and family! Come for a quick mid-week respite or stay and enjoy an entire weekend. How do you prefer to camp?

All of our campsites and cabins are hike-in only to preserve our natural spaces and ensure camper safety. The hike from the closest vehicle access point to each tent site or cabin varies from 100 feet to over 0.75 miles. Each of our reservable sites lists the distance in the description. If you have questions about accessibility of a particular site, please call or email us and we would be happy to help.

Tent sites include 4 guests, group sites include 12 guests, and cabins include full capacity in the nightly rate. Additional overnight guest will incur a $5 per person per night fee. If you enter the number of guests when searching for a site, the nightly rate shown will include any applicable guest fees. If you don’t have an exact count of campers when making your reservation, please pick a site or sites with enough room for your full group and include your best guess for the number of campers. We can update your final number of guests and any guest fees when you check-in.

Online reservations are accepted for camping sites, cabins, and watercraft for non-commercial purposes by individuals. Members of non-profit organizations who meet our aligned non-profit organization eligibility requirements may also make online reservations. For all other uses, please call us at (203) 421-4040 or email us at info@deerlakeoutdoors.org to inquire about special use permits or event registrations.

New Camping Policies

All of our campsites and cabins are hike-in only to preserve our natural spaces and ensure camper safety.

The hike from the closest vehicle access point to each tent site or cabin varies from 100 feet to over 0.75 miles.

New Policies

Reserve a Campsite or Cabin

Winter Camping

Deer Lake Outdoor Center is one of the only year-round campgrounds in Connecticut, making it a perfect place for winter camping. DaRos Lodge and Leary Hall both have running water year-round and wood stoves to keep the cabin warm when you return from snowshoeing or ice fishing.

Point Cabin doesn’t have running water, but the wood stove works so well that we commonly see open windows on the coldest days because it is too warm inside! For the more adventurous, all of our tent and lean-to sites are open as well. Watching the snow fall from Log Shelter is our personal favorite! Youth group camping may be our specialty, but our cabins and campsites are all open to families too.

Cabins

Point Cabin sits on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by Deer Lake. The views across the lake are amazing no matter which season you visit!

Leary Hall is a barn constructed in the 1830s that we converted into a rustic cabin for your group of up to 26 guests.

DaRos Lodge, with 4 bunkrooms and space for 36 guests, is the perfect cabin for your next group adventure!

Tent Sites

From the Pines Campsites where you can fall asleep to the babbling Chatfield Brook to our 12 Cedars Campsites arranged around a loop, to our remote tent sites, we have the perfect tent site for you.

Remote Sites

Owl’s Nest

Sites

Lakeside

Sites

Hermit Area

Sites

Shelter Sites

Our favorite get-away, Log Shelter is a traditional log cabin with a sleeping loft. The Laurels and Outback sites feature 3-sided Adirondak-style lean-tos.

Group Sites

Group camping is our specialty! Each of our Plateau sites feature 6 lean-tos, each with six twin-size bunks with mattresses, for up to 36 guests total per site.

Our Pavilion sites are a favorite for picnics and youth group camping. Each Pavilion site has a large pavilion with picnic tables, a fire ring, and plenty of space for tents.

We also group together smaller sites in our other areas for groups.

Family Events

With ample indoor and outdoor space, Deer Lake is also a great place to host your next private event. Want to have a family picnic, host a women’s retreat or stage a rustic wedding? Call us at 203-421-4040 or email us at info@deerlakeoutdoors.org to discuss your event.

Reserve a Campsite or Cabin

Online reservations are accepted for camping sites, cabins, and watercraft for non-commercial purposes by individuals. Members of non-profit organizations who meet our aligned non-profit organization eligibility requirements may also make online reservations. Group size is limited to 64 guests for online reservations. For all other uses, please call us at (203) 421-4040 or email us at info@deerlakeoutdoors.org to inquire about special use permits or event registrations.