The 10 best campsites in the New Forest

The New Forest is England's most distinctive camping. Nowhere else in the country do ponies, donkeys, cattle and the occasional pig wander freely between the tents, and nowhere else can you cycle from your pitch through miles of ancient woodland to a village pub without ever touching a main road. William the Conqueror's old hunting ground is now a national park laced with waymarked trails, and its camping tradition runs deep: several of the sites below have been welcoming tents to the same glades for generations.

The heart of it is the handful of campsites that sit inside the open forest itself, now run by Camping in the New Forest on behalf of Forestry England. These are unfenced, informal grounds where you choose your own spot among the oaks and the animals treat your guy lines as part of the scenery. Around the edges sit the parks and farm fields, which trade a little of that wildness for hook-ups, heated shower blocks and pubs at the gate.

Timing matters here. Late spring brings foals and fresh green beech leaves, September brings quieter pitches and golden light, and the school summer holidays bring everyone. Most of the open-forest sites close for winter, so the season is broadly spring to the end of September, and the best weekends book up months ahead.

How we chose

The classic Forest experience first: the sites inside the open forest where the animals roam free, from full-facility grounds to back-to-basics glades. Then the best of the parks and farm sites around the edges for those who want hook-ups, glamping or a genuinely quiet adults-only night. All are long-established, well reviewed and well loved.

1. Hollands Wood, Brockenhurst

4.5 ★ Google rating from 1,300+ reviews

Hollands Wood is the definitive New Forest campsite: 22 acres of old oak woodland just outside Brockenhurst, with hundreds of grass pitches scattered informally through the trees and ponies drifting between them at all hours. This is atmosphere-first camping. There are no electric hook-ups, so it suits tents and self-sufficient vans, and the operator also offers seasonal bell tents if you would rather arrive to a bed already made. Facilities are better than the wild setting suggests: proper toilets and showers, a laundry, a shop, a dog wash and even EV charging. Dogs are welcome. What people love is the setting above all, with reviewers returning year after year for the ponies at the tent door and the twenty-minute stroll into Brockenhurst for pubs, cafes and the mainline station. One practical tip: pitching is first come, first served within your area, so arrive early on changeover days, and glance up before you pitch. Choosing your tree canopy with care after wind or heavy rain is Forest wisdom.

2. Roundhill, near Brockenhurst

4.5 ★ Google rating from 750+ reviews

Roundhill sits on the lovely woodland road between Brockenhurst and Beaulieu, and swaps Hollands Wood's deep tree cover for open heathland, big skies and plenty of elbow room. Ponies wander through constantly and drink from the pond in the middle of the site, which is as New Forest as scenery gets. It is also the easier of the two classic Brockenhurst sites to camp comfortably at: alongside standard and XL grass pitches there are electric hook-up pitches, plus seasonal bell tents for glamping. Facilities include toilets, showers, a shop, a laundry, a play area and a dog wash, and pets are welcome. Reviewers rate it exceptionally highly, and it was named best campsite in South East England in a recent national campsite award. Families with bikes get the most out of it, because the off-road gravel trails start more or less at the barrier. Tip: pitches near the pond give you the best pony-watching, but keep food boxes shut, as the locals are shameless.

3. Ashurst, Ashurst

4.6 ★ Google rating from 700+ reviews

Ashurst is woodland-glade camping with civilisation five minutes away on foot: the village pubs, shops and, crucially, a mainline railway station with fast trains to Southampton and on towards Bournemouth. That makes it the easiest genuinely car-free Forest campsite from London or the south coast. Pitches range from open lawns to secluded spots among the trees, with grass, hardstanding and electric options plus seasonal bell tents, and the facilities block covers toilets, showers, a laundry, dishwashing, a shop and EV charging. One thing to know before you book: dogs are not allowed here, a rule the operator applies to protect ground-nesting birds. Reviewers consistently praise how friendly and well kept it is, and how gently it introduces first-timers to open-forest camping, with deer crossing the site at dawn if you are up early enough. Tip: book a pitch on the forest side of the site, drop the car for the weekend and let the train do the work.

4. Setthorns, Sway

4.6 ★ Google rating from 600+ reviews

Setthorns is the connoisseur's choice: pitches threaded deep through a quiet wooded inclosure near Sway, with no toilet or shower block at all. Bringing your own chemical toilet is essential, and that simple rule keeps the site peaceful and keeps it largely the preserve of well-equipped campervans, motorhomes and caravans, many on hardstanding pitches with electric hook-up. Despite the back-to-basics billing there is more here than you might expect, including a small shop, a laundry, a dog wash and EV charging, and unusually for the Forest it is open all year round, which makes it one of the few places to camp among the trees in midwinter. Reviewers talk about the silence at night, the spacious secluded pitches and the walking and cycling straight from the pitch, including the old disused railway line nearby. Tip: Sway village is about a mile and a half away for supplies, so stock up on the way in and then leave the van parked.

5. Denny Wood, Lyndhurst

4.6 ★ Google rating from 200+ reviews

Denny Wood is a small, simple ground under ancient beeches and oaks on the Beaulieu Road a couple of miles east of Lyndhurst, the Forest's little capital. Pitches are naturally separated by ferns and fallen trees rather than numbered bays, and the effect is closer to wild camping than any other bookable site in the park. Facilities are deliberately minimal: there are water taps and a chemical disposal point but no toilets or showers, so your own chemical toilet is essential kit. Note two more quirks before booking: dogs are not allowed, again to protect ground-nesting birds, and the season is shorter than most, running from late May to the start of September. Campers who love it really love it, describing waking under the beech canopy with ponies and donkeys grazing past as the best of the old-fashioned Forest experience. Tip: the cycle out to the Bolderwood deer sanctuary is one of the loveliest rides in the park, and it starts almost at the gate.

6. Red Shoot Camping Park, Linwood

4.6 ★ Google rating from 550+ reviews

Red Shoot Camping Park sits directly behind the Red Shoot Inn in the hamlet of Linwood, on the Forest's quieter western side, and has been a family favourite for more than fifty years. New owners renovated the park in 2025, and it shows: underfloor-heated showers, family bathrooms, a shop with a bakery doing fresh coffee and croissants, a new adventure play park with a zipwire, a laundry and EV charging. There are over 95 pitches for tents, campervans, caravans and motorhomes, most with electric hook-up and some on hardstanding, plus shepherd's huts and a self-catering cottage if half your party has gone off canvas. Reviewers praise the spotless facilities, the spacious pitches dotted with mature oaks and the sheer convenience of a proper country pub twenty steps from the tent, with a food discount for campers thrown in. Tip: it is deservedly popular, so book summer weekends and bank holidays well ahead.

7. Sandy Balls Holiday Village, Godshill

4.2 ★ Google rating

Ignore the giggle-inducing name, which refers to the sandy gravel domes the site sits on. Sandy Balls is 120 acres of woods and parkland above the Avon valley between Godshill and Fordingbridge, and it is the Forest's full-facility option: touring and camping pitches alongside lodges, caravans and glamping, with indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, a gym, organised activities and a herd of resident alpacas. It holds five-star status from Visit England, and it is the pick for mixed groups where not everyone loves canvas, or for families who want a wet-weather plan B built in. The touring area sits apart from the lodges, so campers still get their quiet corner, and the open forest starts just across the lane at Godshill. Reviewers rate the range of things for children to do and the standard of the facilities. Tip: shoulder-season breaks here are good value for what you get, and the pools are at their quietest.

8. Harry's Field, Frogham

4.3 ★ Google rating from 130+ reviews

Harry's Field is a relaxed farm field in the hamlet of Frogham on the Forest's north-western edge, run, in its own words, by campers for campers, and it has picked up national press attention among Britain's best small sites. You can book unpowered grass pitches for tents and campervans or one of the luxury bell tents, and the field sits about ten metres from the award-winning Foresters Arms pub. Campfires are the heart of the place: they are allowed as long as they are raised off the grass, with fire pits for hire and wood sold on site. There are proper flushing loos, a modern shower block, a communal kitchen, a small shop, barista coffee and a wood-fired pizza oven on Saturday nights, and dogs are welcome for a small fee. One reviewer calls it "the most pleasant camping experience we have had". Tip: it opens for a limited season with some weekend-only periods, so check the dates early, and walk up onto Hampton Ridge from the gate for one of the Forest's finest views.

9. Back of Beyond Touring Park, St Leonards

4.7 ★ Google rating from 950+ reviews

Back of Beyond is an adults-only park in 30 acres of woodland, heath and wildlife lakes at St Leonards, technically over the Dorset border but minutes from the open forest. It is made for couples after a genuinely peaceful weekend: fully serviced hardstanding pitches, grass pitches and secluded tent areas, plus a range of quirky glamping options, with an on-site bar, a well-stocked shop of local produce and regular pizza and fish-and-chip nights. Dogs are positively welcomed, with 18 acres of woodland walks inside the park, and reviewers rave about the immaculate facilities and the calm; a Tripadvisor reviewer calls it "adults only, dog friendly heaven on earth". It also puts you within easy reach of both the Forest and the beaches at Bournemouth and Hengistbury Head. Tip: the pitches by the lakes are the ones everyone wants, so book those first and early.

10. Ocknell, near Cadnam

4.4 ★ Google rating from 400+ reviews

Ocknell delivers the classic open-forest experience with more room to breathe, up in the quieter north of the park near Fritham and Cadnam. Pitches spread through open glades and stands of old pine, entirely surrounded by heath, with ponies, cattle and donkeys wandering through as they please. It is a step up from Denny Wood in comfort but still simple: grass and hardstanding pitches, toilets, washbasins and dishwashing with reliably hot water, but no showers, so plan on solar bags, a swim or a couple of nights of embracing it. Reviewers praise the clean, well-kept facilities and the sense of space, and the mountain biking and walking from the gate are some of the best in the Forest. Two tips: the ground is famously firm, so pack rock pegs, and take the evening stroll towards Stoney Cross for sunset over the plain, calling at the Royal Oak in Fritham on the way back.

Before you book

A few Forest rules and realities will make your trip smoother. The animals always have right of way, on the roads and on your pitch, and you must never feed or pet them, however charming they are at your breakfast table; keep food locked in the car overnight. Several open-forest sites have limited or no hook-ups and some have no showers or toilets at all, so check the facilities honestly against your kit before you commit. Dog owners should double-check the rules, because two of the sites above do not accept dogs at all. Campfires are banned on the open-forest sites, so if flames matter, book a farm site that allows them. Book school holidays and summer weekends months ahead, and consider June or September, when the Forest is at its loveliest and the pitches are half empty.

Ready to claim your glade? You can find a campsite and check live availability on Pillowcase. Heading west afterwards, try the best campsites in Dorset, or see how the Forest's finest stack up against the best UK campsites of 2026, so far.