Planning a road trip in your motorhome to the Big Apple? Believe it or not, there is an RV Park located in the middle of downtown Jersey City that is only 15 minutes away from New York City. The Liberty Harbor RV Park is a great place to park for a few days while you explore Manhattan and Jersey City.
My husband Daniel and I camped at the liberty Harbor RV Park on our Great American Road Trip as it was conveniently located near his daughter’s apartment. We’d already seen New York City on a previous visit and so spent the time exploring Jersey City instead. With its cute historic downtown area and incredible views of the Manhattan skyline, Jersey City is worth visiting on its own right.
Nighttime views from the Liberty Harbor RV Park and Marina. The new World Trade Center building has the purple light on top.
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About the Liberty Harbor RV Park
Billed as “the closest RV Park to New York City”, the Liberty Harbor RV Park is located on the Liberty Harbor Marina directly across the water from Manhattan. A truly urban camping experience, the RV Park is really just a paved parking lot with water and electric hookups at each spot. The location is simply incredible, however. Liberty Harbor RV Park is located directly next door to the NW Waterway Ferry which runs to Pier 11 at the foot of Wall Street. The PATH Train and Light Rail are also only a few minutes walk away and provide additional transportation options.
The RV Park has all the amenities that you’d expect from a quality campground – Wi-Fi, dump station, washing machines and full restrooms with hot showers. The RV Park also provides a security guard who patrols the premises. I have to say, this last feature is what decided us on staying there. I was initially a little nervous about parking our precious RV with all our worldly possessions in the middle of a big city. The excellent security at Liberty Harbor RV Park, however, allayed our concerns.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but all these great amenities don’t come cheap. It is the most expensive RV park that I have ever camped in. But then again, all accommodations close to New York City are expensive. During our visit in October 2020, we found the cost was comparable to staying in a hotel room. The fact that we didn’t also have to worry about finding parking for our oversize vehicle was a big plus.
We had no problem securing a campsite during our visit, but we were there in the off season. According to the staff at the front office, the campground fills up quickly in the busy season. You’ll want to book a reservation as early as possible if you plan to visit in the summer.
Liberty Harbor Marina & RV Park front office.
Daytime views from the Liberty Harbor RV Park and Marina.
Our Experience Staying at the Liberty Harbor RV Park
My husband Daniel and I arrived at the Liberty Harbor RV Park in October 2020 to see his daughter and visit her new apartment in Jersey City. We had initially planned to arrive in September, but alas, we were delayed. First car trouble and then illness put us over a month behind schedule. Thankfully, the weather was mostly sunny and gorgeous for our visit. But we knew winter wasn’t far behind. So our visit was a short one.
I’m not going to lie – navigating New Jersey traffic on our way to the RV park was really stressful. The fact that we arrived during rush hour probably didn’t help things. But once we checked in and got settled, we had a great time. Our RV is only 21 feet long and easily fit into the spacious parking spots.
The campground had lots of empty spots during our visit since visited in October – so we were able to spread out. I imagine the experience would be quite different in the summer. The RV park was filled with a mix of tour buses and motorhomes which I haven’t seen before at other RV parks.
Liberty Harbor RV Park in the morning
The RV Park wasn’t too crowded during our visit which was nice. That’s our vehicle, Appa – the 21-foot VW Rialta at the front left.
There’s even a tent camping area for those who are so inclined. These tiny Astroturf camping squares are both sad and adorable at the same time.
Exploring Jersey City
Since we were there to visit my step-daughter Katjia and her boyfriend Matthew, we spent our time in Jersey City getting to know the neighborhood. I confess that my expectations weren’t very high as our first visit to New Jersey wasn’t a positive one.
Daniel and I were happily surprised by our experience, however. The historic downtown area is cute with lots of appealing cafes and restaurants. Since we visited during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city had blocked off some city streets to expand outdoor dining areas.
We also really enjoyed walking along the waterfront. Morris Canal Park is only a short walk away and provides incredible views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. Liberty State Park is nearby as well which provides access to the Ellis Island Bridge.
The best part about our visit, however, was seeing Katjia and Matthew. It’s hard to be separated from your loved ones for too long. I’m glad we got a chance to visit them before the winter weather set in and made RV travel too difficult.
Hanging out at the Historic Morris Canal Section of Liberty State Park
Selfie time! From left to right: Matthew, Katjia, Daniel and me.
Strolling along the Jersey City waterfront in autumn
The historic downtown area is a fun area of Jersey City to explore
Historic buildings in one part of the city are juxtaposed next to towering skyscrapers
Restaurants have expanded outdoor seating in this pedestrian-only section of the city
Historic downtown Jersey City
Katjia and Daniel regard the view from the rooftop garden on her apartment building in Jersey City
Where are we now?
We are in Jersey City, New Jersey eating brunch at a cafe … outdoors because we visited during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dates: October 17-18, 2020
Great American Road Trip Status: Days 104 & 105
Location: Liberty Harbor RV Park – Jersey City, New Jersey
For more details on our Great America (Socially Distanced) Road Trip, see my previous posts:
- Days 102 & 103: A Quick Tour of the Office Shooting Locations in Scranton
- Days 96-101: Sidelined by Illness in Buffalo
- Day 95: One day in Niagara Falls: A Visit to America’s Largest Waterfall
- Day 94: The Great Lakes Challenge
- Days 90-93: Cuyahoga Valley National Park: A River on Fire
Note: I was not compensated in any way to write this article. All views are my own.
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