Burlingame Cabins

Burlingame State Campground has 20 rustic cabins for rent. Each has two bunk beds with boards for the base, and that is it: no mattresses, no bedding, no water and no electricity. A cabin costs $50 a night for Rhode Island residents and $75 for non-residents, sleeps up to four people inside, and allows pets. Bring an air mattress.

What a Burlingame Cabin Is

RI DEM lists its campground cabins as "primitive cabins," and the description is honest. A cabin at Burlingame gives you four walls, a roof and two bunk beds whose bases are boards. DEM does not provide mattresses or bedding and strongly recommends air mattresses. There are no hookups anywhere in Burlingame, so the cabins have no electricity or running water. Showers and toilets are in the campground's shared restroom buildings.

Think of it as a tent site with a hard shelter. The payoff is a dry space when rain blows across Watchaug Pond, without packing a large tent.

Price

DEM's 2026 rates for primitive cabins, per night:

• Rhode Island residents: $50
• Non-residents: $75

Online and phone bookings add DEM's non-refundable $8.75 reservation fee. The same cancellation rules and stay limits as campsites apply; see reservations and rates.

Who Fits

• Inside the cabin: up to four people.
• On the cabin site: up to six people in total, and only the number of vehicles listed for that site in its Reserve America description.
• One tent is allowed on a cabin site, which is how a party of five or six fits.
• No RVs, campers, trailers or pop-ups are allowed on cabin sites.

The primary occupant must be 18 or older and present at check-in with photo ID.

Pets in Cabins

DEM's policy says pets are allowed in cabins. The campground pet rules still apply: up to two dogs or cats per site, a current rabies certificate on hand, a leash of six feet or less outside, and never left alone. See dogs and pets.

What to Bring

Because the cabin is bare, pack as if you were tent camping, minus the tent:

• Air mattresses or sleeping pads for the board bunks
• Sleeping bags or sheets and blankets, and pillows
• Lanterns or headlamps (no electricity)
• Water jugs for the site
• Coins for the coin-operated showers in the new restroom buildings
• Firewood bought locally, not brought from out of state

Cooking happens outside, at your site's fire ring or grill, or on a camp stove.

Cabins vs the Historic CCC Cabin

You may see photos of a log cabin at Burlingame on DEM's website. DEM's park page captions one photo as a historic Civilian Conservation Corps cabin in the day-use picnic area, and another as a log cabin pavilion. Neither is a rental cabin. The rental cabins are in the campground. The CCC's 141st Company was based at Burlingame from 1933 and built campsites, fireplaces and picnic areas here; read more on the history page.

Other State Campgrounds With Cabins

In Rhode Island's state campground system, DEM lists cabins at only two campgrounds: Burlingame and George Washington in Chepachet, which has four. The Rhode Island state campgrounds page compares them.

Booking a Cabin

Cabins are booked through Reserve America like any other site. All 2027 reservations are on hold while DEM selects a new provider, so watch for DEM's announcement. In the meantime, the campground guide covers check-in times, quiet hours and the 2026–27 restroom construction, which affects which parts of the campground are open.