Okay -- Just found out my sister and BIL are taking a family trip to Maine for a week .. they are leaving this weekend. I've never been to Maine - yet!! I know it is beautiful and someplace I really want to visit in the very near future. Wasn't going to start planning this trip quite yet -- but since they are going there -- I thought I'd ask.
Can anyone give me some campground suggestions... I guess in the areas of Bar Harbor and the usual main attractions/places most people visit when in Maine. I'm hoping if my sister travels to or near any of them..(i'm not sure yet where they are going exactly, but prob where they went last time, which was the Bar Harbor area, etc).. they can go check them out and take some pictures of the campsites for me so I can get an idea of what the sites are like. There is nothing more helpful then SEEING what the campsites look like when deciding where to stay... IMO anyway!
Here's our "info" which might be helpful in what you can suggest. We prefer state park campgrounds, COE campgrounds, etc... but are not opposed to others if they are nice and provide the kind of campsites we like. What we DO NOT like is the "parking lot" scenario - crammed in next to each other, etc... That is just not for us.
We camp in a Pop-Up, and like as wooded a site as we can get... and as private/well spaced as possible. We only need electric hookups. We also have 3 young kids.. ages 2, 4, and 7 yrs old. So clean bathrooms/showers are important, and a playground is always helpful too..LOL.. but not mandatory, since we'd be out sightseeing for most of the time anyway!
ANY suggestions you can throw out at me would be appreciated, and if my sister comes back with any photos for me -- I will post them here so everyone can maybe benefit from them!
Thanks so much!
SAFE & HAPPY TRAVELS!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The 'Bug' Family
----
Carolyn & John
& Our 3 'Buglets'
(2, 4, & 7 yrs old)
Wow Padlin -- I checked out the link you provided and Wolf's Neck looks like a great place to camp!! Sounds like the kinda place/campsites we'd really enjoy too... definitely NOT a "parking lot"! And to be right along the shore like that too -- PERFECT! I couldn't get the campground map to open up for me tho I wanted to see how the sites were layed out. Have you camped here before? Have any pictures of the campsites?
Thanks so much for the suggestion -- I would like to stop in the Freeport area once we are there, and I have saved this link in my "camping folder". I will definitely keep this place in mind and will mention it to my sister, if they should be in that area!! Thanks again!!
ANY OTHER CG SUGGESTIONS FOR ME TO HAVE CHECKED OUT??
I've heard of the Bar Harbor CG.. supposed to be nice, but you cannot reserve a campsite?!?!?! How hard is it to get a site here then? Seems like a nice place to stay as a basecamp, close to all the bigger points of interest and the sites don't appear to be too bad -- from what I can tell from the website anyway. But I would be afraid to travel that far from home, with 3 little kids, and not have a place to stay secured, ya know? With my luck, we'd get there and find no campsites available... LOL
Just wondering what some of you who have stayed there have run into... did you have any problems getting a good campsite there by just showing up? Is there a better time and day to get there to better your chances at a good campsite?
Anything you can tell me will be helpful.
I really appreciate all the wonderful advice and tips/suggestions I get here on this forum -- it's the best, and so are its members!!
If ever you're in the Camden area, I would suggest Camden State Park. It's a beautiful campground in the woods with hookups. There's a trail that leads you to the top of Mt Bassie. Accross the street, there's picnic tables on the ocean.
Freeport is a nice place to go to, but I wouldn't stay more than a night. Beside L.L.Bean and the dozen stores on the Main street, there's nothing else there.
As for Bar Harbor (Acadia region), I find the best campgrounds are the State Park campgrounds. Big sites in the woods, but most of them have NO hookups, and are first come first serve basis. There's a lot of private campgrounds, but the sites are not as big, and the prices are higher. Plenty to do in the Acadia region ( hiking, swimming, shopping, dining )......you won't get bored there.
If you want to make sure the kids have plenty to do, go to Old Orchard Beach. 6 miles of sandy beach, amusements and rides, water parks etc etc. Campgrounds fill up fast and reservation is highly recommended.
As for pictures, check online. You'll find everything there.
Happy camping
Andre (Portland, Maine)
Dre and Joey
2004 Travelstar 21SSO
Mercury Mountaineer
Sorry, no pictures of Wolf's neck, the water fronts probably don't last long if you go during the summer, especially weekends. I stayed there during the week in mid Sept. and had my pick of the place without reservations. Most sites looked nice, a few of the newer ones by the entrance were kind of boggy/buggy. It's run kind of different as it not really a for profit place, the camp sites pay for running the farm, which is a non profit learning center of sorts. Best sites to us were 159, 160, 164, 142, 177c, 177e, and 78 for water front.
Stayed at Lamoine SP outside Bar Harbor, it was okay but smallish for a state park. There was a beach that we didn't go to (rained the whole time), and we thought the 3 or 4 sites right by the entrance were best, but that may have been because they were more open and it was raining. Most were wooded and pretty wet. They did have daily Lobster deliveries to your site direct by the lobsterman, $5 a lb. when we were there.
* This post was
edited 08/06/08 04:59am by Padlin *
Bar Harbor CG is a very nice spot. The tourist turn over rate is pretty big so there's never a big problem finding a spot or place to stay as long as it's earlier in the afternoon, early evening everybody has arrived and looking for a place to stay. The CG is almost acoss the street from the entrance to Arcadia National Park which is a must see while in Maine. Bar Harbor in itself is a great vacation spot.
Everyone looks for something different in their camping experience. We have always stayed away from State and other government parks for the most part. The main reason is no hook ups but also no pool, no playgrounds and just basic bathrooms, not always the best. The private campgrounds that we go to offer all of this so that is the route to take. Also, we only go to places that take reservations as we do not want to be shut out.
Our favorite area is Old Orchard Beach, tons of activities and campgrounds, most used for us is Bayley's in Scarborough. Bar Harbor is nice and we have stasyed at Hadley Point. The lower coast, south of OOB is nice as well as are the Camden and Boothbay areas. We have also camped up at Papoose Pond which was nice. With all this, we still have not been to the majority of Maine.
Anyways, enjoy your trip planning, you will love it.
Camden Hills is a nice place, Chewonki in Wiscasset is great, and Balsam Woods in Abbott is nice. If you are interested in going "downeast", check out Cobscook State Park, not too far from Campobello.
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I wanted to see how the sites were layed out. Have you camped here before? Have any pictures of the campsites?
LOL
