Bar Harbor

[Sjvaught]

Looking for recommendation of campground in the area

[Sammicic]

Hello,
We stayed October 2019 at Oceanside KOA. As usual it was pricey. That’s the norm for KOA and Bar Harbor. It’s smack dab one of the first campgrounds on the island,perfect location.
We had a very private w&e hookup site on the water, great sunsets! Amenities include on site lobster dinners along with daily homemade pies. Staff were friendly and facilities were clean.
In the past we stayed at Mt. Desert campground but was turned off after watching Traveling Robert of YouTube fame have difficulty with the them.Video link here

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dAN9fVEvnG8

We also took a day trip to Schoodic point across the bay. They have a new campsite run by the NPS, very private and with water some electric, thinking of going there because it is so quiet and peaceful compared to Mt. Desert island.

[Lt Dan]

There are two KOAs in Bar Harbor. We stayed at the Bar Harbor Woodlands KOA which is a little farther in from the Oceanside KOA and I wouldn't recommend it for a larger coach. Not a bad park, but the spaces and roads were kind of tight so it would be okay for a smaller one. You are basically going to pay premium prices in that area.

[Danattherock]

We had a two week trip planned there this past July but had to cancel due to the quarantine rules the governor placed on Maine. Very disappointed, we have been there many times and wanted to show Maine to our small kids.

We researched the campgrounds carefully and spoke with many folks. Bass Harbor campground kept coming up, nice folks. They refunded our money and were easy to deal with. Quieter part of Mt Desert island, which is why we chose this campground. Be sure to enjoy the carriage roads, and have popovers and tea by Jordan Pond.

You might also be interested in looking at Searsport campground, a few hours west. They have very nice sound side sites, premium sites, but required 5-7 day reservations. Lovely area, near many things. The lobster bake, forget the island named with it, very popular. Like 50+ years, they take you on short boat ride to small island with very nice meal prepared there.

And Camden Hills state park we heard from many as a great area. Camden is a lovely area, as is nearby Rockport.

Orchard Beach if I recall was nice campground near kennebunkport, fantastic area, nubble light house, white barn inn famous restaurant, and more. Easy day trips there up to South Portland head light, Portland, LL Bean motheship, and more.

Papoose lake campground a good spot if you want to ride the cog up Mt Washington, drive the white mountains, visit charming North Conway, and similar day trips.

Maine is a lovely state, with very nice people. My wife and I recently discussed perhaps taking the kids there next summer.


Dan
NC


Portland head light image I captured below..

[PanJH]

We have been staying at Narrows Too for the past 12 years... stay for the month of July. FHU and large sites. Some are waterfront. Short walk to 3 different Lobster Pounds. 10 miles or so to Acadia NP and just a few more miles to Bar Harbor. Can't wait to get back

[AZ-Safari]

We stayed at Forest Ridge Campground outside of Ellsworth in 2018. It was about 20 miles to Bar Harbor but price at the time was more reasonable and it was a decent campground.

Lowell

[2cyber71]

We stayed at the Narrow Too 11 yrs in a row.
Same site 315 Ocean Best
Price of the site has gone from $80 to $145
Encore ruined it all, jacked up the prices
Heck back in 2004 I paid $45 to camp there. When the private owners had it.
We stopped going last year. COVID canceled our trip.
Also, it’s too jammed now in June-July
I remember in 2012 when the place was empty.
Here is a video of our site
https://youtu.be/eZWx4qlxdPM

[PanJH]

Originally Posted by 2cyber71

We stayed at the Narrow Too 11 yrs in a row.
Same site 315 Ocean Best
Price of the site has gone from $80 to $145
Encore ruined it all, jacked up the prices
Heck back in 2004 I paid $45 to camp there. When the private owners had it.
We stopped going last year. COVID canceled our trip.
Also, it’s too jammed now in June-July
I remember in 2012 when the place was empty.
Here is a video of our site
https://youtu.be/eZWx4qlxdPM

Well, even with Covid, we went last year and it was great.... campground was mostly empty and the national park was the same way. No hunting for parking spots in the park or in downtown Bar Harbor, hiking trails pretty empty. It was great.

[Bigd9]

Originally Posted by Sammicic

Hello,
We stayed October 2019 at Oceanside KOA. As usual it was pricey. That’s the norm for KOA and Bar Harbor. It’s smack dab one of the first campgrounds on the island,perfect location.
We had a very private w&e hookup site on the water, great sunsets! Amenities include on site lobster dinners along with daily homemade pies. Staff were friendly and facilities were clean.
In the past we stayed at Mt. Desert campground but was turned off after watching Traveling Robert of YouTube fame have difficulty with the them. ...
We also took a day trip to Schoodic point across the bay. They have a new campsite run by the NPS, very private and with water some electric, thinking of going there because it is so quiet and peaceful compared to Mt. Desert island.

We had reservations to stay at KOA Oceanside campground for our 45 wedding anniversary, and to say it was a disaster is an understatement. First of all, you can't see the ocean at all. The campground is located on a bay. Second the waterfront site we reserved wasn't available when we arrived and the KOA people told us there wasn't anything they could do and put us in what looked like a recently bulldozed overflow area. The site was covered with softball sized rock that was very difficult to walk on and was so unlevel they had to bring us a bunch of 4 x 4's to add to the lumber I had, to get the coach level. That left the steps so high they had to bring concrete blocks out

Not only that, but all we could see out the windows were dead bulldozed trees. No water sights at all unless we walked 150 feet.

I'll never go back to that campground.

[2cyber71]

Originally Posted by PanJH

Well, even with Covid, we went last year and it was great.... campground was mostly empty and the national park was the same way. No hunting for parking spots in the park or in downtown Bar Harbor, hiking trails pretty empty. It was great.

We were going in June 2020. They would only let Maine residents camp in June. No out of state campers. It was a Sate of Maine order.
So we didn’t go.
That was ok, we went to the Black Hills and it was wide open, no COVID shutdown in South Dakota. That was a great trip.
Total costs was less than my usual 18 day trip to Maine.
I think Camping and diesel was $2000 and Maine was about $2500.
I’ve been to Maine several times, didn’t miss it this year.
Maybe next year.
We want to get to Eastport again.

[PandS]

Take a look at the National Park campground over at the Schoodic Peninsula, which is actually part of the park. Very Nice and a lot more peaceful than staying in Bar Harbor.
We have also stayed at Timberland Acres in Ellsworth, which was very nice. -Paul

[Sweetbriar]

I stayed at Schoodic Woods Campground (National Park CG) which is across narrows from Bar Harbor. Five minute drive from the CG to Winter Harbor where we took the fairy to Bar Harbor for a day trip. Power/water camp site with a dump station. Only a few years old.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/251833

[Gladie]

We stayed at Maine Stay RV and Cottages in Winter Harbor. It is very small, I think 10 sites. It offers FHU and scenic views from all sites. That’s it. No extras. Reasonably priced. The ferry to Bar Harbor is walkable next door. It’s owned by a couple that live on site. Very peaceful and there’s some cute little restaurants in the area.