New England Camping - Reservations necessary?

[nyeinbuda]

Thank you. Great advise. [Side story] I pulled our camper with family from Texas to Yellowstone last summer and had made reservations in the park several months in advance. Got to the checkin window only to discover that my entire reservation had been canceled by error and there was nothing that could be done by the campground that night because it was completely full. I was panicked after 1800 miles of driving within 2 days. Found an EXPENSIVE RV park outside the park that night. Fortunately the campground resolved the issue the next day and our trip was not in vain. Even reservations dont work out (entirely) sometimes:-)

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by nyeinbuda

Will be traveling to New England states mid-June through early July.

First time camping trip to that region.

Want flexibility to move about without being tied to a location.

How difficult is it to find campsites- state parks, national parks, private parks - without a reservation?

I've typically camped in Texas, Colorado, and national parks of the western states.

Minus a reservation, availability in those locations is typically limited to private parks.

Is this the same in New England states during the summer?

Welcome to RV Camping - biggest difference is lack of Open Space to Boondock - Hello Wal*mart - https://www.allstays.com/c/walmart-l...-noparking.htm - Also look for Marina's - Costco - Sam's - Lowes - Home Depot - COE - Weekends are almost Impossible.

We used to travel the East Coast - but now other than a couple weeks at the Beach - just too big of a Pain to enjoy. When we did it 10-20 years ago, traffic was Horrendous - Tolls would break you - and we would Boondock at Stadiums - after games. Today it is even Worse and the roads will often not pass as a Western Gravel Road

IMHO New England is the worst! Couple spots we can still enjoy - Pennsylvania - UpState NY - still some wild and Beautiful areas - BUT - be careful of the Parkways and Low Bridges!

Best advice, get a CG reservation and Drive the Toad say 100 mile radius - the Coach is just not fun in the traffic - Give me a Colorado Mountain Pass all Day long over the east Coast Traffic. (From a guy who has driven his Coach into Cambridge Square, Just to say I Did )

Another Eastern spot to enjoy - Carolinas - Asheville - Lake Toxaway will still Amaze you, along with the Many Reservoirs in the space between the Mountains and the Coast.

We still travel in the Coach again - BUT - we will stay South or West of the Hudson in the Coach - Just too Big of a Pain to do - we now will fly/drive the Car or take the train and stay in a Hotel (Oh how I Hate Hotels) and take care of business.

Just another Point of View,

Best of Luck,

Other than the Weeks at the Beach with Family we still don't make Reservations - Note here we have standing reservations every year and it is still a Pain.

[Cdr151]

Originally Posted by Daniel77

Hi guys,

My wife and I are keen to get out of the city for a couple nights at the end of May - any advice on campsites that fit the following criteria?

-Within 3 hours of Boston
-Secluded sites
-Near some nice hiking or swimming opportunities
-Must allow campfires

We actually want something beautiful where we won't feel like we are right on top of other people. I have found some great tips on camping sites, but your suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance!

It’s a little farther 3 and a half from Boston but Searsport shores is a beautiful campground on the water I don’t know what your camping in but we said there with our 40 ft class a last year and it was amazing. They are a family run campground with waterfront sites.

[Superslif]

Originally Posted by nyeinbuda

Thank you. Great advise. [Side story] I pulled our camper with family from Texas to Yellowstone last summer and had made reservations in the park several months in advance. Got to the checkin window only to discover that my entire reservation had been canceled by error and there was nothing that could be done by the campground that night because it was completely full. I was panicked after 1800 miles of driving within 2 days. Found an EXPENSIVE RV park outside the park that night. Fortunately the campground resolved the issue the next day and our trip was not in vain. Even reservations dont work out (entirely) sometimes:-)

I "Almost" had that happen too in Yellowstone in May of 2017. The check-in station informed me I had the wrong dates, that I was to have been there the week before, since I didn't show, they cancelled my reservation. I pulled my reservation off my phone "E-mail confirmation" and handed him my phone. Ends up he had the "wrong" date punched up on his computer.


Yes, for the New England states for the most part, except for a few state parks and some US Forest Service campgrounds that don't take reservations you will need to make them by April. We did a 6 week trip last Aug 15 to Oct 1st. staying at 10 campgrounds, 8 we made reservations for.

[nyeinbuda]

Originally Posted by Teamfoxy

It really depends on where in NE you are going and what your rig is. I tried Acadia National Park several weeks ago and couln't get any spot that we could fit into. We always book into Bayview Campgound on Cape Cod for our visits to see our son and did that in January.
We have easily gotten into KOA's in Middleboro MA and Lake Bomoseen in VT with no reservations. We have gotten into Sebago Lake SP in Maine and several VT and NY SP's with no reservations at all.

Thank you. Very helpful as we will be visiting Acadia as well. Also nice to know we could find places in NE without reservations provided we are further from the coast.

[spuds]

Originally Posted by nyeinbuda

Thank you. Very helpful as we will be visiting Acadia as well.

Do plan your trip to Bar Harbor around the cruise ship dockings. There are several which unload over 4000 people for the day, which overwhelms pretty much everything (same with Portland)

Also, for anyone reading this for the 2020 and beyond seasons, be aware they are likely to pass a new parking reservation requirement for Acadia NP

[nyeinbuda]

Originally Posted by Busskipper

Welcome to RV Camping - biggest difference is lack of Open Space to Boondock - Hello Wal*mart - https://www.allstays.com/c/walmart-l...-noparking.htm - Also look for Marina's - Costco - Sam's - Lowes - Home Depot - COE - Weekends are almost Impossible.

We used to travel the East Coast - but now other than a couple weeks at the Beach - just too big of a Pain to enjoy. When we did it 10-20 years ago, traffic was Horrendous - Tolls would break you - and we would Boondock at Stadiums - after games. Today it is even Worse and the roads will often not pass as a Western Gravel Road

IMHO New England is the worst! Couple spots we can still enjoy - Pennsylvania - UpState NY - still some wild and Beautiful areas - BUT - be careful of the Parkways and Low Bridges!

Best advice, get a CG reservation and Drive the Toad say 100 mile radius - the Coach is just not fun in the traffic - Give me a Colorado Mountain Pass all Day long over the east Coast Traffic. (From a guy who has driven his Coach into Cambridge Square, Just to say I Did )

Another Eastern spot to enjoy - Carolinas - Asheville - Lake Toxaway will still Amaze you, along with the Many Reservoirs in the space between the Mountains and the Coast.

We still travel in the Coach again - BUT - we will stay South or West of the Hudson in the Coach - Just too Big of a Pain to do - we now will fly/drive the Car or take the train and stay in a Hotel (Oh how I Hate Hotels) and take care of business.

Just another Point of View,

Best of Luck,

Other than the Weeks at the Beach with Family we still don't make Reservations - Note here we have standing reservations every year and it is still a Pain.

Thank you

[nyeinbuda]

Omg. Great advice to avoid the cruise ship crowd.

[nyeinbuda]

That's no fun to go through for sure.

[allenb12]

We were there when 3 cruise ships were. Restaurants were packed and so were the streets.

[photopilot]

If you get stuck without a reservation, try Boondockers Welcome. Unfortunately, most state campgrounds in New England are older and therefore don’t fit larger rigs. We loved White Lake State Park in NH, but can’t fit in any more since we went to 40 ft.

Walt

[PanJH]

We have been going to Maine and NY for the past 10 years and have found that if you have a large RV and want to go anywhere near a popular place, you better have reservations. Right now, we have them for NY and NH for June, Maine for July and part of August. After that we will head west and wing it on our way out.

[rvethereyet]

Originally Posted by Teamfoxy

It really depends on where in NE you are going and what your rig is. I tried Acadia National Park several weeks ago and couln't get any spot that we could fit into. We always book into Bayview Campgound on Cape Cod for our visits to see our son and did that in January.
We have easily gotten into KOA's in Middleboro MA and Lake Bomoseen in VT with no reservations. We have gotten into Sebago Lake SP in Maine and several VT and NY SP's with no reservations at all.

Which campground in Acadia services RV

[Benwa Clan]

If you get kind of stuck you can dry camp in the field at Hampton State Park, NH. Last year it was $30/night. They do have generator time restrictions. The FHU sites are well booked way in advance so we always camp in the field almost every other weekend. But starting the April 29th until memorial day weekend it is 1st come on all the FHU sites. We usually get a waterfront site at those times at $50/night.