Best Glamping near Hanover, CT

Connecticut is LACKING when it comes to outdoor activities when compared to some of the places around the country. That being said, it's more rewarding when you find a little gem like Wilderness Lake Campground.

While this is about 60% RVs, the tent sites are great. The host gave us a secluded spot in the back to the point I didn't feel like I was at a campground other than the fire ring. We didn't need bathrooms, water or electricity, but there was a bathroom within walking distance. It also looked like they were building a little outbuilding for Women and Men's bathrooms near the tent sites. 

The lake was quiet and we saw kids swimming in it in the morning. There was a hiking trail on the property and the host mentioned they were building a Disc Golf course on the property. Whether you have an RV, want to Car Glamp or looking to feel deep in the woods, this place checks all the boxes. It's also conveniently located off I-84(exit 70).

This place is off Route 9 in Connecticut on the east side of the Connecticut River (major RT 9 highway is on west side). You need to cross the river via bridge to Goodspeed Opera house and past to get to the RV campground. Nearby attractions are Gillette Castle and Goodspeed Opera. The campground itself is realy nice. Cable TV at most sites. Only electric 30 or 50A, and water; but there are a few dumpstations around in the camp. Very peaceful. There are activities on Friday and Saturday (like Bingo). Great store with extended hours. The camp staff will help you with anything. Really long or tall RV will need to stay close to the front of the campground, as typical older campground is not designed for 40 foot long or 10 foot high campers.

We stayed at Mystic KOA in North Stonington, Connecticut, to be tourists in Mystic. Spoiler alert… we had a great stay! 

This campground is just 15-minutes from Mystic and about an hour’s drive to Newport, Rhode Island. It’s just a few minutes from I-95 and so close to Mystic Aquarium, downtown Mystic, Mystic Seaport, and all the local spots. 

It’s a well-maintained campground with 2 pools(though the larger one was closed for maintenance during our stay), lots of play areas and daily activities for little ones, and a cool“pub truck” for adult drinks. Our site(#408) was about 85’ long with plenty of room for our 45’ motorhome and toad(and then some!). It was level and gravel with a nice fire ring and picnic table. The hookups worked fine with 50-amp electric and decent water pressure. Cable TV had nearly 50-channels, but the wi-fi didn’t quite reach our part of the park. 

Due to a family issue, we needed to leave about a day-and-a-half early. We called the office as a courtesy to let them know as we were pulling out and received a partial credit for a night’s stay on our credit card. Didn’t even ask, they just did it. Thanks Mystic KOA! 

We’ll definitely be back. This is a great place to stay when visiting the coastal Connecticut/Rhode Island area.

Okay, I will try to update this information on the Dyrt site, but I’ve had mixed success getting that to stick. So if you are confused about things like location, let’s knock that out first:

This campground is located near 2185 Putnam Pike, Chepachet, RI 02814. It’s by Bowdish Lake, near the Connecticut border. This is a cool area of Rhode Island that I enjoyed getting the chance to explore a little bit. Great Italian restaurant if you don’t feel like cooking (Mr Z’s By The Lake) and some historical sites like a very nice covered bridge to the northwest.

Full water and electrical hookup and a very unique and fun play area for kids. The lake access is excellent, obviously. Pay showers of varying degrees of cleanliness. Open to tents, but clearly preferred by the RV crowd.

On our way to through Connecticut, we needed to stop for a night. This was on Long Island Sound and had walk-up sites available. $33 per night gets you a site with bath house/restroom close by but no hook-ups. There is a public "beach" nearby which is way different than our Florida ones. We had to walk under the railroad tracks through a tunnel to get there. Interesting but still a nice feature and probably the main attraction here. There was also a concession stand, nature center, picnic area and boat ramp here at this park. Since we were getting a walk-up site they let us drive around and pick our site from a list of available ones. Most of them were on the small side accommodating tents or pop-ups. We found one in the Osprey loop which was very shaded. The bath rooms were clean and up to date. Good for a night on our way to Rhode Island.

We planned a brief stop in the Boston area with the intent of seeing the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and Normandy Farms appealed to us for various reasons. One reason was the fact that they have dog walkers that will come to your site and take care of your precious pooch while you are away. Not knowing how long we would be away from the campground that service was a great option. As it turned out, we did not need to use this service but for some it would be a great perk if you were going to be gone all day. And with Boston traffic, we can see how that could happen. By the way, the library is well-worth it.

When you enter Normandy Farms it is more like checking into a hotel than campground complete with a concierge and express check-in. The park is gated and a code is needed to enter and leave giving you a sense of security but I’m not sure it is necessary. Driving in you quickly realize how huge this park is with some 400 RV sites, tent sites, yurts, lean-to’s, safari tents, and cabins. 

There are plenty of sites to choose from the “premium” full hook-up (50 amp) to basic with just water and electric and many others in between. Both back-in and pull thrus are available as are sites with shade and full sun. Premium sites have paved patios while other sites are gravel. Roads are paved and plenty wide enough for big RV’s to navigate. They offer cable television that yielded nearly 100 channels. Wifi worked well at our site and other places throughout the park. All sites come with a fire pit and picnic table. 

We chose a paved full hook-up pull thru with paved patio (Site E1). Our site was easy to navigate in and out of and was definitely big rig-friendly with ample space for our motorhome and tow car. All utilities were well-placed and functioned properly. The site was level. At the time we were there in October the campground was not very busy but we imagine that things get a little crazy when the park is full. 

There is a really long list of amenities for this campground….four pools (include an indoor heated one), fitness room (with elliptical, treadmills, bikes, machine and free weights), creative arts center, camp store, 20,000 square-foot activities building (with adult only lounge, pool table, arcade, games, wide-screen televisions, sauna, Jacuzzi), restaurant, huge off-leash dog park (you can reserve individual day kennels), BMX bike park, horse shoe pits, baseball diamond, volleyball, fishing pond, shuffleboard, disk golf, and playground, and probably a few more things I missed. During the busy summer months there is a long list of activities ranging from yoga to kids games.

Normandy Farms is approximately 35 miles from Boston. If you don’t want to drive to the city, you can park at the nearby train or subway station and ride into the city. You are just five miles from Gillette Stadium (home of the New England Patriots) and Patriot Place (a hub for shopping and dining). About a mile from the campground is Foxboro State Park where you will find 20+ miles of hiking trails. Also within a five mile radius are plenty of restaurants, shopping, hardware store, grocery store, and more. 

Some of the really good features are the huge dog park which has a dog washing station, water fountains for dogs and humans, agility-type obstacles for them to play on, dog kennels, and a bin with balls and Frisbees. I also liked (and used daily) the fitness center which had functioning equipment and a large television to help pass the time while working out – and was never crowded. The large community building has and adult-only lounge which serves as a nice place for people to get together and watch television or hang out without kids. With everything this campground has to offer you can see why it is a destination park for some people as their kids would be busy all day. 

The downside really is the price and how many sites there are. If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful getaway this is not it.

The place is quiet and super friendly

I have been camping here for 20 years off and on. The staff is always friendly and will accommodate you with whatever you need. Don't like your site? Call the office and they will find you one you do like if it's available. The campground is set on the Q River and if you're lucky enough to see it from your site it's beautiful. The campground CAN get packed but everyone is polite and we've never had a problem. 

I will be returning every year I'm able.

Worst place to camp!!! My husband has been going to this camp ground for 30 something years since he was a little boy and when the father ran it, it was awesome!! Had a PA system, had activities.. now that the son Greg runs it.. it’s gone down hill and continues to go!! The bathrooms are disgusting, he picks and chooses who he wants to yell at and kick out.. he has this little boy with long hair on a power trip who’s“employee of the month” driving around a dirty, loud duck taped John Deere tractor taking pictures of people. My husband called the park twice to ask about a inflatable water slide and if was ok for us to bring it, the girl who answered the phone said“let me call you back I’ll check with the owner” called us back and say yes.. then my husband called back again to switch sites due to the girl saying yes.. told them AGAIN about the water slide, she said yes that’s fine.. she even moved us to the field, asked us if they were paying us to bring it.. we said no and she said oh wow ok.. maybe I should go camping this weekend and started to laugh and moved us to a site with no one next to us and even made a comment, ya know I don’t think I like this lady.. I’ll just move them to site 48 and you to 47..long story short, we put up the slide when we got there, the little boy on his little power trip was hiding behind the bathrooms taking pictures of the slide with our children and nieces and nephews on it and my husband asked if there was an issue and he looked at my husband said“im shutting you down!!” And he said you are? And he replied saying that Greg told him to shut us down… my husband asked for Greg to come down and talk to him, himself and when Greg got there.. he was extremely rude, got extremely loud like he was trying to“embarrass someone” however my husband and I knew that we spoke with a young lady several times prior to us coming and she verified it was ok for us to bring it..so no one embarrassed us.. he embarrassed himself. Greg continued to argue with us saying“no no your wrong, shut it down, I don’t care” when all he had to say was listen, I’m sorry for the miscommunication on both ends.. I’ll take care of the site for you, please just take it down. But no.. he had to try to look like a big guy, start yelling and threatening to kick us out. My Husband even said to Greg, how long have my family and I been coming here? And he said “I don’t know, I don’t count” but when my father in law went into office, Greg tune completely changed bc he knew exactly how long they’ve been going there!! Regardless if this is a camp ground or another type of company.. we’re still customers who pay for a site.. they offer a service so they should have better customer service! I’m appalled by this interaction.. disappointed a grown man could try to argue with someone in-front children and believe that’s ok.. this guy shouldn’t be an owner of anything and it’s sad that this place is going down hill because he wants to sit in his little office and complain he can’t find good help but yet he doesn’t get off his butt and spend a little money to make this place better.. and I’m shocked he isn’t putting a pool in where the pond is.. my nephew got bite by something in that thing.. it’s absolutely disgusting!! My family and I will NEVER be back here and I will be telling everyone I know about this experience because he doesn’t deserve anymore money!! His father did a great job but Greg is a horrible business owner!!! Good luck!