Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Acadia National Park

Beautiful view, quiet and serene. Not far from Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor.

The location of this campsite couldn't be better. It's just a short drive from Acadia National Park, Ellsworth, and numerous other hikes and coastal attractions, making it a perfect base for exploring the area.

However, I would primarily recommend this campsite for retirees and couples without children. The park doesn't offer many kid-friendly amenities beyond the pool, so families with young children might find it lacking in entertainment options.

On the upside, the serene and tranquil atmosphere is ideal for those seeking a peaceful getaway. The facilities are well-maintained, and the staff is friendly and helpful. Overall, it's a great spot for those looking to enjoy the natural beauty of the region in a convenient location.

This is a beautiful campground. Well maintained and right on the water. We loved taking our dogs by the water at low tide. We stayed in site 121. There wasn't any trees, just an open area. This was pull thru, full hook up site. This campground did have the Island Shuttle stop. This is help to get around Bar Harbor or to Acadia when you do not have a car or do not want to take one; however we did not use this amenity. If we were to go back, we would pick the water side sites for the views but they do not have sewer hookups. It was a little bit of a drive to Acadia National Park and the town of Bar Harbor but it was worth the drive. Gorgeous area! Very pet friendly.

**Campground Review: **

Hadley’s Point Campground is located on the north side of Mt Desert Island and just a short distance from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Hadley’s Point is a large private campground that has tent, water& electric RV, and full hook up sites, as well as Cabins. The campground is broke up in to multiple loops (campground map can be found in my pictures) with some loops in open areas with little shade and sites close together, and other loops have more wooded sites that have some shade and privacy. All style sites include a picnic table and fire ring. 

Reservations are site type, not site specific, so a little bit of a gamble. We were assigned site B27 on this visit. This site was partially shade depending on the time of day and very close to our neighbors. Other sites in the B loop did have more trees and more private, but they were full on this stay. Check-in was easy and the staff was very helpful in providing info and answering questions about the area. A host guides you to your site and assist you in positioning if needed. 

The bathroom on B-loop does not have showers so we had to hike to other loops to shower. The Bathrooms and showers were very clean. The showers are metered and cost $0.50 per 7 minutes, so don’t forget your quarters! 

Firewood and limited supplies were available at the office. There is a full grocery store about 10 minutes away. 

We found good cell phone service with Verizon throughout the property. The campground did not have wi-fi. 

The campground also has a heated pool, playground, and laundry. 

With Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park close by, there is so much to do and see in the area. One of the best benefits of the area is that there is a free shuttle with multiple routes around the island, so you can leave the car and parking hassles behind and just shuttle everywhere. The Shuttle has a stop right on the campground and is dog friendly (on leash and if your dog is friendly). 

Speaking of dog friendly, I’ve never been to an area that is so dog friendly. The campground staff was very forthcoming with dog friendly info and I have to mention Bark Harbor in downtown Bar Harbor. Bark Harbor is a pet store that bakes their own treats, has toys and gifts, and tons of info on dog friendly areas on the island. They have pre-printed lists of dog friendly hotels, restaurants, on and off leash hiking trails, and dog parks. Super friendly crew that keyed us into an off leash hiking area that our dogs loved! 

Pro Tip: A short ¼ mile walk from the campground is an off leash dog friendly beach that you can also launch your kayak or canoe from or have a sunset beach campfire. We really enjoys this beach after a long day of hiking all around the national park. 

With all the outdoor activities of the national park, kayak and boat cruises in the ocean, lobster, lobster, lobster, you’ll need a full week to explore this island. Hadley’s Point made it a perfect place for us to take it all in.

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**Product Review: **

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I tested the Morsel Spork. This spork from Morel is very handy to have in your gear list. We are teardrop campers, so our space is limited. Everything has to have a purpose and be compact. Items like the Morsel Spork, that serves multiple functions, fit right into our needs. We purchased both the mini and the XL. Both are the same (spork on one end, spoon/scraper on the other end), but the XL is a little longer. We found this very functional for regular eating from plates or bowls, or eating directly from food packets. I also found the scraper spoon side useful in cleaning out our french press carafe. Easy to clean, easy to use, comes in multiple colors, and happy to have it a part of our camping equipment.

Hadley's Point is a private campground just outside Acadia National Park. This campground prides itself on being family-friendly and welcoming to pets.

Children are allowed to bike throughout the campground until dusk. While we stayed, there was a campground-wide Fourth of July bike parade. The kids loved it. 

Pets are welcome but cannot be abandoned in the motorhome when you leave. Plan to take your pet with you everywhere.

Hadley's Point offers laundry facilities, showers, a heated pool, cornhole, and shuffleboard. While the pool is heated, it is not hot -- or even very warm. But this is Maine we are talking about, and I'm sure that the water was warmer than it would otherwise have been. 

The campground is primarily designed to accommodate RVs and motorhomes. The large fields and open lots for RVs provide ample parking and the campground offered electricity as well as other hookups. 

Cute cabins offer cozy sleeping (but no running water) for visitors without tents or RVs. 

We brought our tent and felt a little like second-class citizens at this RV-focused campground. The tent sites were tiny. Our large van, tent, and screened-in pavilion covered the entire site, leaving very little walking space. Our site also lacked trees for shade and hammocks. 

Worse yet, the campground has an infestation of Black-Legged Deer Ticks -- the ticks responsible for Lyme disease. We found two on our son during our stay. I hope they treat for these ticks soon because it poses a huge risk to their campers. 

There is a lot of potential for this campground but they need to spray the grounds for ticks and create more comfortable sites. They could be awesome if they shifted their focus from trying to fit as many people as possible to creating a comfortable camping experience for all. 

Pros:

- Heated pool

- Bathrooms cleaned regularly

- Laundry

- Good price

- Good location

- Playground

- Kid and pet friendly

- Island Explorer Bus stops at the campground

Cons:

- Cramped sites

- Ticks

- Crowded

11day trip to visit Maine ,Acadia National Park Campground nicely located close to park but away from much of the crowding

Beautiful views, friendly people clean and quiet. Lots of outdoor activities for families and outdoor enthusiasts. Close enough to Acadia National Park and BarHarbor for sightseeing, beach going, outdoor sports and hiking There are great restaurants and waterfront activities nearby. It’s great for families but quiet and relaxing enough for a romantic getaway. This campground is dog friendly and immaculately maintained. Strict and safe policies during the pandemic made this a comforting vacation option.

If you're looking for real wilderness camping, this is the place to go. It's located between the busy Mount Desert Island section (30 minutes away) and the quiet Schoodic section (10 minutes away) of Acadia National Park. They only have a few tent campsites, but they are spread out so you have plenty of privacy. Nice vaulted toilet. No showers or main office, but they have a huge information board at the entrance to find everything you could need locally (public showers are less than 10 minutes away). Great spot to "get away" when visiting Acadia. Dog and family friendly.

If you're looking to get away from all the "noise" of the side of the island that Acadia National Park is on, this is your spot. It's still only 25 minutes or so to Acadia National Park but is extremely quiet and secluded. The campsites are a little close together but there is still privacy. The other benefit was it is away from Bar Harbor lights so we saw soo many stars!

This is one of three Acadia National Park campgrounds that allow dogs. I prefer Seawall to the others because the sites are more private and spaced a bit further apart. The campground is well maintained and quiet with clean facilities. There is a day-use accessible beachfront across the road for hiking, swimming, picnics and lobster bakes. Great place to spend a weekend in the Acadia woods and at the beach with your pups!

Ranger tips: Seawall campground does not have showers so plan accordingly. Check their website for the most updated trail closures.

 I read that this was the most popular campsite in acadia national park due to how close it was to the epic cadillac mountain. So we wanted in on that. The campsite was very close to the main town of Bass Harbor, so that was great. It was a very well organised campsite. They had excellent maps to getting to your site and properly checking you in. The campsite itself was pretty busy. Not secluded at all but it was a nice and welcoming campsite to stay at, quite chilled too. The hiking trails were right off the camp so that made things very convinient, and a hike up Cadillac Mountain is definitely a must! They didn't have showers but had water and toilets at every site. I would say all in all it was a pleasant experience and pretty awesome sleeping at Acadia National Park.

When we made the decision to visit Acadia National Park, I blindly made a reservation for a site at one of the campgrounds, not really paying attention to where specifically in the park the campground was located. The Schoodic Woods Campground is located on the Schoodic Peninsula, which is east of Mt. Desert Island. It’s still within Acadia National Park but is located outside Winter Harbor and is not near Bar Harbor like the majority of the park. At first I was a little bummed we were about an hour away from the main part of the park, but my mood immediately changed once we arrived. Oh my goodness, if you’re looking to connect w/the wonders of Acadia & avoid the crowds, stay here! It was amazing & the lack of light pollution at night made the star-gazing spectacular! There’s biking, hiking, a ferry that runs seasonally to Bar Harbor, and quaint harbor communities nearby. We loved it!

Campground located just outside of Acadia National Park. Spaces were close together but did have plenty of room on tent pads. Bathrooms were decent. No showers. Loved how close it was to the park and to Bar Harbor.

This campground is great. It has friendly and accommodating staff, clean ground and beautiful views and access to the water (great for sunsets). In addition, this campground is close to everything Acadia National Park has to offer. I highly recommend this campground.

Really loved this campground so we came back for a second go, this time with a travel trailer. Although the tent sites were large, the RV sites felt a little snug. Still great access to Acadia national Park and the pool and playground were great for family.