Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Bar Harbor, ME

Stayed here for four days and three night in early May 2018. Super friendly staff, available to answer any questions. Easy direction at the gate and directions to our site. We had two vehicles, one per site, meaning we had to pack one in the overflow. The site was clean, had a picnic table and fire pit with grate. Fit both of our tents with extra room. The sites are a little close together but we had no issues with our neighbors. The bathroom area was clean and cleaned several times while we were there. There is a trash area and place to dump greywater.

Great location being about not to far from Bar Harbor. Walking distance of the Park loop, if you would like to drive the loop, it is down the road a bit. Access to several different trails.

**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.

**---------------------------- **

**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.

We stayed here from Thursday to Sunday in site #67. I would recommend requesting a site other than 66 or 67 because it backs right up to the water pump system for the RV park, which is quite loud when the pump turns on and off. Other than that, campground was great. They have a store with basically anything you need. There's a Walmart down the road. It's 30 min from Acadia NP, 15-20 min from Bar Harbor and about 15 min from Ellsworth. Showers & boathouse was clean and showers were some of the best I've had on a campground. Good water pressure & hot. Lots of seasonal campers. Everyone was pretty friendly. You can also get lobster from the camp store (cooked or live). Our spot was nice bc it backed up to the woods. The larger rig sites in the back are more open with no tree cover. Laundry building is coin operated and was super convenient. Campground is VERY dog friendly! Lots of dogs being walked and on campsites. We would stay again for sure.

Blackwoods has a great location on mount desert island. 15 mins from bar harbor, ocean path trail, Jordan pond and top of cadilac mountain. I came to Acadia for its beauty, so location is everything and crowds were expected. I arrived on a Monday in July and had to wait a half hour just to get into the campsite because there was a line of cars waiting to get in (mid afternoon-ish). We were surprised there were no showers on the grounds but there are some options in town for $5. There is also a rule against using any spigots or sinks to clean dishes on the grounds. Instead you are supposed to collect water, bring it to your site and clean dishes there. So pack a bucket if you’re coming to blackwoods! We arrived on a Monday and left on a Wednesday and we were kept up and woken up by our neighbors here. Quiet hours are not enfourced here. But the location is great and we are lucky to have been able to stay here! I’d recommend.