Best Campgrounds near Danforth, ME

Checked out these sites for an upcoming visit. Stayed down the road at Sandbank this time. If you are tenting this is preferable as Sandbank is open to RV's and is noisier.

Some changes to regulations since Jean's review in 2021.

No fire permit is needed if you use the fire ring provided

First-come-first-served only for a single night. Reservations from recreation.gov are recommended for longer stays or on weekends. $8 reservation fee, free camping up to 14 days, no refunds.

Her photo of the campground map is still accurate.

I wouldn't call this a campground--more like a spot for 3 vehicles to park overnight. Quite a few logging trucks zooming by and kicking up dust during our stay. One pit toilet. Conveniently close to the start of Loop Road.

Stayed for two nights after Labor Day. Only one other camper in the park and we never saw them but occasionally we could hear a voice. Other than that, it was quiet.

There are about 9 campsites, each with a picnic table, a fire ring and a large camping and parking area for each site.

The best feature of this campground is the view. There is a Lake on both east and west sides of the camping area. Three sites are view of both lakes from the camp sites. I woke up to a view of one lake and my wife saw the other lake from our camper.

The campground has three pit toilets. The large size of the camp sites makes it feel more secluded than it is

We did hear something like a lumber mill operating one morning. Not sure what that was all about.

A Ranger stopped by and visited with us. He then offered us a brochure on the camping area we are planning to visit next. Nice customer service right at our camp site!

We were in site # AB. It backed up to the road yet was nice other than the traffic. The traffic slowed down at night. The owner Laurie is nice and her staff was great. Roger was a big help with us getting into the site & settled. The site we were in you need 2 water hoses so he brought us a second one. It was a little tight backing in yet the site was big. 

We had water & electric and the dump station is in town on the way out. It's at the visitor center and there is a small fee for using it. There is a bar & restaurant onsite. They aren't open all week yet more towards the weekend. The food is good and the bar (the loose Moose) had lots of people in it. Love the fried beets and wings.  They have entertainment on the weekends. The girls working in the bar were busy working hard to keep everyone happy.

There is a big pull through site near our site you get the entire road and several sites. 

There is a small boat launch onsite and a captain that does moose boat tours. The cabins looked nice too there are several on the water. The lodge is very nice too.

Next door is the Northern Woods trading post. Great lobster l, oysters, charcuterie platter and a good Margarita. The little store has some nice souvenirs and meats, cheeses, pizzas, sandwiches and drinks. 

Onsite is Northern outfitters they take people white water rafting. You can do it right from the campground. People do come from all over to raft there. Across the street on the other side of the dyke there is a small swim beach and a sea plane ride operation. 

As you leave the campground and you go right Baxter state park is on the same road and not far from the campground. There is a swim beach at Baxter and hiking trails. Mt Katahdin is close by. The park is mostly dirt road yet not bad. It was $16.00 to enter the park for a day. If your going to go into the park 3 times or more buy the pass it's cheaper. 

Across the street from the campground we took the Golden road north to compass pond for a bit. People were picking wild blueberries. We were looking for moose around the bogs. 

To the left leaving the campground there is a place called River divers which had specials on their meals. People were not too excited about the food but they had an excellent spicy margarita. 

There's not much in town but we needed a hardware store and found one and grocery stores.

This was a great two day tent camping trip. KOA’s are not always known for their tent sites but this one has a decent amount of them and the DMZ area between the RV’s and the tents is adequate so your not pitching your tent right next to an RV: our campsite was slightly off the beaten path which was exactly what we wanted. Good quite relaxing weekend . They have recently installed a new pool here so if it gets hot you have that great amenity. They also have the mining for gems activity that you see at some KOA’s and all my kids enjoyed that. The bathrooms were super clean. Kids enjoyed finding frogs in all their ponds. They have also added two “glamping tents” which look nice. The family enjoyed this so much we plan on making this an annual trip to this specific campground. This used to be “my brother place” campground and from what I gather significant upgrades have been made. Disclaimer : I know one of the owners but my review is honest.

I have gone camping here a handful of times and it is so beautiful! Definitely far out there and can be difficult to find if you don’t know the area well. Little to no service as well. We canoe to the island and camp on that but there are spots you can get to without a boat we just prefer it there. Make sure to bring everything you need! There are fire rings but the ranges can be sticklers about having a fire permit. This has only happened once that we’ve been there though they usually just leave you alone. These are also free spots that are first come first serve. The bugs can be really bad here especially in the earlier summer months so definitely keep that in mind and bring bug nets. We have caught a ton of fish here as well. Super beautiful lake and remote spot perfect to get away and unplug for a bit.

Shin Pond is this sprawling mix of campground, cabins, restaurant, event space, gas station, convenient store, and off-road vehicle rentals. The campground has about 30 campsites and is separated into two sections bisected by Route 159 (which is busy with loud logging trucks and UTV’s). One side has 50-amp campsites and cabins and the other side is 30-amp. There is a separate area for tents that is really pretty and sits along a brook that divides north and south Shin Ponds. 

Sites are grass with very little gravel and, as we found out, they can be very soft. We pulled into our site (#21) and before we knew it our 45’ (47,000 lbs) RV was stuck. Unbeknownst to us, three inches of rain had recently fallen and our site which was downhill was saturated. The campground owner had to pull us out with his huge tractor which as we found out was not the first time a camper had to be pulled out of a soft site in that campground. Luckily, it was a pull-in site so he could attach a chain to the hitch on the back of our RV as there is no way to pull from the front without causing damage. 

All sites have water, picnic table, and fire pit. There is no sewer but there is a dump station and a “blue boy” for you to use and dump your own tanks. They do not have a pump-out service. The dump station is easy to access and has a hose for you to flush your tanks and a dedicated potable water spigot. The dump station is at the back of a busy parking lot that serves the restaurant, laundry, bath/shower house, and the fuel pump so it can be quite busy and congested. We didn’t eat at the restaurant but others said it was very good. There is also a well-stocked store which sells a variety of souvenirs, food, beer, ice cream, and camping necessities. 

No cell or internet reception with our Verizon phone. The campground does have wifi but the signal was not strong enough to get reception reliably at our site. You pretty much have to be at the office in order to get it but that’s ok because they have lots of picnic tables and places to sit. 

Shin Pond rents Polaris UTV and snowmobiles, canoes, and kayaks in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. We went on a UTV ride one day and were treated to some beautiful views. Just a few miles down the road is a short hiking trail leading to Shin Pond Falls and another trail that runs along the Seboeis river which is a beautiful hike. The campground is close to the northern entrances to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Baxter State Park which is the major reason why we stayed there. We loved exploring these parks where you have access to beautiful hiking trails and lakes and ponds and is not as crowded as the southern areas. Note that dogs are not allowed in Baxter State Park and there are restrictions on vehicle sizes. The nearest town is Patten (about 15 minutes away) and has a hardware store, gift shop, full-service grocery, fuel, restaurants, and the Lumberman’s Museum.

If you don't want to camp in Baxter State Park this is a good spot. There seem to be different parts to the campground. Ours was a few minutes walk from the lodge. It is extremely dark at night, has plumbed bathrooms. The lodge is nice and North Trading Post is a good spot for coffee, snacks and gifts. The owner is an ex-ranger so gave us really good tips for hiking in Baxter.

Katahdin Woods and Waters is a young National Monument without much infrastructure. Recent construction and cooperation with corporate & charitable sponsors has led to development of the Lunksoos campground in July 2021. I approached via the turnoff from Swift Brook Rd to Sebois Rd, before you reach the loop road, but Sherman Lumber Co Rd is another option. You may encounter logging trucks. The road is not in great shape, but passable.

A short walk from the East Branch of the Penobscot River boat launch, there are several free, walk-in sites. Two group sites allow nearby parking and provide tent platforms. The other 5 are on a small, walk-in loop through the woods; one is an accessible site. Vault toilets are provided. Sites come with bear boxes, picnic tables, and fire rings; fire permits are required (call Maine Forest Service 207-435-7693). Bring potable water or plan to treat it. Camping is free and there are no reservations. Midweek August I saw only 1 site occupied, but it's also a new campground. No cell service. Mosquitos and the occasional deer fly were annoying

You can enjoy fishing (license required), boating, hiking, stargazing, and wild-life watching(I saw fresh bear scat on the road on the way in; moose also frequent the area and maybe you’ll even spy a lynx!). There are Junior-Ranger programs, including a Night Explorer one. Drive the loop road to some short hiking trails and look for moose. The information station at Sandbank Stream campsite just before the loop road often has some brochures, including a bird list and interpretive guide to the loop road, though I would consider downloading them from the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters website.

If you’ve forgotten anything, stop in Millinocket or Medway to pick them up before you get into the Monument; it’s a long drive out and back over these logging roads!

Good location as I was supporting an AT hiker through the 100 mile wilderness. Close to Baxter state park and the Katahdin Iron Works area that provided access to the wilderness. There was a fee to access the wilderness from KI-Jo-Mary area but it they had their own great trails. Arrived a little early and the owner tried to get me to pay a fee which I declined. 12:30 arrival isn't too early in my opinion. Lots of ATV riders occupying sites so I'm sure lots of riding trails nearby.

We’ve stayed here in cabins a tent sites when hiking Mt Katahdin. Both were clean and tent sites were spacious. Bathrooms are tidy with all the hot water a smelly tired pack of hikers could ask for. Staff is always friendly and they almost always have spaces available.

My first impressions of this park were not very good. When you drive in it looks a little run-down with old buildings, potholed roads, untrimmed vegetation, and very rustic. There are lots of seasonals driving around in golf carts drinking beer and lots of nightly gatherings. But throughout the week we were here we ended up really enjoying our stay at Pine Grove. The seasonals and staff were super friendly, the park turned out to be pretty quiet and we enjoyed sitting outside by our nightly campfire. 

The owners recently acquired the campground and are working very hard to make improvements and improve the looks of the campground. The campground is fairly small (43 sites) but has a nice woodsy feel. We snagged one of the last campsites that had 50 amp so we were told it might be a little tight but were given a choice of two sites. The park owner was nice enough to give us a choice and work with us to find one that we fit in. One was totally unlevel and the tree roots would have been a major problem for us. The site we chose was more level was but it took some time backing our large RV into the site because of the trees. There are some great waterfront sites if you have a smaller RV or tent. The roads throughout the park are dirt and gravel but were not very dusty. Water access in this park is great whether you want to paddle or just lounge around in the river on a raft. There is a nice cozy lounge which is where you can access wifi near the office. Our Verizon phone was useless for internet and our hotspot. We used our portable satellite antennae to pick up television but had to do some manipulating because of the trees. 

Our lure to this park was to explore the natural areas nearby, especially Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Baxter State Park. There is so much natural beauty around this area that we definitely recommend a visit.