Best Campgrounds near Manchester, ME

We had a great stay at coos canyon campground! Didn't have too much interaction with staff, but when we did they were very friendly. We had site 7. Sites are good size, and not super close to neighbors. Wifi only works at the camp store, there are extenders throughout the camp, and it worked at our site the first day but didn't after that. The office was surprised it worked for us on day 1 and said they couldn't fix it because it wasn't supposed to work. There isnt any activities like some other campgrounds we've been to, just a small playground, but the canyon and the river give you lots of outdoor things to do. Rent a pan or sluice from the coos canyon rock and gem shop a 3 min walk from the office and pan for gold in the river right from the campground! Fishing, hiking, cliff jumping, and swimming can all be done with a quick walk all while staying in the campground. The camp store has some bare necessities, but did not have any bug swatters (the horse flys can get crazy here) but a spatula from the camp store worked OK. We will definetly be back for some more gold prospecting!

The sites here are nicely wooded and have a decent amount of separation between most of them BUT the campground is located too close to the road and, with the exception of sites 84-87 and cabins 8-10, you will hear road noise in your site. Options are 10 rustic cabins, tent sites, partial and FHU sites. 

The bathhouse was very clean and there are both outdoor and indoor showers; both looked nice although we did not use them. 

I thought $50 for a tent site was a little steep but it was all the potential extra fees that irked me:

*$30 site lock to ensure you get the site you want when you reserve. I took a chance and was able to get the site I reserved without paying this fee

*$4 weather guarantee (allows you to cancel due to inclement weather). I didn’t bother with this one

*7.95 if you need to hook up to WiFi. We were able to use our own portable WiFi

*$10 to use the dump station (we found another place that charged $5) 

Aside from the fees and proximity to the road, this is a nice campground with a host of amenities: pool (which I was surprised was still open on October 1), horseshoes, laundry, dishwashing sink, a playground, and trash pick-up at your site. There is also a path to the shore with picnic tables, and chairs. Repairs to the sea wall are in progress so caution was recommended.

Tops’l Farm offer the best of glamping.  Located in Waldoboro, they create a wonderfully balanced experience between the outdoors and glamp.  While their model continues to evolve, camping is not available on all days/weekends.  They create special weekend camping events and retreats.   We participated in a weekend camping event that included a farm to table meal on Saturday evening in their barn.  They had recommendations for places to visit during the rest of the weekend, which we did not do.  

Their model is a stay that costs a price, plus a lot of a la carte “extras” that you can order.  We ordered Friday dinner and wine;  and breakfast for one morning.  Depending on the weekend, ‘extra’ offers could also include yoga, foraging, s’mores kits, etc.  

Tops’l Farm has both cabins and glamping tents.  The bath house is very nice for a camp bath house, with soap and shampoo.    The cabins are full of creature comforts, including nice sheets and blankets, lanterns, and an overall beautifully appointed space that is still rustic.  Each cabin has a fire pit.  

The farm dinners offer delicious food with ingredients from local farms.  The food is delicious, simple and very satisfying all at the same time.  The barn that they hold the dinners in is simple yet elegant.  There is a camp store where you can buy beer, wine, snacks and other basic items.  

They truly curate a lovely glamping experience.  It isn’t cheap, but if you want a glamping weekend, it’s one of the best.

This is private land that the owner rents to campers.  It is a lovely single camp site with great views and fields. It is relatively close to the road but there is very little traffic and no noise. The space is level.  There is a picnic table, fire ring, full hook ups, and box with an information sheet that includes things to do and places to eat for the surrounding area. The view was expansive and beautiful, with wonderful sunsets. The walking trails that have been cut are lovely, and a great place for a short walk, or to walk with your dog.  The owner met us immediately upon our arrival and was very friendly. The only challenge is we stayed in July, and the horse flys were viscous. They were not by the campsite, but were abundant on the trails, and I literally had to run to get back to the camper to minimize the bites. If you are susceptible to horse fly bites, be aware during the horse fly season. My husband did not get bit.

This area is very rural.  Skowhegan, which is just over 20 minutes away, is the closest town, and has a few restaurants and a nice farmers market.  There are many hiking  and atv trails in the general area.  I would recommend this spot for a weekend in the area, or passing through for the night.

Camden Hills State park is centrally located, just at the edge of downtown Camden.  It provides a great home base for hiking, biking, kayaking and exploring the Camden/Rockland area.  

The park has around 100 sites that are categorized by size, and allows rvs and tents.  There are no tent specific sites, and a tent camper could choose a large rv site. Each site has a picnic table and fireplace.  Most spots are wooded, but there  are 8  non wooded, open grassy sites at the front of the park, which have little shade.   About half of the sites have water and electric.  There is a bathhouse, multiple water stations and a dump station.  The park sits on both sides of Rt. 1, and the bottom side is more of a day use area with a pavilion and walking trails and sits on the water.   The bottom part does not, however, have true water access for swimming or kayaking.  The closest place for this the Camden City Park, which is 2.5 miles away, and is a great place to launch a kayak.  Rockport Marine Park at Rockport Harbor is another - it has easy kayak launch access and a very very small beach, which is mostly used for kids to splash around in the water.  The top portion of the park, where all the campsites are, has direct access to Mount Megunticook, and Mount Battie, and offers easy to advanced hikes.  It’s great to be able to do numerous hikes without having to leave the park.  

We liked our site, 61, because it was open, grassy and level, had water and electric and was reservable.  The park rangers were very friendly.  There is a charge for Wi-Fi, and cell service is good enough.  

There are many quality  restaurants in the Camden, Rockland, Rockport area, as well as good bakeries and coffee shops.  The Camden Farmers market is right downtown.  You are less than 10 minutes from central Camden, and 20 minutes to Rockland.