Best Tent Camping near Hampden, ME

There's a handful of private tent sites with picnic tables. Some tent sites have ocean views. The tents sites aren't accessible by car though, so you need to put all your camping equipment into a wagon and pull it to your site.

There's a small pavilion for campground-communal lobster/clam bakes. Showers, laundry, playground, and small camp store are all available.

I definitely like more backcountry camping, but this was the only available campground in the area. It was great for a one-night stay, but it was very busy and too touristy.

We reserved a site with a water view (all the waterfront tent sites were already reserved). The tent platform was nice (they provided the nails for anchoring the tent corners. By using platforms, they have allowed many more tent sites where terrain would have made it impossible. Our site had electric (a potable water standpipe was across the street).

Restrooms were very clean and there was plenty of hot water for the coin operated showers.

Wifi is great at the Gathering Place 24/7. Very intermittent at the tent site—but we’re camping so not an issue. Gathering place had hot coffee and fresh baked goods in the am—but get there early as croissants and scones sold out quickly!

The shuttle was not operating when we were there (June 2021) but once operations return to normal, there is a shuttle to Acadia. The location is great—both to visit the park and for access to Bar Harbor. Camping is so reasonable that we felt eating out for dinner every other night was justifiable, given the cost of hotels in the area.

There is a kayak launch and floating dock. But be very aware of tide schedule!

The owners are fabulous and friendly. Clean sites as well as facilities. Beautiful pool!! Tent site had a simple lean to that helped tremendously.

This is the location to be if you want to be close it it all in Acadia. A short drive to Bar Harbor, with many of the big attractions nearby. Make reservations either online (super easy and fast) or by phone (be patient and expect to be on hold) if you are going anytime between May and September. I wasn't able to get a tent site so I pitched my rent on a gravel RV drive. It looked like tent sites had gravel tent pads, so you might want a good tent footprint cloth (or double up a tarp). Nice flush toilets (with outlets that that tweets and teens will be charging their phones on), with pay showers about a half miles outside the campground. All sites had fire pits and picnic tables.

We tent camped here, facilities were nice but sites were close to each other. Huge bonus for beautiful stars and hearing the waves crash and bouy bells at night! Several nice hikes in Acadia for all experience levels.

Spent 2 nights here and loved every minute of it. From the amazing sunsets, to the nice tent sites, Bar Harbor KOA impressed us. Quick check-in, free delivery for firewood, hot water for showering.

Very nice camp ground. Big place with plenty of sites. All different types of sites. Electric, No electric, Water, sewer hook up or really nice tent sites in the woods. All amenities and a pool.

This is a great place to tent/camp if you’re looking for Acadia adventures. They also provide electrical outlets to charge equipment and phones as well as decently clean showers and bathrooms. Downside: usually very crowded.

Check out one of my vlogs featuring the campsite: https://youtu.be/Y_81vS7zE1c

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.

Basically this is a small independent RV park split between season RV campers and regular RV campers. The only reason for a tent camper to go is to take advantage of the laundry room and the nicely scrubbed showers. It’s 5 minutes from Skowhegan and a short 2 minutes from Kennebec Banks rest area on route 2.

There are about 5 tent sites– two of which are on a small point stretching into the confluence of the great Kennebec River and the small Wesserunsett River. 

The only two tent sites I would recommend are #50 & #51 on the point with # 51 being most desirable. I absolutely would not recommend any of the other tent sites for various reasons. I used site #51 and pitched my tent about 20ft from the Kennebec. At 6:45am  I saw two bald eagles patrolling the Kennebec. 

The RV sites that are interesting are the ones directly along the Kennebec. They are sites 39-45; 47A; 47B; 47C; 48; and, they park parallel to the river. Otherwise, it’s a very tight center filled with RV’s and very large motor homes. Sites # 52– 58 may look like they are water sites… but the water feature on the map is only a brushy swamp. 

The 2 showers are very good, clean and include a bench. There are 2 flush toilets also sparkling clean; but, they are some distance from The Point. The 24hour self-operated laundry is housed in a small, dedicated bungalow. There are 2-3 docks and canoes to use. 

At night, one can clearly hear the noise from route 2 just at the edge of the campground. The river amplifies the sound of cars passing by.

We had a great experience here. Our tent site was wooded and level, not too close to neighbors. Checkin was easy and staff was friendly. The bathhouse near us was large, modern, and extremely clean. Campground is close to Acadia and it was easy to head back for a nap when the park got too crazy busy.