Best Tent Camping near Jay, ME

BF and I wanted a last minute fall weekend getaway in Maine, and ended up at the Augusta-Gardiner KOA. Generally tough to accomplish during leaf-peeping season, but we worked it out. We stayed at site T5, which was wooded but pretty open. Size was decent enough.

Overall, I’d say sites T8, T9, T10 are best if you’re tent camping. While all tent sites are tightly spaced next to one another, these 3 provide the most shade and privacy of the bunch.

Owners are super nice, but the campground could use a little love. Bathrooms and amenities are a little tired. There’s potential though, and some really cute details, like a little fairy house and homemade, bear-carved benches around a KOA-community fire pit, that make the campground endearing. Also, there’s a bunch to do during prime season, particularly for the kiddies- pool, mini-golf, bounce house, playground and space to runaround.

We have tent camped here for a week (if not twice) every summer for the last 5 years. Pond with rentals, pool, mini golf, daily activities, crafts....so family friendly. love the half moon and kitchen and bath sites.

Round barn campsites offers a dozen or so tent sites with two big group sites. It will pretty consistently have some campers, but I've never seen all the sites full before. It is right next to the stafford brook trail to hike to the top of Bigelow and you can easily hike from your campsite to the top of the mountain and back within a day. Multiple sites including both group sites are right on the water and there is a nice beach area big enough to accomodate however many people you bring. The best tent site is on the island just offshore accessible by sandbar which is usually just knee deep. The cove makes for safe swimming away from the wind and waves offshore. Great secluded spot where you won't feel crowded like at Baxter or Grafton notch areas.

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.

This place is amazing!! Nice tent sites. Rv sites. There are electric and water hook ups. Nice pool and clean bathrooms with showers!! Playground for the kids and a rec hall with games and TV. There is a volleyball net as well. They have tiny home rentals also through airbnb. My family loves this place!! They even have a small restaurant/store on site!! Amazing staff!!!!

We went tent camping and seemed to be one of the few tenters. We stayed at base camp 1C. It was a very nice site near the water with water and electric. However not a lot (any) privacy. The bathrooms were very nice and there were showers, though not a lot of water pressure. The camp office folk were very nice. The site was large enough for my 10x12 tent and an ez up and to park the van. Site also had a picnic table and fire ring with Cook rack on it. Gorgeous view of the lake, just wished for more privacy

I've stayed here a number of times and have enjoyed my stays.  This is a good campground to use as a base location when doing other things.  It is a small campground, but the tent sites are nicely dispersed in a small field.  In the late summer the grass will be 4' tall, it's a fun location. 

The RV sites are stacked about as tight as I've ever seen them though.  Facilities are dated, but there are outhouses at the tent group sites.

If you stay here check out the suspension bridge and the island.

This campground was small and quiet with majority of sites for tents only. The river was super calm so we were able to take our paddle board out and explore the waters. They have a small camp store and vault toilets but they were pretty clean. Overall a great campground in the northern area of NH! We stayed at site 18 which was next to a large field with tent sites on the river. Luckily no one was camping around us this weekend and it felt like we had the place to ourselves

Despite a very recent personal loss, the owners welcomed us with open arms and heartfelt greetings. The grounds and sites were well maintained. The bathrooms and showers were clean and well stocked.

When we arrived, we were given a map with available sites marked and free reign to pick the spot of our liking.

The pricing has increased from the dyrt's listed prices. We paid $40 for a tent site with elec. and water.

I would stay here again in a heartbeat!

Stayed here in May 2018 and really enjoyed the quiet town of Gorham in the White Mountains.  We came in early May so it was still early in the season but we had a wooded tent site in the back of the campground and felt very secluded from the rest.  Lot's of great hiking within an hour of the property including Mt Madison, Mt Washington and a little further out is the Flume Gorge in Lincoln that I highly recommend.

Tiny gem of a campground- I don’t RV but even those sites are adorable- each site has heavy evergreens in between allowing for nice privacy- and the grass tent site has that privacy too and were good sized. We stayed down in the sandier sites on the river lots of shade and privacy- took a shuttle up with some kayaks- reasonably priced- and drifted back down 10 miles right to our site!! These owners really impress- great service and everything was spotless and kept up nice!

A beautiful place with a farm, campground and state park all together! There are tenting spots, camper spots and field spots. I recommend any with tree coverage. There are bathrooms close by to all, the main lodge is nice and the food at the snack shack is sooo good!! burgers, pizza, salad- all local and from their gardens. The working farm is open to visit and walk around. Pet the baby cows and see the pigs and goats. they have a ton of activities going on through the summer. Our huge tent site was $60 for a busy August weekend. totally reasonable! we had a lovely time despite the rain and will try to go again next year! The grounds are a short drive to downtown Freeport for shopping at the outlets and LLBean.

This Camping Park has something for just about everyone. Whether you have an RV (small, medium or large), tent, are looking for a cabin or want a little more of a wilderness feel, this place has something to offer. 

While the campground looks to be primarily RV camping from the road, there are many tent sites tucked away in the trees and even two sites that are walk-in only and are situated right on the Androscoggin River. Additionally, the campground has several nice cabins available as well.

Let's start with the RV sites: there are a bunch! This campground also hosts many seasonal campers who have sites situated around the perimeter of both sides of the campground (split by Route 2). Seasonal campers have some pretty sweet set-ups for sure. The only downside to some of the RV spots is that they can be in the sun almost all day which can be a bit much in the heart of the summer. Otherwise, sites are well maintained and have all the normal hookups for RVs.

Tent sites are well spaced and almost all of them are in the shade which is a huge bonus! Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and nice level spot to pitch your tent. Bath houses are conveniently located throughout the campground and are well maintained. 

The two walk-in tent sites are very secluded and offer fire rings, picnic tables, a bear box and one of the two sites has a wooden tent platform. The second site's tent platform is currently being built (July 2020) and should be at the site and ready for use soon. These sites sit right on the beautiful Androscoggin River, offering a serene backdrop for your camping adventure.

The campground is situated in-between two large tracts of the White Mountain National Forest. Great hiking is available at the campground as well as a short drive away. If hiking is a hobby of yours, look no further! This is a great location to base yourself out of to get some solid miles under your belt. There is a campground office that has a small store as well as laundry facilities. They also offer an AT Hiker Hostel. They also have a nice heated swimming pool, playground and many other amenities. When there isn't a global health pandemic, they have a bouncy house for the kids. They often show movies on the lawn when the weather cooperates. They also rent kayaks and you can launch from the campground or they will shuttle you some place near by.

It really is a campground with a little bit of everything! Owned by locals of the community who have run the place for over 25 years.