The best camping near
Kittery, MAINE

We absolutely love sandy pines!! All of the staff are so friendly and helpful! I had to leave my wife and kids for a few days and they checked in on them to make sure they were ok. They went above and beyond as far as I’m concerned. There are planned upgrades over the off season that should put this place as the number one campground in Maine! We have seen the glamping sites and each is unique and special. Highly recommend at least a long weekend here. You won’t regret it!

Love this campground. The staff is awesome. Very helpful. The sites are nice and wooded. All size RVs and tents are welcome. They have water, sewer, and electric hookups. No wifi. There is a nice little store on-site for anything you forgot. It is also close enough to stores if you need more. Very close to a nice beach too.

Redeveloped with houses.

The camping is a large open area (no shade) with RVs lined up. There are full hook-ups and if you plan to only use the bathroom and shower in your RV it is likely fine. The showers are horrific. There are two different shower rooms, with two showers each. While we were there one whole room was labeled “out of order”. In the other, only one of the coin operated showers was working. So, only one shower for the entire campground. The shower area was FILLED with with bugs and spiders. We unfortunately had to kill one spider that was dangling from the ceiling into the shower we were trying to use. The kids screamed the whole time.

The lake water was deemed to high in bacteria to swim in while we were there, but the natives were swimming anyway, so we did too. The beach was nice and if it wasn’t for the bacteria concern we’d have enjoyed it even more. (Bacteria is why we didn’t skip the shower.)

The view was gorgeous.

A little of everything at this campground, 2 pools 2 hot tubes, a giant water slide that is even fun for the adults!!! Campsites are level and site is fairly easy to maneuver with bigger rigs. Have great activities daily for the kids a nice store onsite. If I have one issue it would be that it went to a KOA which isn’t bad but the transition year seemed a bit wanky and hopefully this year will be better as my kids love it there and we’ll continue to go back often

I hadn’t camped here in the past 8 years, so decided it was time to revisit; it helped that it was one of the campgrounds still open after Columbus Day weekend. Although reservations are available online, I didn’t need them for closing weekend; 3 sites were occupied when I arrived, about 15 by the end of the weekend. During the peak season, I’m sure it’s a different story given it’s proximity to Concord and Manchester and the variety of activities available. 

Mostly level sites sit under towering pines and vary greatly in size. Many of the sites are separated from their neighbors by large, downed pine trees. I was in site 38 and found that the little loop to my campsite was tight to exit(I was towing a 14’ teardrop, not a big trailer) and I had to be careful to swing wide at the corner. This site backed onto an open field with a backstop for baseball/softball. It meant that I could enjoy the the sunny warmth on an otherwise cool morning. Last time I was here I stayed in site 45, a small tent/pop-up site along that same loop, but in the shade. If you are tenting and don’t mind a short walk, reserve site R1 for a raised site overlooking the pond. Sites 13-25 back up against a hill. Site 91 is near the entrance, but large and set back from the camp road, so it offers some extra seclusion. It’s across the street from the playground. I’d avoid site 93 because it is so close to the playground and the fire ring placement makes it seem like families enjoying the playground will be tempted to walk through your site. If you want to be close to the play area, site 90 or the ones on the loop behind it are better options. 

There are no hookups, but there is running water and a dump station is available. Bathhouses offer coin-operated showers; I noticed a price difference between the two of them, so went with the less expensive option! It was the final weekend of the season, so that may explain the lack of attention to cleaning and upkeep of the restrooms. Several of the stalls were lacking toilet paper and, although it was nearly empty when I arrived, the bathrooms had little bits of debris scattered on floors and around sinks. The bottom of one of the dishwashing sinks was coated with something that resembled dried coffee grounds. 

I was here with a 5-year-old the last time and she enjoyed the playgrounds both at the campground and at the Catamount Pond beach. There’s another beach in the campground itself. Numerous trails call out of exploration, around ponds and up and down hills, with geocaches to be found (if you can, download the info and maps before you get to the park to be sure you have the necessary info). The mountain biking trails are busy even on late October afternoons; some trails allow horses. Canoes and kayaks let you explore and fish. There are two archery ranges and wheelchair accessible docks for fishing. For history, check out the antique snowmobile museum and the Civilian Conservation Corp(CCC) museum. The CCC built much of the infrastructure here and elsewhere in the country. 

The camp store offer a few basics and a selection of Bear Brook attire. Cell phone coverage varies from 1-2 bars, not always 4G, on Verizon.

Good sites, with water and 30 amp electric. Easy walk to the beach. Dog friendly, big dump site, and good prices.

This is our first visit to Sandy Pines and we are so impressed with how well groomed this property is. We stayed in the Beach Rose section and we have full hookups. We took a mid- September vacation and love how nice it is with fellow campers spread out. We are not resort campers, but this is very nice now that children are back in school. The pool is heated and very inviting. There is a playground. So many choices of cabins or glamping tents to rent. Dogs are welcome. Big rig friendly. Very close to attractions and restaurants and stores. We will be back next year with friends. We camped in our Minnie Winnie travel trailer. The Wi-Fi is hit and miss unsecured. Mostly miss.

*CAMPGROUND REVIEW*

This campground is definitely a dazzler and I was fortunate to visit on a quieter weekend. I was able to enjoy an especially picturesque sunset over the lake and I would definitely visit this spot again, especially with how accessible the campground is. There is a nice stretch of sandy beach at the campground as well as canoes and kayaks for rent. The convenience store at the campground had essentially everything you would need for a good camping trip. Definitely do your research on the different site numbers because some sites are much more private and scenic than others. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and fire pit as an added bonus.

Pros: 

-Within a short driving distance from the Boston area 

-Lakefront sites available 

-Canoe and kayak rentals available 

-Well stocked convenience store 

-Reasonable cell reception

Cons: 

 -Can get busy during peak camping times 

 -Some sites have a lack of privacy

*PRODUCT REVIEW*

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. During this trip, I took out a pair of Red Ledge Rain Pants. While it didn’t rain during my camping stay (great from a camper perspective, not so great from a reviewer perspective), I was able to try out the general fit of the pants. They have a nice stretch fit to them and a certainly one of the more stylish options as far as rain pants go. As is true for most waterproof gear, they run on the warmer side and don’t have a ton of ventilation so they may not be the best choice for hotter weather. Although I didn’t get to test out the pants in a camping setting, I did wear them a few days ago while making the 1.5 km evacuation route trek from my apartment to the flood shelter during one of the biggest typhoons to make landfall in Japan. After about 25-30 mins of walking in record breaking-ly heavy rain, the pants started to saturate around the knees and the upper thigh area started to get a bit soggy. That being said, this is probably the most extreme possible test setting and they did hold up reasonably well. Due to the aforementioned, I would recommend using these pants as a waterproof option when skiing/snowboarding in warmer weather where you still want a snow barrier but may not necessarily need the insulative warmth offered by actual snow pants.

Pros: 

-Stylish look 

 -Stretch fit 

 -Waterproof 

 Cons: 

 -Trap heat 

 -Not typhoon proof

Some of the sites are a bit too close to each other but there are some that are nice and private. Mountain biking is awesome here, can ride right off the campground and onto the trails! Will def be coming back