Best Tent Camping near Old Orchard Beach, ME

Old Orchard Beach is a fun, family-oriented campground located in the fun little beach town of Old Orchard Beach. Old Orchard is known for their amusement park, arcade, pier, fun downtown, and expansive beach with seven miles of room to walk. Here you can stroll along the streets listening to the melodic sounds of an arcade, buy an airbrushed t-shirt and eat pier fries and fried dough. And the best thing is there is a trolley that takes you from the campground to the beach so you don’t have to deal with parking. 

When the summer season is in full swing, there is lots to do in the campground and at the nearby Atlantic Ocean beach. There are lots of amenities in the campground like a basketball court, Wiffle ball field, horseshoes, badminton, playgrounds, arcade, swimming pools and hot tub, group bonfire, and dog park. The campground is quite large and divided into a variety of sections, some areas are all seasonal campers and others are for transients. The campground offers RV sites, cabin rentals, park model sites, and simple tent sites. We liked the sections in the back (Bear Brook and Black Forest) which are set away from the entrance and the majority of activities. We visited in the off-season but can only image the park gets pretty busy especially in the front section where the swimming pool, arcade, camp store, and other activities are located. The campground is gated which limits who can come into the park. If you want to have guests, plan on shelling out a bit of cash as it is $8/day for kids and $10 for adults and$12 for overnight guests. 

Our gravel site was perfectly level with no potholes and the roads leading to our site were easy to navigate in our 45’ motorhome. The patio was gravel and there was some grass between campsites. Our picnic table was clean and not made of old rotten wood with sagging benches. There was not much shade at our site which was fine with us because it was October when we visited and wanted the sun. We were able to pick up wifi at our site because we were close to a tower. Our Verizon phone and hotspot worked great as did the parks cable television. The campground is just one mile from Old Orchard Beach and close to Route 1 which is the main corridor leading up and down the Maine coast. 

The nearby town of Biddeford has some great restaurants(Palace Dinner, Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery, and Dunston Tab and Table). While the campground is large enough for a good long walk, we prefer to walk the wooded trails at Ferry Beach State Park. If you are looking for something for kids to do there is Funtown Splashtown which is a large water and amusement park and you can get discount tickets at the campgrounds camp store

This campground is four miles from Old Orchard Beach which is a trip. It is a throw-back from your childhood when carnival rides and funnel cakes made you so happy. The town smells like fried food and pizza and shopping consists of t-shirts and beach chairs. Saco is a town that has seen recent revitalization where old buildings are transformed to bustling breweries and storefronts are filled with galleries and boutiques. Not too far from the campground are the towns of Kennebunkport, Wells, and Biddeford and a little farther will have you in Ogunquit or Portland.  

The campground sits among tall pine trees which offer nice shade helps alleviate some of the feel of a crowded campground. There are a myriad of sites including rustic tent, cabins, and full hook-up RV sites that accommodate the largest of RV’s. Wifi and cable are available and sites have picnic tables and fire pits.

One of the nice features was the on-site restaurant which claims to be famous for their “blueberry pancakes” and also offers Belgian waffles, pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs. I admit the pancakes were delicious and loved eating them campfire side.  Amenities include a heated pool, hot tub (adults only), basketball, volleyball, playground, and various activities like s’mores, crafts, ice cream socials and more. This campground is very kid-friendly so if that is not your thing don’t come in the summer. The restrooms and showers were really clean and you constantly saw yellow-shirted people busily working. 

In the summer there is a shuttle that takes you to the beach which is convenient. During the shoulder season dogs are allowed on the beach but not the summer. A great place to explore is Rachael Carson National Wildlife Refuge. There is a small welcome center and trails that wind through the marsh with some beautiful views (and dog-friendly).  If you have kids and like water parks, Funtown Splashtown USA is a popular place especially on warm days and just down the street.

We loved our lunch at the Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery which has a varied food menu with creative selections and good beer. The restaurant is in an old mill and retained some of the interesting original architectural features. If you like to paddle, head to the Saco River Marsh. Here you can put in your own boats or rent some and paddle through beautiful marsh – just watch the tides. There is also a parking lot for an extensive walking/biking trail.

Desert of Maine campground is an excellent choice just 4-5 miles from the heart of Freeport at interstate exit # 22. This campground is well-imagined. Sites are close together, and some are small. There are 2 hike-in sites which are set apart. Wifi is provided throughout the campground and most sites have power. They must have studied "best practices" when designing this lovely campground. 

I booked an extra night.

This is an outdoor experience campground- not a wilderness adventure -- but perfect for young families…especially for those new to camping or those for whom a very sanitary classic bathroom is needed.Children find and entertain each other in the common area.

Sites 19-27 face a shared square with excellent access to the modern and stylish bath house. Other sites have a somewhat further walk. Sites 17-27 are best for tents due to the configuration of the sites.. Tent sites # 2 & # 3 are short walk-in and very private, but lack easy access to the bath house. Almost all sites in this campground have shade and are under a beautiful canopy of old pine, maple and balsam.

Site 24 is lovely & slightly set apart and cars are parked close by but not on the tent site. Site 27 is located down a steep slope and is very private but has difficult access. I would categorize site 27 as a hike-in site, but not # 24.  All sites are generally level and have been graded. Sites have scant privacy in front, but back up to forest. Sites 4, 6,17, 19, 23 & 26 have slightly more space but space is not the defining issue in this campground. RV's that are large should not try this campground. The maintenance is superb; and the thoughtful design of the overall campground is aesthetically pleasing. 

This attractive campground is small-scale and personally managed. 

Ice is available for purchase…as is wood. 

Beware of speed trap on the 2 mile access road between the interstate & campground.

First of all, the location is a little quirky and I think I only arrived once without a wrong turn! Watch the GPS carefully. That said, it’s very close to Hampton Beach and you can easily drive or bike over. The campground is parallel to US1, so there is some road traffic noise. Some of the tent sites overlook the marsh. The tent sites are definitely tighter than trailer sites. Some sites back up to each other and it takes a moment to understand where one ends and the next begins. 

I was here early in the season and placed in a seasonal site with water/electric. Site was level. Neighbors were friendly. The bathroom was a short walk away and spotless. I did notice that in the tent areas, the main bathrooms are supplemented with portable toilets. Sites are mostly wooded, which will offer nice relief from the heat. It's a nice base for exploring the area.

There’s a gated entry and turtle-speed limit that they take seriously. The pool was not yet open. There’s a small store onsite for ice and essentials. All the big box stores and a number of restaurants are nearby. For a change of pace from seafood, I picked up Shane's Texas Pit BBQ and brought it back to my site. 

You may request a reservation online, but you have to confirm and pay for it via the phone. You’ll need to arrive before 9pm to check in. Bring $10 for a cash deposit on the gate card. Only 1 vehicle and 1 camping unit (tent or trailer) allowed on a site.

Downside: They charge for showers, the amount and duration is unclear and the duration varies depending on which shower you choose! Given the rates they charge, this seems petty.

A friend and I decided to camp here before a backpacking trip in the Whites, to cut down on morning-of driving time. Our site, #02 on Loop 2, was in very close proximity to all of the neighboring sites. We had children on several sides, and a rowdy group of adult men on another side. Quiet hours are supposed to start at 10:00pm, but our rowdy male neighbors were up, playing music, talking loudly, and singing, until midnight. Then, just when we thought they were ready to settle in, they turned on a headlamp aimed directly into our tent. We are both very experienced car campers and backcountry campers, but even we struggled to get any rest through all the noise and light. The staff drove by a few times in a golf cart but never stopped to encourage this group to quiet down or use a little etiquette/common sense with their headlamp use. It wouldn't have been so much of a problem if the sites weren't SO close to each other. I attached a photo to show just how closely all the sites are situated; that's my backpacking tent, for scale.