Best RV Parks & Resorts near Shapleigh, ME

Turtle Kraal RV campground is a gated RV campground just outside Alton Bay NH.  Lots of great restaurants, ice cream shops and water activities are nearby!  

The sign was easy to spot, right off the road, GPS leading us right to the entrance.  There is a long approach after you see the sign, and even a sharp turn before you see the gate.  We met the man at the gate (with his incredibly enormous husky) and provided us all the information we needed.  This campground has wifi, good cell signal (AT&T and Verizon), a great pool, is pet friendly and well maintained.  The bathhouse and pool were both very clean, and for as many RV's that were there - that was amazing!  Each site has a firepit and a picnic table - though many sites have additions and build for an extended stay!  

This campground is huge - there is a lower loop and an upper loop with the bathhouse and pool right in the center.  Kids can ride their bikes around both loops, walk the dogs, play cornhole or horseshoes, etc.  Trash is well maintained, with enough dumpsters for the amount of campers they could hold at capacity.  They also have firewood for sale on your way in, so you don't have to chase a campground host or a little golf cart - you can buy what you need on your way back.  This is a very family friendly campground about an hour and a half north of Boston and about the same from the Whites.  A great base-camp for amazing days on Lake Winnipesauke!!

We chose this campground because it was close to Portland– a city where we love hanging out at great breweries, shopping, and eating at some of the country’s best restaurants. The close proximity to Portland is one of the pluses of this campground. But, it turned out we weren’t crazy about this campground and probably would not be back. 

Campsites for transients and big-rig sites are in the front portion of the park; whereas, the seasonals are along the spring/pond in the back section. There are tons of site types to choose from depending on your amperage, sewer, and cable needs. Our site was a back-in full hook-up, 50-amp site that was o.k. It was level and long enough to fit our 45’ RV. The pad was gravel and the patio was grass with a firepit and picnic table. The utilities were in the far back of the site so make sure you have long enough hoses. Since we hung over the back of our site and our wet and electric bays are towards the back of our RV, we were able to reach the utilities without extensions. 

As the name implies, there is a spring on the property which is fairly large and open to paddling (no motorized boats) and swimming. There are lots of rules about where you can swim (i.e., only within 75 feet of the shore, no swimming to island, no dogs, no diving offshore, etc.). You can fish in the pond (catch and release only). Visitor fees seemed quite high at $8/day use and $15/overnight but I’m sure it helps keep the number of people down. 

Amenities include volleyball/basketball/pickle ball, a swim beach, playground, recreation hall, snack bar, horseshoes, a community bonfire area, and dog run. There is no charge to borrow sporting equipment which is nice (volleyballs, basketballs, etc). The store sells camping supplies, ice, groceries, ice cream, and t-shirts. There is a pretty active events calendar (of which we did not participate) with games (cards, bingo, etc.), themed weekends, and entertainment. 

Overall, the campground has an old, run-down appearance and a dusty dirty feel to it. The seasonal sites are pretty junky with lots of stuff spread out around each camper. I was really glad we were in a transient site away from the seasonals because it was a little quieter as a lot of the seasonals were outside playing loud music and got a little rowdy. We love the Portland area and will return but not to this campground– there are plenty more in the area a little farther away from downtown.

We have stayed at Bayley's a lot over the years and have watched it grow into an RV Resort. 

If you're looking for all the bells and whistles, full amenities and location to town this is it. I saw a few other reviews noting the noise levels, I think this comes with the territory of staying at an RV Resort. It is family friendly, kids ride their bikes around the campground and you can hear your neighbors. 

Depending on your site location you may get more privacy than if you stay in the big rig sites. The wooded sites tend to be more private and less loud. Staying by any of the pools will be louder. The adults only area can get loud in the summer with music during the day. 

We stay on the event weekends, rent a golf cart and sit in the hot tubs for the duration of our stay and it couldn't be better.

The Chocorua KOA is a great campground with super friendly staff, a variety of sites and lots of activities and things to do for everyone in the family.

We stayed with two other families on pull-through full hook-up sites 43, 45, and 47. Although we were on the main road, we really enjoyed these sites. They were wooded and in a central location close to the playgrounds, pavilion, beach and nature trails. Site 45 was pretty narrow but the other two sites had a bit more space so we mostly used 43 and 47 to hang out. We especially loved that the pull-through road behind our sites was not a main access road so we had a nice long stretch of road that was just for us. We played games and the kids road bikes without having to worry about cars driving through.

There are also a lot of really nice tent sites along the water, cabins, teepees, lodges and great areas for groups to camp. They are fairly strict with quiet hours so it is a very quiet campground at night.

The facilities are nice and clean. The pavilion and fire pit area are a nice place to gather with games and a mining station to enjoy. There are two playgrounds for little and big kids. The bathrooms are quite dated but clean. The pool is freezing cold so the kids didn’t swim much. The beach area is small and not deep enough to swim but the kids enjoyed playing in the sand and water. There are a lot of options for boat rentals- paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, and row boats. There is a beautiful board walk that leads through the marsh to a system of short nature trails. We really enjoyed walking the trails though some need a lot of work due to fallen trees and overgrowth. There were also a lot of free activities for the kids like crafts, wagon rides and games with a full schedule of events. You really never have to leave this campground!

This is also an incredibly dog-friendly campground with a fun dog park, a special swimming pond just for dogs and doggie day care available. This is one of the most pet loving campgrounds we’ve ever camped in and our pup loved it!!

We had a great trip and will definitely be back!

I have a love– hate relationship with KOA campgrounds. They tend to be overpriced and not consistent. You will find one that has nice sites at a decent price. Then, there are the others which are complete opposite. This KOA is on my good side.  There are lots of site choices, cabins, yurts, and tent sites to choose from.  The location is good as it is about 10-15 minutes far from the town of Freeport(home to L.L. Bean and tons of outlet stores), the pretty coastal town of South Freeport, four craft breweries and a cidery, and Bradbury Mountain State Park. The owners and work campers are very friendly and the super welcoming. Normally I am not concerned how nice people are but they go out of their way to make sure you get all the discounts you can and put you in a site that you prefer. 

We have stayed here a few times and are always impressed how well-cared for the grounds are and how and clean the common areas, bathrooms, and pool are. The grass is always cut, weeds trimmed, fire pits cleaned and there is no trash lying on the ground. There are lots of seasonal sites but they are in the back portion of the park with the transients being in the front. The park has nice super long 50 amp FHU pull-thrus in the front of the park which will fit any length RV and tow vehicle. Some of these sites are “buddy” sites with a shared patio, but are so wide that even if you don’t know your neighbors, it would not be a bother because you are far enough apart. The only downside to these pull thrus is there is no shade. We tend to be there in cooler months so shade is not a problem. However, the rest of the campground has a very park-like feel with over 50 acres there is plenty of room to roam and even a short nature trail through a wooded area. Many sites backup against the woods or are in wooded areas so keep that in mind when making your reservation. We give this park two thumbs up for their dog park which is ten times the size of the average KOA dog park. My lab had plenty of room to run and chase a ball and there were never any other dogs there which was nice. Plus, it was clean and free of dog poop! Normally, there are plenty of activities like s’mores by the fire, crafts, pony rides (yes, they have their own ponies on site), ice cream social, hay rides but this year they were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t use those amenities anyway so that wasn’t a problem but can see that would be fun activities for kids. We were in a buddy sites with our friends and liked the shared patio. Since we were in the open area, we were able to get both satellite with our roof-mounted dome and some over-the-air channels from Portland which is about 45 minutes away. All of our hook-ups were in an accessible place but we were also in a long pull thru and could position the RV in the site accordingly. 

Some of the cons for this park are the lack of cable, so-so wifi, and the dusty gravel roads and pot holes. There are a few restrooms buildings scattered around the park which may not be close depending on what site you are in.