Sagadahoc Bay Campground

\We recently stayed at what I can only describe as the worst private campground in Maine. From the moment we arrived, we sensed the place was run more like a fiefdom than a welcoming campground. The woman in charge—a cantankerous witch—made it clear early on that customer service wasn’t part of the package. 

Things went downhill fast when a group of bikers set up right next to our site and fired up a gas generator that echoed. When I politely asked how long they planned to run it, I was told—in the true spirit of American hospitality—that“in America, we’re allowed to do whatever the f*** we want, that they were on vacay, and that it would only get louder from here.” 

Apparently, they were right. When I brought the issue to the owner, hoping for some kind of help or enforcement of basic quiet hours, she basically told us tough luck. The bikers had paid over$500 for their spots, and if we didn’t like it, we were welcome to leave. No refund. No solution. Just aggressive indifference. In desperation, we relocated to a more remote, forested site—quieter, yes, but also swarming with mosquitoes all night and not at all what we paid for. Again, no refund. Not even a partial one. Just a shrug and an attitude.

This place is a racket—overpriced, poorly managed, and apparently tailored to the loudest, most entitled guests with the deepest wallets. If you’re hoping for peace, nature, or even basic respect as a customer, camp literally anywhere else.

If you want any sort of respectful communication or cordial customer service, please do not book here. I made a reservation online and called to pay my deposit; I spoke with owner Eric, who told me he didn’t know how to process my payment. He took my card info and said his wife would email me to confirm to reservation and process the payment, and he then told me what site number I’d be on. After our call, I checked their website and saw that our site number was not one that was waterfront, which is what we paid for. So when his wife, Pat, emailed me to confirm the reservation, I asked her to clarify the site assignment; I mentioned we reserved a waterfront site and the map didn’t show that, so I asked her to let me know if it was in fact waterfront, and if not, if we could be moved since we booked waterfront. Pat’s response was curt and rude, and she basically threatened to not accept our deposit/cancel the reservation if I didn’t“leave it to the campground”. Instead of answering my question or providing clarification, she chose to be snippy and dismissive. I responded to let her know we would just book somewhere else because we didn’t appreciate how she handled the situation and she emailed back to let me know“Do what you must. You will not be missed.” This isn’t the first review I’ve seen that mentions how rude the owners were. I’m surprised this campground is still in business if this is how they treat customers. There are so many other choices- take your money elsewhere!

Update: OMG, two weeks after our last visit there, the Today Show showed up and held a live show at Sagadahoc Bay! Here is an official clip. Watch the end of this other clip for the correct way to pronounce Sagadahoc LOL)

The owners Pat and Eric are super friendly and accommodating. We have been camping there for three years straight now and look forward to going back each summer.

The most unique feature of this campground happens at low tide when you can walk over a mile out towards the lighthouse on Sequin Island (https://www.seguinisland.org/)..) (You cannot actually reach the lighthouse, mind you.) Plenty of clamming and watching wild life like hermit crabs, crabs, seagulls or your dogs running in joy on the soft clay like surface. The clams there are the sweetest and most delicious I have ever tasted, not to mention freshest. Clamming license, tools for digging and even pots are available at the office. You can order lobster bake and have it delivered to your camp site for dinner. Kayaks and canoes are available for rent, too.

We love the water front sites where you can see the tides come in and out and listen to the waves. On a weekend close to Independence Day, they put on a fireworks show out in the bay at low tide. (Just go to their Facebook page to see pictures.) (Tip: We noticed that the campground cleared out a lot the days after July 4th. Very quiet and possible to go on a last minute camping trip.)

This year we camped there with our dog for the first time and it was delightful to see how much fun he had on the beach, knowing that he was welcome there. Pat even picked a quiet site (#160) for us because we were worried about him barking. And probably because there are many dogs camping there, we never see any raccoon problems at this campground.

Reed State Park (ocean swimming) and Five Islands (great views and seafood) are a short drive away. There is also a country store minutes away where you can get almost anything including hot food.

One word of advice though: It is coastal Maine and there are mean mosquitoes. My all natural bug spray which is usually strong enough for NY bugs is not effective there. So I have to go back to the basic commercial brands like Off which works for hours per spray.

The bath houses are simple but cleaned several times a day. There is no mirror in Bathhouse #2. There is a full length mirror in the toilets side in Bathhouse #1.

We have not taken advantage of that but they also have fully equipped cabins for rent.

If you have kids and dogs, this is a wonderful campground to bring them to. We love, love, love Sagadahoc Bay Campground!