Pearl Hill State Park Campground

I was looking for a nearby, bare bones campground with a shower and cell service that would do the trick while traveling to a weekend event. I reliably had 1 bar AT&T while at the campsite, but more as I got closer to the bathhouse. The campground also want too far from the grocery store and civilization. Our site and others had some difficulty with drainage, as it’s been a super wet summer. There is a community fire pit with s’mores, which was cute! Swimming area closed for bacteria levels, but lots of other nearby activists for the recreation seeker.

We camped here in September 2019 and had a wonderful time.

One word of caution however, our site and many others were completely covered with sticky pine needles. They get stuck on your shoes to a depth of almost a half-inch! It was like walking with fur on the bottom of our shoes. The dog also got needles stuck all over and we had to use our COVID alcohol gel to get the glue off.  I noticed another camper using a rake to clean their site and they kindly loaned it to use so we could do the same. That made all the difference. So I would recommend sweeping or raking BEFORE you setup to avoid furry sneakers.

Grill grate is NOT adjustable, so it makes cooking on the live fire a bit more challenging.

Bathrooms were clean and well stocked.

Pearl Hill had closed for the season before an early October snowstorm, but it was a beautiful day to explore and enjoy. This is a smaller state park campground, with 50 sites, no hookups, but bathrooms offering flush toilets and showers. The towering pines and oaks provide wonderful shade. The park back up to Willard Brook State Forest and a trail joins the two of them, providing ample hiking and biking opportunities.

You can get in here with a smaller RV, but the campground isn't built for larger units with the turns and curves. They've only designated 3 sites for 35' rigs; everything else is 15-20'. I think sites 9-14 offer better privacy than some of the ones closer to the rest rooms, although those sites tend to be relatively level and decent sized. I'd also be tempted by some of the tent and RV sites up on the hill (48-50). 

I lost cell coverage (Verizon) as I approached the campground, so you may want to ensure you have maps downloaded for offline use if you'll be out exploring. Once I got up the hill to the campground, however, I had decent coverage.

There are some wonderful sites in this campground, but not all of them have privacy.  We really lucked out with getting one of a few sites left on Memorial Day weekend - after walking the campground, I think we would have chosen the same one again!  #18 is right next to a ravine, so it was wooded on one side, and the two adjacent camps were visible but not on top of us.  The trees are primarily pine, which made for pretty comfy tenting.  Was a short walk to the facilities, but not close enough for the foot traffic to be annoying.  

I loved that there were trails to hike from right in the park; you could do a short one, or a slightly longer loop (2.5 hours depending on your pace) with some inclines and boulders to scramble up and over.  We were on foot, but it would be challenging for mt. bikers in some spots.

This campground provides some great wooded camp sites. Some are larger than others and some are more private than others. There are two bathrooms centrally located - nice and clean. Trails offer some great scenic vistas. There is a beach side of the pond with picnic tables and grills. And theres also a nice little area on the opposite side of the pond with a small entry area to the pond that we bring the dogs to. A nice big open field too with a few lawn games set up. Friendly staff.