Wompatuck State Park Campground

Wompatuck is a charming state park with numerous hidden trails known mostly to locals, making it ideal for low-traffic hiking, biking, and mushroom hunting. However, one side of the campground appears to be shut down.

For out-of-state visitors, the cost might not be justifiable, with rates of $17-23 per night for in-state visitors and $60 for out of staters. Sites offer electric hookups only.

I was disappointed with our assigned spot. Despite seeing several other sites that could have accommodated our rig size, K05 was the only option available when booking online. The site was small and tight, with poison ivy, water pooling during rainstorms, and limited space for our dogs.

Additionally, both groups across from us were large families with many children, which detracted from the tranquility of our stay. I thought there was a limit to the number of people per campsite, but it appears that might not be the case.

Lastly, be aware that alcohol and outside firewood are prohibited at this campsite.

we came here because we want to start checking off all the state parks in MA and this was our first. (we normally camp in nh or at expensive campgrounds which we hate lol). this was $17 a night and an added $6 per night if you wanted electric and we decided to splurge. it is $54 an night NON electric for non ma residents and at that point don’t even bother coming here it’s NOT worth $60. though i mist say they never checked that i was a resident……use that information how you will, with caution. firewood is $7 a bundle and they’re not very big which is sad, for our 2 nights we used around 5 of them. now onto the issue at hand..the trash. there was so much litter everywhere. we noticed this on our way to our site and when we got to our site there was trash everywhere, a whole bag of trash left behind as well, and a pot of pasta sitting on the picnic table..yikes. we quickly tried to handle it as best we could but we were incredibly disgusted. we did like the electric towers for the most part. they seemed really futuristic. what i didn’t love was that the dim-ish yellow light could not be turned off. i like to sleep in pitch black, it’s part of the reason i love camping. so this was disappointing. but it did have 2 different camper plugins as well as 2 regular outlets. we camp in a tent so this was good. the site was incredibly spacious and consisted of the electric tower, the firepit (not movable, it’s rocks not a metal ring. i have no issue with this but some might), and a picnic table. the firepit has a grill grate but ours was unusable as it was full almost to the top with ash and dirt, though every other site seemed to be fine it was just ours. the bathroom/shower facilities (i can only speak for the women’s side) were pretty clean, especially compared to the rest of the campground. there was handicap accessible stalls. outside the building was a big double basin sink for dishwashing as well as a dumpster and tetherball. there were 2-3 bathrooms on the “electric” side of the campground where we were. would probably stay here again..would probably find another state park i like better. if i’m being honest. but it was not bad by any means. we also loved that it’s a geocaching park. very fun aspect.

The Good - this campground is a great basecamp for accessing the mountain bike trails available within the park. Sweet free ride areas, pump track, and trail network. Would definitely return for that access. Also super easy to access Boston via the Red Train at Braintree station ~20mins away. A fantastic Italian restaurant (The Venetian) in Weymouth is about ~15mins away.

The Bad - MA sticks it to the out-of-state visitors charging $54/night relative to only $17/night for MA residents. I paid less staying at a nicer private campground in Brewster on the Cape. (Campground cost details updated to reflect the full cost range for both in and out of state residents. In-state: $17 - $23 ($6 extra for electric site); non-locals: $54-$60 (non-electric and electric). https://www.mass.gov/service-details/camping-fees

The Ugly - Bathrooms were filthy, and the trash cans were overflowing and looked like they hadn’t been emptied for days, even though there weren’t an unusually high number of campers during our two night stay. The individual campsites were so-so.

Bottom line - if it wasn’t for the mtn bike trails and proximity to Boston, suggest staying elsewhere. That’s the reason for two stars and not one.

We had a great two-night stay at Wompatuck in July of 2020. Capacity was reduced to help with social distancing (Covid-19), so the campground was probably less busy than normal for July. Our non-electric loop was a mix of tent and RV campers, and everyone was pretty quiet. We also didn't encounter anyone in the bathrooms. The men's restroom on our loop was reasonably clean (by camping standards), although apparently the women's side had a ton of bugs, particularly in the mornings.

We were in the R loop, and the sites were a real mix. Ours (R002) was large, beautiful, and mostly surrounded by forest. However, some of the sites on the loop were basically a driveway surrounded by a ditch, which made them quite small and not as appealing. Most had reasonable privacy from adjacent sites, however.

Nights were peaceful with very little human noise. We were a little stressed about the tall, skinny trees swaying dramatically in the wind above us, but we managed to tune them out after a bit! Interestingly, while we encountered some mosquitoes walking around the park, we had very few at the campsite itself.

The state park seems to be fairly biking-oriented, both road bikes and mountain bikes. We didn't bring bikes, so we asked the rangers to point out some areas more appropriate for walking/hiking. We ended up taking a nice long walk out to the dam at Aaron River Reservoir (about 6 miles round trip) and another pleasant, short walk to a pond behind the campsite. The scenery was beautiful and the trails were quiet, though we encountered other walkers from time to time.

There are no swimming opportunities in the park itself, but it's a short drive from public beaches, including Nantasket Beach (run by the state) and Bathing Beach (run by the town of Hingham). Bathing Beach is small and only swimmable at high tide, but the parking is free, so that's where we went. We loved it! We also spent a morning walking at World's End (a Trustees of Reservations property on the water), a similarly short drive from the park. There is an admission fee, but it's a unique and beautiful area that is worth checking out.

Wompatuck was a beautiful place to spend a few summer days, and we would definitely visit again!

We enjoy this campground.  It's become our go-to as we live relatively close.  We have now been here three times: camped for 3 nights in July 2020,  returned again in October of 2020 for two night with our  friend  and we camped here again in October of 2021 with the same friend.  It's become a tradition.  We also just camped here again for 2 nights in July of 2022.

This is a very large campground so you can almost always book a site - which is great for those spur of the moment camping trips.   We stayed in the electric side for the first two times and stayed in the non-electric side this past trip.  I prefer the non electric side - it's generally much prettier, in my opinion. 

Pros / Cons:

Pros

• No traffic noise
• Great hiking trails near by
• (there is an REI in the town, so that's fun)
• Bathrooms and showers are clean
• Dedicated dishwashing sinks

Cons

• No convenient areas for kayaking
• In July 2020, we had a late-night visit from a family of racons.  There are a lot of sites, and it's clear that they get food from less vigilant campers.   Be sure to keep food/coolers in your car at night.
• There are a lot of people - which is basically fine but be prepared that this is a large campground with many people.
• "Leave all the trace" should be a motto here, unfortunately.

Stayed in Section 2 on M Rd which has the the electrical hook ups.  M road is nice because you're backed up to the woods on the odd numbered side.  These sites are also spaced fairly well far apart and private, some more than others - on M13 which stayed, it was at least 50ft on either side.  There are no water hook ups but plenty of water spigots every several sites so easy enough to fill up water jugs.  

Drawbacks of M13 in particular is that it was probably the most slopped on the rd but still pretty minimal.  We also found a lot of trash on the site - we poked around other sites on the rd as people came/went and they didn't seem to have this problem.  Seems like we may have just caught M13 at an unlucky time ( we did pick up a lot of the trash around the site that others left behind to help clean it up and makes us not feel we were sitting among trash)

Firewood was $5/bundle so pretty reasonable.  I didn't personally use the bathrooms but other said they seemed new.

Because of the trash issue I would have given 4.5 but so we value private, spaced out sites I leaned on the 5 star side.