Best RV Parks & Resorts near Boylston, MA

We had an incredible stay at Douglas Forest RV Resort! From the moment we arrived, we were blown away by how peaceful and well-maintained everything was. The RV sites are spacious and easy to navigate, with full hookups and strong Wi-Fi— a big plus for us since we work remotely on the road. What really sets this place apart is the location. You’re literally steps away from Douglas State Forest, which made morning hikes and evening strolls absolutely magical. It’s pet-friendly too, and our dog loved the wooded trails and open areas. The staff was super friendly and helpful, and the camp store had everything we needed. Even though the recreation area is still being built, the amenities already in place more than made up for it. We’re already planning our next trip for summer when the pool opens! If you’re looking for a relaxing spot that blends nature with convenience, look no further. Douglas Forest RV Resort is a true hidden gem!

We planned a brief stop in the Boston area with the intent of seeing the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and Normandy Farms appealed to us for various reasons. One reason was the fact that they have dog walkers that will come to your site and take care of your precious pooch while you are away. Not knowing how long we would be away from the campground that service was a great option. As it turned out, we did not need to use this service but for some it would be a great perk if you were going to be gone all day. And with Boston traffic, we can see how that could happen. By the way, the library is well-worth it.

When you enter Normandy Farms it is more like checking into a hotel than campground complete with a concierge and express check-in. The park is gated and a code is needed to enter and leave giving you a sense of security but I’m not sure it is necessary. Driving in you quickly realize how huge this park is with some 400 RV sites, tent sites, yurts, lean-to’s, safari tents, and cabins. 

There are plenty of sites to choose from the “premium” full hook-up (50 amp) to basic with just water and electric and many others in between. Both back-in and pull thrus are available as are sites with shade and full sun. Premium sites have paved patios while other sites are gravel. Roads are paved and plenty wide enough for big RV’s to navigate. They offer cable television that yielded nearly 100 channels. Wifi worked well at our site and other places throughout the park. All sites come with a fire pit and picnic table. 

We chose a paved full hook-up pull thru with paved patio (Site E1). Our site was easy to navigate in and out of and was definitely big rig-friendly with ample space for our motorhome and tow car. All utilities were well-placed and functioned properly. The site was level. At the time we were there in October the campground was not very busy but we imagine that things get a little crazy when the park is full. 

There is a really long list of amenities for this campground….four pools (include an indoor heated one), fitness room (with elliptical, treadmills, bikes, machine and free weights), creative arts center, camp store, 20,000 square-foot activities building (with adult only lounge, pool table, arcade, games, wide-screen televisions, sauna, Jacuzzi), restaurant, huge off-leash dog park (you can reserve individual day kennels), BMX bike park, horse shoe pits, baseball diamond, volleyball, fishing pond, shuffleboard, disk golf, and playground, and probably a few more things I missed. During the busy summer months there is a long list of activities ranging from yoga to kids games.

Normandy Farms is approximately 35 miles from Boston. If you don’t want to drive to the city, you can park at the nearby train or subway station and ride into the city. You are just five miles from Gillette Stadium (home of the New England Patriots) and Patriot Place (a hub for shopping and dining). About a mile from the campground is Foxboro State Park where you will find 20+ miles of hiking trails. Also within a five mile radius are plenty of restaurants, shopping, hardware store, grocery store, and more. 

Some of the really good features are the huge dog park which has a dog washing station, water fountains for dogs and humans, agility-type obstacles for them to play on, dog kennels, and a bin with balls and Frisbees. I also liked (and used daily) the fitness center which had functioning equipment and a large television to help pass the time while working out – and was never crowded. The large community building has and adult-only lounge which serves as a nice place for people to get together and watch television or hang out without kids. With everything this campground has to offer you can see why it is a destination park for some people as their kids would be busy all day. 

The downside really is the price and how many sites there are. If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful getaway this is not it.

I’m told that this used to be Jellystone. 

It’s now called Pine Lake Rv and cottages.

Not knowing what the previous campground was like I can’t compare. But the new owners surely did a total revamp. There is approximately 30 cottages and many pull through and back in sites for any size RV.

The bathroom/showers were all new and very nice and clean. It seems to be very family friendly. There’s an 8 acre lake with kayaks and fishing, a basketball court,   a game pavilion and a well stocked store. The RV sites are   spacious and pretty close to near perfect level.

The problems I came across was there were very few places to dispose of camp trash, I had to actually walk around looking for one. The camp store doesn’t open until 9:00AM and closes at 4:00PM

 If you can, try and NOT stay on the back upper level ( the 700 ) spots. It’s around 100 feet from a very busy road and loud !

Chose this spot to give us a rest on a trip to Canada (and again to go back to Maine to complete the vacation after we had truck trouble). Chose a pull-through to save time and effort. The first time we chose site 1 (pull through). This past weekend we chose site 38 (pull through).

A few weeks ago when we visited, site 1 was close to the entry gate, but was very confusing as a pull through. I just backed the trailer in. The next morning we saw that the "pull through" had not been maintained in several seasons. Tree limbs and brush intruded on the driveway. There was no way to get a truck and trailer through that without damage.

Yesterday we tried site 38. We had to take the camp road around the entire park, then enter the "loop" section. Even the "main" roads required my wife to watch as I cleared tree trunks; it was difficult to snake our little trailer around the bends. The driveway to site 38 was a mess. Tree limbs and brush invaded the drive, and there was nowhere level on the whole site. I used a record 9 blocks to get 4 levels high on the downhill wheel. When leaving we had to go out through the adjoining site, because there was no way we'd be able to make the turn out of the site onto the 10' wide tote road because of the trees.

A surcharge which makes it $50/night for non-MA residents, plus, no dump station on site and $7 for four pieces of firewood (go to the Walmart 2 miles away instead) will have us skip this place in the future, even if it's in a convenient place.

For those looking to vacation here. There was minimal cell phone coverage with Verizon. I could check messages but wouldn't try to stream. The highway is very loud (I-90 is across the lake). There are a lot of boggy areas and swamps which, although pretty, grew a lot of mosquitoes that kept my wife indoors. A lot of sites were fairly large and private. The beach area is close to the lower sites. Bathrooms and showers were tight and needed updating, but cleaned.

I stayed here in mid-July, a week after the holiday weekend. Although the majority of the sites are season, there are about 25 sites available for short-term campers, including a number that are within site of the water(although most of the waterfront in the area is occupied by boat slips, there is a walkway to the beach). Four sites are near the rec hall. Near the entrance are 10 sites(half of them pull-through) that are a combination of grass and shade, near the ballfield. My site was in this area. The sites were spacious and level. Sites T 1-10 tended to have sloped access and sometimes had trees to maneuver around, but I saw large trailers in some of these sites; most had tents. All sites offer water/electric. A dump station is available near the entrance. I had 3 bars of Verizon service.

As a seasonal campground, there are a lot of weekends scheduled throughout the weekend. While I was there, there were organized cribbage& horseshoe tournaments, cornhole, and bingo as well as a potato roast. Most of the seasonal campers have golf carts, so you’ll see them buzzing around the campground and providing seats for tournament viewers. The playground with swings, slides, and a see saw saw a lot of kids action throughout the weekend, as did the tennis court and basketball court. The ballfield was the only area I didn’t see in use.

The beach is sandy with a roped off swim area and raft; a boat ramp gives you a spot to launch. Fishing from the boat ramp area yielded bass and bluegill. Millfoil is a problem in the lake, particularly the southern end, and boats needs to be cleaned to prevent spread.

I wasn’t given a map when I checked in, so I looked it up online to locate the bathroom. Initially I only saw the one nearer the beach, which was a bit of a hike from my campsite. It was also very tight with limited space between the sink vanity and the toilet stalls. There was 1 shower in this area. Closer inspection of the map revealed a second, larger bathroom, that had more space, toilets, and showers. That said, they need to do a better job lifting the mats and cleaning the shower drains so they’ll drain. I was grateful for shower shoes! To turn on the shower, you have to pull on a rope or bar hanging from just above the showerhead. As long as you are pulling the rope, the water is on. I’m not sure a child could reach it. It’s annoying, but it certainly enforces a ship-shower approach to water conservation. If you have a self-contained unit, I'd rate the campground a 4.

You’ll need to call to make a reservation and plan to pay by cash or check; no credit cards allowed. My site was assigned upon arrival; I was able to call just a few days earlier to obtain a site, but the weather was bad leading into the weekend, so that may have affected it.

Seasonal site setups vary from spotless and landscaped to ones that have seen a better day, but as a short-term camper, you really only need to pass by them en route to the rest rooms or the beach. 

There are a couple of restaurants nearby if you want take-out: Rustic Table and A1 Pizza are just around the corner. Pisgah State Park is nearby with miles of hiking trails and ponds.