Best Campgrounds near Essex, MA

The sites on the water book up quickly but they’re perfect for fishing and boating. Also, the view!

I use up my two weeks allotted here at Harold Parker every year. A great place to enjoy family in the outdoors .clean sites. clean bathrooms and friendly staff. I live in a neighboring town to Andover. It’s so easy to get to.

I stayed one night here to experience Salem during Halloween at a tent site. Positives are access to Salem, Uber and Lyft are available though scarcer as the night gets later (10:30 pm), it is also on the trolley line if you need transportation during their business hours, great view for sunrise. Negatives are there is no privacy at the sites, everything is very open, fires must be off the ground, and the bathrooms are old and may not be stocked.

Con: Signage is awful! Hard to find park, office and cabins! Once there, Looong drive to both campground and Cabins.

Pro: cabins are on a remote lake. Perfect for star gazing! Rustic but comfy (beds) cabins. Bring all your own stuff. No electricity, so no lights. Our cabin had a steep path. Others did not.

Need to make reservations before 2pm!! This campground is nice and calm with a lot of space and bathrooms. There are water hookups at tent sites. Didn’t have any issues, just it is a little expensive for someone from out of state. We paid $54 because we are from Ohio

Friendly staff, hard gravel access roads, level gravel sites. No issues with electric, sewer or water hookups. Some of the best clear, clean, drinking water at high pressure we have come across. Great access to beaches, numerous eateries and shopping minutes away. This is our second time we have been here and here for the month of September.

I would reccomend Seacoast RV Park to other campers.

This is one of the best places we saw. We were here during a quiet period in August. The pitches are spacious and shaded.

The sanitary building is clean with good showers.

There is a lovely pond in which you can swim. It is somewhat small when crowded but nevertheless very lovely.

The water in the pond is not streaming so be prepared for mosquitoes when camping close to the water.

There is a well maintained playground for kids and there are activities planned for kids and adults.

We would definitely return.

This spot does have everything you need. It is very remote and a lot of distance between campsites. Lots of trees. The bathroom amenities work but not the cleanest. There isn’t much to the RV sites but an electric plug. Like I said what you need, but not want you might want.

PROS

- 45 min from Boston

- You have everything you need there: firewood, bathrooms (with shower, soap and toilet paper), a camp pit...

- You get a map in the entrance - very helpful for hiking.

- You can take a trail from the campsite.

- Good sights while hiking, with good spots to have lunch or pause for water.

CONS

- Only one really: You don't have the feeling of being really in the woods. There is NOT a decent amount of land between each campsite. So if you have neighbors all around, you'll feel like in a village!

This was my first time staying at Bear Brook, it's an easy campground to get to, once you get to the west gate it's about a 4-mile drive to the campground, if you're coming from the east it's about 1.5 miles.

The first impression was impressed by the size and how organized everything was. Check-in was easy, then driving to my site (#7) took a minute.

That's when I realized the sites were 4' apart in the section I was staying in. Other sites on each end are further apart.

The campground has a beach, a playground, a Ball field, and a store. The roads are all easy to drive on but narrow.

I would probably nitpick stay at this park again. The site we had paid for was not given to us. The shower in the bathroom did not provide hot/warm water until the end of my shower, and then the water would not turn off. Also, the lady camping beside us was tent camping, and she literally smoked weed the whole time she was there. We have children, and while she was there, you couldn’t do anything outside without smelling it. Overall, not the best campground.

It’s a 50 site campground and built 20 years ago, so it’s cozy small sites in some spots. But for the money of your from out of state it’s cheaper then the state park down the street and it has full hook-ups with laundry, showers and a heated pool when the ocean is colder then you want. They assist you in getting into your cement pad site and guide you down to your site. 

Even though the sites are small in spots the people are friendly and very welcoming. We meet some seasonal campers that were very friendly and informative about the area. Great location from the ocean and some nice towns to visit. Boston and Salem are very close and you can take a train which is only 5 minutes away from the campground. 

Campground is very clean and well kept. Pool is very nice to hangout and cool off. Showers are not free, but for a the money you get plenty of time to shower off. Bathroom is very clean and maintained.  Owners and hosts where friendly and helpful with thing to do in the area and where to eat for the best New England seafood restaurants. Highly recommend checking the place out if your looking to stay in the area.

Consider the Thousand Trails membership when booking this site. Our annual membership fees basically covered what it would cost to camp here for two weeks.

The campground has good proximity to Orchard Beach and Portland. However, the spots are pretty tight, and the WiFi is awful away from the registration office. We were in the wooded area, but those camping on the outskirts seemed able to utilize their Starlink.

The dog park and pool were small but nice. The bathroom facilities were pretty good, though they weren't cleaned as often as they should be.

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.

The HanscomField Fam Camp is a wooded recreational camp for military families and retirees, as well as for RV camping for active duty military on temporary orders. The campground offers RV sites, some with hookups, as well as more walk-in secluded tent sites as well as one yurt tent. The campground is peaceful and quiet, although adjacent to a very busy AFB. Proximity to the base provides access to the base exchange and other facilities, but the quiet location is a recreational retreat centered around several indoor and outdoor gathering spaces such as basketball and outdoor sports, and an indoor game and recreation room complete with crafts supplies for the kiddos and tourism info for the lical area. In the immediate vicinity are the villages of Lexington and Concord as well as the Minute Man National Park and Walden Pond, so the campground makes a great basecamp for exploration of the area’s rich culture and history. You are also not too far from Cambridge, and can easily access Boston from there if you like.

There are several clean modern bath houses, with hot showers and flush toilets. The office staff is very helpful and friendly!

Dogs are welcome too.