Campgrounds around Ipswich, Massachusetts operate from early spring through late fall, with most closing by mid-November. The area's coastal location typically sees summer temperatures ranging 70-85°F during peak camping season, with higher humidity than inland areas. Cell service varies widely, with coastal campgrounds generally offering stronger connectivity than inland locations set among trees.
What to do
Beach access: 5 miles to Hampton Beach from Sea Coast Camping and RV Resort: "About 5 miles to the east is Hampton Beach and a little farther is the town of Rye which are worth the drive. There we discovered Ray's Seafood and Petey's Summertime Seafood where you can get a great meal right next to the water."
Golf courses: on-site at Hidden Valley RV and Golf Park: "The main attraction of this campground is the golf course of 9 or 18 holes. There is a pro shop, golf cart rentals, etc." The campground spans 1300 acres with a mix of camping and recreational facilities.
Deep sea fishing: walking distance from Hampton Beach State Park: "I enjoyed the morning deep sea fishing trips from companies across the street." Hampton Beach State Park provides "easy walk to restaurants" and sits directly on the water with a jetty for fishing.
What campers like
Coastal access: 1-mile bike ride from Beach Rose RV Park: "We rode bikes to Salisbury Beach and my young adult son rode his longboard to the beach." Another camper notes it's "about a mile from the beach" and "kid friendly."
Spacious sites: well-separated at Sea-Vu West Premier RV Resort: "The close location to dining, motorcycle rides, wide/grassy sites and quietness all contribute to a very good stay." Campers appreciate that "if you want shade, not much but you have plenty of space to just sit on your other side of your RV and use that for shade."
Clean facilities: well-maintained bathrooms and grounds at multiple campgrounds. At Tuxbury Pond RV Campground, a camper mentioned "Friendly staff, clean bathrooms, clean grounds, gated campground with card key access in/out of the grounds, 2 pools (closed for the season during our stay), pavilion, activities/entertainment."
What you should know
GPS navigation issues: Some campgrounds have misleading directions. At Tuxbury Pond, "if you're using Apple Maps, it will likely take you to a turn that is not the campground entrance, there's even a hand-written sign on someone's lawn that has directions to the entrance (seems to happen frequently, I guess)."
Seasonal camper presence: Many rv campgrounds near Ipswich feature a mix of transient and long-term guests. At Hampton Beach State Park Campground, "it's crowded with day users" and "extremely crowded in high season, empty in off season."
Site selection matters: Campgrounds often have varied site quality. "Our site was in a field that was near the bathrooms. We were on S1, near a septic pipe & there was a severely nauseating, strong smell of sewage coming from it." Requesting site changes is sometimes possible as "they were completely fine with it & apologized."
Tips for camping with families
Pool access: seasonal only at most campgrounds. Tuxbury Pond has "2 pools (closed for the season during our stay)" while Moody Beach RV Campground offers "a swimming pool, a basketball court and a small playground" but notes "pool closed for season" during fall visits.
Playground options: Multiple campgrounds feature play areas. At Sea-Vu West, "If you have children, there's a nice play area with really nice playground equipment" while Moody Beach has activities for different age groups: "We took our family of 5, and my mom for a weekend getaway! It was perfect. So much to do."
Evening entertainment: Some campgrounds provide scheduled activities. "There was a gentleman that started setting up for a comedy show that they would be doing that night. A staff member came to our site and let us know that there is an 18+ comedy show but there was a children's movie being played on a big screen on the other side of the campground."
Tips from RVers
Site layout considerations: At Hampton Beach State Park, "Sites 1-15 line the Hampton River and are back-in; sites 16+ are inside and pull-throughs. Neither one is far from the water!" While at Sea Coast, "Pull through sites, while close were arranged in such a way so that you are not next to the sewer hookup of your neighbor. A big plus for me."
Off-season advantages: Less crowded camping experiences happen outside summer months. "We were there in the off-season (May) and didn't have any neighbors so it was pretty quiet." Another camper noted "Extremely crowded in high season, empty in off season."
Wi-Fi reliability: Internet connectivity varies between Ipswich area campgrounds. Moody Beach has "WiFi is awful away from the registration office" while Sea Coast features "wifi worked perfectly for streaming tv despite the campground being fully booked for Memorial Day weekend."