Best Equestrian Camping near Lunenburg, MA
Looking for the best horse camping near Lunenburg? Camping with your horse in Lunenburg just got easier. Find Massachusetts equestrian campgrounds with ease on The Dyrt.
Looking for the best horse camping near Lunenburg? Camping with your horse in Lunenburg just got easier. Find Massachusetts equestrian campgrounds with ease on The Dyrt.
Nestled deep in the woods between Boston & Cape Cod, Normandy Farms Campground is a luxury camping destination that has been a family tradition since 1971 and widely recognized as one of the premier resorts in the world. Relax and enjoy the unique seasons of New England in your RV, tent, or in one of our deluxe cabin or YURT rentals. We also have pop-up trailers and safari tents for those seeking an elevated camping experience.
Normandy Farms Campground Special Amenities include: a bike park, creative arts center, disc golf, a dog park, a fitness center, laundry facilities, playgrounds, a store, volleyball, basketball, soccer, bocce, tennis, 4 swimming pools, spa, wellness center, and more!
$50 - $200 / night
$14 - $35 / night
Family campground including new in-ground salt water swimming pool!
Seasonal Camping and nightly camp sites are available
Hidden Valley, a 1300 acre outdoor recreation area offers a challenging 18-hole championship golf course, a Par 3 golf course, and a secluded 300 site campground.
AMC Ponkapoag Camp is located on the east shore of Ponakpoag Pond at the end of a gravel road. Access is granted through a locked gate directly across the street from the Canton Equestrian Center. Call the manager for the gate combination. Please be considerate of hikers and equestrian traffic on the access road.
20 cabins (sleep two to seven). Two tent sites. Bunks with mattresses (no linens provided). Wood stove (firewood is available for purchase, or may be gathered). No running water. No electricity in cabins. The main lodge is lighted during the evenings (summer only). Outhouses.
$20 - $65 / night
$20 - $50 / night
The guy above me gave you most of the skinny, so I can keep this short and sweet. This campsite is superlatively convenient if you live in the Boston area, especially so if you’re like me and you’re one of those “Boston kids who don’t cross the bridge,” both proverbial and otherwise. The area around Ponkapog is beautiful, showcasing a wetland climate that, while common, is an integral part of the Massachusetts ecosystem that many people don’t even realize is within a stones throw. Why spend a summer weekend baking like a sausage next to a big of townies when you can chill in the bog with bogey-bogmen?
Highlights:
serviceable and cheap campground with limited amenities
some natural peace and quite close to the city
lots of good berry picking and trails
not far from the blue hills
good family fun
swimming
Lowlights:
bogmen
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.
This campground is 1300 acres owned and operated by the Simonsen family in Derry, NH. The main attraction of this campground is the golf course of 9 or 18 holes. There is a pro shop, golf cart rentals, etc. There are 300 camping sites with full hookups. Very reasonably priced at $40 per night. A lot of the campers are seasonal which is May - October each year. I did not see any tents there, only hard-sided units. The amenities are state of the art, clean laundry center, restrooms, bath house, grocery store, bar & grill, playground & 2 swimming beaches. We had interactions with both Drew & Lauri Simonsen (brother & Sister) during our 2 night stay. Our generator was down and we needed to pick up our friend at the airport. Lauri loaned us her minivan to go to the airport and Drew loaned us some tools to work on the RV. They were so helpful and treated us like family. The kids were given a lot of grace and hung out in the grill/game room area for hours on end to use the wi-fi. I can't say enough about the customer service here. Anyone in this area should check it out.
The staff were friendly and helpful. We spent one night and did not visit any of the facilities, but all looked clean and well staffed.
Unfortunately, I can’t give high marks to our campsite. The water and electric were between our site and the next on one side and sewer between our site and the one on the other side. This made it difficult to place our trailer on the slanted site and reach all services. The site had very long grass, bare rock and mud. It was not a site we would have wanted to stay on any longer than the one night.
Nice RV campground with alot of seasonal residents. Plenty of tent sites. On site general store with grill. Fishing and swimming on property along with a club house.
it is good
We have always loved it here. It is rustic camping, no water or electricity and the bathroom is an outhouse and no showers. The people are friendly and we have always had a good time. The kids can hang out in the clubhouse if it’s raining or swim in the pond if it’s hot. Lots of hiking trails.
Had an amazing stay, cabin was perfect and comfortable. Water was nice and fish were biting. Can’t wait to come back.
Great People, Great Times.
Ponky is a hidden jem! Minutes from Boston, feels Miles away. Love the cabins! Spending Friday & Saturday in one of the cabins (w/woodstove) is deal for a winter weekend adventure!
I found this campground in a totally roundabout way, while searching for lodging during a field trip to Plimouth Plantation. After discovering it, I decided that we HAD to plan a trip here sometime soon.
Ponkapoag Camp is run by the AMC. The camp is on a beautiful piece of wooded land surrounding a large pond/lake. There are about 25 rustic cabins, and a few tent sites dispersed throughout the camping area. There is a year round caretaker there to help folks check in, and she also sells firewood. Reservations are by mail only, although you can call the caretaker to confirm availability.
Before I continue my review, it is important to note: THERE IS NO ELECTRICITY OR RUNNING WATER.
We brought all our water from home, and it worked well. Make sure you bring campsuds or other eco-friendly soap since the toilets are just outhouses without running water much of the year.
The Cabins:
Each cabin has between 2-6 beds. The mattresses in our large cabin were brand new dorm style mattresses, which were slippery but comfortable. The cabins have assorted dressers and shelves for storage, and a table for dining on those bad weather days. The floors are wooden. Many cabins have wood stoves, which is great for the cooler parts of the year. We were there Memorial Day weekend, and needed the stove when it dipped to 40 degrees. Outside of the cabin is a pedestal grill, and a picnic table. My children found trees close by to hang their hammocks.
Upon departure from the camp, you are required to sweep and tidy up the cabin.
The Grounds:
Hiking trails abound on the property. While none of the trails are steep, they all go through beautiful ares, with views of the pond, and interesting rock formations. Blue Hill is within hiking distance, and it is a favorite spot for seeing the sunrise. Apparently you can see all the way to Boston!
The pond itself is a wonderful place for kayaking and canoeing. There are several rocky boulders poking out of the water that make fun spots to discover. The sunsets over the pond are spectacular to watch from the dock.
Getting there: The driveway to the camp is totally unmarked. It is a gate studded with two american flags. When you confirm your reservation (by mail), the caretaker will give you the access code for the gate. We enjoyed being somewhere that was so close to people, but felt so remote and had no traffic.
Downsides: One of the nights we stayed, the flight path to Logan International Airport was right over the campground. We all slept fine, but it was distracting. Thankfully, they change the flight path every night, so it should not happen every night!
WILD ZORA FOOD review:
As a Ranger with The Dyrt, I was given the opportunity to test out food from Wild Zora Foods. https://wildzora.com.
This is a premade meal company, focusing on Paleo and Primal recipes. We tried out a sampler pack of their meat bars, and then two meal-in-a-bag freeze dried entrees. We ended up eating several meat bars while making the trip to the campground, since we were stuck in traffic and everyone was hungry. Our 5 children helped do the sampling. Out of the six flavors (Parmesan Beef, BBQ beef, Mediterranean Lamb, Curry Turkey, Chili Beef, and Taco Pork), our favorites were Parmesan Beef ad Mediterranean Lamb. The other flavors seemed a bit too sweet for our liking. However, the bars were a great substitute for junk food when everyone is hungry. Everyone enjoyed eating them. I liked that they used food such as dates and dried apricots as sweeteners. My children all wanted more. I'd say that one bar would be a good snack for an adult.
We also cooked up a batch of a berry breakfast cacao bowl, and their Chicken Caldera Curry. Both meals were super convenient in their pouches that could be cooked and eaten in. We just poured boiling water in, and let them sit. The Caldera Chicken Curry was well seasoned, and very meaty. I was impressed by how filling it was without needing any rice. The texture was a bit chalky, but overall, it was a great option for a Paleo freeze-dried meal. The berry breakfast meal was less satisfying--but it tasted very fresh, and not overly sweet.
It was fun to test these foods out. When camping with kids, it is often hard to have time to cook a camp meal each night, so having quick options can really make a trip go more smoothly. I recommend checking out Wild Zora if you are interested in a preservative free, high protein freeze dried meal option.
Came here while in college at Brandeis University with my field Biology class. We explored all over the bog looking for interesting species of plants and animals and found so many amazing things. This is an amazing site to take anyone who is adventurous and loves to explore. It also doesn't hurt that it's so close to Boston. I agree with all the other reviewers and definitely suggest checking this site out.
Newbies We booked 2 nights after Thanksgiving to take our 2004 Holiday Rambler for our first trip. I believe it’s the last week the park is open for the season. Water is off but we were made aware of this when we booked. It snowed briefly Friday night. Explored the grounds and imagine it’s a wonderful and busy park in season. Many amenities and convenient to Gillette and all the shops. We ate locally and enjoyed all the shops. We’ll be back- if we’re able to get a spot, I understand it’s tough to do.
Normandy Farm Family RV Park is one of the best of the best in the USA. It is located easily off RT 495 and not far off Rt 95 in Foxboro MA. It has all amenities one would want, kids are safe and lots to do. They have a small fishing pond, a number of pools, hot tub etc. Lots to do around the campground like a casino in the next town, Gillette Stadium down the road, cranberry bogs and so much more to do around the campground including a discount shopping center in Wrentham MA. The management is by one family and they keep the campgrounds impeccably, they are right on top of problems and the problems are solved very quickly if there are any problems at all. The sites have some distance between sites and staff want to help in every way they can. I have stored my rig with them for 21 years and never a problem and do camp there when I get a chance. They do charge more than some campgrounds but they give you more than any campground I have stayed at.
I almost didn't want to leave! Setting up and finding a camping spot was virtually a breeze.
Absolutely love this campground. It has so many things for the kids to do. Everyone is so friendly. Can't wait to go back for the 4th of July.
Great spot, clean, fun and easy access. So many of our camping friends love this place so we figured we'd try it - outstanding.
We enjoyed our tent site with a wooden lean-to. Overall very private and peaceful, however the only drawback is that people took frequent casual walks pass the area all day long. There's really no way around that.
We did not get a chance to enjoy the amenities, but they all looked nice and well thought out.
We will return.
Absolutely beautiful. When we drove in we fell in love with the grounds!! We were in site B9. We have a 25” B+ and basically had to park sideways and use a lot of leveling blocks to get our rig level. As we walked around we spoke to others who had similar problems with the sites not being level. We recommend this campground but just be prepared and bring plenty of leveling blocks! The office did provide us with additional blocks to level so they were very accommodating.
This is our favorite campground - fun, very well maintained, lots for the kids to do! A bit expensive, but well worth it!
Above average, nice sized spots, clean amenities, level plots, heated pool and hot tub, leave you alone if you want peace (which some nicer places don't!!), tons of activities for the kids .
We needed a base camp for visiting Boston and this campground was the closest we could find. Staff is very nice and helpful. Campgrounds are large and well maintained.
Was the most expensive RV park we ever stayed at.
Very nice campground. Level sites with room. Lots to do for kids and adults.
First things first- no bugs!! That’s right I didn’t know what I was missing till I notice I wasn’t getting bit alive by mosquitoes!!! They spray for them!!! So you can enjoy the outside without the pesky bites that come with camping!
Then of course there is the luxury of having two pools, a ton of fun activities for kids, (fishing , dog park, horseshoes, tennis, basketball, etc)! It’s probably my favorite spot in New England merely for all the luxuries that come with this site!!!
Plus you are close to Gillette and shopping!! Can get better then that!
This is more luxury than campground, but if that is your style then you will love this place. Four pools? Sauna? Spotless campsites (even charcoal is removed from fire pit rings between guests!)? Arcade? Beautifully designed buildings? Yes, this place has it all and more. This campground also has two of the best playgrounds I’ve seen at any venue.
That said, as a lover of campgrounds I would really give this a 4.5 because it is truly cramped. Some sites are just glorified parking spaces with a sewer hookup. There is tree cover in many places, but there is zero privacy at the sites.
Long story short: if you are looking for pampered fun then go here. If you are looking for “real camping” go to a state park for 1/5 the price.
We stayed here for a few nights when they celebrated Halloween 🎃. It is super easy to get around. They had tons of festive activities. They have an indoor and an outdoor pool. The restrooms are clean. I highly recommend staying here. It was a lot of fun.
Mostly geared toward families, especially with kids. Most of the campground is RV sites. There a a handful of tent sites in the back (no hookups). Bathrooms and showers are very clean, general store and pools are nice and convenient. It’s a perfect distance away from Gillette (a couple miles) if you’re looking for an alternative to staying in a pricey hotel. Definitely not a place I would go to “get away from it all.” You can hear the highway from the sites.
Family friendly. Staff is nice. Campsites are big and we'll spaced. Bathrooms are best of any campground. Highly recommend.
Horse camping in Massachusetts offers a unique way to explore the great outdoors while enjoying the company of your equine friends. With a variety of campgrounds catering to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to set up camp and ride the trails.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Lunenburg, MA is Normandy Farms Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 38 reviews.
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