Best RV Parks & Resorts near Lowell, 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.

The campground has a gravel area at the sites where the fire ring and picnic tables are. Where we parked our trailer was some gravel sand and dirt. We were at the end of a lane, backing in was fine we are small, 21 feet including tongue, we fit fine. Great site across from a beach, on French Pond I’m guessing is at least 25 acres. Most of the sights are long term. Camp was pretty much full, even then it was quiet. Restroom closed to covid, some campgrounds kept them open and just cleaned more. Well no complaint here we’re self contained. Some areas could use some tidying up. Still I would gladly stay here again.

We really liked this park! It was clean, very well cared for, supper nice people and a decent price($43/night) for camping in coastal New England. The park recently added new 50-amp full hook-up sites (some of which are pull-thrus) so there are plenty of options for big-rigs. Half of the park is seasonal campers (which is a lot more cramped and more junked up) and the other half is for transients. The two sides are separated by a tree line where the tent sites are located. The park is in a good location and pretty close to the beach, restaurants, shopping and access to Route 1. You are also just twenty minutes or so to Portsmouth and Newburyport which are some of our favorite New England coastal towns. 

Our site (#124) was one of the new sites which they had just completed. It was a gravel back-in which was plenty long and level. They recently seeded the area so new grass was starting to grow. The roads in the park are fairly narrow and we had to drive over the grass across from our site in order to back in. Lucky for us nobody was parked in that site. We hate driving over grass as our coach can really make some ruts, but we had no choice in this situation. The ground was dry and hard so we didn’t make deep ruts. The park does not have cable and we were not able to get reception on our satellite because of the trees and could not get any over-the-air channels. No television was fine because we enjoyed sitting by a campfire after our long day of exploring. We had a picnic table that was kind of small if you had 4-6 people but fine for just two of us. Our firepit was a light weight portable one which we could move. The older sites had heavy fire rings that were not to be moved. None of the sites have a lot of space between them and I bet this park could feel quite cramped when it was full. We were there in the off-season (May) and didn’t have any neighbors so it was pretty quiet. 

There are not too many amenities in the park which was fine for us since we really don’t use them. There was a very large playground, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard, basketball, and camp store. This park really cares about appearance and grounds-keeping is top notch. Our site had a nice grassy space with a small garden planted with flowers. The laundry was very nice, clean and had big front-loading machines. Check-in was super easy and fast. All the staff were very nice. 

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. After lunch pop over to Wallis Sand Beach for an afternoon relaxing by the sea. We love visiting the Kittery Trading Post (in Maine) which is a good outdoor outfitter and eating at Bob’s Clam Hut.

We really liked this park! It was clean, very well cared for, supper nice people and a decent price ($43/night) for camping in coastal New England. The park recently added new 50 amp full hook-up sites(some of which are pull-thrus) so there are plenty of options for big-rigs. Half of the park is seasonal campers(which is a lot more cramped and more junked up) and the other half is for transients. The two sides are separated by a tree line where the tent sites are located. The park is in a good location and pretty close to the beach, restaurants, shopping and access to Route 1. You are also just twenty minutes or so to Portsmouth and Newburyport which are some of our favorite New England coastal towns. 

Our site (#124) was one of the new sites which they had just completed. It was a gravel back-in which was plenty long and level. They recently seeded the area so new grass was starting to grow. The roads in the park are fairly narrow and we had to drive over the grass across from our site in order to back in. Lucky for us nobody was parked in that site. We hate driving over grass as our coach can really make some ruts, but we had no choice in this situation. The ground was dry and hard so we didn’t make deep ruts. The park does not have cable and we were not able to get reception on our satellite because of the trees and could not get any over-the-air channels. No television was fine because we enjoyed sitting by a campfire after our long day of exploring. We had a picnic table that was kind of small if you had 4-6 people but fine for just two of us. Our firepit was a light weight portable one which we could move. The older sites had heavy fire rings that were not to be moved. None of the sites have a lot of space between them and I bet this park could feel quite cramped when it was full. We were there in the off-season(May) and didn’t have any neighbors so it was pretty quiet. There are not too many amenities in the park which was fine for us since we really don’t use them. There was a very large playground, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard, basketball, and camp store. This park really cares about appearance and grounds-keeping is top notch. Our site had a nice grassy space with a small garden planted with flowers. The laundry was very nice, clean and had big front-loading machines. Check-in was super easy and fast. All the staff were very nice. 

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. After lunch pop over to Wallis Sand Beach for an afternoon relaxing by the sea. We love visiting the Kittery Trading Post(in Maine) which is a good outdoor outfitter and eating at Bob’s Clam Hut.

Less than 25 miles north of Boston and <5 miles from the interstate, Lorraine Park campground at Harold Parker State Forest provides ample on-site activities and also serves as a jumping off point for exploring the Massachusetts coast north of Boston or a stop en route to NH and Maine.

Every site seems to have its own water spigot, though it's not necessarily conveniently located if you want to hook up a trailer/RV. There are 11 sites with water/electric. Sites are large, often with good separation from neighbors, some have a hilly approach. The reservation website doesn't provide pictures, so I've tried to capture most here. Some of the sites are large enough that if you have a small camper or van you may be able to pull through. They've designated more than half the sites as tent only. There's a great playground area and also basketball and volleyball courts, but in this COVID-19 era, don't expect them to be open in 2020. I heard a little road traffic around the perimeter, but not much.

Bring a bike, pack some sneakers or hiking boots, toss in a swimsuit or a fishing pole, and explore! There are miles of trails and logging roads for hiking and biking. A small beach is within walking distance from the campground (wildflowers bloom in the area in late May). 

Nearby national park sites include Lowell, Minute Man, and  Boston where you'll learn about the industrial revolution or the American revolution respectively. Concord will introduce you to some early American authors; Salem Maritime, Saugus Iron Works, Essex National Heritage explore other aspects of the area. Head to Gloucester for a whale watch or wander the coastal towns.

Bear Brook SP, NH: Oct 2023 (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer). I rate based on desire for at least a moderate wilderness type experience w at least some camp site privacy. Overall Rating: 4.5 Price 2023: $30 about Usage during visit: 10% weekday Site Privacy: Open Site Spacing: Very large sites. Site surface: Rocky soil. Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Very peaceful. Road Noise: None. This is a long drive back through the woods from the highway.
Through Traffic in campground: None. Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Spigots are scattered throughout. See my picture of the map. Generators: Allowed. Bathroom: Clean flush toilets. Showers: Individual shower rooms Pull Throughs: Some. Cell Service (AT&T): 1 to 2 bars. Setting: Maple/conifer forest along a pond. Woods obscure atheist pond’s view. Weather: Beautiful day, High 80s, but the thick woods offers needed shade. Bugs: Yes, there are more mosquitoes than we experienced further north. Solar: Our site, B 31 offered enough solar to equal our minimal output late in the day.
Host: I don’t see a host near my location. Rig size: Orrery good size rig can fit in some sites. Sites: See map in my photos. There are some great sites here. Spaciousness is the plus point for this campground.