Best Glamping near Quincy, MA

We were delighted when we learned we had the little peninsula of site P1 all to ourselves. Stunning views across the large pond, and serving as a wonderful halfway rest/respite on the journey from NYC to Belfast, ME. We felt like we were on top of the world, discovering this perfect quiet nook and basking in nature’s splendor.

I can only speak for the camping on this peninsula/land, but the rest of the sites looked cozy, family-friendly, and fun. Cabins and RV sites across the lake, along with beaches for swimming. Bathrooms located on P1 peninsula. Canoe rentals on-site. Lovely picnic dining area alongside covered bridge and waterfall. Completely picturesque and, mostly, totally peaceful!

The staff here is friendly and helpful whenever you call.

The property itself is in need of updating. The bathrooms work well enough, but they are in need of a significant amount of maintenance.

The sites are kept clean and have water and electric (some may be by powercord). The tent sites do not offer much separation in the area I stayed.

The sites do have plenty of room for a tent, vehicle and each have their own fire pit and picnic table.

It does have the ability for people to do several recreational activities on site: walking trails, beach, volleyball, basket ball.

I stayed a couple nights and had a good stay overall.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we camped at Myles Standish. We were in the Charged Pond area, in loop F. The campground doesn't have hook ups, but there is a dump station with water and water available around the loops. The lower part of the camp ground is set up in different loops. While this is a large campground, it didn't feel that large as the loop probably had 50 sites. Our site was wooded and pretty private for a state campground. We had plenty of room and the site had a fire pit and picnic table. Each loop has one bathhouse. Ours, unfortunately, did not have hot water. We were told if we wanted it, we could go to any of the other loops. The bathrooms had two showers and three stalls, two sinks. There were at least three outlets in the women's room which was convenient for a quick cell phone charge. 

The check in process was a little challenging. We arrived later in the day and had hoped to get our pop up set up by dark, but the check in process took almost 30 mins between waiting in line and a VERY slow attendant. He was more worried about my out of state phone number than getting us checked in. He also kept trying to put us in a different section of the campground. I finally pulled up my reservation to show him that I was in the Charged Pond area. 

Our daughters rate campgrounds by their bathrooms. I was pleasantly surprised that they received at least one cleaning during our time there. But regardless, the bathrooms weren't that clean. It wasn't the worst bathroom (thanks Yosemite for setting that standard), but it could have been a little more attended to. It scored a - "not so bad that we'd never come back" rating from the girls. 

The bike trails through the part are great and we enjoyed them. Paved and mountain bike trails. The map they give you at check in isn't very good - hard to read and a little blurry. We picked up a nice printed, folded map at the visitor's center in town and it was much nicer and easier to read the trails. Take the map with you as the bike trails were a little confusing.

We also enjoyed the various kettle ponds. We kayaked one morning and enjoyed watching the people catching good sized fish around us. The beach (at least at Charged Pond) had a nice sandy section and a bathhouse. 

The town of Plymouth is about a 10 min. drive if you need anything. We never saw a camp store or even a place to get ice. But we didn't look that hard either. 

I was surprised that it was fairly quite and not busier on a holiday weekend. We felt most people respected quiet hours and there were even empty sites in our loop. 

We will definitely go back. It was a nice, quick getaway.

I like this campground because it is close to home.  There isn't much to do here within the campground.  It has two areas.  The one nearer the camp entrance is smaller than the second.  The second one has a playground while the first one does not.  I would not recommend the first area if you have small children for this reason.  The playground is being revamped and looks awesome so far.  Unfortunately the bathroom right next to it is closed while the playground is being updated.  It is very hilly but many people enjoy riding their bikes here.  When driving, be careful of them.  I've hiked the trails and you have to be careful. They aren't always well maintained or marked.  They are right next to the main highway so you get car noise and can usually see them as well.  I find them to be uninteresting.  There is no swimming on site either.  On the positive side, the campground is within driving distance of great fishing, biking and tourist areas.

Campground review: Camping at Boston Harbor Islands requires some planning, but you get the benefit of a remote island with minimal company. Unless you book one of the 12 yurts on Peddocks island, the camping is rustic; you’ll need to bring everything, including water. Reservations open 6 months in advance and sites fill quickly, so plan ahead if you’re counting on a particulate day. I only visited the campsites on Peddocks Island, so I can’t speak to the ones on Lovell, Grape, and Bumpkin. 

Getting there: Unless you have your own boat(check regulations on the website; you’ll need to anchor offshore overnight), you’ll want to catch a ride on the ferries to the Boston Harbor Islands. Figuring out the schedule is the trickiest part, not least because they don’t make the inter-island ferry schedule as readily accessible. Here’s the scoop: 

1. Check the ferry schedule. Figure out which departure makes the most sense for you. You may choose to leave from Long Wharf, near the Aquarium T stop on the Blue line, or from Hingham, with overnight parking available. For Bumpkin and Grape Islands, you’ll want to leave from Hingham; Peddocks and Lovells are available from either departure point
2. Buy your ticket online in advance. Some town libraries have passes offering 2-for-1 ferry rides, so if you’re a MA resident in the greater Boston area, it’s worth checking that out first. Otherwise, you’ll be looking at an extra$20 for the ferry, but that fee covers your round trip as well as the use of the interisland ferries so you can explore other islands. If you’re traveling as a family, look at the family pack for another discount. You can show the ticket on your phone when you board. 
3. Pack as lightly as possible and plan to carry or wheel it to your site. If you have a folding wagon, you may appreciate having it to carry items on and off the ferry and to your site on the island. There may or may not be carts available on the island. Peddocks has running water available, but otherwise you’ll need to bring gallon of water/person. If you want to grill, bring your own charcoal; otherwise bring a stove or bring food that doesn’t need to be cooked. You may scavenge wood to build fires below the high tide line only. No alcohol and no pets. 

The yurts on Peddocks are great, providing shelter from the elements, bunks with mattresses, electricity, a ceiling fan, table with benches, and a grill. There are 6 yurts up a small hill, with a composting toilet and water from a tap nearby. The 6 tent sites are also in this area. An additional 6 yurt sites are below the hill and in the woods, so it’s a slightly longer walk to the toilet. at the top of another hill there is an open, grassy area, also with a composting toilet, that provides group campsited.

While you’re out on the islands, take time to explore one of the others…look for sea glass on Spectacle Island and climb the hill for a view of the Boston skyline, explore the old forts and visitors centers, earn a Junior Ranger badge from the National Park Service, fly a kite, or go for a swim or kayak. In mid-August we collected handfuls of blackberries as we explored Peddocks. 

Ranger Product Review: Banner& Oak Traveler Shirt 

As a Ranger with the Dyrt, I sometimes get to test items; in this case I ordered the Banner& Oak Traveler long-sleeve t-shirt  in indigo. It’s long sleeved and super soft, but the first time I went to put it on, I realized the Banner& Oak tag along the hemline was sewn through both the front and back, so I couldn’t put t on until I removed the tag. I didn’t have scissors with me, so it was tough to get it off and ultimately I ended up with a hole in both the front and back. I’ve worn this on strolls through the woods when the weather was nice, but cool and on the foggy morning ferry ride to the island. The sleeves are not constricting and when I pushed them up to my elbows, they stayed in place while I hiked. I will say that it is a unisex t-shirt and the sleeves and body of the shirt tend to run long. I like that, but if you're petite, it may be annoying.

This is by far one of the best campgrounds I’ve stayed at so far. North of Highland Camping area definitely caters to tent campers – the roads are not big enough for large trailers or RVs, and they have no electric or sewage hookups anywhere in the park. This campground has been owned by the same family since the 1950s.

We arrived around 10 am on a Saturday morning, and even though it was the weekend before July 4th, there were still several sites available for walk-ins (they have more than 250 sites). The desk clerk was one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met, and extremely helpful – he walked us through picking the best site available by asking us what our preferences were (did we want to be near the restrooms, close to the beach path, what size tent did we have, etc). He even gave us tips on getting beach fire permits. The price for the site was reasonable for the area.

The campground itself is gorgeous – it’s within the pine barren forest near Head of the Meadow beach, completely surrounded by Cape Cod National Seashore land. All of the sites are shaded, and they are decently sized with picnic tables. There is also a ½ mile walking path that leads directly to Head of the Meadow beach; if you go to the town beach side, walk-ins are free!

There are several restrooms centrally located to the main camping loops, plus one building that houses the coin-op showers, the camp store, a rec hall, and even an adults-only quiet room w/ electronic charging stations. The restrooms were very clean and well maintained, and even had soap and paper towels, which is rare in campgrounds. Each restroom building also had outdoor showers for rinsing off.

The owners are VERY strict on their quiet hours policy (1030pm – 730am), and they are very restrictive on some noises during the day as well – pets, motorcycles, and portable generators are not allowed in this campground at all. This is exactly the kind of camping experience I’m looking for, as I’ve had some bad experiences the last year or so with other campgrounds attracting loud partiers.

Overall, this was one of my favorite camping experiences and I will definitely be back!

Pros: Wonderfully helpful staff, reasonably priced, very quiet and relaxing, clean and well-maintained facilities, great location, beautiful.

Cons: If I had to pick any cons, it would be that the roads throughout the campground are in kind of rough shape and could use more signage (a lot are one-way and sometimes hard to distinguish from campsite parking spots). I had no problem in my SUV, but it might be a little rougher driving on them in a compact car. Also, no fires are allowed in the campground itself due to fire restrictions, but you can easily get beach fire permits to have one on the beach. That’s all I can think of – this campground was great!