Best Glamping near Shutesbury, MA

WE come here every year with our group, RVing Women Northeast Network for our first rally of the season each year for a number of years,  The reason we come back is the way we are treated, because they have pavilions that have a campfires pit and the roof is made so it takes the smoke straight up out of the pavilion yet is protective of those under the roof from rain etc.  VERY enjoyable.  We all park around this Pavillon.  IT is well kept, kids are entertained by parents and fishing etc.  Parties are present but they have quiet hour and it seems to be obeyed.

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!

My family and I stayed here a few years ago in the tent area. Not all sites are secluded, but we were the only ones so it was nice and private. At the time there was only one port-a-potty for the tent area we were in and no water source. It’s a dog friendly park which was good for us, our dog could swim in the lake with us. Cute patio overlooking the lake as well with seating. Wood delivery is awesome especially since tent area is a slight distance from office, but that is also a bonus so you’re away from the RV sites. Also price is reasonable for a private campground considering the rates a lot of other places charge.

(As a Tent Camper)

Let me start this off with there are not many campgrounds I would rate this low. There are a lot of little detractors that add up quickly. 

First, one of the pros, we enjoyed their small but nice petting zoo of a few goats and a horse. Their general store was adequate.

Now some of the cons we encountered. 

The other campers were very loud and ruckus, especially in the safari field with the RVs.

The campsites have VERY little to no privacy, we had to hang up tarps in between us and our neighbor or else we would practically be looking straight at each other if we both had a camp fire at the same time. 

Something I've never encountered before, but our fire pit was not the typical tire ring, it was some other type of ring I've never seen before. It was almost as if it was designed to not allow any air flow for the fire. We thought we were going crazy until our neighbors were having an issue too and had to plug in a hair dryer and every 5 minutes turn it on to keep the fire from going out. And our wood was pretty dry too. 

The pools were very lack luster, they are quite small for the amount of guests in the campground. They get crowded way too fast, we had probably a 2 ft bubble around us in the pool and could not move around at all if we wanted too. The kiddie pool which is 2 ft deep was a waste, it is too big with very little amount of kids who actually use it. 

It was the first time we thought we had actually wasted a weekend camping. Would not return.

Upon arrival, I liked the atmosphere and friendly service but our site was filthy. A bag of dog poop by a tree, trash under the picnic table, cigarette butts littering the rocks around the fire pit, and the pit was so full of ash, there was no more room for firewood. And as other reviewers stated, these sites aren’t the cheapest. I don’t normally complain but this was unacceptable in my opinion. I called the front desk and spoke with a very lovely person. She was mortified and said she’d send maintenance. No. One. Ever. Showed. Up. We waited an hour and then we just started cleaning it up ourselves so we could move on and get started on dinner.

Our site was T3 and it was spacious and spread out from other tent sites. There was a tiny creek meandering behind the site and the woods just went on for miles. We felt grateful to be separated from the RVers and have so much space to ourselves.

Night fell and the place turned into Margaritaville. The seasonal RVers have really taken over the place and while some have tasteful decor and lights, others not so much. Even 50 yards away from the RV section and I felt like I was in a dance club parking lot. The music was so loud. No one seemed to care. Nothing was enforced.

Lastly, there was a lonely port-a-potty across the road from us along with a water spigot. There was trash all around the spigot that remained there throughout our stay (an entire roll of sopping wet toilet paper and an eyelash curler, guys), but the camp sanitation truck came once a day to empty that outhouse, which I never used based on the smell. If you have young kids that nap during the day, this truck would wake them. I walked the extra .2 miles to the bathhouse, which started out immaculate but quickly turned south with the sheer number of people using it. A cleaning log claimed it was tended to but it couldn’t have been true. Trash was endlessly overflowing and soap was running low.

The loud music I could get over for the view but the uncleanliness was just annoying. What a simple thing to fix for your customers.

Also beware of bears. We and several other neighboring campers spied a pretty big black bear not far enough away in the late morning hours. I’m sure they are fed well.

We took our new to us hybrid camper out for its inaugural trip.

We chose to stay in the wooded loop of the campground and we were very happy with our site, #66. That section has about 12 sites, some big and some on the smaller side. Our site was easy to back into, even more so since no one was in the site across from us. Our site was very spacious, level and included a picnic table, fire ring, and nicely placed hookups for water and electric. We had easy access to trails that went along the river behind some of the sites with a few paths down to the river.

Everyone we encountered was friendly and respectful. There are quiet hours from 10pm-8am that are enforced. We were grateful to not have to hear loud partying going on into the night. There was car noise from nearby Rt 10 on the other side of the river, but nothing you can do about that.

We asked for assistance at the office with our first time using a pumping station at the end of the trip. We were given friendly helpful assistance and some great tips and advice for the future.

This was a nice enjoyable first visit for us. We will definitely be adding it to our list of places to visit again, but likely later in the year when we can enjoy the river and activities a bit more. We did not explore the options for bike, kayak, and canoe rentals but would like to in the future.