Best Campgrounds near South Orleans, MA

I booked Deluxe Cabin 1 at the Boston KOA based on my past experiences in VA and NC. BOSTON was the WORST KOA I've stayed at. The cabin SMELLED of mildew and cigarettes(pic of ashes in the tub), and there was NO HOT WATER, which is against MA law. It was FILTHY, the pots needed to be replaced, and you have to request blankets. I informed the after hours staff about the water, blankets, and smell. The next morning, I went to the office at 9 am and talked to LORI. She was COMBATIVE and confrontational which is weird because she just started her day. As a person of color, I had to walk away because I was frightened. When I returned, BOB Brammer(He wanted to write his name down, so I got it right(his words)) lacked empathy and had a facial expression of annoyance. He was also CONFRONTATIONAL as I explained there was no hot water and the cabin smelled. I informed the national KOA feedback team(Kaitlyn& Tiana) and they said it's handled internally, whatever that means. If you read the reviews about bad customer service, believe it. You can see CUSTOMER SERVICE IS BADDDD! The KOA will probably respond to this review, but NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. I'll be reaching out to TOBY O'ROURKE and OSCAR TANG so they are aware the BOSTON KOA is tarnishing the KOA brand.

General: Over 450 sites (tent 20 amp w/e; 30 amp w/e; 30 amp w/e/s; 50 amp w/e/s; 50 amp w/e; 30, 50 or premium seasonal) 

Site Quality: Generally good. Sites are gravel. We had originally reserved Site 98 but there was a large rock and tree roots making it challenging to position our van. We were able to move to Site 95 which was much better. Each site has a picnic table and rock firepit. Trees provide some amount of privacy between many sites. 

Bath/Shower house: Spotlessly clean. The cleaning schedule indicates it is cleaned three times daily. 

Activities/Amenities:

*Some are seasonal and were closed when we were there in October. These include three pools, a food truck, coffee, and ice cream.

* Others include a pristine laundry room (but you have to purchase a laundry card, so one load is a minimum of $10), shuffleboard, playground, tennis/pickleball, volleyball, basketball, horseshoe pit, soccer and baseball fields, firewood and propane fill, free cable and WiFi, dog park. I’ve probably forgotten a few but you get the idea… 

We chose this campground because of its proximity to the Woods Hole ferry terminal. It is not our typical preferred campground but for one night in the off-season, it was very pleasant. It is billed as a family-friendly campground, and I imagine it would be very different during high season. We gladly forgo seasonal amenities for a quieter stay. The staff was very present and welcoming. Note that it is located on a busy highway and if you are approaching from the south, the turn into the campground is hair-raising! There is some road noise at some sites but not for most of them.

We were treated very poorly by staff and management. We here humiliated in front of our family members and the public. We were made broken promises and called liars by staff and management and then intimidated to leave the premises. It was a very bad experience that ruined our family vacation.

I like this campground and prefer site 14 on Flax Pond, the quieter of the 2 (Cliff Pond). This campground gets very busy in summer. Hikes around the ponds and swimming is lovely.

Your camp pass gets you into an underutilized beach across the road.

A quiet campground in mid June - sites are close together but not many people this trip, quiet and friendly neighbors. Right on the rail trail. Wellfleet beaches and glacial kettle ponds don’t require a parking sticker Labor Day- 2nd weekend in June.

Great Pond and Long Pond are both close by and lovely swimming. You can also walk to Duck Pond from the campground.

Site 73 had noise from the bathroom exhaust fan from 7am-10pm- just background drone but I noticed it.

Nice outdoor showers w hot water and clean restrooms with wash sink for dishes.

Wild turkeys moved through camp during my visit.

Tents only - no RVs.

We had an amazing stay at Shawme Crowell State Forest. The campsite we had was very large, private and shady. The playground was also just up the hill from us and was a HUGE hit with our 3 year old. Beaches, biking and hiking all close by along with grocery stores and restaurants if needed. Bathrooms were super updated and always clean!

Lots of seasonal. Large area under construction. Nice location close to beaches and Ptown.

Cozy little loop at MSSF, with a lot of variation in quality across the lots, but generally good spacing and great views. Avoid J28, especially if it's going to get wet. The stuff further out tends to feel more remote, facilities clean and pretty good, camp staff great all around. This is a nice site, I'll be back.

Great campground with a fantastically short walk to the beach. We were assigned an awesome private tent spot near the back of the campsite with plenty of space for our tent, hammocks, and car. Surrounded by woods on 3 sides and really quiet. Staff were super nice and helpful, and the camp store stocked with anything you’d need. If we visit in summer again, we’ll plan ahead with more bug deterrents because the mosquitos were BAD even with bug spray.

We had a great 4 night stay here in our TT. We arrived after the office closed and they called us before hand to let us know that Bill would be there to greet us. Bill was super friendly and helpful when we arrived. Our preordered firewood was also at the site when we arrived as well. It is a more rustic campsite and doesn’t have the bells and whistles of the bigger corporate owned campgrounds. There’s plenty to do on the island itself so it’s not an issue at all. The kids enjoyed the playground and we made use of the rec room above the store on a rainy morning. All in all we enjoyed our stay here and will return again in the future.

I grew up going to ellis haven every summer now i’m continuing that same tradition with my children. Ellis haven is not only beautiful there’s always something to do. I highly recommend ellis haven.

EDIT: Astonishingly hostile, shrill, and unprofessional phone call received at 11:30am on 6/12. Owner/manager (?) called about "nasty" reviews and "slander" (note: nothing above is "slanderous"...just because someone doesn't like what you have to say about them, doesn't make it untrue).

Generally just confirmed my initial impression surrounding the lack of professionalism exhibited by this establishment. If they are willing to call someone up and, instead of try to address and rectify any misunderstanding are INSTEAD looking for a fight...clearly these folks are just a hot mess. DEFINITELY stay away.

Original review: "POLICY IS POLICY", even when it is detrimental to their business.

So unfortunate. I run an event that tries to support local businesses. We reserved and paid for 5 campsites one weekend, and referred a number of our vendor to this location as well.

Despite that, the campground would not hold reservations for the following weekend without full payment in advance. We asked them to hold it for three days and were told "policy is policy".

Also, apparently one of our campers taking their child to the comfort station in the rain, so they drove over. Apparently they had barely parked for a moment before somebody in a staff shirt came out berating them for parking there. At 2:00 a.m. Ridiculous. But again, apparently, "policy is policy", logic and business sense be damned.

Terrible way to treat a business looking to grow a relationship and not only paid for a number of sites, but directed campers there as well.