Lorraine Park Campground — Harold Parker State Forest

Harold Parker State Forest, MA: (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: 4.25 Price 2023: INCREASED RATE FOR OUT OF STATE: $60 per night for electric site Usage during visit: Low, though the electric sites are at about 70%.
Site Privacy: Pretty good in most sites. Our site, #115 opens up to #48 Site Spacing: Most are very good. Site surface: dirt and some gravel.
Reservations: Required Campground Noise: Quiet Road Noise: Set far back from the highway except for the water sites. The moderately used highway is across the pond. The pond view would be worth it as there was not that much traffic.
Through Traffic in campground: None Electric Hookup: Some sites Sewer Hookup: No. Dump Station: Yes. Potable Water Available: At electric sites and bathhouses.
Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Flush toilets. Clean. Showers: Yes. Shower Room is not heated , so very cold this time of year.
Pull Throughs: Some.
Cell Service (AT&T): 2 bars Setting: In a deciduous / conifer forest.
Weather: Highs 60s and lows 40s during our stay. Bugs: None due to the cold, I am sure.
Solar: To heavily forested for most sites.
Host: Around.
Rig size: The largest I saw was a 25’ trailer. I think larger rigs are allowed. Check website and carefully select your site.
Sites: #61 through 83 that are on the water side and are nice, not as private and Road/Highway across the water. I think they would be worth the moderate road noise for the water view. 102,105,108,113 are slightly better of the electric sites. Other sites that I took pictures of are sites I would be happy with. There are so many I can’t list them all. The best sites are among the no electric sites.

The sites are well spaced with very few amenities. All sites have non-potable water spigots. The sites are wooded and relatively level. There are multiple restrooms with showers, although we didn't use them. There are some RV sites with hookups but not many.

We stayed for 4 days in a large site that had about 5 hours worth of good solar access using portable panels so we could park in the shade. Not many sites have an open canopy for solar. There are plenty of good tent sites!

We stayed here in September 2021 and had a great time.

- VERY close to Boston. What a local gem.

- Quite close also to Lawrence Municipal Airport, so jet noise is an issue.

- You will need mosquito repellent. These are not Minnesota mosquitos which will carry off infants and small dogs, but they are plentiful especially when hiking. The whole area is a swamp/marshland, so they have a lot of space to breed.

- Bathrooms are great. FREE hot showers, flush toilets and sinks with soap. There are even outdoors/portable handwashing stations with soap/water and hand towels.

- Some sites have electricity and water hookups.

- Most sites have water hookups.

- Some sites have neither.

We originally booked site #7, but when we arrived, unfortunately, it's right across the street from a restroom/shower building (that is not shown on the reserveamerica campground map!) so we drove around and decided on site #19 which was AWESOME! It's HUGE. plenty of space for a few tents.

We hiked all over the place and each hike was a little better than the others.

Humidity was an issue. It's a swamp, and we had a light drizzle each day, so that was no fun. I don't think it's the site's fault, but it may be damp all season. I just don't know.

The fire pits are an unfortunate downer for this site. They are rectangular and completely enclose three sides to a height of about 18 inches, so you can't have a nice "outdoorsy" fire. The grate is not adjustable which also makes cooking on them very difficult.

There is a pole-mounted grill with adjustable grate for cooking with charcoal and those looks like they would work super.

The bathroom/shower buildings have a large two-sink with drainboard dish washing setup. Unfortunately, the station across from site 201 had the sink removed for some reason so we had to walk to the one across from site 111 It wasn't THAT bad, but I don't quite understand why there was all the plumbing, but no sink.