Best Cabin Camping near Fairlee, VT

Westward Shores is an expansive resort located on Ossipee Lake. It caters primarily to seasonal campers and those with RVs, but can accommodate tenters as well. There are a couple of camping cabins starting at $70/night shoulder season and cottages that sleep 8-20 (at significantly higher prices).

The campground is so large that many people get around on golf carts. There are ongoing renovations and new areas, so it still looks a little rough around the edges in places. Lots are large and level with pea gravel and hookups; if you are in a tent, you’ll want to be sure to have adequate padding for sleeping. Additionally, you’ll want one of the more basic campsites located near a bathroom. Some of the loops do not yet have facilities (Aug 2019). The bathrooms are basic and clean.

The primary appeal is the location on beautiful Ossipee Lake with beaches, a marina, and kayak and SUP rentals. There is plenty to entertain the children, with playgrounds, bounce pillows, gaga pit, basketball, and tennis to name just a few. Kids were everywhere on their bicycles.

They didn’t offer up prices when we stopped at the office, so I was dreading the worst, but when I checked online, the RV sites range from $50-56 with hookups, picnic table, and fire ring and there are special rates/deals for extended stays. These rates are a significantly lower than a nearby resort campground that starts at $65/night... but then I discovered this is only true during the shoulder season. My fears have been realized... peak season will set you back $87-95/ night and the camping cabin is $117. These are slightly more expensive than a nearby resort that offers a few more/ different amenities, albeit not on Ossipee Lake.

I tent camped here while doing some fishing in the area.

Baker Rocks had a host of different camping options onsite including tent platforms, yurts, and cabins. I booked one of the tent platforms.

The site had a large tent platform they could fit multiple tents, a brand new picnic table, a fire ring (with a free bundle of firewood), two chairs by the fire ring, and even a few strings of solar lights around the camp area.

The tent sites are within the wooded area around the property and felt very secluded. There was a bit of road noise overnight.

The facilities here were great. There is a full bathhouse with individual rooms for showers and sink/toilets, with running water.

Around the campground there was a little beach along the Baker river. I only caught a few minnows when fishing but that may have been more to do with the angler. Along another bend of the river were two chairs for taking in the scenery.

Check-in was super easy with the camp hosts who were very flexible with timing and wanted to make sure I had a great stay. The property and individual sites are deliberately designed with guests in mind.

I would definitely stay here again if I’m in the area and might try some of the glamping options as well.

Can’t say enough good things about this place.  It is a private landowners land, and she has various camping options including a cabin, hives, or open locations for rv or tent camping.  We stayed for a long weekend with friends in a separate rv, and then a friend who rented a hive.  The land is 8 acres, and you feel a sense of privacy and serenity. You hear roosters in the morning from a local farm.  The views are vast, and it’s relaxing.

Logistically, there is a good place for rv parking below the garden hoop house.  It is a flat long gravel area, which can access power, but you’ll need an extension chord or two to reach it.  The hives are set back from this area and behind other gardens, near a water source.   There is a cabin in the middle of the property, and then additional rv or tent camping in another area above the main house, which also has an electric hookup.  Each area is far enough away from the others that you feel a sense of privacy and serenity.  

There is a common area building on the property with Wi-Fi, a bathroom and a kitchen area, which seemed to be used mostly for making tea or accessing the kitchen sink for water.  I am not sure if you could use it for cooking - you would need to ask the landowner.  It has a small sitting area with tourism/hiking/sightseeing guides and maps.  We used it to check email and make phone calls, as cell access is spotty in this general area of Vermont and we didn’t have a cell signal by our rv.  You can shower and use the toilet.  I would recommend bringing your own soap and shampoo.

There are a few fire pit areas on the property, and the land owner will show you where you can find wood in the surrounding woods.  The gardens are full of flowers and vegetables.    There is also a sauna and a yoga room, neither of which we used. 

It truly is a magical environment.  You are a few minutes away from Cabot, which is very small.  The area is a hiking and gravel biking hot bed.  The “Ride the Ridges” gravel ride passes the property, so you can do the course from there.  There are numerous hikes of all distances and difficulty in this area of Vermont.

This KOA is what you expect from a KOA– lots of amenities, sites of all sizes and levels of cost, tons of activities, and in a vacation destination area. We spent five nights at the campground and found lots to do in the area and that we had an enjoyable and pleasant stay. 

The park is a large park that is terraced since it is in a pretty hilly area. There is the range of sites from pull-thrus, pull-ins and back-in sites and can accommodate RVs of any size. Some sites are full hookup while others are not and that is reflected in the cost. We paid $57/nigh for our full hookup site which is pretty costly especially since we did not use any of the amenities. Most sites are gravel with gravel patios but there are deluxe sites with paved patios, patio furniture, umbrella, and gas bbq grill. There are also camping cabins, some of which have kitchenettes and bathrooms that sleep six people. 

Our site, was located in the back of the park in a quieter section because it was away from most of the activities and park entrance. The site was a pull-in which was kind of nice because the view out of our front windshield was of a wooded area. Our fire pit was in the front of our site so there was a nice amount of privacy when we sat outside by a campfire and didn’t feel like we were on the side of the road. Despite the hilliness of the park and all the trees, we did not have any trouble navigating our 45’ RV to our site. The trees at our site would prevent satellite television reception but our site had cable and we got about 20 or so channels. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Like many KOAs there are tons of amenities and things for kids to do – swimming pool, fishing ponds, bike rental, scheduled activities, propane sales, camp store, fire wood delivery, and more. There is a fenced dog park which was a fairly good size and our lab was happy to chase a ball. 

As a whole, the park was very clean and manicured. No trash laying around and the gravel roads were free of potholes. The campground is located near the Queechee Gorge, covered bridges, hiking trails (including sections of the Appalachian Trail), good dining, maple syrup/cheese farm, the Marsh Billings- Rockefeller National Historic Park.

This was a great site that feels secluded but isn’t. There’s quite a bit of space between each site so you can’t really see your neighbors which is excellent. The vault toilets were surprisingly clean besides the expected smell/flies. No running water or electricity. No cell service a few miles leading up the site, so download your maps in advance. There’s a 2.5 mile dirt road with a steady incline into the camp, which my subie had no issue with, but not sure how well an RV would fair.

Didn’t see any bear, but take bear food precautions regardless. Each site has a fire pit, tent platform, and picnic table. The sites were well cared for. There were two dumpsters, one for recycling and one for trash, at the end of the loop. They are bear proof and almost me proof! The constant sound of running water from the brook was truly relaxing. I didn’t have issues with bugs (beginning of August) but I also didn’t stay in the camp during the majority of the day.

All in all, a great campsite and I’ll definitely be back.

We had an amazing family camping trip to Mountain Lake Campground. This is definitely one of those campgrounds that has something for everyone. All of the attractions of the White Mountains plus all of the amenities you could ask for in a campground. There is a heated pool with water slides that even adults can enjoy, a lake for swimming and boating with rentals available, activities for the kids, a playground and giant life-size checker/chess boards, clean bathrooms/showers, and they can even deliver blueberry muffins and hot coffee to your campsite in the morning (which worked really well for us on the morning we checked-out because we were able to pack up the kitchen the night before!).

We camped in a large group and stayed in yurts, cabins, the tee pee and tents/trailers. Everyone was happy with their stay. The rental units were clean and some of the cabins even had bathrooms/kitchenettes. The sites were spacious and wooded. We booked late and weren't all together but we didn't mind walking.

Some even went to Santa's Village while other went hiking in the mountains or hung at the campground. We had an awesome stay and can't wait to go back.