Prouty Beach Campground

This is a county park in what Vermonters call the Northeast Kingdom. The campground sits on Lake Memphremagog overlooking downtown Newport. The park covers 35 acres with 75 campsites and many amenities that you would expect in a public park like tennis courts, playground, disc golf course, basketball court, shuffleboard, horseshoe pits, walking paths, and bike and boat rentals. Campground amenities include 50-amp, water, sewer, laundry, free showers and restrooms, and free wi-fi. 

Prouty Beach Campground is in a great location to downtown Newport and there is a biking/walking path to downtown which is about a half mile away. Since the campground is close to downtown and Newport is a fairly small town, you are close to restaurants, and stores. 

During our stay, there was an ongoing summer camp for kids which was a little annoying. While the kids were not in the campground, we constantly heard them and they used all parts of the park. because of the noise, their use of the beach and other parts of the park. 

Our electric was problematic. Granted it was hot while we were there (in the high 80’s and low 90’s) our electric pedestal showed readings between 110 and 115 volts which was constantly cutting off our air conditioners. Even though our generator is set to automatically come on, we did not leave our dog unattended just in case that safety measure failed. They kept saying someone would come by to replace the breaker but that never happened. At least the weather cooled off so the electrical grid was not as taxed. 

The park website needs to be updated to accurately reflect the degree of electricity. Despite what the website says, all campsites have 50 amps. The office hours are weird and we could never get a hold of anyone despite trying calling at all times of the day and varying days. Even during our stay, we noticed the office hours are more hit or miss than regular, The campground was very clean. The staff used push mowers and weed whackers to cautiously cut grass around campsites. There was no trash laying around and every morning we saw them rake beach grass and debris along the beach so it was very clean for swimmers.

This is an RV campground w a handful of tent spots. We stayed at T4, a site w electric right on the lake. I was initially very excited to be so close to the lake but my enthusiasm waned a little after a swim- the lake bottom was murky sticky mud which is fine it’s just not my favorite. My fiancé went swimming and got a leech or leech-like thing on his foot so swimming for him was pretty much over. Being at the lake meant a lot of noise from others including the campers that use the facility, I mean like actual camp, like groups of kids and counselors. I don’t mind kids but others might. It was the usual kid squealing and stuff. When we arrived a counselor was using our site and picnic table, spilling cheese-it’s all over the place which made us popular with the many many seagulls. She left when she saw us pulling in but left the mess behind so the birds were an issue. They continued to be an issue the whole 3 days we were there- every day we’d come back to our tent to find our stuff scattered a bit- not a huge problem but a present nuisance nonetheless. We tried to keep our things contained but still they tried to carry some stuff away. On the lake shore was a lot of seagull feathers and goose presence, poop, it’s not my favorite way to swim. The bathrooms were ok, pretty basic, very much reminiscent of when you get sent to camp as a child, bare bones. The stalls in the bathroom are uncomfortably short so when you stand up your head is poking out over the door, you can make eye contact w everyone else in the room which is just weird! We went two days without paper towels being restocked to dry your hands, I finally had to call the office. (Everyone in the office was super awesomely nice, always!) Sunday morning there is a group that makes breakfast in the pavilion I guess for donations which they use to beautify the campground. This is a lovely gesture. However the pavilion is right next to the tent sites and the group started setting up about 6:30 AM, which included honking their car horn, and talking very loudly with complete disregard for quiet hours or the full row of tent sleepers. My fiancé finally approached them and told them they must be unaware of how much their voices are carrying but that everyone was still sleeping. They didn’t apologize or say anything and honestly I don’t think they cared or lowered their voices at all. Our site was comfortable, water and electric worked fine, clean fire ring, we didn’t use it. The group next to us talked late past quiet hours (I didn’t not approach the campground about it we just dealt w it), and used a drone which was extremely uncomfortable, loud, and disruptive. I did call the office about that the next day and asked if there was a drone policy, she said there was not but that she would address it if they used it again, they ended up leaving so it wasn’t a problem but there should definitely be a policy about it. All in all, people were nice but the lake location meant a LOT of additional noise from other users and there did not seem to be any reminders about quiet time. Don’t come here if you’re looking for solitude but do come here if you’re looking for a great location in northern Vermont close to a cute town and amenities. Just set your mindset that it’s not a secluded or quiet spot but a spot w stuff to do and lots of people to interact w. We did not use the boat rentals or tennis courts or other stuff.