Massachusetts camping Archives - Big Guy Tiny Trailer

New England Camping

We were happy to finally be able do a New England camping trip that was cancelled in 2020. The trip lasted 4 1/2 weeks and covered six states in the northeast corner of the country: Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island. Those six states were new states in which we have not previously camped.

Stops and Miles

We towed our camper approximately 3,188 miles with a total of 18 stops. Also, there was a good bit of driving without the trailer attached because the Ram traveled 3,600 miles. Our focus was getting to the New England camping areas, so it was longer drives and one night stops until we got there.

New England camping path — Our New England part

The States

Connecticut

First, we camped on the western side of the state, near the charming town of Litchfield. Our campground was Cozy Hills, the most friendly of all our stops. We were near Hartford which allowed us a day in there. The majestic Connecticut State Capital was a highlight, made more enjoyable by a tour. Our Sophie stayed with a sitter who lived in Hartford, so we had plenty of time to enjoy the city.

After the capital tour, we had a delicious lunch at Pepe’s Pizza and then a tour of Mark Twain’s home. It was interesting and informative about his later years.

On our way home after many more stops, we camped on the eastern side of the state, but it was only an overnight stop. I really love Connecticut. More on our time there is at Connecticut Camping Summer 2022.

Maine

The highlight of our trip was Maine. We camped in three different cities in Maine: Bangor, Bar Harbor, and Kennebunkport for a total of eight nights. Each city was special in its own way, but Acadia National Park was unparalleled. We camped two nights at Hadley’s Point campground with full hookups in Bar Harbor and two nights of dry camping in the National Park at Blackwoods Campground. Inside the park was my favorite! The terrain in Bar Harbor was mountainous and rugged.

Bangor

Firstly, Paul Bunyan Campground in Bangor was our home for two nights. We used our time there to check out Stephen King’s house and the Cole Transportation Museum. It was cool to see Kings house, but the Transportation Museum was amazing. For example, it has tractors, snowplows, and vehicles that are over a hundred years old.

Bar Harbor/Acadia

Acadia National Park is small, but so very beautiful. It and Bar Harbor are on an island called Mount Desert. I wish we could have done more hiking, but am glad we were able to do a little.

New England camping at Acadia National Park — View from the top of Cadillac Mountain

We stumbled upon the beautiful garden below in Bar Harbor and just stopped for awhile to enjoy its serenity.

Kennebunkport

Kennebunkport is a beautiful, small coastal town. Most importantly, it is known as the summer home of the George H.W. Bush family for over a hundred years. We saw the home from afar, but we mostly enjoyed checking out the small town and the amenities at our nicest campground on our trip, Sandy Pines Campground.

This was the only time to get in a pool during our trip. It is a saltwater pool and it was exhilarating—the perfect temperature and no chlorine smell. Sandy Pines was our favorite campground because of the nice amenities.

All of our stops in Maine were great. The only regret was no autumn leaves. For more details, check out Maine Camping Summer 2022.

Massachusetts

Traveling through the Berkshires, our first Massachusetts stop was in Pittsfield at Bonnie Brae Campground. We were there two nights. We spent our free day at the Hancock Shaker Village and we stopped at a nearby winery for a tasting. Both were fun, especially the Village. The Berkshires was so beautiful and the weather good except for an afternoon shower.

When we came back down the eastern coast, Gloucester was our next Massachusetts destination with camping at Cape Ann Sites. It was very mountainous there with narrow roads. We didn’t like it at first, but our three nights there gave us a great appreciation for the area. So much was this that we would like to visit again. More photos and details about our Mass stops are at Massachusetts Camping Summer 2022.

New England camping in Gloucester — Fisherman’s Memorial

New Hampshire

The White Mountain range is in New Hampshire, so we got to see a lot of them. Our only stop in the state was in Wolfeboro at the Wolfeboro Campground. It was a nice, inexpensive campground in a lovely town with lakes all around. We took a day to ride the Cog Railroad to the top of Mount Washington, elevation 6,288. The railroad was a couple of hours away from Wolfeboro, but worth the trip.

We had three nights in Wolfeboro and stayed in town our other free day to take in the scenery and nice weather. I especially loved this small town! More about this stop is at New Hampshire Camping Summer 2022.

Rhode Island

Our worst weather was in Rhode Island. It was cloudy or raining during our entire stay. The goal was to take the ferry into Providence for a day, but there was actually some flooding there. So, it was a no go.

Despite the weather, we had a few hours to drive around a bit and enjoy Cliff Walk, a 3 1/2 mile walk alongside the ocean and the famous Newport mansions. I absolutely loved it! The views were stunning and the salt air felt rejuvenating for my lung condition.

New England camping near Cliff Walk — Cliff Walk

Our other free day was a visit to The Breakers, one of the most famous Newport mansions. I loved it and my husband tolerated it. I would have liked to visit others, but marriage does involve compromise. More on this rainy stop is at Rhode Island Camping Summer 2022.

New England camping in Newport — The Breakers

Vermont

The Green Mountains of Vermont were very beautiful. The state is crystallized in my mind for its incredible scenery, rich history, and covered bridges. Of all the states we visited on this trip, I think Vermont would be the most beautiful for the turning of the leaves.

Our time in Vermont was only at one stop, Camping on the Battenkill in Arlington. Most importantly, there were three nearby covered bridges that we got to enjoy. For more about our Vermont experiences, see Vermont Camping Summer 2022.

New England camping and covered bridges — Paper Mill Bridge

New England Camping in Conclusion

This trip was long awaited and delayed by COVID, but it was an incredible experience. We loved each of the new states we visited because each was special in its own way. So, we now have camped in forty-five states!

Happily, our New England camping had no snags and we certainly had gorgeous weather most of the time. Fall leaves would have been nice, so we have to go back!

Massachusetts Camping

We have never done any Massachusetts camping before, but we have been to Boston. This visit began in the Berkshires on the western side of the state and ended on the eastern coast. Camping in the Berkshires was easy, but there is a story to tell about our coastal camping.

Bonnie Brae in Pittsfield

It was smooth sailing at Bonnie Brae because we had a nice, shaded, level site and the campground had a pool and laundry. We used the laundry, but did not have time for the pool.

Massachusetts camping at Bonnie Brae — Bonnie Brae is a cute little campground

The campground is on a steep hill. Consequently, it gave Sophie and me a workout coming back up on our walk. It was a friendly area and we interacted with several neighborhood residents below and they gave us tips on restaurants in the area.

Hancock Shaker Village

We had one full day to explore the area and we spent most of our time at the Shaker Village. Shakers inhabited the village from 1783 to 1836. Today there are twenty historic buildings. The countryside was so beautiful and the village was quite interesting.

The Shakers believed in communal living, equality, obedience, humility, simplicity, and perfection. Their work was of the highest quality. All those traits led to a harmonious and simple life. However, they also believed in celibacy. I think that was an unsustainable aspect of their survival as a congregation.

Massachusetts camping ear the Shaker Village — Shaker Village

This round barn was built in 1826 and was an engineering marvel for its day and stabled 52 milk cows. We attended an interpretive talk and were amazed at how innovative they were and how they lived. People traveled from all over when this barn was being used to see it.

Walking around enjoying the beauty of the Berkshires was another thing we loved about being at the Shaker Village.

Hilltop Orchards

Our rainy afternoon was spent at Hilltop Orchards Home of Furnace Brook Winery. We did a wine tasting and purchased a bottle of ice wine, which is unique and something we have never tried. They also had the best cider doughnuts we had on our trip. It was a good way to spend an afternoon.

Gloucester

It was a couple of weeks later when we reached the coastal side of the state. Our first impressions were not the best. The roads in the Gloucester area were very narrow and curvy. The speed limits were low, however, which helped. Unfortunately, my husband had a bit of a bad attitude about the area before we even turned into the campground.

Cape Ann Camp Site

The campground was all uphill and again with the narrow roads. The staff checking us in were very friendly though. The road up to most of the campsites is in the picture below. It is steep with a pronounced curve. When my husband saw it, he said, “Oh, hell no!” He turned down an alternative road to the left, but you couldn’t get up it. A camper who was there said a woman tore up her camper trying to go up that way. So, we turned around and braved the big hill. I got out and watched from all sides as my husband drove up. We made it!

Massachusetts camping at Cape Ann — The road up to the camp site

An added risk was the huge rocks and protruding trees all along the road. The rocks were everywhere, but there was a path for a careful driver. We saw campers that were our size, but none any larger in that top area. Finally, we made it to our site and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Ironically, this was one of our favorite stops on our trip. The area was beautiful and there was a lot to do. Also, the other campers were very friendly. This part of our Massachusetts camping turned out to be extraordinary.

Massachusetts camping at Cape Ann Camp Sites — Site 196E

The Overlook

An added bonus of the campground was a trail that led to an overlook. We walked up the trail several times and enjoyed the view and the discussions with the other campers. Cars and boats get trapped by the tides in the water below because the level varies by as much as six feet daily.

Massachusetts Camping at Cape Ann Camp Site — View from The Overlook

My husband and dog really liked going to the overlook in the early morning. Unfortunately, they never quite made it for the beginning of sunrise.

The Harbor and City

We were in Gloucester over Labor Day weekend and there was a lot going on. Everything big was happening the Saturday before Labor Day. There were schooners racing in the harbor and that evening a large live band would be playing. A parade of boats with lights would be on the harbor at dusk and later there would be a big display of fireworks. I say “would be” because we only spent the afternoon there. We were worried about the loud noises having a negative impact on our pup. In fact, the fireworks were quite loud in our camper, which was miles away.

We did see the boats going through the drawbridge. I think they were practicing in the daylight. It looked like it would be grand evening.

However, we got to enjoy the beautiful harbor with its monuments, flags, and flowers.

Stage Fort Beach

Stage Fort Beach is near the harbor and it enabled us to get close to the shoreline to see how different it is from the southeast. Half Moon Beach had just a small area of beach and many rocky cliffs.

There was more beach at Cressy’s Beach but what I found most interesting was the big rocks and the house on the cliff. I tried to find out information about the house, but was unsuccessful.

We were impressed with how long Gloucester has been around. Tablet Rock below has a commemorative plaque dedicated to the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony by the Dorchester Company in 1623. It also states that Tablet Rock was used by native Americans as an alter to invoke the Great Spirit.

Salem

We took a short drive to Salem for our other free day in Gloucester. It is a cute town that embraces its dark history. We learned the specifics of what happened at the Witch History Museum and had Thai food in the Witch City Mall.

Salem is also the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote The Scarlet Letter. The House of the Seven Gables, which was inspirational to him, is available for tours, but we didn’t have the time to see it. However, I plan to check out the book from the library when we return home.

Massachusetts Camping Conclusion

After settling in, both of our Massachusetts camping stops were wonderful. I am so glad we were able to camp in this beautiful state with such a rich history. Check out our visits to other states on our page, States Visited, a Campsite Resource.