Wrapping up our summer of camping: Best of summer 2020
When the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to our original summer plans (a trip to Washington State to see G’s sister and family and celebrate our nephew’s high school graduation, followed by a road trip down the Oregon/northern California coast), we changed gears and decided to make the best of our summer at home. At the start of the summer, we weren’t sure what we’d be allowed to do and not do due to travel restrictions, so we first planned a few in-state camping weekends to New Hampshire state parks. While some parks remained closed for the summer, others opened but at a reduced capacity. As the summer progressed, a few more became available; by late June, we were able to travel to Maine without the need for a COVID-test or quarantine. I had written a preview of our summer camping plans in this post. We had a few changes from that original plan, but we not many. For example, we cut a few weekends short, we never made it to Rangeley Lake State Park (ME), but we did get to White Lake State Park (NH) for a night.
During and after each camping trip, G and I would talk about what we loved (or didn’t love) about the site, the park, the area, etc. We’ve been trying to keep track of each park’s unique characteristics to help us not only share the info and our opinions but also start our planning for next year! We’ve created a “best of” based on this summer’s travels; keep in mind that these are entirely subjective, and others’ opinions and experiences may differ from ours. Now that the summer has come to end and the leaves are falling, it’s time for a wrap up.
At-a-glance
Number of nights camping: 27 (our initial plan had us camping 30 nights)
Number of state park campgrounds: 11 (5 in New Hampshire; 6 in Maine)
Total number of campgrounds: 12 (11 state parks, 1 municipal/town park)
Closest campground: White Lake State Park, Tamworth, NH (75.2 miles from home)
Furthest campground: Cobscook Bay State Park, Dennysville, ME (302 miles from home)
Approximate miles put on the van this summer: 5,000
Best view from the campsite:
Winner: Site #125, Cobscook Bay State Park, Dennysville, ME
Runner-up: Site #95, Winslow Memorial Park, Freeport, ME
This one was a no-brainer. We had an absolutely breathtaking site at Cobscook Bay SP. In addition to featuring an Adirondack shelter and a great stone fire pit, we could also walk a few steps down to the coastline. Since the park sits near the Maine/New Brunswick, Canada, border, the tides are pretty amazing to watch.
Our runner up is our favorite site at Winslow Memorial Park, a fantastic municipal park in Freeport, Maine. Site 95 is spacious, pretty quiet, and looks out over the Harraseeket River.
Best fire pit:
Winner: “Lower” fire pit, Site #125, Cobscook Bay State Park
Runner-up: “Upper” fire pit, Site #125, Cobscook Bay State Park
Again, a no-brainer. There was a small, unofficial (?) fire ring down on the sand that was only visible (and usable!) at low tide. On the site itself was another great stone fire pit, one of the best we’ve seen and used.
Most private/quiet:
Winner: Cobscook Bay State Park
Runner-up: Moose Brook State Park, Gorham, NH
Sick of Cobscook getting all the love? Sorry!! But it really was that amazing. Our site was tucked away, and the only other people we saw were walkers or cyclists who missed the turn and mistook our site’s driveway for the path. Each wandering soul, of course, then proceeded to comment on our Eurovan and on the site, usually in that order! As for our runner-up, our site at Moose Brook SP (#14) was also pretty secluded and tucked away down a long driveway, so it had the feeling of being somewhat off by itself. Plus, we didn’t have neighbors, so that helped!
Best hammocking options:
Winner: Gilson Pond Campground, Monadnock State Park, Jaffrey, NH
Runner-up: Cobscook Bay State Park
Ah, nothing beats setting up the hammocks and swaying the afternoons away. While we’ve had great trees at just about every site, we were spoiled by our options at Gilson Pond Campground, where we were SURROUNDED by trees. In fact, we took a short walk into the woods of our site and set up the hammocks there for a quiet and relaxing afternoon!
Best star-gazing:
Winner: Cobscook Bay State Park
Runner-up: Lily Bay State Park, Beaver Cove, ME
I had high hopes of getting into astrophotography this summer, but alas, I didn’t. Instead, I found myself falling fast asleep pretty early and not staying up late enough to really admire the night skies. Still, the views of the stars from Cobscook and Lily Bay were just fantastic; maybe next year, I’ll get the camera and tripod out and learn how to shoot the Milky Way!
Best Lake:
Winner: Sebec Lake at Peaks-Kenny State Park, Dover-Foxcroft, ME
Runners-up: Tie: Lily Bay (Moosehead Lake) at Lily Bay SP
Maine wins this one; its lakes are just stunning. We visited quite a few parks with lakes (Pillsbury SP, Gilson Pond Campground at Monadnock SP, Peaks-Kenny SP, Mount Blue SP, Lily Bay SP), but our favorite was Sebec Lake at Peaks-Kenny State Park. We took our packrafts out on the water during our trip, and paddling with Borestone Mountain as the backdrop was just gorgeous. The huge and gorgeous Moosehead Lake, of which Lily Bay is a part, comes in a close second. We had planned to take the packrafts out, but we felt it was a little too windy and choppy for us.
Best sunset:
Winner: Site 125, Cobscook Bay State Park
Runner-up: Waterfront sites, White Lake State Park, Tamworth, NH
We’re suckers for sunsets, and we were treated to a few great ones this summer. Now, technically, we couldn’t see the sun actually set from our site at Cobscook, but the colors of the sky as and after the sun set was just spectacular. For that reason, it won our top vote.
Best local/surrounding area*:
Winner: Tie: Winslow Memorial Park and Camden Hills State Park
Runners-up: Lily Bay State Park and Lafayette Place Campground
*Note: This one is tough because, due to COVID-19, G and I really didn’t explore the surrounding areas at all. However, we love Freeport and Maine’s midcoast region (Boothbay, Rockland, Camden), so our winners would be the same with or without the pandemic. Camden Hills also gets a nod for the great trails from the park; check out this post for more on those. For the runner up, Lily Bay State Park is in a gorgeous part of the Maine Highlands area, and were it not for the pandemic, we would have loved to explore the area. Next time, for sure! Finally, I couldn’t dismiss the gorgeous area of Franconia Notch. If you’re into hiking or biking, you do plenty right from Lafayette Place. We walked from the campground to the Basin (for more on that, check out this post).
”Best” Overall:
I’ll be honest: Cobscook Bay State Park spoiled us; from the moment we pulled in, we knew the site would be hard to top, and it was. We were there for only two nights, and yet, those two nights felt like a true escape, something that’s not necessarily always the case when camping. We’re already planning an extended trip to Cobscook next summer, and we’ll be jumping online as soon as reservations open this winter for Maine state parks. Our dilemma will be choosing a site, however, as the site we had (#125) is a non-reservable site, and we lucked out when we arrived and asked about switching (for more on that, check out the post I wrote about Cobscook).
For more info on the parks and for each of my trip posts, check out the following links:
Bradbury State Park, Pownal, Maine
Website
My review
Camden Hills State Park, Camden, Maine
Website
My review
Cobscook Bay State Park, Dennysville, Maine
Website
My review
Gilson Pond Campground, Monadnock State Park, Jaffrey, New Hampshire
Website
My reviews: Weekend #1 and Weekend #2
Lafayette Place Campground, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Website
My reviews: Weekend #1 and Weekend #2
Lily Bay State Park, Beaver Cove, Maine
Website
My review
Moose Brook State Park, Gorham, New Hampshire
Website
My review
Mount Blue State Park, Weld, Maine
Website
My review
Peaks-Kenny State Park, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
Website
My review
Pillsbury State Park, Washington, New Hampshire
Website
My review
White Lake State Park, Tamworth, New Hampshire
Website
My review