A Friendly, Rustic Campground on the Quiet Side of Mount Desert Island.... let us be your host for Acadia National Park!
Reviews of Bass Harbor Campground
13 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 5 users | Last reported on August 19, 2021AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 7 users | Last reported on October 02, 2023T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on October 17, 2022Small campground on the "quiet side" of the island. Not much privacy, but office was friendly.
They hold bonfires and lobster cooks on the weekends.
If you want to spend time on the quiet side of the island this is a great place to stay. I love visiting the Bass Harbor Lighthouse at sunset and from the campground it's only a 10 minute walk.
Nightly Rate: $40.00
Days Stayed: -
Site Number: -
Our rate was the Passport America rate because it was the last 2 weeks before the season started. The rate is not available during the season.
Our stay at Bass Harbor was in June 2015 and it was lovely. At the time we were complete newbies as full timers and still working out how to live in and drive our rig. Along with the great people we met as BHC, many of whom were workcampers, we got a number of tips that have held through the next year.
But the nice people is only one thing we loved about the campground. The sites are spaced a bit closer than other places but we had plenty of space and depending when you are there you may not have the spot next to you occupied. There is WiFi that works though if/when a lot of people are on it's slow. They have cable but we don't have TV so I cannot attest to it. The site has water and electric but no sewer. We have a composting toilet so have twice the grey water capacity of most people and only had to dump when we left BUT the dump station is centrally located. The bathrooms are IMMACULATE and cleaned well daily. There is laundry room with several washers and dryers including a large load dryer. Also kept very clean and when there was a torrential rain one day and I reported a leak in the ceiling the maintenance man came over immediately to look at and fix it.
Because we spent most of our time hiking and sightseeing we did not use the facilities there with ping pong and other things but heard good reports from others who did. The office is FULL of good information and everyone is willing to give recommendations. There is a pot of coffee and doughnuts (while they last) in there and several people always seemed to be around and ready to give advice or chat.
Location! They say correctly it's always important and BHC has a great one. Literally a 5-10 minute walk from the Bass Harbor lighthouse (it's the one on the ME state quarter BTW), the road or the path are beautiful. It's also a short drive down to the village of Bass Harbor where you can find lobster, a post office etc. The market is a bit further down the road. The entire area is great for bike riding whether you are on the road or go over to the carriage roads. It's QUIET. Blissfully so. And the trolley that services Mt Desert Island during the summer (it starts in mid June) stops right in front of the campground so you can make a day of it and go over to Bar Harbor, walk out to Bar Island at low tide, see the shops, etc and return ALL without having to rive or find a parking space.
Check in is easy-if the office is closed your papers will be in a pocket but chances are as soon as you arrive one of the workcampers will come over to make sure everything is OK and answer any questions.
There are NPS campgrounds that are cheaper but honestly we'd stay here again because by the time we left we felt like we were leaving family.
The only small negative would be that our MoHo did not fit perfectly into our spot and there was not another where we could go. It was simply a matter of not being able to extend our awning which became a problem only when it rained-which it did. Other than that it was excellent.
There are cabins in one area that is separate from the RV area and tent camping is on the other side of the RV area down a little slope. We have been to campgrounds where tents and RVs are mixed and I will say from our camping days I prefer the separation.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 15
Site Number: 327
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
The campground is very near Acadia NP and on the free shuttle bus route. The campground is small to medium in size and a very busy place. The RV sites were all occupied during our stay. The worst sites in the campground are 505, 506, 507, and 508. The sites are very close together and form a ring. The fire pit for each site are within 6 feet of the adjacent site. The sites are also directly across from the shower house, which is VERY busy. This campground cannot easily accommodate big rigs (>35 feet) no matter what the owners tell you.
There was an incident while we were there where a young man not staying in the campground was caught filming women taking showers in the bath house using his cell phone. The owners and camp staff did nothing about it (e.g., get the perp's name/ID, take a picture of the perp, call the sheriff, etc.). The husband of one of the woman filmed managed to reset the phone to erase the videos but, the owners stood silently by while the perp rode his bike out of the campground.
Next year we will be staying at Smuggler's Den campground nearby. That park is large, designed for larger rigs, on the shuttle bus route, and may be much quieter and more serene.
Nightly Rate: $55.00
Days Stayed: 10
Site Number: 506
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
This should be a tent only campsite. Staff was rude. Location is the only thing this campground has going for it.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: -
Staff was very rude. Do not recommend if you want some good vibe
Nightly Rate: $68.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
T-Mobile 4G
We had to change our itinerary at the last moment & they were so accommodating. It proved to be an excellent location for exploring & enjoying Acadia NP. Spaces were a bit tight which is why only 4 stars but the staff & service were so helpful in every way.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 312
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 5G
We stayed here in May of 2017. We received a great AD military discount for coming in the off season. We enjoyed our campsite. We had an easy walk over to the bath house & playground, but I will say there was only one other RV in one of the spot for one of the nights. The staff were extremely friendly.
The playground is dated and needs some work, but that didn't stop my kids from playing. We enjoyed being away from Bar Harbor, being a short walk from Bass Harbor Lighthouse or the Wonderland Trail. The price is right and it made for a quiet, relaxing and very affordable trip to Acadia NP.
Nightly Rate: $23.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: 505
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We loved the location on the "quiet side" of Mt. Desert Island. Convenient to Acadia, but without the craziness of the Bar Harbor area. Extremely nice people running and employed by the campground.
Verizon cell signal anywhere on the island is almost nonexistent. We don't have a booster, so maybe it would be better with one, can't say for sure. Campground had wifi, but it rarely worked.
The sites are extremely tight, so if you have a rig larger than 35 feet you might want to reconsider. They do have a few sites that they call "pull through" however the term here is used loosely. None of the sites are designed for large rigs, and everyone in the pull-throughs had to unhook if they had a toad. We saw one guy with a 40 ft class A that took about 30 minutes to get out, and he still ended up hitting a post.
Very unlevel, among the worst we've come across. We never did get level.
If not for the location and price, we would rate this campground lower.
Nightly Rate: $37.00
Days Stayed: 12
Site Number: 310
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
So this is a mom and pop campground ran by a very nice older couple. They were starting to update somethings while we were there. The sites are small like previous reviews but I was able to sneak my 36' Imagine into an end spot. We were in walking distance to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse and actually in Acadia NP. If you are planning on doing a lot oof things in Acadia NP, this is the perfect place to drop the camper. We had full hookup with our site (water,30A and sewer.) Pro's- nice owners, wifi no problems, restrooms were clean. Close to Acadia NP activities. An IGA market close by for groceries. Price was right with a great scenery for star gazing and hearing the Atlantic. Cons- small sites and small trees every where to hamper parking of camper. Campfire pits on top of other sites (which as a FF I didn't like).
Really we would stay there again because the cons were not overwhelming for us not to. Plus as I said, they were updating things like more sewer and outhouses with more water outlets.
Nightly Rate: $40.00
Days Stayed: 6
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
As previous reviewers say this is not a big rig friendly place, but we chose it because it had the best rated cell signal. It would be perfect in a tent, as most sites are tent sites. The water pressure was very low and variable. Wifi wasn’t very strong. Cell signal download ok but upload slow. Dog run was never cleaned and is in the back in a heavily forested area, rustic would be a good description. Playground was closed. Rec room was open but all games not working. Pool was open but too cold to use. They don’t charge extra for kids, which is nice.
Getting into and out of our site was difficult. They only have a couple real pull through site. We are 41 feet, a 36 foot would be ok if you are a comfortable driver.
Walk to Bass Headlight was nice but no sidewalks and fast drivers made it scary with kids.
We wouldn’t stay again because we need better cell signal and it wasn’t worth the extra hassle of the small site.
Nightly Rate: $55.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: 502
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
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Bass Harbor Campground
Hours
- Mon - Fri: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Max Length
- 40ft
- Sites Count
- 117
- Last Nightly Rate
- 68.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 22
- Standard Tent Sites Count
- 55
- Pull Through RV Sites Count
- 8
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 41.0
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Sites
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Laundry
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Propane
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Showers
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Big Rigs
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Boondock
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Firewood
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Fifty Amp
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Tent Sites
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Cabin Sites
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Full Hookup
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Paved Sites
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Dump Station
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Mobile Homes
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Public Water
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Pull Through
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Water Hookup
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Potable Water
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Swimming Pool
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Age Restricted
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Rec Facilities
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Dispersed Sites
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Open Seasonally
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Permit Required
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Back In RV Sites
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Group Tent Sites
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Fulltime Residents
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Standard Tent Sites
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
Campground, Parking, Restrooms
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