I found the coastal area of Massachusetts to be rather expensive for camping and you need reservations far in advance to catch the popular places like Salisbury, Cape Cod, and Martha’s Vineyard. I ended up staying in Wompatuck and Massasoit State Parks below Boston.
Wompatuck used to be a munitions storage facility for the Navy with numerous bunkers built into the forest and hidden. One bunker still stands though you can only see the outside of it and it is well hidden. I only found it because there is a geocache there and in many other places in the park.
The park is very large with lots of camping spaces and something always available for the night. I liked the geocaching there but there are so many trees that you can’t see the sky so it is rather depressing at times. They need to prune it out a bit and the back camping areas are overgrown so driving can be an adventure. The restrooms are also in serious need of repair. You can get a shower but don’t expect a stream. It is more like a dribble from the shower head. Be sure to carry lots of water on board too since they supply electricity but no water at the sites other than a communal fixture here and there. Forget about getting satellite TV there through all those trees but I was getting a couple of local stations through the air. Wompatuck puts you close enough to tour Boston and Plymouth if you have a mind to. I didn’t get around to them due to personal business I had to take care of.
Massasoit is a more popular park which you will need reservations for at least a week in advance. The trees are thinner which made me happier and they have sites with electric and water. The showers are only slightly better. When I was there, they were running the electricity from generators due to a lightning strike taking down their system. They worked very well and were not too loud where I was. I did enjoy my stay there though. I found a very good though hard geocache there. They have already closed for the year to repair the electrical system.
One thing I noticed about the northeast, they are crazy about Dunkin Donuts. There’s a Dunkin Donuts on nearly every corner and they even come with drive-thrus. Personally, I don’t get it. A Krispy Kreme I could almost understand. 😉
Another thing I have noticed from New York through New England is an awful lot of people are still tenting and using tent trailers there. I have never seen so many tent trailers in parks before. I thought full trailers, 5th wheels, and motorhomes would be the most popular in states with snow but I guess it gets so cold that they don’t even try to camp in winter. For the short camping season they have, tents and tent trailers are certainly cheaper.
I didn’t get to do all the big tourist things in lower Massachusetts that I wanted to for many reasons but particularly because I got there at the busiest time of year around Labor Day. I did get to go see Battleship Cove. They have a battleship, destroyer, submarine, Russian ship, and PT boats there to tour. They also have a carousel. Tee hee. You know I had to ride that. I highly recommend taking the time to go see this place. I can’t imagine how men manage to keep their sanity in those living conditions with bunks stacked 4 high, no place to store personal items (box lockers I suppose are used), very cramped passages on the submarine, etc. Yet many men have made careers in the Navy. My hat is off to all you guys
I had one night between Massasoit closing and my next camping reservation in Connecticutt so I went to Myles Standish State Park which is generally for tenters but allows short trailers. Finding the park is not easy since everything in the area is named Myles Standish. Once you do find it, it is not easy figuring out where to register. Their signage stinks. Rather, it is almost non-existant. I stumbled on the park headquarters and called them to be sure that was the place. It has no obvious trailer parking spots nearby. You have to go through the interpretive center parking lot and park on the back road. The site they assigned me was quite huge and could have held several motorhomes. However, getting in from the narrow street past the trees at the front took some help from a passerby to spot for me. In the end, I did enjoy my night there. They have a nice swimming area where I cooled off in my chair float and good hot showers with lots of pressure. The park seems to be a real favorite with local campers and fishermen.
More pics here.
