Hermit Island Campgrounds

Have gone to H.I. many times, of course it’s beautiful if you get a prime site. That being said, the management here can be downright rude to their paying customers. They USED to let you bring dogs, but apparently some wusses complained enough or threatened them and they dont’ allow them now except maybe one weekend. They should forbid the wusses from coming, not Fido! The weather can be treacherous, and some sites flood — I’ve woken up to hearing poor families packing everything up in the middle of the night in a deluge and leaving — multiple families… felt bad for them, but it’s the ocean. It’s Maine. I’ve been there during hurricanes that were way off the coast but it still affects the island. Outhouses can be just awful… it’s a grin and bear it situation — that being said, the guy who said it took him 45 mins. to get to the beach from Osprey Point must’ve been crawling on his hands and feet, and even then — half hour max. lol

I’ve only been two times. Both of which were considered out of season. $ 40 per night. It’s generally still busy and most sites are picked over. On top of that the sites are on top of each other making it very awkward. We ran into a skunk problem… A whole family of them. They tortured us all night. That ruined my experience this time, isn’t that why you pay $ 40 a night — to not deal with those problems.
Overall it was just ok. Will be checking out sebago next time!

Spectacular campground. Perfect place to unplug from real life. Quiet and picturesque campgrounds. Multiple beaches to choose from!

We booked this trip last minute since we had originally planned to go to Maryland but the weather called for thunderstorms, so we decided to come to Maine! What an awesome experience. We absolutely loved everything about it! The people at the campground were all so helpful and cordial. The campground was clean, well kept, safe and gorgeous. All the other reviews hit it right on too. Can’t say one bad thing about it. We bought fresh Lobster at the store at the campground and cooked ourselves, it was delicious. We walked around the entire island and there is not a bad site, they are all great! We prefer the beach so we stay close to the beach and watch the sunset, amazing view. We are coming back next years and brining our kids.

We went the last day of off season, and had a really nice site and time here. The staff was nice, and I did not have any problems. I will say I find it odd that only two adults over the age of 21 may be at a site, while you may have up the three or four children with the adults. I am guessing someone threw a «rager», and ruined it for everyone. Also no boom boxes, and electronic noise making, I am guessing you can bring an acoustic guitar, which we forgot. You have to drive quite a bit to get here, but the seclusion and being right by the ocean was worth it. No running water, besides a pump for filling vessels. Outhouses, can also be a bit stinky, but that is the name of the game. If you are thinking about grilling, they have only primitive fire pits, with no grill. Ours was round in shape, if you want to bring one for it. Glad I brought hotdogs and a skewer stick, tongs, silicon potholder, corn in its husk, and potatoes wrapped in foil. This was the first time I camped on the beach, and it is easy to get a lot of sand in your tent. MY five star rating is really based on location, it was all and more than I expected.

We used to come here every year, but lately the rules police have gotten out of hand, When we were making some noise after 10pm one night, they came by and let us know… which I am ok with. however the next night when another campsite was loud they came and gave us attitude. when I explained it wasn’t us, and I refused to throw the other camp site under the bus they continued to give us grief the next day!!!
Getting a reservation is as pleasant as a root canal, and if you want a specific site. forget it! we have wanted to stay on an upper ocean prime site for years!
For the last 4 years I have sent in my reservation on JANUARY 1^st, UPS overnight, I am always told they are sold out on those sites… WHA!??
Pros: the beaches are clean. If you have young children they usually love it. The «bathtub», the showers are hot and have electricity. The camp store is well stocked with anything you might forget. The wild deer are fun to watch, and will ALMOST let you pet them.
Cons: the reservation process is ridiculous and archaic. the showers are not very clean. the camp store is overpriced. Mosquitos are Huge and abundant, the TONS of geese will steal any food you happen to leave out. there is no laundrymat and the closest town is about 45 min away. NO cell phone service at all… anywhere on the island. No lifeguards.

Pros: if you succeed at playing their antiquated reservations game, and you do get a decent waterfront site (which we did not)… Maybe you’re related to somebody, or you know a guy who knows a guy… Well, I imagine that could be quite nice. Good luck with that.
Cons:
Poorly maintained grounds with lots of standing water = bugs that attacked us constantly, every second that we were not either inside our tent or next to the ocean (10 minute walk from our tent). They bit while we sprayed ourselves with DEET, and continued to come back for more. They bit me on the soles of my feet and between my toes, they bit into my scalp through my thick hair. Cooking, going anywhere, or even just walking to the bathrooms was torture. We left three days early because of the bugs. Our site was not far from the ocean — just next to a lot of standing water and piles of rotting leaves and brush.
Despite the rules about radios and noise, we heard a lot of both.
Even the best sites are right up on top of each other. So if you’d like some privacy, plan to visit before choosing a site — you know, travel to Maine in the off-​season in order to choose a site — but then be prepared when they tell you that you didn’t get the site you wanted.
Apparently their loyal visitors will come back to the most expensive sites every year. This means that if you have a terrible time in a toxic site in one of their low-​rent areas, management couldn’t care less.

Have been going here since I was born (26 years), and my father since he was four. It is our favorite place in the entire world… Really nothing else can compare! Just moved to CA and don’t know how I am going to manage without frequent visits to the Island!

My parents took me every year here when I was a child, my fiancée and I come here every year on our own now, and I’ll likely take my children here in the future. It’s a great place to get away from technology/​life for a few days and just kind of slow down. Enjoy a campfire, read a book on the beach, and go to sleep and wake up with the sun.
I felt propelled to add a review to counteract some of the points made by «Van P.» I can assume by your description that your site was #3 Cross Island. This is a great site (I’ve been there once before). It’s located up on a cliff, and aside from the few other sites near you, it’s a very large spot and incredibly private, as there is no foot or car traffic aside from your neighbors, which is what makes it prime (and the cliff view of the ocean is quite nice.) It it, at most, a five minute walk to Sunset Lagoon, a seven minute walk to West Dune and a 20 minute walk through the trails to Sailboat and Bounty cove. A very enjoyable walk I might add.
You came unprepared and had to buy firewood from the store and drive off island to go to Burger King, of all places. That is your own fault for coming unprepared, don’t blame the staff for that (and as others have noted, you’ll get cheaper and better burning wood buying from the many locals set up along the road leading to the island.)
As for the sewage leak, there aren’t even any pipes or bathrooms at Sailboat Beach and only an outhouse close to Bounty Cove. You might have been just smelling the tide, Maine coast gets like that sometimes, or some poor kid really had to go. It’s a family camp ground, not a hotel. This was likely an isolated incident and not something to yell at the staff for.
Anyway, come prepared and have a positive outlook and you’ll find there is plenty to do on the island, other campers and staff are generally friendly, and feel free to just lose track of time sitting on the beach reading, or exploring some trails and cliffs that aren’t as traveled as some of the more well known. It’s not a huge place, but it’s not hard to find privacy if you try.

Gorgeous campground. Definitely pay more for an Ocean Prime spot if you can. Most of the sites are quite private and they all allow various types of camping equipment — some allow pop-​up campers, some are only for tents. It’s nice and quiet — the rules prevent loud music blaring or huge groups of drunken friends. Great little hikes and Popham Beach is very nearby and worth a trip.
The camp store has basic camp food, batteries, ice, camp supplies, and fire wood. However, the wood we purchased there was expensive, but it had not been cured and wouldn’t burn! We had another bundle from the roadside stand up the road and it worked perfectly.
They have a few activities for kids, a nice main hall in case of inclement weather, very helpful staff and overall good bathrooms.

Love it! It’s one of our traditional summer family campground stops. Some incredible camp sites and views. Very friendly staff with a sweet convenience store and snack house. Lots to do from hiking and exploring in and around the cliffs and secluded coves to swimming, kayaking and boating. I felt comfortable letting the kids roam freely to and from our campsite to the store and bath facility. Consistantly well maintained campground. You can tell that they care.
Note: it’s early impossible to get a prime site during peak season (although most sites are better than the average campground in my opinion). Our strategy was to make a list of our dream sites and reserve those spots by winter of the following year for the following summer.

Best camping experience EVER.
I went in September, so I was able to get a campsite on the beach.
When I say it was on the beach, I mean ON the beach: the site was all white sand, separated from the water by only a row of shrubs.
I should also note that while the island has one big public beach (which is near the main entrance and can get crowded), the beaches that are home to campsites are small and secluded. Some of the campsites are even on beautiful bluffs overlooking the water (though these would not be good with small children).
Renting kayaks is a must. They will deliver them to the side of the island that has a marina, but you can paddle them around to wherever you are staying and drag them ashore for the night so that every morning you can step out of your tent and hop in your boat.
And let me talk about the kayaking (as someone who is proficient but not an expert): it is awesome! You can get a bit of the ocean experience (going far from shore, riding big swells, paddling alongside lobster boats, exploring tiny islands and secluded coves) without dangers like riptides.
Other awesome things:
The store will cook lobster for you
The hiking trails around the island offer very nice scenery, including beaches, tidal pools and seaside bluffs
The snack bar has killer breakfast sandwiches and ice cream
And OMG the tidal pools. So much wildlife! Sea stars, crabs, and all sorts of other things
Walmart is about 30 minutes away
They are really strict about keeping parties and troublemakers out. (When I was there I heard them reject a reservation from a family that had been loud after curfew the previous year)
Campsites are enormous, so there is no need to be a minimalist. We purchased a 12×14 tent and decked it out with an air mattress, a card table, and folding chairs. And there was still plenty of outside space left over!
Downsides:
No wi-​fi anywhere, and cell phone coverage is spotty both on the island and on the mainland
The campsites on the marina side of the island were a little more muddy and mosquito-​y
No dogs allowed :-(
The good campsites are a bit expensive, but TOTALLY worth it. I had never paid more than $ 10 for a campsite before, but I would gladly fork over $ 50+ to stay at Hermit Island again. In fact, I probably will if I can find someone to watch my dog for a week!
The only way I could imagine not having fun there is if it rained the whole time (and even then you could at least enjoy the breakfast sandwiches and fresh lobster).
If I could give Hermit Island 100 stars, I would.

Hermit Island Campgrounds isn’t for a quick getaway from the city (nyc). That ish is mad far! …but it’s worth it, if you come prepared. All the great camp sites tend to be for week long reservations only, and there’s pretty much nothing else out there but the campgrounds.
Pros:
— varied camp sites with privacy and a few ocean front locations
— recommended beaches: sand dollar beach is smaller with finer sand and a bit more private than sand dune beach which is bigger and accessible off a path through the campsites; it has the better view, but not as nice shore
— you can rent kayaks, canoes, and boats from the Kelp Shed (or a 3^rd party that you can coordinate through the Kelp Shed)
— clean (ish) bathrooms and showers
— for the more civilized, there’s a snack bar at Kelp Shed
— friendly, young reception staff
— no cell reception
Cons:
— mosquitos
— mosquitos
— more mosquitos
— expensive, but well-​stocked store
— no cell reception
— effing mosquitos
As I mentioned, there are no veryyy close gas stations or grocery stores, so pick up supplies in Bath.
Tip: Take the advice of the folks’ at the Kelp Shed front desk with a grain of salt. They’ve categorized the sites as «value,» «choice», «prime», and «ocean prime». –However, the range of sites even within each category can be dramatic. Drive/​walk around and checkout sites yourself.

We have been camping at Hermit Island for the last 3years. They have all sorts of different sites. The beaches are awesome! The kids have a great time and there is lots to do. We usually go for a week and one day during the week do a girl’s day into the town of Bath.
It is difficult to book for a week and they have placed some restrictions on the number of people at the campground.
We love Hermit Island.

Best campground I’ve ever been to. We’ve been camping there for 25 years. The sites are in general pretty good it’s the rest of the island that really makes the experience. Great beaches, nature trails out to the end of the island, deer that let you come almost close enough to pet them, and a camp store that will sell and cook lobsters and steamers for you to bring back to your campsite for a really special evening dinner. Fantastic place!

«Most scenic campground in northern hemisphere» — certainly lived up to it’s billing
It was the off season so not quite in full swing yet, but we enjoyed every bit of time we spent there

Came here early in the season and we practically had the place to ourselves. As I understand, it’s nearly impossible to get any of the sites near the ocean during the summer season, but in early May anyway it was a piece of cake.
The prices are a little steep — the ocean view campsites were $ 30+ a night, but it’s certainly worth it for the view. I’m sure this property is worth millions, and the only way to keep it as a campground accessible to all is to keep it profitable. I’m not sure what the prices of the inland campsites are, as those are probably the only ones available in the summer.
Most campsites are a short walk to a latrine (pit toilet), but there are bathrooms with showers and flush toilets in centralized locations.
The only other negative would be that there seemed to be a large amount of poison ivy growing along the edges of our campsite. I alerted the camp staff so hopefully somebody got in there with a bottle of round-​up and a weed-​whacker.
Also, they have restrictions on how many people can occupy one site — it’s basically limited to a single car, two adults and any kids with them. Groups of adults may be forced to split up, depending on how strictly they enforce that policy.

A fun little island in Bath, Maine.
The island is fairly isolated. It is pretty big and has great hiking trails as well as a beach.
The campsites are super clean and are different sizes. They have running water, flush toilets and showers (a big plus for me personally).
You can rent kayaks and canoes there as well for additional costs.
If you decide to come to Hermit Island, I would strongly recommend that you pack enough food to last for the whole trip. I believe the nearest super market is at least 1 hour away. They do have a little snack bar and a convenience store with wood, ice and other essentials.
Definitely a fun place for family trips as well.