Our first 'long' for us trip in the RV will be this June! We're planning 10-14 days, leaving NJ in mid-June when school ends and heading up to New England. My husband and I have traveled to Maine multiple times before, , but we used to drive straight through, and with kids and an RV I need to plan a LOT more now. We'd like to stick mostly with state and national parks when possible. (We just got the RV last summer and have done a few long weekends, so it's all pretty new to us!)My basic plan right now is to start in NJ, and work our way up to Bar Harbor and go home through VT and NH with a specific stop in NY...NJ to Connecticut, stay for 1 nightto (maybe) Boston/Plymouth, MA for 2 nightsto Camden, ME for 2-3 nights (meeting up with family members for a few nights)to Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park, ME for 2-3 nightsto New Hampshire for 1-2 nights (have never stayed there, so looking for places to visit)to Vermont for 1-2 nights (have never stayed there, so looking for places to visit)to NY for 1 night near Watkins State Parkback to NJWhat I'd appreciate is any advice in general, but specifically state and national park recommendations along this route. We're VERY new to this, so any advice is welcome. Thanks!

We did a New England/Maine trip this past August and really enjoyed the trip. We left Virginia and stayed the first night in a state park in PA. None of the staff knew this park and said there were pull thru sites. Only one was a pull thru. Very difficult to get around and confusing signage. We tend to stay away from government run campgrounds as they are not up to par with the private ones. We have found a few that were good, most were not. We stayed almost a week at Association Island KOA on Lake Ontario and toured the Thousand Islands of NY. Loved the campground and it was beautiful. We went through VT via the Adirondacks and ended up staying a good few days near Lake George NY. The best pizza I have tasted came delivered to the campground and also the best restaurant we've every eaten in...check out Trip Advisor as I cannot recall the name. We stayed at a nice campground near Meredith NH. State park looking place and lots of easy pull thru and full hook up sites with a small lake. Meridith is on Lake Winnapausaka (spelling is horrible), place was wonderful. Then on to Maine. Bar Harbor is really touristy, but Acadia is lovely. On our way home we stopped and stayed in Rockport Maine and visited some of the smaller towns nearby which were really what Maine looks like on the brochures. Our last destination was in Sturbridge Village MA. Actually better than Williamsburg. Good luck on your trip.

In NH's White mountains you'll find a whole string of national forest CG's, probably 20 or 30 of them, take your pick. The Kancamagus Hwy (112) and 93 are worth doing.State parks in Ma., Myles Standish (not on the beach) is just outside Plymouth and Salisbury Beach is north of Boston, it would be a good spot to check out Rockport, Gloucester and Newburyport.In Ct., maybe Rocky Neck or Hammonasett SP if you want to go I95 along the shore, both have beaches. I prefer the Hammonasett beaches, but that's just me.Fisherman's Memorial SP in RI is a good one too, also along the shore. Light house, a couple decent beaches nearby, Narragansett Peir, Newport is close by too.

I presume you know that most New England state parks have no hookups. That being said, you have gotten some good suggestions of places to visit.Lived in VT for 40+ years before moving to MA to work at Sturbridge Village - mentioned above. VT state parks have no hookups, but most are beautiful. Some interesting places to visit in VT.: Quechee Gorge (State park right there), Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in Waterbury, Shelburne Museum south of Burlington, and take ferry across Lake Champlain to NY.

Put your destination locations into the map on this link and all of the campgrounds will show up on the map including the state, regional, and federal campgrounds. There will be links for each one to check them out including an RVparkreview link if there is one. Then come back here and ask about specific one's you are interested in. http://www.epgsoft.com/CampgroundMap/You will also get a fast idea if there is anything - government or private where you are going to stop. Just move around the map to widen the area you are looking at. This map makes trip planning easy.

You are going to spend a lot of time driving and setting up. Each state could more than fill a two week trip. Look for things to see at a destination, then pick number of nights and remember the first is just arrive, setup and eat, then search campgrounds.

New England in June | Good Sam Community

paulcardoza
Explorer
Jan 21, 2014
Myles Standish CG has been closed for several years now.

Padlin wrote:

State parks in Ma., Myles Standish (not on the beach) is just outside Plymouth and Salisbury Beach is north of Boston, it would be a good spot to check out Rockport, Gloucester and Newburyport.
s1214
Explorer
Jan 20, 2014
GoneCamping wrote:

In Vermont, I'm rather partial to Coolidge SP, it's on top of a small mountain, but some of the sites have fantastic views...

Did you stay in the upper or lower loop? When I stayed there, the "Ranger" wouldn't let any RV's in the lower loop because he said they blocked the view for everyone else. The lower loop has the best views.
tomkaren13
Explorer
Jan 19, 2014
Another suggestion, not a place to stay.

A stop for a day or two just to chill is a good idea. Could be the day you need for groceries, but don't plan anything else.
loggenrock
Explorer
Jan 17, 2014
Hi AJMom! Check out a previous thread where I detailed some northern New England sites http://www.rv.net/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25806393/gotomsg/25819421.cfm#25819421
PM me if you want even more! One question - do you have a pet? That limits some of the parks... ST
AJMom
Explorer
Jan 17, 2014
Thanks so much for all of the good suggestions! I know that this is a short trip for a large area, but we think it will be a great intro to New England for our boys, ages 12 and 9. They have been up to Maine, but it was six years ago, so they don't remember much. I would love if we could make the trip longer, as I know how much there is to see and do, but unfortunately that's not possible this summer. Thanks again, you've been very helpful!
GoneCamping
Explorer
Jan 17, 2014
I've never had much success at finding a good campground in Conn that is convenient to I-84, but it's a small state so I go right through, then top as soon as I'm in Mass at Wells SP.

Someone above mentioned Kancamagus Hwy in NH, I'd second that. Some nice USFS campgrounds and a beautiful drive through the mountains.

In Vermont, I'm rather partial to Coolidge SP, it's on top of a small mountain, but some of the sites have fantastic views...
noe-place
Explorer
Jan 16, 2014
We were up there a couple of years ago and we really love the area. You've got good plans so you should have a great time. We'd be back too if we lived closer.
Beaker
Explorer
Jan 16, 2014
We tend to stay away from government run campgrounds as they are not up to par with the private ones.

Thank goodness their not!
spoon059
Explorer II
Jan 16, 2014
If you want some suggestions, I suggest you add another week! You will be visiting a LOT of beautiful areas. I love New England, my mother grew up in upstate New York and lived in Vermont for a while. When we were kids we took a trip up through New England to Nova Scotia, Canada where my mom was born and it was AMAZING! June is a great time to go too, because the weather will be pretty good on average.

I would encourage you to reach out to the parks you are interested in and find out if you need reservations or not. If you don't need reservations, I wouldn't make any. I would hit my first attraction and stay until you feel that you've done what you wanted to do, then move along to the next one. Inevitably you will find that some parks and areas are gorgeous and you really want to stay an extra day or two. You will also find some areas to be less than you expected and might only stay a night and move on. If you aren't tied down by reservations, you are more free to "pick and choose" and enjoy your vacation more.

However you do it, I hope you have a great time. I want to do a trip up the coast in late summer or early fall in a couple years when my daughter is old enough to remember it.
Flintstones
Explorer
Jan 16, 2014
For public parks, consider Salisbury Beach State Park in MA or Hampton Beach State Park in NH coastal area, Acadia National Park, Jigger Johnson on the Kangamangus Highway in New Hampshire, Lake George has state parks, then home.

For Private RV Parks, I would do Normandy Farms in Foxboro, MA, then Bar Harbor KOA In Maine, then Danforth Bay Camping Resort in New Hampshire (White Mountains/Mount Washington Valley) then finish with Lake George RV Park in Lake George, NY.

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