Camden Hills State Park

Beautiful! Highly recommend a visit, well worth the few dollar fee to enter. We made two trips there. We drove to the top of mt battie and also did several of the trails.

Whether you’re looking to do a hike or just driving by, this beautiful spot is definitely worth a stop! We just wanted to do a little hike to stretch our legs, and we got that as well as an incredible view! We ended up going up the backside of the park, but it might be more beautiful than the front! Coming from the Camden side, we took the big left just after you finish driving through the street with all the shops. The road got prettier and prettier as we drove away from the town and along the park. On one side was the sparkling Meguntacook Lake and on the other were tall cliffs. We stopped at a little trail with a small parking lot called Maiden’s Cliff Walk. It definitely wasn’t the main trail, but it was a perfect length hike for us! We didn’t want to spend all day, and the hike was a perfect hour up and down. At the top, we had magical views of the lake, little islands, Camden, and even the ocean beyond that. We took some pretty awesome photos:) highly recommend this little hike even if you’re just driving through; it’s the perfect, highly rejuvenating detour! Enjoy:)

Ehhh maybe I am comparing this to much better places but this place kinda sucks. The grass on our site clearly had not been mowed for months and was over grown. The bathrooms do not have soap, or towels and for the week I stayed the hand sanitizer in the men’s and women’s never got filled. Gross! The roads around the campground are horrible. They are washed away and bumpy!!! The quite hours are nice. And the free WiFi is nice, when you can get it to work. I never had had trouble but someone in our group did. Its nice to be able to go hiking and see the great views and not have to pay extra. The last thing I did not like was having to wait behind a long line of traffic to get into the campground, waiting behind people who were paying for the park. I already paid and had a flyer hanging in my window. Having two lanes would have been nice. They could use the road to the right for people paying or people who already paid. Rude to make us wait. I waited for 20mins.

You get a lot for the price. I’ve stayed at my share of campgrounds, and this is definitely one of the better ones. Its surrounding is lush and green with towering trees and a trail head close by. There are plenty of amenities. Potable water is located at various campsites. The bathrooms had plenty of outlets to charge your electronics. There are flushing toilets and sinks with WARM water. What’s more is the showers were FREE. What a novelty! I didn’t use it though, so can’t really comment on it though. Every campsite had a bench and fire ring. The campground was very quiet despite the high number of occupied sites. I would definitely recommend this campground to my family and friends.

Gorgeous views and easy drive up. Very pleasant experience.

Spent two quick nights here in a tent in early September. We had read on Unilocal that campsite 81 was the best due to its seclusion at the back of the park so we booked it several weeks in advance. When we arrived, the staff at the gate was very friendly and provided all the info we needed for our stay. We easily found our campsite and found it to be spacious enough for our large tent and pickup truck. The flat (almost level) gravel site had a fire pit and picnic table, both were in good shape. The site was drive in drive out so unloading and setting up was a breeze. The dirt road leading to the site was one way and was barely travelled… only a few cars passed our site while we were there.
The site was very secluded and we could not really see the other nearby sites through the woods (although we could hear them). Occasionally we would see someone at night with a light walking down the path in the woods to the bathrooms but that was about it. The winds seemed to pick up at nighttime in this area so it was not as quiet as expected. We had been on a sunset sail a few hours earlier and there was almost no wind at the harbor so maybe it has to do with the mountains. There was also a very loud owl that made a lot of noise at night which was okay since we were a guest in his house!
There was a small path a the back of the site that led to the bathrooms and showers through the woods and was a very short walk. The bathrooms were clean but did not have soap or hand dryers, just hand sanitizer which was fine. The showers were okay but you could not control the temp which was fine until the other two showers were going and it got a bit cold. Still beat washing up at the campsite with a pot of warm water!
Our campsite was one of the closest to the mutli-​use trail and the hiking trails. We hiked up Megunticook Mtn. one morning which took about 2 hours round trip. The hike was moderate with a beautiful view of Camden and the coast at the top!
The park office was open 7am to 10pm where you could buy a bundle of wood for $ 8 I believe. The wood lasted about 2 hours which was just about right. There were also dumpsters and recycling easily accessible on the way out of the park.
Overall this was a very nice park with close proximity to beautiful Camden. The $ 28 per night was worth it and much cheaper than staying in one of the many B&Bs or Inns in town.

The 360 degree view from the top of auto road provided an exceptional view of Camden Harbor and several islands in Penobscot Bay. I thought access to the Maiden Cliff trail was via this road, but subsequently learned it is off Route 52. Plan B was the easy and less scenic shoreline trail. Tip — the senior all day pass includes multiple visits and only costs $ 1.50 per person.

Beautiful state campground. Very clean and well kept. The camping spaces are spacious and secluded from one another. The bathrooms were very clean and looked newly renovated (maybe?). The showers resembled (what I would think) a prison bathroom, but they were warm (you can’t adjust the temp at all) and did the job!
One of the best parts of this campground is it has a bunch of hiking trails right there!!! We did Mt. Battie and would highly suggest doing this hike (you can also drive your car up, but let’s face it… that’s lame).
We loved it so much we booked another night for our way back from Bar Harbor. Loved it!!!

I can’t believe I’m telling you this. but here it is. if you’re tent camping, you WANT Site 81. Now, because of my big Unilocal mouth, I’ll probably never see it again.
I have never been here before, so when I checked in and the park ranger said «Welcome Back!,» I was confused. After filling him in that I randomly picked the most secluded-​looking site on the Camden Hills website map, he told me I made a wonderful choice for a first-​timer. This is their most requested site, and usually booked months in advance. Why, you ask? Well, mostly because it’s so far away from all of the other sites! You’ll have the place to yourself. You’ll see that the other campsites in Camden are right on top of one another, until you reach this hidden gem. Your closest neighbors are barely visible through the thick woods.
If you’re looking for a bit of privacy, and maybe a lack of yelling children at 8am, this is your spot for the night.
Welcome to the club, you 81er! Enjoy it.

This was my first time camping– tent and sleeping bag– very basic. The rangers (is that what they still call them?) were very helpful with directions and things to do. We went on a hike nearby after setting up our camp. We had a little pit and bought firewood from the station. The bathrooms were pretty clean and the showers warm.

This state park is one of the nicer ones I have stayed at. Most of the sites are shaded and lovely. Bathrooms are pretty clean, but the showers are HOT. They could take meat off the bone. Staff were helpful. Don’t expect to get down to the ocean (at least not safely). But, there are some nice views from the top of Mt Battie. Not to be missed.

Camden Hills State Park is BEAUTIFUL! If you come from the south of Camden, you’ll get to see the nice Camden downtown area (which you can later see on top of Mt. Megunticook). The fee to enter is $ 3 for Maine residents and $ 4.50 for non-​Maine residents (I believe there is a discount or its free for children under 12). I am a student at a Maine university, the nice lady let me pay the Maine resident price instead of the out-​of-​state price.
I did not have the chance to hike (or drive up) Mount Battie, but I’ve heard great things about the lookout tower. My trip consisted of hiking Mount MeGunticook. In particular, I went to the Ocean Lookout, which is AMAZING! This view is hard to beat, especially on a clear, summer day. I particularly enjoyed the hike because it was challenging but not too crazy. Plus, the Ocean Lookout view is the ultimate reward. It took about an hour to reach the Ocean Lookout. From there, you can turn back around, or explore other trails, including trails to Maiden’s Cliff and Mount Battie. I HIGHLY recommend trekking one of the trails here

What a bummer. Went on a Sunday afternoon in mid November. My husband had a broken foot so the one place we both wanted to see was a no go. Drive Trail closed.
Make sure you check (like we didn’t) what is open in November.

Cant go wrong. I am sitting by my campfire as i am writing this. WiFi at the campground makes it possible. Its low bandwidth stuff but its still good considering i didn’t get a good cell phone signal. This enabled me to stay in touch with family. The seven dollar firewood bundles were pricy but they were good and dry quality hardwood.
I found the hiking trails to be well marked and maintained. Enjoyed all the varied terrain and trails.

I can honestly say this is the first campground I’ve stayed at where they’ve asked if I wanted wi-​fi. I’ve stayed at hotels that haven’t had wi-​fi yet. Impressive.
I stayed just out of wi-​fi range (I was camping!) and ended up being super glad that I did, we heard from some other campers that the wi-​fi tent spots were riddled with mosquitoes in the field. The non-​wifi spots were in the woods and had much less mosquitoes.
The bathhouses were very clean and nice. I liked that the showers were seperate rooms from the bathroom part so men & women had equal access to the showers. They were relatively bug free and light so I was able to enjoy a nice shower after hiking Mt Battie.
I was awakened by a falling branch (sounded like a huge tree!) which can be very scary when you’re sleeping in a tent, so look up when you pitch your tent!
I’d definitely go back and try to hike some more of the trails, but if you don’t have time to do that, at least drive up to the top of Mt Battie to see the view of Camden!

Beautiful state park! After reviewing our itinerary («36 hours in Portland»), we decided that our original plan of heading up to Acadia National Park wasn’t going to work out. (3.5−4 hours there and back from Portland!) Instead, we went to Camden Hills State Park and we were very happy with our trip.
We did some research and found out that the hike up Mount Battie and Mount Megunticook were some of the best out of the state parks. At the top of the mountain, you can see the shoreline stretch for miles. We originally wanted to hike up Mount Battie, but we were confused by the entrance (seemed too residential). Instead, we went to the official park entrance for Mount Megunticook. After paying the $ 9 entrance fee for 2, we parked and headed up the mountain. We chose hike #10, which was «moderate» level. It was tougher than I thought with plenty of granite to climb at the top of the mountain! It wasn’t too bad though — we hiked up in about an hour and went down in about 30 – 45 min.
The views are amazing. We wish we could’ve stayed up there for hours! Worth the 1 hr hike up, and I definitely suggest Mt Megunticook (1300′) over Mt Battie (900?).

The campgrounds were clean and the lots were roomy, but the water in the showers was stuck on hot! It was hard getting clean in hot water during this terrible eat spell when I was looking forward to a cool shower. Otherwise the people were nice, the trails well marked and the park was clean

#300
Touristy towns have their charm and allure and most definitely can be fun.
But even at my most social road traveling best, I sometimes crave distance, perspective and quiet beauty.
In Camden, all that can be found in this beautiful state park.
A hike including the climb up Mount Battie provides a bit of exercise and a chance to elevate oneself from sea level.
The perspective from atop the mountain is exhilarating. Gorgeous views of Camden, Penobscot Bay and neighboring islands are all yours!
Although Mount Battie is only 780 feet high it still impresses. The good news is that if you’re reasonably fit this is an easy up and down climb well worth getting to the top to see the amazing panorama. If hiking is not your thing, you can drive. Everyone is welcome!
If you like to camp, there are plenty of campsites to call home here.
But reveling, even just for a day in all this beauty no matter what the season, is a soothing balm to a world-​weary soul.
Take a hike here and feel on top of the world.

Beautiful campground in a gorgeous town. Camden is far from Boston — otherwise we would camp there more. We’ve only been twice but it’s definitely one of my favorites.
Nice campground, well-​maintained, pretty grounds, spacious sites and dog friendly! There is a lot to do in the area, with the ocean view hike being the best (in my opinion). The campground also has a really large field that our group was happy to use for a big wiffle-​ball game. Across the street, there”s a beautiful park with a waterfront view.
And, the town of Camden is 5 minutes away if you have campers who prefer shopping and dining out to hiking and cooking outside.

For me — the hike is all about getting to the top and stopping for a moment to take in the view — if there is no view at the top, I’m disappointed — the Ocean View hike is totally worth every single step you take to get to the top.
Be warned — it’s wet and steep — the trail map says it’s a «2» level but its certainly a bit more difficult than it’s marked. Pretty much all up hill on rocks the whole way. There are some adorable waterfalls since the trail follows a little brooke up most of the way so that’s lovely. We didn’t have to pay to get into the park since it was in the off season.
Also note it was windy at the top so bring a hat and gloves if you go in November. :-)