Bar Harbor Campground

Excellent campground for very reasonable price!
We were positively surprised by this campground. There are various types of campsites for small tents: Some at the small pond, some on grass close not far from the ocean, and some in the forest. We selected the latter, as the trees between the campsites provided a good degree of privacy. I estimate that the campground was ~80% booked, but it was very calm. Each site has a barbecue place and wooden benches with a table. We bought a package of firewood for $ 4.50 at the site, which was significantly cheaper than at the supermarket in Bar Harbor. The shower costs a quarter for 5 min, which is also very reasonable. The bathrooms were ok, sometimes a bit busy, and there were lots of spiders (oh well, welcome in Nature!) There is a nice playground close to the shore, which was great for our 2yr old daughter. The most exciting sites on the island — Mount Caddilac, Sand Bead, Echo Lake — can be reached within 10 – 25 minutes from the site.

I camp here every year. Can’t beat the price. Nice choice of sites; wooded or open. Can be a little rowdy during the peak season.

This was our first year camping at this campground, and we all loved it. It’s only 10 minutes into town, and you have access to a hannaford, shopping
, and a bunch of coffee shops. Independent Café being our favorite. The bus leaves right from the campground and you can ride it for free in and out of town with your pets.
The playground and pool were great for people with kids to give them something to do while the adults get meals ready.:-)
The showers are only$.25 per 5 minutes. The bathrooms and showers were actually cleaned regularly, and never seemed gross.
There is a lot to do right in walking distance from the campground. And a lot of the Acadia sights are just a free bus ride away. If you drive anywhere around the island is small enough that you just follow signs back to bar harbor. One you are in the main town, is an easy drive back to the campground.
They also provide you with a free night if you stay 6 nights.
We will be back.

I have been camping at BHCG for about 7 years now. I average 16 – 30 days/​nights there per season. The first 4 seasons of camping there were absolutely great. I don’t recall having any issues with… Anything. Nice staff, fairly priced, clean campground that is close to ANP.
Starting last year or so is when issues started arising. I arrived mid September last year to camp for about 5 days. When i arrived, the wind gusts were about 35 – 40 mph. Took me about 2.5 hours to get my tent up. The winds continued through the next day and night. Overnite (second night) a branch from the tree near my site, fell on my tent. No major damage. I decided I would cut the limb and use it in the fire pit over the next few nights. I left for some hiking during the day… I return to my site to find a note from one of the staff! It was very mean spirited. Accused me of cutting the tree and stating there are fire starters sold at the office. SERIOUSLY?! I. Was. Pissed. I took my time to cool off over the matter, and went to the office. I laid the note on the desk and asked who had left it? The lady (who was very nice) said she was unsure. I explained to her what happened, and that I was upset over the note. Whoever it was could have come talked to me instead of assuming I was hacking their trees. Needless to say, I left a day early.
Last Memorial and Labor Day, (I always stay for 10 days) the noise was a bit ridiculous. Hooting and hollering well past the posted «quiet hours». People driving too fast through the campground. People setting off fireworks… I’ve never once seen any sign of camp security. I do know where the few staff RVs are, and I’ve hardly ever seen anyone outside of their unit. The septic company came to pump the leech field one night around 7:30. I shit you not. No pun intended. So, we got to sit at our site with a septic truck about 20 feet away and listen to it pump shit for an hour! Maybe schedule that for during the day?
The camp wood they sell is ALWAYS wet. I have never been sold a seasoned/​dry bundle. The temperature of the showers is very temperamental. Barely turning the dial, and it ends up scolding hot. I can only imagine if a younger child went to use the shower and didn’t know any better. Toilets/​sinks are fairly clean. Showers? Ehh… Not so much.
The camp sites aren’t very private. They are pretty much on top of each other. They redid (to put in a new leech field) the «tent only» water view sites, which lead to a few sites getting the short end of the stick. One site is barely big enough to fit a small compact car, and a single person tent.
People have bought (and built houses) behind several of the camp sites. So, if you were to rent one of these sites, you would nice views of the house, chain link fence, and private property signs in big bold red letters to look at.
This is a hard review to write. I was always so pleased camping here, but over the past couple years, things have gone down hill. I hate to see it. If they would maintain the sites, have actual security, things could be better. Until then… I don’t think I will return. Bummer.

Bar Harbor Campground: A place where irony and hypocrisy camp along with the families there.
There are strict policies where if one person complains about you (no matter what the reason is) you will be asked to leave. While this didn’t happen to us, it happened to some other people there who had it happen only because the people who complained just didn’t like them. No second chances.
Meanwhile, the «strict» quiet hours (10p-​7a) are not really addressed. One night, while the kids were asleep, the others in our party were whispering quietly around 10:30p and the man next to them came over and *yelled at the top of his lungs* that his wife and kids were trying to sleep and they were being kept up. He wasn’t reprimanded for his yelling, but he did leave the next day. The next morning, our site (which was on the other side of the grounds, away from the rest of our party) got to hear babies crying, engines running, and music blasting at 4am and no one got in trouble. In fact, that very night a group of teenagers checked in and felt that midnight was the best time to drive their motorbikes and trucks around, blasting music and screaming all over the park, and again they were not reprimanded.
Yet meanwhile the speed limit is 10mph, and most people do twice that, but we were yelled at by the owner for going too fast and we WERE doing 10mph.
The pool is advertised as heated, and it wasn’t, but it was still nice and we used it every day. Despite the sign that says «No Diving,» you will need to watch out for kids (and their parents) ignoring this warning and almost diving right into you. This is kind of dangerous since it is only (barely) 6′ at its deepest.
There is free wi-​fi advertised as well, and while we normally don’t use that while camping we just wanted to try it and found it only worked within about twenty feet from the main office. Our site had three bars of signal yet only could get a local connection. A TV room is also available (along with payphones) up front if that is something you are desperately missing. We didn’t try it out but we saw it when we came in.
The main office has ice (overpriced) and wood (overpriced), as well as random necessities and the ability to deliver a lobster dinner for two to your camp for $ 30 (cooked or uncooked). I’d recommend taking a walk through the back (or driving, as there is also a back lot) to where the convenience store, Mainely Meat BBQ, Udder Heaven (ice cream) and Bay Gulls Bagels (bagels/​coffee) are located for any other needs. Still pretty expensive but there is a much better selection, and the restaurants themselves are actually very reasonable.
As for the sites themselves, this place is supposed to have the most private/​secluded campsites in the area, so if you’ve only ever camped in places like the White Mountains you will be disappointed to see the sizes. Most are right on top of each other, and there are only a few tent-​only spots, so even though there is a no generator rule you still may end up with a gigantic RV next to you running air conditioning all night.
Parts of the grounds have more than enough drinking water, as well as access to more than one bathroom (complete with hot showers that are 25 cents for five minutes). The bathrooms are cleaned daily and remain pretty clean, and also offer dish-​washing outside. There is also laundry available on site, and you can pick the wild blueberries behind the pool as an extra treat.
Another thing of note: They do advertise they are only 4 miles from the entrance to Acadia, but if you end up at Sand Beach (on the one-​way road) you will come out on the other side of Bar Harbor and will find it easy to get lost. Just take that into consideration! As for activities, there are tons nearby aside from Acadia (such as mini-​golf across the street), and there is a boat launch down the road at Hadley Point. The owners here at least are very helpful about things to do in the area.
This place may not be perfect, but for the area it is probably one of the best.