Glamping In Maine

In early August, we took a family trip to go "glamping" in Maine. I stumbled upon Sandy Pines Campground in my searches for fun places to stay in Maine. And it for sure was a fun place to stay! 

My husband said it best that this was the first time that we saw pictures of somewhere online and when we showed up, it was EXACTLY the same as it showed online. Down to the sheets, decor, you name it! 

At Sandy Pines, they have different types of glamping. You can stay in a cabin or a tent or a unique retreat (which are couples only). We chose the Boho Nest site, not only because it met our needs as a family of 3 but also it was the only one available. Keepin' it real here folks. 

The family glamps have either a twin or trundle or bunk beds in the tent OR the have another smaller tent next to your larger tent. Our son is 5 so that was not an option for us! But the sites next to us were those style and those families loved the set up, especially the kids!

There is real furniture, sheets and towels, a comfortable space, electricity, and even air conditioning. The only thing is there's no plumbing so any sink needs, toilet needs, or shower needs, you had to hike it to the bathhouse. Which from our spot was a little bit of a walk.   

Now, if you know me, you might think no way is this gal going camping. And you might find it hard to believe but I went camping as a child. And while it wasn't my favorite, I did enjoy it. But THIS, this is MY kind of camping.  

Every individual site has a picnic table as well as a fire pit with adirondack chairs next to it. This was our favorite spot every night. 

The porches are all covered and also include additional furniture. It was nice because we could keep adirondack chairs on the deck as well as by the fire pit and not have to move furniture depending on where we wanted to hang out and sit. Having multiple sitting areas was a nice perk. 

The other big perk about the porch area was that it was large and covered so if it rained, you could still be outside while staying dry! Another fun part was the string lights on the porch were on a dimmer switch so you could adjust them easily. When Ness went to bed, we dimmed them so they weren't super bright and kept him up while we sat by the fire. 

You drive throughout the campgrounds and you can see other options to stay, like these cute little trailers with pop up beds on the roof. 

And a converted airstream too! Definitely check out their website to see all of the other options available. They really got creative and adventurous with some of them. We have a list of which ones we want to stay at the next times we come. 

There are also lots of pathways throughout the property to cut around walking on the main roads. This was the pathway to our tent from the main road. 

Now.... would I do it again? Yes. BUT... I would pay more attention to the property map when I choose our location because it was not a quick hop skip and jump to the bathhouse. It was a hike, especially with a 5 year old. 

Pros: 

- Absolutely adorable place to stay. Super unique and fun and different. 

- Campgrounds in general were clean. Staff was friendly and knowledgable about the area.  

- A fantastic location and easy to get just about anywhere in the Kennebunkport/Ogunquit/Southern Maine area. 

- Close to Goose Rocks Beach, the best beach we found! 

- Tents and cabins are spacious and roomy and are far enough apart to have your own space.

- Individual parking spots for each glamp site. 

- Activities for the kids, several playgrounds on site, and game areas for kids and families to play. Plus lots of room for bikes to ride around the property. 

- Marsh at the back of the property with a perfect spot to launch a kayak. Plus they have kayaks to use. 

- They have a pool! Due to Covid, you had to sign up for a specific 2 hour block, but it was nice to have that option and know it wouldn't be crazy crowded too.

- It's affordable. We stayed during summer, peak season, and paid a little over $300 a night. Not bad when all is said and done. Plus, during Covid and a time where everyone just wanted to get away and go somewhere, we were able to do something affordably, not be around crowds, and still have a great time!  

Cons:

- Nowhere in your tent to lock anything up, including no lock on the entrance to the tent. No safe, no drawer that locked. So any valuables should be kept in your car and locked. (My husband is a New Yorker, this was a big issue for him. Me. not so much.)

- Not a fan of the bathhouses. While they were new, they weren't necessarily that clean and floors were often flooded from showers. I took a 2 hour shower when we got home! 

- No plumbing in the tent, but there's no plumbing at any tent or cabin. 

Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say a solid 9. Definitely worth the trip and we'd totally go back! 

I will share in another blog post about all of the places we went as well as what was recommended to us that we didn't get to! Stay tuned =)