We went camping at Papoose with two other families who have been camping there for over 20 years. They raved about what a great place it was, all of the activities they had etc.. The campground is split down the middle by route 118. One side of the road has the office/snack bar/ballfield and pond. The opposite side of the road, where our site was is more wooded and has a couple small playgrounds/mini golf and pool. Our site was fairly close to rt 118 and noisy at times. The water level of the pond was quite low while we were there and as a result, the beach had a horrible odor of rotting vegetation so off to the pool we went, to find it very overcrowded with unsupervised teenagers. We found the same to be true with the playground equipment. Although they do offer a wide selection of activities, many come with additional costs which can quickly add up. The bathrooms became dirty quickly because of heavy use and the cleaning schedule did not keep up with use the facilities were getting. If I were to return, I would try for an off-peak time because when the place is full, the staff is just unable to keep up with maintaining its recreational and bathroom facilities. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This will be my 10th year in a row going to Papoose Pond. It is the best campground I have ever camped at. Whenever my family camps elsewhere, we always compare our stay to that at Papoose. The activities are great (especially for kids) and nightly entertainment is really good. The staff is friendly, the beach is clean, and the campsites are beautiful. The only bad thing i could say is that sometimes during the day, the bath houses can become a little dirty, because sand and dirt gets tracked in and turns to a little bit of mud on the floor. Other than that, I couldn't say anything bad. There are lots tournaments you can enter (ping-pong, horseshoes, tennis, washer-tosser, etc.) and many ongoing activities, such as "Find the Key", where a new clue to where the key might be is posted each day (the key unlocks a prize in the camp store). Definitely have kids (and adults too) bring bikes, as that is the best means of travel throughout the campground. I would definitely recommend this campground to anyone, young or old. There is something for everybody, whether you just want to chill out and relax, or play and be active. We camped here in a Tent.
I wanted to stay at this campground for a long time because of the shower and kitchen area on the site. This is huge when you camp in a basic pop-up. It was very nice. The campground itself was good; the activities were not great. Could have used more since it rained the whole weekend. We did not get to use the pool. But overall, it was a good weekend. The kids loved the store. Staff in store was very nice. Office staff was ok, little impatient at times but not unfriendly. We went in June and there was a lot of mosquitoes, but this is to be expected when you camp. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
We visited for a 'Special Weekend' event. Our site was fine, shaded and level. This special weekend included all meals and events for all four of us ($300). The food was out of this world. Every meal was better than most restaurants! My steak was bigger than my dog! Everything was very well organized, EXCEPT, it did nothing but rain for 14 straight hours! Every time we have visited it rains, I think we are bad luck for these poor people. It was however a great time. The owner and crew couldn't have been nicer! We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Visited here on one of their ESCAPE weekends -- all meals included; including Sat night steak & lobster, Sunday brunch --- all meals. Check in any time Fri --- love that. LATE check out Sunday (4pm). Waterfront boats are inc. Mini golf inc. Carousel inc. Sites are amazingly clean. Staff always raking and emptying fire pits. Pool very clean with great hours. Staff were attentive and helpful with the exception of the office mgr who on two occasions was very abrupt to her co-worker who was in training. Long walk from waterfront to the rec hall ---across RT 118. Bring bikes or car if possible. Can not wait to book this place again. There are so many different types of sites....shelters, mini kitchens and bathrooms on EACH site, cabins, park models....more. If you leave dissatisfied or hungry, its your own fault. One other thumbs down -- pool area should be non-smoking, people were flicking their ashes and dieing their cigs on the concrete pad, though they took their butts when they left, still is wicked nasty. We camped here in a Motorhome.
What a disappointment! We booked our big 2006 summer vacation here (9 days) based on all the positive reviews from this site. Frankly, we don’t understand all the glowing comments, we were very disappointed and even tried to get a refund early in the week-more on that later. First two days it rained pretty heavy, so for the most part the campground was quiet. But after the weather cleared things began to change. There was a group of young boys up the road from us that were speeding by in there cars often, we have a 5 yr old who likes to ride his bike, and this really concerned us. I found a young security guard who said he would address it and that if it happened a second time that the manager would surely toss them out (never happened). The next day, this car flew by so fast and then skidded sideways in a game of “chicken” with his buddy, I was so mad I went to the main office to complain, I spoke with an assistant Mgr I asked for a clarification on the campground rules as no one seemed to be enforcing them, and could we get a refund for the balance of the week, and also that we were very concerned about the speeding and teen rowdiness (more on that) and would like a refund. He then radioed the manager who came by to discuss the situation. He commented that the perpetrators had been camping there for many years and he was “surprised by their behavior” but would look into it and this would not be tolerated. He reported back to us that this family had brought “guests” this year and that was the root cause of the problem (they had two sites together-all the young boys were on one site). Unfortunately he must have told these folks that we were concerned with this behavior, as the young boys heckled us the entire rest of the week each time they passed our site (as we were close to the pool/game room-this occurred frequently). One night they were driving up and down the road flashing flashlights into all the sites (this was around midnight). We consider it extremely unprofessional that the Manager would disclose who had registered concerns with his office-totally inexcusable! If it weren’t for this group of undisciplined young boys things might have been ok (where were the parents in all this???). Oh yeah-we never did get a response to our request for a refund! The other complaints we have about PP are the roving gangs of teenagers (obviously drinking) late at night. We don’t have a problem with people hanging around the campfire all night having a good time, but this was way beyond that. There were many many teens here that would roam until all hours of the night (I was up till 12:30 one night because of the noise) and my wife said she was awake much later. The other significant complaint would be how much of the facilities were broken; the signature carrousel never ran all week! My wife counted 50% of all the games in the two game rooms broken (no refunds!) and the pedal cart I rented with my son had a broken transmission. (When I commented to the girl at the rental booth she replied tongue-in-cheek “what a surprise”). The pond was, well, smelly? The beach area is very small and crowded and there are leeches in the pond (be sure to burn them off or use salt or you will bleed!). We were also aware that RT 118 divides the campground, but did not imagine it would be such a busy road. Be careful here, and don’t pick a site near the road! The mostly young staff was pleasant and helpful and hard working. The activities were pretty good; tie die shirts, entertainers at night, the campfire sing along was a lot of fun. Having said all that, we decided to spend the week exploring the area, instead of hanging around the campground, and found a great beach down the road, some good kayaking and hiking, as well as good antiquing! We loved this area of Maine, still unspoiled, but could never imagine returning to PP. If you have teens and like to let them run loose, you may like it here. But if you have young children, and like a family atmosphere, you should probably look elsewhere. We understand all campgrounds are different, and are usually very tolerant of others, but to us, this place was a bit out of control. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This park took us back to a type of camping we use to do. It is a nice place that is spread out. We were far away from the activities but did so to get the site we wanted. The site included a wooded dining canopy with a stove top, kitchen sink and a private bathroom. It was neat to have this although the bathroom could use some updating (it was clean but the rust in the shower and the need for a new toilet seat turned the kids away alittle). The campgound offers many activities not only on the weekend but during the week, each hour is something else for either kids or adults to do, including sport and craft activities. This is great if you need to be entertained but we like to do our own thing to a point. Overall we enjoyed the trip but for us it is a long trip for a campground without a pool. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2002
$35
We have camped at Papoose Pond for the past four years. The campground is divided into two sections. The main section has campsites and cottages which are fairly close together but are close to most of the activities including the beach, store and activities tent. The other section is across the road. This is our favorite area. It has large wooded sites with trees and shrubs between each site. It is quite beautiful. There are numerous playgrounds and daily activities during the summer from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. They have a carousel, miniature golf and arcade. The showers/baths are clean,
the sites are clean. Daily trash pickup at your site. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend a visit to this superb campground. We cannot wait to go back this year. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2002
$35
I'm sure I would appreciate Papoose Pond if my kids were older (ages 1, 3). There are plenty of activities to keep them going. What prevented me from giving Papoose Pond a higher score was: -limited, smaller sites w/sewer access -very dusty, not their fault - there is a drought going on -a majority of the sites will have road noise as Rt.118 divides the campground in half -no pool, the pond was just too warm during this recent heat wave. On the plus side, very friendly staff, well-maintained - each site had its own trash can which was emptied every day, all sorts of cabins to rent and minimal seasonal sites. We camped here in a camper.