Please note, this review is older than 3 years
Web site: Beaver Brook Campground
Monmouth, ME -
Pete gave us this review on 07/11/07. Dates of Stay: 07/07. Will You Return? No. What did you camp in? Tent
What stood out? This was the oddest campground I've ever been to. The sites were very tight and small ... lots of people on a holiday weekend which is to be expected. Expect to be nickel-dimed to death, not have any visitors (unless they bring cash), and don't forget the soap!
Owners and Staff: Check-in staff were a bit cold, which should have warned us for what was to come. One of our family members was driving 3.5 hours to come and pick up his daughter who was camping with her grandparents (his mom and dad). He was going to drive in, pick her up and leave. He was informed he needed to pay $5 to get through the gate. He had no money on him to pay this. He was told he would get the $5 back when he left, and that this was for 'security reasons.' Yeah right. When would paying a refundable $5 keep any sketchy characters out? They wouldn't escort him to his daughter and wouldn't let him in. The official Beaver Brook Campground reponse: call the cops. He was at the front gate for FORTY FIVE MINUTES. The cop came and said "They have a lot of rules. I'll be right back." The cop drove to the campsite and tracked down the grandfather and daughter and was able to coordinate the father and daugher and be a liason between the staff/father. Absolutely ridiculous. A wonderful use of taxpayer dollars.
Camp landscaping and surroundings: Tight campsites, lots of them. Lake was low enough that you could walk to the far end of the swimming area and not be above your waist. Boat launching/docking was an adventure too in the mud.
Good sites: Not many Bad sites: Most
Campsite hookups: primitive tent, electric, water, Nice to have water/elec Campsite Descriptions: close to the road, sandy bottom, picnic table, Bring a large hammer to drive tent stakes ... very rocky.
Clean restrooms and showers? no. Restrooms and showers need updating? yes. Coin-metered showers. Are restrooms accessible from all sites? no. Additional comments on restrooms and showers: Expect a long walk to the bathroom since they aren't placed conveniently. Don't forget to bring your own soap, TP, bleach, paper towels, etc because these bathrooms were gross with no soap or towels in the dispensers. Come on guys, that is an easy thing to take care of!
pool, pond, swimming, fishing, boating, docks or moorings, recreation hall, video games, live entertainment, bingo, playground, camp store, ice cream, snack bar, pets allowed, laundry room, security gate. Don't expect to have visitors ... they'll have to pay $10 just to visit for the day.
What is nearby? Once you're through those gates you aren't going anywhere until you leave. Don't worry, you could have ice-cream cones at the store. Oh wait a minute ... if there isn't any soap in the bathroom and the sign reads "Employees must wash hands" ... who is going to scoop out YOUR ice cream. Chocolate ice cream for me? I think not.
Last comments: Never again. Simple as that. I've camped ALL over New England and have never been so disappointed. If you're an adventurous type and are still undeterred by my experiences ... go for it ... maybe they've cleaned up a bit. A few SIMPLE things could go a long way here ... but clearly this isn't about providing an experience people want to come back for. I'll say it again ... NEVER AGAIN.
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I received five poor reviews for this campground in a span of 3 days. Obviously this was a group of (at least five) families camping together.
Camping during a holiday week is always going to be stressful.
Yes, it sounds like you had a bad time, but I am wondering if the fact that it was a holiday weekend had a large impact on your stay.
You rate the campsite quality “terrible”. We visited this campground and found the sites to actually be quite good, especially by the lake. I am wondering if you allowed your personal feelings to cloud your judgment.
One last comment, it is unrealistic to expect a campground to not charge a day visitors fee, especially when the park is at full capacity.
Posted by That's Camping in the Northeast on 07/11/07
I respect the comment of the site moderator - but only one of the 4 other negative comments were from one of our other families. This campground was really that bad.
Thank you for providing this site as a service, we’ll continue to use it as a resource when looking for campgrounds.
Best of luck picking another campground.
Posted by Pete on 07/11/07
Thanks Pete for posting your additional comments
Posted by That's Camping in the Northeast on 07/11/07
I had to smile and even laugh out loud when I read the comment Pete made about the ice cream and the fact that there was no soap in the bathrooms for employees to wash their hands! since we didn’t visit the showers etc. but we did buy ice cream! Oh de-ah! As a matter of fact, we drove into Augusta and stayed at home all but 3 nights of the week because it was so cold and uncomfortable in the cabin. The only reason we rented one in the first place was to be able to spend some quality time with my family who live a couple of hours away. That was one other site, by the way, and we didn’t know any of the others who complained. Yes, a holiday week can be stressful but there was no excuse for management not to enforce ALL of their rules, like the drinking of alcohol (glass beer bottles as well as beer cans) at the pool which is attached to the office building as well as the smoking, cannon ball jumping into the pool, etc. and when we complained they told us they wouldn’t do anything about it unless the people were bothering us personally! And then they make the guy who was there to pick up his kids call the cops instead of helping him contact the campers he was there to see??!! The cash seemed to be all that was important….and by the way, it HAD to be “cash”. Couldn’t even leave your first born as collateral! We had to give $5 cash for a key deposit for the cabin and $10 cash to get a card to get through the electronic gate. I’ve camped in many areas also, for many years and have never encountered a campground quite like Beaver Brook. If you want an extremely nice campground in the area, try Two Rivers in Skowhegan. They have rules also but they don’t pick and choose which ones they are going to make you obey. Good luck and good camping to all.
Posted by Brenda on 07/14/07
I apologize if I offended either of you, Brenda and Pete.
As for a campground requiring a cash deposit for a key card, I don’t know where else you have been camping, but it it is quite acceptable when there is a security gate.
What else could they accept but cash for a deposit? If they accepted a credit card, the campground would lose 3% with cc fees. And taking a check, that would be silly as well. What if the camper gave him a bad check? Or worse, a bad check and then never returned with the key card after his stay?
Cash deposits make it easy to receive the deposit and return the deposit when the key is returned.
I do understand your problem with drinking (especially glass bottles of any kind) at the pool. I think rules should be enforced.
Posted by That's Camping in the Northeast on 07/14/07
No apology necessary. I appreciate the opportunity to voice my dissatisfaction with the campground. I should have explained the security gate issue more clearly. You see, when we checked in, they asked if we “wanted” a security gate card for a $10 cash deposit. They did not say it was necessary in order to get in and out each time. The gate was directly in front of the office and when we first arrived, everyone (including ourselves) would just drive up to the gate, beep the horn and they would raise it. Later on, that same day, all of a sudden they we not opening the gate. Instead, you had to get out of your vehicle and go in with your camp pass and show it to them! This was even though it was hanging on the rear view mirror. That’s when we decided to purchase an electronic key. I understand the cash issue completely. It’s just not everyone carries a lot of cash these days and fortunately not every place charges you these hidden fees after you have paid your non-refundable deposit, made your plans, etc. There are many other beautiful places to camp and it’s too bad that people go to Beaver Brook and expect it to be as advertised. It is not
Posted by Brenda on 07/15/07
YEAH!!! I’m so glad this guy has posted this! Please, by all means, DO NOT COME to my family’s favorite place for the last 25 years!! MORE ROOM FOR OUR FRIENDS!!! We started at Beaver Brook when Patuckaway in NH got over populated and over fished. We needed somewhere the 7-10 families (or more) could gather every year and know we could get the reservations we needed to be together. Our requirements: camp sights near the boats, that could be together, that we could have for a week, that were safe and fun for the kids, with good fishing, and room for canoeing, water skiing, kayaks and sailing. The mini-golf, Frisbee golf, pool, arcade, playground, and dance hall, were not important to us but nice to have. Our family has changed in the 20+ years and so has the campground. Nightly campfire-skits have given way to DVD movies projected on the side of the camper. Our clan uses everything from tents to 5th wheels and kayaks to ski/bass boats. I must admit; we are a bit of a thundering hoard who could probably have fun anywhere. As for the ‘day rates’, even town beaches/or pools have day rates. This campground has the best water access on that end of Androscogin. The next nearest boat ramp is down “dead river”, feel free to try it if you have a craft shallow enough. I’m sorry that ‘Angry Bostonian’ {who else has a 3.5 hour drive to that area} guy did not get the warm reception regulars are accustomed to. Yes, it is hard to get word to people who are on the grounds, that someone is waiting at the gate. There is just not enough manpower for that sort of thing. It’s a campground not a shopping mall, the only PA system is known as Planning Ahead. I’m sorry this reviewer did not have the kind of time at Androscogin that my family is accustomed to. If I had a boat, I’d invite them back in August to join us for skiing and a trip out to see the Eagles nesting off of black sand beach. Maybe Daddy can take him. Just ask. Maybe you can join us for geo-cashing among the small islands on the lake. If you did not get to enjoy the lake while you were there, then you definitely missed the absolute best thing about Beaver Brook. Please, try again.
Posted by JP on 07/19/07
I’ll definitely be camping somewhere else ... thanks.
Posted by Sam on 07/19/07
We visited Beaver Brook after looking at their website ... which ‘oversells’ the place at the very least. Upgrades to the batrhooms, heck just cleaning them would be a start.
It is interesting to hear that others had some frustrations with the ‘rules’ here too. It was strange since some of these were strictly enforced, and some not.
To JP’s point about the best PA system being Planning Ahead ... you’re right. We’re planning ahead by coming here and making sure that others have had positive experiences at a facility before we end up going to a campground. JP’s negativity towards the other reviewer and list of all the great things about this campground make me wonder about the validity of JP’s information ... perhaps Beaver Brook has gotten the message and is trying to improve what has been a tarnished reputation of late? Let’s hope if this is the case that they are doing this by FIXING what needs FIXING instead of posting negative comments about reviewers. JP, if this isn’t the case, I apologize ... but it sure does sound that way.
Posted by Bill on 08/09/07
Hi Bill, thanks for the thought that I was part of the establishment. I was only able to spend about 36 hours of the 10 days my family spends every year. I live and work 5 hours away and could only make it up for the weekend this year. I see your point. We have been going there for YEARS. We have seen more than one change of owner ship and met the new owners each time. At least one night out of every year the current owners come down and have dinner with our clan (lobster and roast beef, a camping tradition for us). It’s true, my opinion is biased by YEARS of positive experience. I’m sorry for that. I am much more forgiving than those who only have a web page to go by. It’s also understould that my clan could have fun anywhere. Again, I say, PLEASE, if you are not happy with the people you are coming with, do not come. If you are not there for the lake, do not come. This is an old, family run place. Many of the people who camp there are there every year, like we do. Some consider it their summer homes and actually get up and go to their day jobs on weekdays. It’s weird being really grubby and going up for a shower only to find people getting ready for a day at the office. I have to admit, there were a couple of times when I decided to go hang by the pool for an hour or so then come back and shower after all of the people with day jobs to get to had cleared out. Weird, but cool, and one of the true pieces of carm of the place (again, in my opinion). If you do go back, please say hi so ‘Sophie’ the Docshund who lives in the small ‘permanent’ site, just off the beach. Again, the charm of the place is going to be lost on those who are accustomed to KOA, Good Sam’s or other corporate places. This place ain’t corporate, it’s camp. Good luck, and PLEASE, remember that any campground’s web page is going to be its best face. If you cannot have fun pitching a tent in your own back yard, then you will not have fun camping anywhere, but please keep trying. Oh, and my appologies to anyone I may have offended. My opinion is biased. But, that’s how it is.
Posted by JP on 08/13/07
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