As long as people have been traveling in RVs, there have been family-owned and operated campgrounds to welcome them with friendly smiles and a personal touch. Many independently owned and operated campgrounds across the Northeast have been run by the same family for generations. Here are descriptions of several of them:
Family-Owned Campgrounds in the Northeast
1) Sagadahoc Bay Campground on Georgetown Island, Maine: Eric Kosalka started building this campground with his wife, Pat, in 1997 on land that has been in Eric’s family since 1650. Located on Georgetown Island, a forested island in southern Maine that’s less than a three-hour drive from Boston, the campground offers both oceanfront campsites as well as forest campsites.
Campground guests can enjoy kayaking or clamming on the sand flats, which extend out for a mile and a half to two miles at low tide. While its oceanfront RV sites are close together, the majority of the campground’s RV sites are at least 35 to 40 feet apart from one another. The forested campground includes lots of Maine white pines, oaks, aspens, birch, wild sumac, and ferns. Campsite options include back-in and pull-through sites with water and electricity hookups, including 30 amp service, as well as a few full hookup sites.
2) Bear Run Campground in Portersville, Pennsylvania: Robert and June Wehr embarked on their dream of campground ownership in 1975 when they purchased a 60-acre pasture and transformed it into a campground. The Wehrs’ three sons — Keith, Todd, and Craig— worked alongside their parents to shape Bear Run’s growth and success.
The campground features full-hookup RV sites. Amenities include a heated swimming pool and fishing pond, as well as direct access to Lake Arthur. Kayak, canoe, and paddleboard rentals are available. Volleyball and basketball courts are also available, along with horseshoe and Gagaball pits.
3) Libby's Oceanside Campground in York, Maine: This park offers a spectacular setting with 45 RV sites perched on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Libby’s is also one of the oldest campgrounds in the country that’s still owned and operated by the same family. The campground was established in 1923 by Fred and Lilla Libby. Today, the 3.5-acre campground is co-owned and operated by the Libbys’ grandson, Norm Davidson, who grew up working at the campground with his parents, Archie and Cora Davidson.
Libby’s is open from mid-May to mid-October. The park has 83 campsites, with the most sought-after campsites being the 45 grassy campsites that are on the bluff overlooking the water. Each oceanfront campsite has full hookups, plus cable TV and WiFi.
4) Searsport Shores Oceanfront Camping in Searsport, Maine: This campground has been owned and operated by the Koltookian family since 1994. The patriarch of the family, 88-year-old Zaven Koltookian, ran an RV dealership in Concord, New Hampshire, with his brothers for 30 years before they acquired the campground.
Zaven's parents fled Armenia during the Armenian Genocide and settled in New Hampshire. Zaven's daughter, Astrig, and her husband, Steve Tanguay, have unique artistic and musical talents. They have created an "artist in residence" program where they invite artists, chefs, and musicians to teach weeklong classes throughout the summer. Their biggest event during the summer is an Armenian picnic with traditional foods and classes in Armenian folk dancing.
5) Smuggler's Den Campground in Southwest Harbor, Maine: Ben Worcester and a partner started this campground in 1969. Four generations of the Worcester family have continued to operate the campground, which is often used as a base camp for families visiting Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. Campsite options include water and electric sites for tents and pop-up trailers as well as back-in and full-hookup sites with 20/30/50 amp connections and gravel or cement pads.
6) Lone Mountain Riverfront Campground in Andover, Maine: Toby Wells has owned this campground since 2021, which he operates with his daughter, MaKayla. Working together, they have more than doubled the size of the park to include 85 hookup sites with water, sewer, and 50-amp electrical service, including a handful of pull-through sites.
The campground also has several campsites that are designated for equestrian campers. Some campsites are in heavily wooded areas, while others are located along a small river. The park is popular with ATV enthusiasts because it is located near the Roxbury ATV Club system of trails. Families also enjoy the park’s swimming pool, a mining sluice, a playground, a sandy river beach and stargazing fields.
7) Normandy Farms Family Camping Resort in Foxboro, Massachusetts: This campground, which celebrates its 54th anniversary this year, was built on land that has been in the Daniels family since 1759. The eighth generation of the Daniels family currently owns and operates the campground, which provides RV and tent sites as well as furnished cabins, yurts, and safari tents. Organized family activities, such as arts and crafts, bike races, laser tag, fishing derbies, and softball games, are also provided during the summer camping season. Normandy Farms has also partnered with neighboring Ryan Ranch to offer horseback and pony rides.
Normandy Farms also has several animals on site that guests can see, including Nigerian dwarf goats, babydoll lambs, miniature donkeys, and different types of horses. Campsite options include basic water/electric/cable TV and full-hook sites as well as a variety of glamping accommodations. This campground can be used as a base camp for visiting historic attractions in Boston, including The Freedom Trail.
8) Papoose Pond Family Campground and Cabins in Waterford, Maine: Kitty Strauss Winship and her husband, Duncan Winship, are the third-generation owners and operators of this family destination campground, which was purchased by Kitty’s father, Herb Strauss, and grandfather, Bill Strauss, in 1983. Campground amenities include miniature golf, laser tag, gem mining, and Gagaball, as well as canoe, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, and rowboat rentals for use on Papoose Pond.
The park also has a 1916 Herschell Little Beauty Traveling Carousel, which is available for guest use for one hour a day during the summer months. The park also organizes family activities during the summer months. Campsite options include 66 sites with water and 30 amp electric service and 109 with full hookups, including 30 amp service. A handful of pull-through sites with full hookups are also available.
9) Rose Point Park Cabins & Camping in New Castle, Pennsylvania: Frederick and Hazel Yeager established this campground in 1970 on the family's farm. In the early 1980s, the Yeagers’ son, Rick, and his wife, Debby, joined the business. Rose Point Park has continued to add more amenities and organize family activities. In 2015, the legacy continued with the third generation as Rick and Debby’s daughter, Cassie, and her husband, Charlie, joined full-time.
Amenities include a heated swimming pool; a three-hole disc golf course; pickleball; volleyball; basketball; gagaball; bocce ball; stocked pond and stream fishing, and wagon rides. The campground features both water/electric sites and full-hookup sites. Many of the campsites are located along a babbling brook.
10) Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Mill Run, Pennsylvania: This family destination campground is owned and operated by three generations of the Work family. It all started in 1973 when Randy Work’s grandmother passed away, leaving 25 acres of undeveloped land to his parents, Glenn and Sarah Etta Work.
In 1989, the Works joined the Jellystone Park franchise network and began offering organized family activities with Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Cindy Bear and Ranger Smith. The park now features two swimming pools, multiple water slides, 4X4 adventure rides, scenic monster truck rides, train rides, fire truck rides, military transport truck rides, paintball, laser tag, miniature golf, snowless snow tubing, and Gagaball, among other attractions.
Final Thoughts
RVers who stay at family-owned and operated campgrounds across the Northeast have an opportunity to support family-owned businesses. They also enjoy the continuity that comes with being welcomed by the same people year after year, who work to make their RVing adventures something they’ll always remember.
