Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Connecticut - The "Little States Trip"

In June of this year, shortly after returning home from our adventures in Maine, Alan and I set out on what affectionately became known as the “Little States Trip.”  All of the photos in this post were taken at Winter Island Maritime Park in Salem, Massachusetts, over the course of Father’s Day weekend.

Last year, Alan and I were looking at our map of the states we had camped in since acquiring our first travel trailer in 2006.  (The map always appears at the bottom of the column to the right.)  We realized that we had only four states left to go in the contiguous United States, and all of them were clustered right here in the northeast, pretty close to home.  Go figure.  We quickly devised a driving loop that would take us through Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, leaving the state of New Jersey as the last piece of the puzzle.  (Alaska and Hawaii might pose problems, but we’re working on that.)

Choosing campgrounds in Rhode Island and Connecticut was as easy as pie.  And you know how much I love pie.  Fishermen’s Memorial State Park in Rhode Island had a wonderful reputation and would put us close to the coast.  Actually, now that I think about it, almost anywhere in Rhode Island is close to the coast.   As for Connecticut, after visiting Hammonasset Beach State Park when we were in Connecticut on personal business a year or two ago, we had already added it to our list of places we’d love to camp.  So, for those two states, the campground selection couldn’t have been easier.  However, for Massachusetts, choosing a campground couldn’t have been more difficult.

When researching camping possibilities in Massachusetts, I quickly discovered that the state doesn’t appreciate (or maybe even want) out-of-state guests in its campgrounds.  If you’re out-of-state and you insist upon camping in a Massachusetts State Park or State Forest, you’re going to pay through the nose.  In some cases, that would be more than three times what a Massachusetts resident would pay.  THREE TIMES!  Sites at coastal State Parks go for $22.00 per night for state residents and $70.00 per night for the rest of us.  Plus, you need to pay an additional $4.00 per night if you want water and $6.00 per night if you want electric.  Inland State Parks are $17.00 per night for state residents and $54.00 per night for out-of-staters.  Add that up, folks.  We’d be paying $80.00 per night for a water and electric site at a coastal State Park.   I know the cost of private RV parks is hitting astronomical levels in some areas, but $80.00 for a State Park?  Not going happen, not on my watch.

Waikiki Beach (no, not that one - the one on Winter Island)

Because we have a number of friends in the Boston area, I was specifically looking for a place to land that was relatively close to the city.  I had identified Harold Parker State Forest as a possibility, and had reached out to friends, fellow Outdoors RV owners and New England residents, Ted and Karen, to see if they were familiar with Harold Parker.  A night at the State Forest would set us back “only” $60.00 for a site with electric, which was, I thought, fairly reasonable since it would put us within reach of our friends in Boston.  Ted and Karen didn’t know anything about Harold Parker but, subsequently, Ted actually scoped it out for us when he was on a business trip in the area.  He identified several sites he thought would work well for us, and we thanked him for going above and beyond the call of duty.

Just one beautiful slice of Salem Harbor

I had decided that we’d stay at Harold Parker State Forest, but hadn’t yet made a reservation, when I heard from Ted again.  He and Karen had just learned from friends about Winter Island, a campground run by the city of Salem.  Ted cautiously warned us that the campground was a little “unusual.”  It had two separate sections for RVs.  One was a field; the other was a parking lot.  Hmm.  I couldn’t imagine choosing a field or a parking lot over a wooded campsite in a State Forest, but then Ted said those magic words:  It’s right on the water and the parking lot is next to the boat launch.  Wait!  A campground with waterfront campsites and adjacent to a boat launch?!  Be still, my heart.  So what if it’s a parking lot?

Winter Island Light to the left of the big tree and our rig to the right

That, my friends, is how we came to stay at Winter Island Maritime Park’s campground in Salem, Massachusetts, for four nights in June of this year.  Our cost?  Just $50.00 per night for a waterfront site with water and electric.  Yes, we were in parking lot.  No, there wasn’t a dump station on-site.  (Wait until you hear that part of the story in my next post.)  But, lucky, lucky us, I managed to book the site right next to the boat launch!!!

Note the floating Tiki Bar at the end of the boat launch, just to the right of the light pole!

Although the campground is run by the city of Salem, reservations are available on ReserveAmerica.  That surprised me.  I thought for sure that I’d have to create yet another account using an obscure software program - the type that seems to be popular with some states and a number of smaller municipalities.  But no, I could jump right into my ReserveAmerica account and book a site.  Sweet!

The Salem Trolley Tour drove through Winter Island on a regular basis.

I have to admit that, when the calendar finally rolled around to June, the Little States Trip did not have an auspicious beginning.  Setting out on the Thursday before Father’s Day weekend, we got jammed up in traffic on the Massachusetts Turnpike, and then in the loop around Boston.  After our much-later-than-planned arrival, we settled into our site at Winter Island (did I mention it was right next to the boat launch?!), and I promptly dropped a small tray of hot lasagna on the floor of the trailer.  Yup, my fault entirely, but Alan was a sweetheart and helped clean up the mega mess I had made.  Lasagna was everywhere.  In fact, Alan found a spot on the ceiling the next day that we had missed.  After dealing with the traffic and the lasagna (each painful in its own special way), we’d about had it.  We were hoping, hoping, hoping that the rest of the trip would be a much more enjoyable experience than the beginning and (guess what!) it was!

Alan soaking up the view from near the Harbor Master's office

Winter Island Maritime Park was, indeed, an unusual place.  I can honestly say that we’ve never had a camping experience quite like this one before.  If I had to describe it, I’d say the park is unique, bizarre, amazing, peculiar, extraordinary, odd and lovely.  But my favorite word for it remained just plain “weird.”  The reason those adjectives are so applicable will quickly become apparent in my next post.