Lorraine Park Campground — Harold Parker State Forest

Harold Parker State Forest, MA: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer). I rate based on desire for at least a moderate wilderness type experience w at least some camp site privacy. Overall Rating: 4.25 Price 2023: INCREASED RATE FOR OUT OF STATE: $60 per night for electric site Usage during visit: Low, though the electric sites are at about 70%.
Site Privacy: Pretty good in most sites. Our site, #115 opens up to #48 Site Spacing: Most are very good. Site surface: dirt and some gravel.
Reservations: Required Campground Noise: Quiet Road Noise: Set far back from the highway except for the water sites. The moderately used highway is across the pond. The pond view would be worth it as there was not that much traffic.
Through Traffic in campground: None Electric Hookup: Some sites Sewer Hookup: No. Dump Station: Yes. Potable Water Available: At electric sites and bathhouses.
Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Flush toilets. Clean. Showers: Yes. Shower Room is not heated , so very cold this time of year.
Pull Throughs: Some.
Cell Service (AT&T): 2 bars Setting: In a deciduous / conifer forest.
Weather: Highs 60s and lows 40s during our stay. Bugs: None due to the cold, I am sure.
Solar: To heavily forested for most sites.
Host: Around.
Rig size: The largest I saw was a 25’ trailer. I think larger rigs are allowed. Check website and carefully select your site.
Sites: #61 through 83 that are on the water side and are nice, not as private and Road/Highway across the water. I think they would be worth the moderate road noise for the water view. 102,105,108,113 are slightly better of the electric sites. Other sites that I took pictures of are sites I would be happy with. There are so many I can’t list them all. The best sites are among the no electric sites.

The sites are well spaced with very few amenities. All sites have non-potable water spigots. The sites are wooded and relatively level. There are multiple restrooms with showers, although we didn't use them. There are some RV sites with hookups but not many.

We stayed for 4 days in a large site that had about 5 hours worth of good solar access using portable panels so we could park in the shade. Not many sites have an open canopy for solar. There are plenty of good tent sites!

We stayed here in September 2021 and had a great time.

- VERY close to Boston. What a local gem.

- Quite close also to Lawrence Municipal Airport, so jet noise is an issue.

- You will need mosquito repellent. These are not Minnesota mosquitos which will carry off infants and small dogs, but they are plentiful especially when hiking. The whole area is a swamp/marshland, so they have a lot of space to breed.

- Bathrooms are great. FREE hot showers, flush toilets and sinks with soap. There are even outdoors/portable handwashing stations with soap/water and hand towels.

- Some sites have electricity and water hookups.

- Most sites have water hookups.

- Some sites have neither.

We originally booked site #7, but when we arrived, unfortunately, it's right across the street from a restroom/shower building (that is not shown on the reserveamerica campground map!) so we drove around and decided on site #19 which was AWESOME! It's HUGE. plenty of space for a few tents.

We hiked all over the place and each hike was a little better than the others.

Humidity was an issue. It's a swamp, and we had a light drizzle each day, so that was no fun. I don't think it's the site's fault, but it may be damp all season. I just don't know.

The fire pits are an unfortunate downer for this site. They are rectangular and completely enclose three sides to a height of about 18 inches, so you can't have a nice "outdoorsy" fire. The grate is not adjustable which also makes cooking on them very difficult.

There is a pole-mounted grill with adjustable grate for cooking with charcoal and those looks like they would work super.

The bathroom/shower buildings have a large two-sink with drainboard dish washing setup. Unfortunately, the station across from site 201 had the sink removed for some reason so we had to walk to the one across from site 111 It wasn't THAT bad, but I don't quite understand why there was all the plumbing, but no sink.

Only stayed 1 night with me and a buddy. The campsite was great. Very flat with a picnic table and a fire pit stove. Very convenient to cook on. The bathroom was right next to us. Very clean with a sink outside and shower inside. Overall very great campsite. Would definitely go there more often.

Stayed at site 56 with my tent in an RV site. The site was flat. Had running water,grill and fire pit. There was plenty of space. This site was very secluded. Comfort station was a nice casual walk.

I stayed at site 230 in The month of August. Up on a hill with partial sun. There was a fire pit and grill. Every site has its own running water.Large space secluded. It rained a few times but was not an issue at this site. Bathrooms were clean and there are free hot showers. Flush toilets.

The lot size was quiet large and the lavatories/baths were very clean.

We were in the camper area on a corner lot #48. They say full hookups but only water and electricity (no grey or black water sewer on lots).

Park is below an airport route so there were lots of planes flying over.

Campers were quiet though.

Lots of mosquitoes!

Fire pits will grills on each site made is nice for a campfire and a cooking area.

I was impressed. I prefer primitive camping and this campground is made for that. There are a few RV and trailer accessible sites, but I go primitive. The water front views are fantastic.

Wonderful birthday weekend early in the season with quiet campground and beautiful days of hiking.  Staff were very helpful and friendly at check in.  There are many beautiful campsites but would generally look closely at surrounding high traffic areas like bathroom/showers which were in great condition.

This was our first experience camping as a family and this was a great park to start. One way driving so you can’t get lost. Really beautiful scenery and plenty of space at the sites. You could hear the plans overhead and the nearby traffic occasionally at night but it wasn’t terrible.

Harold Parker is pretty basic as it comes. It’s a nice place for sure. Lots of hiking. All the sites are very wooded. And there’s some sites along a river for fishing and such. Plenty of bath houses spread out through out the grounds. The weather happened to be pretty nice. A little windy at times. But ok over all this time. The sites have fire boxes. One on the ground and one that’s elevated. There are some areas where you can see roads and hear cars so not completely remote. But a nice place for sure. And cheap for MA residents which is great. There’s no alcohol allowed. Which I also like 😬 I had a great time.

Went during COVID and they had every other campsite closed for social distancing. Was a great retreat from the work from home grind. Take a hiking around the pond and soak up the sunset!

Big sites

Convenient location, but still let’s you get away. Nice wooded sites. Only complaint about Massachusetts state parks is no alcohol even while sitting in your site.

Less than 25 miles north of Boston and <5 miles from the interstate, Lorraine Park campground at Harold Parker State Forest provides ample on-site activities and also serves as a jumping off point for exploring the Massachusetts coast north of Boston or a stop en route to NH and Maine.

Every site seems to have its own water spigot, though it's not necessarily conveniently located if you want to hook up a trailer/RV. There are 11 sites with water/electric. Sites are large, often with good separation from neighbors, some have a hilly approach. The reservation website doesn't provide pictures, so I've tried to capture most here. Some of the sites are large enough that if you have a small camper or van you may be able to pull through. They've designated more than half the sites as tent only. There's a great playground area and also basketball and volleyball courts, but in this COVID-19 era, don't expect them to be open in 2020. I heard a little road traffic around the perimeter, but not much.

Bring a bike, pack some sneakers or hiking boots, toss in a swimsuit or a fishing pole, and explore! There are miles of trails and logging roads for hiking and biking. A small beach is within walking distance from the campground (wildflowers bloom in the area in late May). 

Nearby national park sites include Lowell, Minute Man, and  Boston where you'll learn about the industrial revolution or the American revolution respectively. Concord will introduce you to some early American authors; Salem Maritime, Saugus Iron Works, Essex National Heritage explore other aspects of the area. Head to Gloucester for a whale watch or wander the coastal towns.

Great campground. Close to town, but feels like you are in the middle of nowhere!

Awesome park. It was a quiet night and bathrooms where clean. Has spacious showers. Park rangers drive around campground often.

We stayed at Harold Parker State Forest Campground during Memorial Day Weekend. Reservation through Reserve America was a breeze. Check in till 9:00 pm was convenient. Checkout by 11:00 am but we paid for an additional night to be able to leave at night the day we checked out. Totally worth it!

Nice large campsites. The sites’ privacy is very diverse. You could be tucked away from everyone or closer together depending on the site you choose but they are all pretty decent in size. All sites have water which is a plus. All have a fire pit/box, charcoal bbq and a picnic table. Most of them are drive in. 

Quiet hours from 10 am to 7 am. No alcohol allowed (although I didn’t see an actual enforcement of this rule and guess it’ll happen only if people act out). Rangers are constantly patrolling. Felt pretty safe at night. You can’t bring wood. Bundles are $5 each and it burns really well. 

Lots of biking/hiking/walking trails, a nice small pond/beach, boat access, a few basketball courts, a volleyball court and a common huge fire pit added to the fun. A ranger ran a program to teach about the area fauna which was pretty interesting for kids and adults alike. 

Bathrooms were fairly clean although small and showers were free! Some sites were right in front of a lovely pond and there were many group sites available as well. 

The location is pretty good. Salem, Andover, Boston Are accesible while staying here. Close proximity to Richardson Ice Cream which you CANT miss if you decide to stay.  They have cheap but amazing ice cream, mini golf and battling cages which was entertaining for my whole crew. 

It rained a lot during one night of our stay and the site (301) did not flooded at all. All sites seemed in pretty good shape the morning after as well. 

Beautiful and will recommend to families with small kids, groups and couples too.

Large sites. Clean bathroom. Good for families or couples.

The Good: Spacious campsites, some are very private and some are more suitable for a group to combine a couple together, bathrooms are cleaned a couple times a day, trails in the area are great, swimming area, close to grocery shopping if you forgot something, DOG FRIENDLY

The Not-so-good: It is about $10/night more expensive for out of staters, wood has to be purchased at the campground, the fire pits are fire boxes and can be less fun than a pit - hard to sit around because you can only see the flame out one side of box, the bathrooms get busy and sometimes run out of toilet paper on busy weekends, there has been some illegal activity there (last time I was there, about a dozen police cars rolled in), quiet hours are not enforced well sometimes.

Being just 30min away from Boston makes it a convenient weekend trip destination, to get out and explore nature a little bit.

Camp sites are gigantic, have running water, picnic table and fireplace. There is a playground and activity field (basketball, etc.) on the campground.

Some waterfront sites, very near town and north shore activities. Very helpful rangers.

I actually camped here, while looking for apartments during my move to boston. It's about 45 min out of the city. Not too crowded, bathrooms and picnic tables. Trails around and several ponds. Totally would recommend, for a little getaway out of the city.

The campsite was nice and orettt spacious.

Right on the water of a small pond which was really nice.

Just outside the city of Boston.

They have full flush toilets and showers available.

Dog friendly!

My only problem was how close it was to a Main Street - we could hear the cars during the busy times of the day.

Wonderful campground for relaxing

The site are huge with space in between. They keep the bathrooms very clean. There are lots of trails and ponds

we have tent camped here 4 Times. its so clean and beautiful

Five friends and I decided to compete in Questival, which came to Boston for May 11-12, 2018. There aren't many campgrounds open in Massachusetts this early in the season, but Harold Parker State Forest was! I snagged a group campsite since we'd have four tents. We had to set up after dark, so we wound up congregating in one corner of the group site. When we woke up we could see just how HUGE the group site was! We had 4 two-person tents; you could easily fit 3x that number of tents. PLENTY of flat ground to set up on, and we were far enough back from the road that we never heard or saw other campers arriving, even though we know most other Questival competitors stayed at this campground. It was about a 5 minute walk to the bathrooms and showers, and potable water was available right on the site. Even though it was early in the season and not very leafy, we could only occasionally see our neighbors' headlamps. There were 4 or 5 fire pits, 5 large picnic tables, and 3 driveways that could fit two cars each. Great value for the cost! We were pleased with the privacy, space, cleanliness, and amenities.