North of Highland Camping Area

 

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Rachel T.

Newton, MA

7/14/2008

A few friends and I stayed at North of Highland this past weekend. My assessment is as follows:

Pros:
- 2.5 hour drive from Boston (allow 1+ hour if driving in traffic)
- Good-sized campsites (fits 2/3 big tents, 4/5 small tents)
- Picnic table at every site
- Decent bathrooms (cleaned daily)
- Laundromat (for those long stays)
- Showers ($.25 a pop)
- On site store (for when you run out of marshmallows)
- Playground for kids
- 5 minute walk to the beach
- Fires on the beach (!!!!)
- On site propane filling
- Rec room with ping pong tables, pool tables, and foosball
- Tons of Canadians (sry peeps, but I must honor my kind!)
- 10 miles south of P-Town (tons of shops/restaurants)

Cons:
- VERY STRICT RULES which include NO LOUD TALKING/SWEARING/MUSIC. Quiet hours are between 7:30am - 10pm. I was actually yelled at by a woman in a golf cart at 6:30pm because I was being 'too loud'. 6:30PM!!!
- The possibility of being kicked out due to not adhering to rules. I know of three individuals who were removed via POLICE ESCORT for being 'too loud'. If this happens, you are not reimbursed AND you must pay fines.
- NO fires allowed AT CAMPSITE. Every square inch of the ground is covered with dry pine needles.
- Having to stand IN LINE at the Beach Police Hut (not sure what it's actually called) in order to secure a 'fire pass' to have a fire on the beach. Number of passes are limited and are dependent on weather conditions. My friend and I stood in line for ONE HOUR (each day) and managed to secure one pass for both nights that we were there. We were the fourth people to receive a pass out of SIX both times.
- Strict enforcement of fire pass. If you DO NOT have a fire pass, DO NOT build a fire on the beach! As soon as we arrived at Head of the Meadow, we were approached by a man who checked our pass and checked to see if we were on the list (BOTH nights).
- Fires must be out at 12AM - not exceptions! A man with a bullhorn will make it perfectly clear at 12:00AM on the dot that your fire must be put out.
- Quiet-quiet everywhere! You can literally hear a pin drop at any point of the day. There's literally zero music and very little noise happening at this place.

Overall:
If you're looking for a nice spot to settle down with the family and go to bed at 8pm, this is the place for you. However, if camping equals music, throwing your 'inside voice' of the window, and fun of the extroversion-type... don't bother.

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