Backcountry Camping in the Otis Pike High Dune Wilderness

The area around Watch Hill Campground is stunning. The people working there are lovely and helpful and the other guests were friendly and respected quiet hours. However this year, cuts to the NATIONAL PARK SERVICE are clearly affecting the quality of the experience for all. No ranger programs during the week; no lifeguards during the week that I could see. The showers were moldy and filthy and the... The area around Watch Hill Campground is stunning. The people working there are lovely and helpful and the other guests were friendly and respected quiet hours. However this year, cuts to the NATIONAL PARK SERVICE are clearly affecting the quality of the experience for all. No ranger programs during the week; no lifeguards during the week that I could see. The showers were moldy and filthy and the few shower curtains remaining were torn and black with mold. The water is cold of course but that is to be expected. I couldn’t bring myself to enter the shower. Our glamping tent had a broken zipper and a huge tear in the screen and there was no one to report this to. Mosquitoes also bad but that is no one’s fault. The beauty of the place makes it worth a visit but be prepared.

DO NOT come here if you hate mosquitos, use your phone alot (there is only 2 outlets in the entire campsite that were actually working), and shower with hot water (basically nonexistent) The mosquitos were unstoppable to the point where bug spray wont do anything. We found cockroaches, spiders, and colonies of ants in the showers (both men and women.) This place also has nothing to do at all. All... DO NOT come here if you hate mosquitos, use your phone alot (there is only 2 outlets in the entire campsite that were actually working), and shower with hot water (basically nonexistent) The mosquitos were unstoppable to the point where bug spray wont do anything. We found cockroaches, spiders, and colonies of ants in the showers (both men and women.) This place also has nothing to do at all. All you can do is walk around the nonexistent “town” or you can go to a bar. The only thing thats mildly good is the food. The french fries were seasoned well and the pina coladas tasted amazing (the review has to do with the campsite not the food so i wont be adding any extra stars) The service was also horrible at the general store. Well in a short summary, dont come here. Cold water, almost no outlets, Mosquitos dragon flys cockroaches ticks i can go on!

WARNING ! Mosquito infested camp sites. The evenings were torture and made unbearable by the shear quantity of mosquitos - we're not talking hundreds, we're talking thousands, easily hundreds of thousands. We retreated and were confined to our small tent just to escape the swarms of biting parasites. Day time around the tent site was only marginally better. You might bathe yourself in Deet, t... WARNING ! Mosquito infested camp sites. The evenings were torture and made unbearable by the shear quantity of mosquitos - we're not talking hundreds, we're talking thousands, easily hundreds of thousands. We retreated and were confined to our small tent just to escape the swarms of biting parasites. Day time around the tent site was only marginally better. You might bathe yourself in Deet, the known carcinogen substance that is the main ingredient in bug sprays, but what fun is that? For any relief make a dash for the beach front through clouds of mosquitos only to return to your camp site through the gamut of pestilence. The authorities either need to spray insecticide, which is probably detrimental to the larger ecosystem, or simply warn people ahead of time. But of course making this fact public would have an effect on what? Cash-flow. "Glamping"? Folks, there is nothing "glamorous" about being eaten alive by parasites. Nuisance deer, acclimated to tourists and their picnic baskets and covered in another parasitic bug, ticks, cruise the campsites while tourists sleep, so stow food-stuffs tightly in open proof containers and check your body cavities for tick implantation - sexy eh? Perhaps culling the herd would help? But of course there are a lot of visitors who want to see the wildlife, Bambi & Rocky Raccoon, up close. Trouble is, if the wildlife have become acclimated to our breakfast cereal, potato chips, and hotdogs are they still "wildlife" or just nuisance animals? It begs the question - no? The toilet and shower facilities are ill-kept, if kept at all. We even got mosquito bites while showering on body parts I'd rather not talk about. Wear your flip-flops because the mold and fungus in the showers is fairly nasty. Cold water only in dirty buildings. Who is the money for this place going to? They should be fined and hauled into court for embezzlement. Better to come after the first hard frost in the off-season but, alas, you can't without a personal boat because the ferry does not run at the close of the official Bug Season. It's too bad, because after a good hard freeze this place would be ideal and offer solitude in an awe inspiring marine environment, barrier island setting. But during Bug Season? IT IS A NIGHTMARE of pestilence, and my experienced advise is to, STAY AWAY. Even tons of bug spray does not help to keep the vicious mosquitos from following and biting you. But even that will not save you so be sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor to check for Lime Disease, Malaria, West Nile Virus, and Dengue Fever. Happy trails!