The only one the WiFi was good at, ironically, was one we pulled into by accident.

Apparently it’s becoming fashionable this season to add WiFi to your list of campground amenities. However of the four campgrounds we went to, none of them had good park-wide coverage. We needed to use our home-brewed external antenna just to get a usable signal. And at our final campground, we couldn’t get any kind of signal.

The first place we stayed – Megunticook Campground by the Sea in Rockport, Maine – just had a store-bought wireless router hooked up at the office. We have to move to within sight of the office to get any kind of signal. It was offered and advertised as free, however. So I can’t complain too much.

In the second place we stayed – Wells Beach Resort in Wells, Maine – the WiFi didn’t extent much beyond the office either. Fortunately, they agreed to put us at a site very close to the office and the signal was fine. But the WiFi is essentially useless for doing any serious work unless you can get one of the few close sites, or want to hang out at the office all day.

I think the WiFi problem at the campground we stayed at in Vermont, Lake Champagne Campground, was just a fluke resulting from bad positioning. The park owner showed me the coverage map (when I went to the office to complain) and our site happened to be on the edge of both of the antenna coverage patterns. So we weren’t getting a strong signal from either of the park’s antennas. Unfortunately, they said they were booked up and couldn’t move us. Even with the external antenna, the signal would fade after a while and I’d have to get out and fiddle with the antenna to get the signal back. If you ever stop at this park, stay away from the K section, or sections E thru J.

In the last campground we stayed at, Danforth Bay Camping Resort in Freedom, NH, the WiFi coverage was clearly misrepresented. I drove down the campground’s main road, campsites on either side of me, with MacStumbler running and didn’t pick up a signal until I was almost in the parking lot of the campground office. Yet in their brochure, they have this statement:

“Wireless Internet access is included in your site rate. While wireless Internet service is available throughout the park, we cannot guarantee that each and every site will have adequate signal strength at any given time.”

I know for a fact the WiFi is not available throughout the park because I measured it. And their disclaimer begs the question: Why are they charging you for a service they cannot guarantee?

When we did our first tour last Summer, we didn’t have coverage problems to the extent we did on this trip – and that was a year ago when less was known about how to implement the technology in a campground setting.

I hope this is not the start of a trend – shoddy WiFi installations just so you can claim you offer WiFi. Get professional help, people.

Once the children were appropriately waterlogged, we drove back to the RV (we’d taken the Suzuki to the pool because the place is HUGE) and found Richard watching TV. He’d completely given up on getting online because we had no connection whatsoever. Our biggest complaint was this statement in their brochure: “�Wireless Internet access is included in your site rate. While wireless Internet service is available throughout the park, we cannot guarantee that each and every site will have adequate signal strength at any given time.�

Richard drove around the campground and couldn’t find any signal at all except right near the office. So, it’s our opinion that this campground grossly misrepresents their wifi coverage. AND, you get charged for it anyway! I feel like we (and all their wifi-seeking guests) were duped so I’d like to give this place one marshmallow. But, the children had a great time here, swimming, kayaking, watching a guy swallow fire and swords, and more. If you don’t need wifi, this is a great place to visit. If you need wifi, don’t bother.

Three out of five marshmallows.

Danforth Bay Camping Resort
196 Shawtown Road
Freedom, NH 03836
P(603)539-2069
F(603)539.5681
http://www.danforthbay.com/

Richard walked to the office to ask for help, but they claimed they were full and couldn’t let us move. They knew we needed wifi when we made our reservation so we were pretty upset that they gave us a dead spot.

The children really liked the small lake here with the platform in the middle. If we didn’t need wifi coverage, we’d probably visit here again someday. But, since we need wifi to stay in business, we won’t be back.

Two out of five marshmallows.

Lake Champagne Campground, Inc.
53 Lake Champagne Drive, P.O. Box 250
Randolph Center, VT 05061
P(802)728-5293
F(802)728-3922
http://www.Lakechampagne.com

The drive took us through some beautiful country in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We stared in awe at the distant mountains, the crystal clear blue lakes, gurgling streams, racing rivers, and the wild flowers waving to us in the breeze. Max said, more than once, “I want to swim in that lake!”

We even took the time to stop by an authentic roadside diner (not one of those wanna-be diners) for lunch. We arrived in Randolph Center, Vermont well before dark and the children had plenty of time to explore the campground.

The wifi coverage here is less than adequate, but we’re trying to make due. We had a small rain shower last night but it’s clear and sunny this morning. From the front windows of the RV, we’re looking at tall maple trees, soft green grass, a small lake (where the children are swimming right now) and the White Mountains (which look purple this morning in the distance – purple mountains magesty!). Ahhh…

Forego the pricey campground a couple miles south and stay here instead. We accidentally pulled into this campground and even hooked up. Couldn’t figure out how they’d lost our reservation…until we realized we were at the wrong place. Now we wish we’d stayed there. That other campground, Wells Beach Resort, is NOT on the beach – not even close. This place, while smaller and more quaint, has a beautiful view of the water. We even got on their wifi and it worked great. The children enjoyed the pool, too!

When we realized we were in the wrong place, this campground didn’t want to charge us. However, we insisted on paying. These folks are super nice and we’ll definitely come back.

3 out of 5 marshmallows.

Sea-Vu Campground
1733 Post Road (U.S. Route 1)
Wells, Maine 04090
(207) 646-7732
http://www.sea-vucampground.com

While this is a very nice campground (and a bit pricey), don’t let the name fool you. It’s not on the beach. I couldn’t even see the beach from anywhere on their property. They have a nice, heated pool and a top-notch mini-golf course ($5 per person per round). The children liked the gameroom. The facilities were very clean and the people were extremely nice. It was a nice place. But, again…no beach.

The wifi was good and reliable, provided you are by the office. We stayed in site #200 and the connection was fine, but any further out and you’ll have problems.

According to the staff, they are still building out the antennas and the wifi will be park-wide at a later date.

If you want to pay a bit less, and if the fancy mini golf isn’t your thing, try Sea-Vu Campground, which is about two minutes north (and on the sea side of the highway). They really DO have a sea view. We accidentally pulled in there and even hooked up. Couldn’t figure out how they’d lost our reservation…until we realized we were at the wrong place. Now we wish we’d stayed there. They have a beautiful view of the ocean.

Wells Beach Resort: 2 out of 5 marshmallows

Wells Beach Resort
1000 Post Road, U.S. Route 1
Wells, ME 04090
800-640-CAMP
207-646-7570
http://www.wellsbeach.com

This is a small, quiet campground in the woods. The pool is small, but the children enjoyed it. If you take a walk, you really can see the sea…but you can’t see it from the actual sites, which are deep in the woods. Once you do take a trek to the sea, it’s breaktaking, so Richard and the children told me. I was a bit bogged down with work and never got a chance to walk down there. I’ll definitely take the time next time we visit. That’s about it. Nothing fancy about this place, but it is extremely quiet and peaceful.

The wifi coverage was poor. It looked very much like a home-brewed installation because the only antenna we could see was on the router itself in the office. Any site in front of the office will probably work ok. But any site back further won’t. (We moved from site 57 to site 67 and were able to finally connect.)

2 out of 5 marshmallows

Megunticook Campground by the Sea
US Route One
Rockport Maine 04856
207-594-2428
800-884-2428
http://www.campgroundbythesea.com/

This is the children’s first week of summer break and they’ve been having a blast basking in the sun, swimming in the campground pools, playing on the playgrounds and stuffing themselves with S’mores each night. Yesterday, we played mini-golf. It was a bit humid, but an otherwise gorgeous day.

We had a nice rainstorm before dawn and I was glad to learn that the rain drops sound just as wonderful pounding on the roof of this RV as they did on the last. I sure didn’t want to get up this morning listening to that heavenly sound!

The bathroom door was sticking a bit when we left Bangor and I added it to our list of warranty items we want the dealer to look at. But, night before last, Ali got stuck in the bathroom. We couldn’t get the door to open from the outside, either, so I reminded Ali of the magazines we had stashed in the cupboard in there. She wasn’t upset (knowing we’d save her somehow!) and sat tight while we got the toolbox and proceeded to remove the doorknob and lock. It only took a few minutes and she was free. Ali brought twine with her for her art projects so Richard borrowed that and rigged it through the doorknob hole to serve as a temporary lock.

The new washer/dryer combo takes forEVER to dry a load of clothes (kind of disappointing for a tiny appliance that runs about $1K) so I borrowed Ali’s twine and ran a clothes line through the bedroom. The clothes dry overnight and Richard doesn’t seem to mind bumping into a damp shirts on their way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

We’re currently in Wells, Maine and heading to Vermont tomorrow.