Russell Pond Campground — Hotel in Woodstock

I was originally scheduled to camp somewhere else, but we needed a site that could accommodate 8 and found this campsite online. It was our first stay here. We met many people who return year-after-year. We stayed at D-06. The water spicket was right across the road and the path up hill to the bath house was not far.

It was hard to tell from the photos which sites would be the best for us. We found out when we got to our site that the first part between the retaining wall and the fire pit could not be used safety... even to put a chair. The incline was too steep, so everything had to be jammed in the site at a safe distance from the fire.

The campsites are very well maintained and nicely spaced out nicely. Because they are at different levels on rhw mountain and there is wooded land between the sites, there is definitely a lot of privacy. This was the best!

The shower and bath houses are extremely clean.

Our host, Brian, was amazingly helpful. It rained for our entire stay and we went the first two nights without a fire. Brian came to the rescue.

There is very little information for those checking in. There is just a walk-up kiosk. For instance, there are tons of bear warnings with specific info on what to do with our coolers, etc and we found nothing on washing dishes. We were told to just dump the water at our campsite, but we had to find the host to know to do that. We got in so late, we put pots and pans in the back of the car the first night.

The showers have no temperature regulation. Our shower was fine the first three nights, then scalding hot.... too hot to stand in for an adult, much less kids. We reported it to the hosts and they were going to look into it.

Odd one... but watch the weather here. We made a joke about how we felt it only rained at our campsite. We would go to all parts of the mountains and it would clear up. We would head back and it would be raining. We met someone who had been camping yearly for over 20 years and he actually brought up that they call it the oasis because of how much rain they get at that location.

Be sure to bring everything needed for washing dishes (you will need to set up a washing station at the site) and for fires. The host had some firewood (we thought it was expensive at $8 a bundle) and some fire starters, but you need to bring an ax or your own tinder and kindling. We had tinder, but no kindling and no ax. The logs we purchased were huge. Brian came by while were were gone and chopped our wood up a bit, which was so very nice! We had a great...

We stayed at the Russell Pond campground for one night at the end of June 2018 to do hiking in the area (Trail heads to Mounts Osceola and Tecumseh, among others, are within easy driving). We arrived on a Friday night. We tried to get a reservation online but we were too close to our arrival date, so couldn't reserve (at least this was what I understood from the website). We crossed our fingers and showed up to see if there were any free tent sites (they allow walk ins). All that we could see were reserved or occupied as we drove around. On the off chance we missed one we asked the hosts- who were very friendly and helpful- and found out there was one site left! We took it. If you want to be the area and know your dates ahead of time, I recommend you reserve beforehand. We got there about an hour before dark, so just set up tent, found the toilets and water spigot, and then went to bed. Although the place was full, everyone had their own space so we didn't feel packed in at all. People we met were friendly. Lots of families with kids. There is a pond you can swim in (we didn't). There are pay showers. The toilets that were closest to our site have a few sinks and a few toilet stalls. Everything was clean and the hosts were very engaged- maintenance and general atmosphere was great. Our site was close to the river/stream that feeds the pond. It was loud, but in a soothing outdoorsy way. The site was a good size. We had a 3-person tent and it looked very small in the space. The site was level and had a picnic table and a fire pit (we didn't make a fire). The ground is sandy/pebbly, and our stakes went in fine. Our site was down a path, so we parked in a parking area and had a short walk to it (probably why we missed seeing that it was open). Neighbors were quiet after dark. Overall we had a...

Great spot for tent camping with lazy dogs. Our dogs love the water so we chose this spot since it’s near a lake. But dog owners be warned - no dogs are allowed on the small beachhead by the lake. But there is a spot near the boat launch you can climb down that has some dry ground and shallow water during low tide. Amenities are clean. You can buy DRY firewood for $8 (there are places with cheaper wood nearby but none of it was dry - so I’d stick with buying it from the campsite) and firestarters for $1. Super friendly and will offer great recs for day hikes.

The campsite is against a hill, so most sites will have a parking spot (two cars can fit max) and there will be a few steps up or down to the site. Outside loop you have to walk up a few steps, inside loop you’ll have to walk down a few. And the inside loop offers a little more privacy since the camp pad is somewhat hidden from the camp road. Mosquitoes weren’t too bad when we went in late August, but lots of spiders so keep your shoes in your tent so you don’t give them a new home to set up in.

There are bear warnings but they don’t have those metal bear boxes at the campsite so keep everything in your car at night. A small animal (a raccoon maybe?) was rummaging through our campsite at night and ran off with one of my dogs’ toys that had a bacon scent/flavor. There are spigots spaced about every three campsites but they are just for collecting water. You’re supposed to wash dishes and dump water at your campsite - so just do it far from your tent in case any food bits...