What You Give Up, and What You Get
Oceanfront Camping at Reach Knolls is a small, rustic campground on the shore of Eggemoggin Reach in Brooklin, out on the Blue Hill peninsula. The trade it offers is a clean one: you camp with salt water at your feet and the Deer Isle suspension bridge in the distance, on the kind of quiet downeast shore that resort RV parks charge a fortune to imitate, and in return you give up amenities. There are no full hookups here. Sites are electric only, 20 to 30 amp, and the “beach” is rock, not sand. If you need a big-rig full-hookup pull-through or a soft place to build a sandcastle, this is the wrong campground and you should keep driving.
If you can live with less, it delivers exactly what its name promises. The unique constraint to plan around is self-sufficiency: you fill your fresh-water tanks at a central spigot and empty them at the dump station, Wi-Fi lives at the office rather than at your site, and because the place is small and family-run, you book by phone or email, not through an app. It is now on its 12th season, and it runs like a campground that knows precisely what it is.
The Reach, the Bridge, and a Rocky Beach
Eggemoggin Reach is the long saltwater channel that separates the mainland from Deer Isle, and Reach Knolls sits right on it. The green Deer Isle-Sedgwick suspension bridge stands off in the view, one of the more photographed spans on the coast. The shoreline is a rocky beach, the downeast norm: good for tide-pooling, skipping stones, and launching a kayak, less good for lying on a towel. The water is cool ocean water, cold enough that most people wade and paddle more than they swim. What you get in exchange is the light on the Reach at dawn and dusk, and a front-row seat to the working boats and the occasional wooden sailboat that make this stretch famous.
Power, Water, and the Dump Station
This is the part to read twice before you tow anything down the peninsula, because the site setup is the whole character of the place.
Sites at Reach Knolls have 20-to-30-amp electric and nothing else at the pad. There is drinking water for filling your tanks and a dump station for emptying them, but no water or sewer hookup at the individual site. It suits tents and small-to-mid RVs; a big rig expecting full hookups will be disappointed and cramped. Plan your water and waste around a central fill-and-dump routine, not a permanent hookup.
There are hot showers on-site, which for a rustic oceanfront campground is a genuine comfort, and pets are welcome with current shot records.
Paddling Cold Salt Water
The Reach is a classic paddling and sailing channel, and launching a kayak straight off the campground’s rocky beach is the best way to use the water here. Treat it as real ocean paddling: the water is cold, there is tidal current in the Reach, and conditions can change, so a properly fitted life jacket is not optional.
Launch and land near higher tide so you are floating a kayak over the rocks rather than dragging it across them, and check the wind before you commit to crossing toward Deer Isle. Brooklin is the home of the WoodenBoat School, so do not be surprised to share the Reach with beautifully built wooden craft; it is that kind of water.
Rates and Season as of July 2026
Rates change, so confirm at the source before you count on them. As of July 2026, the campground lists standard tent sites around $44 a night and standard RV sites (30-amp electric) around $54, with the oceanfront sites at a premium, roughly $49 for oceanfront tent sites and $59 for oceanfront RV sites, all plus tax. The season runs from Memorial Day into mid-to-late October, check-in is 2 p.m. and checkout is noon, and payment is by cash, check, or card. See the campground’s own information page for the current rates and rules.
Around the Blue Hill Peninsula
Reach Knolls sits at the quiet end of a peninsula worth exploring slowly. Blue Hill, the hub town, has the galleries and food, plus the trailhead for Blue Hill Mountain, a short climb to a wide view over the bay and the Reach. Across the water, Deer Isle and the Barred Island Preserve reward the drive over that suspension bridge, and historic Castine, out on its own peninsula to the west, makes a full-day loop.
Getting There: Brooklin, Not Sedgwick
The address is 670 Reach Road, Brooklin, Maine, and that town name matters, because some directories file the campground under Sedgwick, the next town up the Reach. The office and mailing address are in Brooklin. From Bangor, the drive runs down Route 15 to Blue Hill and then out Route 175 and Reach Road toward Brooklin, about an hour and a half. From Portland it is a long haul of roughly three hours and change; this is deep-coast Maine, and getting here is part of the point. Blue Hill, the nearest full-service town, is your stop for groceries before the last stretch out the peninsula.
FAQ
Does Reach Knolls have full hookups?
No. Sites are electric only, 20 to 30 amp. There is a central drinking-water spigot for filling tanks and a dump station for emptying them, but no water or sewer hookup at the site itself.
Is the campground in Brooklin or Sedgwick?
Brooklin. The address is 670 Reach Road, Brooklin, Maine, and the office is there. Some listing sites mislabel it as Sedgwick, the neighboring town along Eggemoggin Reach.
Is there a sandy beach?
No. The shoreline is a rocky beach, typical of the downeast coast. It is good for tide-pooling and launching a kayak, not for sunbathing on sand, and the ocean water is cold.
Can you see the Deer Isle bridge?
Yes. The campground sits on Eggemoggin Reach with the Deer Isle-Sedgwick suspension bridge in the view.
How do I book a site?
By phone or email. Reach Knolls is small and family-run, with office hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and takes cash, check, or card.
When is it open?
From Memorial Day into mid-to-late October, its typical downeast season.
