This Century-Old Year-Round Campground Outside Boston is a Hidden Gem

This year-round campground outside of Boston (Massachusetts) is a hidden treasure even at 100 years old.

According to a report, Appalachian Mountain Club‘s Ponkapoag Camp in Randolph has twenty rustic cabins, quietly tucked away in the Blue Hills Reservation, dotting the shore of Ponkapoag Pond. No electricity, no running water, just a few outhouses.

“You do have to bring your own water, your own food, and cook with a small propane stove, so it is roughing it. I think getting back to that part of living gets you more in touch with the outdoors,” Camp Chair Dennis Maher said in an interview.

Maher has volunteered at the camp for the past 30 years and is familiar with the cabins from inside out. Each is named in honor of the family that constructed it. Inside the cabins, there are beds but no bedding and cabins with wood-burning stoves are available for rent throughout the year.

“The idea of having the woodstove going, having an evening in the cabin reading is always fun,” Maher shared.

In the 1920s, the Appalachian Mountain Club was looking to construct a campground within the commuter zone from Boston to practice fishing, boating, and snowshoeing.

Only 13 miles from downtown Boston with 230 acres of waterfront, they chose Ponkapoag Pond.

“They saw the hillside and noticed the breeze from the pond comes up here and cools this hilltop in the summertime, so that’s kind of how it started,” Maher explained.

Campers can enjoy the iconic chestnut log cabins dating back to 1920, which are a part of the National Register of Historic Places. There are plenty of winter-related activities at Ponkapoag, such as hikes, wildlife walks, and ice skating in the lake.

“There’s a thing they call ‘Ponk Magic.’ They’re here a week, and by the end of the week, they’re running around in the woods, getting dirty, playing capture the flag, and hide and seek and swimming in the pond, and they don’t want to leave,” said Maher. “It’s a little bit of heaven right here in Randolph.”

Camp Ponkapoag is entirely volunteer-run. For reservations, visit https://ponkapoagcamp.org/