Why I Love Kicking Off Summer at a Maine Campground

There is something about Memorial Day weekend in Maine that just hits different.

Sure, the calendar technically says summer does not start for a few more weeks, but anyone who has lived here long enough knows the truth. Memorial Day weekend is when Maine starts to wake up.

The boats start showing up on the roads. The campfires start smoking again. The camp stores flip the lights back on. Kids are riding bikes through campground loops. Someone, somewhere, is trying to back a camper into a tight site while their spouse gives hand signals that somehow make the situation worse.

And honestly? I love every second of it.

For me, one of the best parts of Memorial Day weekend in Maine is watching the campgrounds come back to life. After a long, cold, quiet winter, those places suddenly feel alive again. You can smell charcoal grills, hear golf carts rolling by, and see families settling into their sites like they have been waiting all year for this exact moment.

Maine has an incredible camping scene, too. Whether you are into tents, travel trailers, fifth wheels, cabins, lakeside sites, wooded sites, family campgrounds, or quiet little spots tucked away in the middle of nowhere, there is pretty much a place for everyone.

That is one of the things I love most about camping here. You do not have to go far to feel like you have escaped. One minute you are loading the camper, trying to remember if you packed the hot dog buns, and the next you are sitting by a fire with a hoodie on, listening to the kids run around and wondering why food cooked outside always tastes better.

This Memorial Day weekend, I am spending mine at Jellystone Campground, formerly Beaver Brook, and I cannot think of a better way to kick off the season. There is just something nostalgic about pulling into a campground for the first big weekend of the year. It feels like summer is finally knocking on the door.

And yes, in true Maine fashion, there is always a chance the weather does something ridiculous. It might be sunny and 75, or you might be sitting outside in a sweatshirt, pretending you are not freezing because technically it is camping season now and we are committed.

But that is part of the fun.

Memorial Day weekend in Maine is more than just the unofficial start of summer. It is the return of campfires, cookouts, lakes, bikes, s’mores, muddy shoes, late nights, early coffee, and making memories with the people you love.

After the winter we put up with, we have earned this.

So here is to the campers, the seasonal sites, the first fire of the year, and every Maine campground coming back to life.

Summer may not officially be here yet, but in Maine, this is where it begins.