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Bakers Island Light Campsite

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· Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts

10 acres hosted by Essex H.

3 tent sites

Best in Massachusetts: Finalist

Named one of the best Hipcamps to visit in 2023.

Boat-in

This Hipcamp is accessible by boat.

Bakers Island Light Station is located on Bakers Island in Salem Sound, a 60-acre island with a large summer colony. The lighthouse stands at 59 feet tall and continues to guide ships in and out of Salem Harbor with an alternating 20-second white-red light. The 10-acre light station, which includes six historic structures such as two keepers houses, an oil house, and a lantern room (now operating as a gift shop), is located in the northwest quadrant of the island and was formally owned and operated by the US Coast Guard. The rest of the island is in private ownership including the Bakers Island Wharf. The deed to historic Bakers Island Light Station was transferred on August 27, 2014, from the United States government to the Essex National Heritage Commission (Essex Heritage). Learn more about this land: Rated #1 Hipcamp site in Massachusetts by Outdoor Magazine in 2020! Enjoy the sights and sounds of off-the-grid coastal living at the Bakers Island Light Station Campsite. Set up your tent on a raised platform and take in the beauty of Salem Sound. Meet the summer lighthouse keepers, stroll through island trails, and unwind...just three miles off the coast of Salem! Getting to camp: PLEASE READ - the only way to get to Bakers Island Light Campsite is by boat. You have three options: 1) Use your own kayaks and paddle out to our beach (this is recommended for advanced kayakers only). 2) Take our landing craft, Naumkeag, out to the island for $70 per person. (Boat departs from Blaney Street dock on Friday at noon and picks you up from the Island on Sunday at noon). FREE overnight parking is available there. 3) Take your own boat, and rent a mooring for $59 a night (you will need your own dinghy to get ashore). Essex Heritage is the non-profit organization that operates and maintains the 10-acre light station at Bakers Island, with the mission of public access and preservation. IMPORTANT: The $60 per night fee covers 4 people per site. The absolute capacity for each site is 4 people, and you must provide us the name of each guest prior to arrival. TRANSPORTATION: Bakers Island Light Station is a remote island located in Salem Sound. There are a few ways to get there, including taking the Essex Heritage landing craft (additional fee per person) from Salem, renting a mooring at the light station for your own boat, or kayaking. ALL CAMPERS MUST ARRANGE TRANSPORTATION AFTER BOOKING. DETAILS WILL BE SENT FOLLOWING CONFIRMATION OF BOOKING.

Activities

Boating

Fishing

Paddling

Swimming

Natural features

Beach

Coastal

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107 ratings · 41 reviews

Griet D.recommends

July 12, 2024

Site 3 - Bakers Island Light Campsite

A fun unusual camping adventure

We loved our stay! The boat ride in a military style landing craft - the Naumkeag - to get us and our bags to dry land on Baker Island was already fun. Our hosts - Rita and Ray - were waiving and ready to transport our luggage to our site! Seagulls were nesting on the usual camping sites so we were allowed to put our tent anywhere on the property. We stayed right next to the lighthouse, which was awesome. Our hosts were super helpful throughout our stay. They opened up the one room lighthouse museum, gave us access to a fridge and a shady spot. Bring plenty of water. You are fully exposed to the elements. It was surprisingly cool at night and really hot during the day. Bring sunblock, a sunhat and a warm hat (for wind/rain). We had a beach all to ourselves. Most of the island is private property (60 houses). They have their own dock and beaches.

Julia H.recommends

June 17, 2024

Site 3 - Bakers Island Light Campsite

Baker's Island Camping.

Baker's island was an amazing experience and has been a bucket list trip for us for a while. It was quite the adventure, sun set was lovely, the camp hosts are super friendly and outdoor games were great. Thank you!

Mason V.recommends

August 20, 2023

Site 2 - Bakers Island Light Campsite

Beautiful weekend stay

Amazing and beautiful weekend on the island. The caretakers ,Rita and Sean, were so nice and welcoming. They gave us a tour of the lighthouse and even made muffins on our last morning on the island. We will definitely be back. I’m the near future.

Seamus C.recommends

July 30, 2023

Site 2 - Bakers Island Light Campsite

We had a great time camping on Bakers Island! The views were lovely and there is a lot to even though the site is not very big. The beach is very good for swimming and the water is a great temperature in late July. The gas grilles for each campsite make cooking very enjoyable and we really enjoyed our meals at the site. I will say that the host Ryan is not very communicative before check in. We tried multiple times to get in touch with him on several platforms but only heard back right before our check in. This is a bit stressful because the campsite is very remote and requires planning to get to. A lot of the information you’ll need is on the Essex Heritage website rather than the hipcamp listing. For example - we paid $50 per night for the mooring rather than the $35/night rate advertised on hipcamp. The lighthouse keeper, Rita, was super helpful and made every effort to make us feel welcome. We really enjoyed meeting her dogs (Georgia and Tippa) who were very sweet as well. Very cool experience - would recommend.

Andrew C.recommends

July 17, 2023

Site 3 - Bakers Island Light Campsite

Boating & Island Camp with Kids

We had such an amazing time visiting the island and exploring lighthouse grounds. The views from every angle were spectacular day and night, and even after dense fog rolled in we really enjoyed looking out at the buoy and listening to its relaxing music. The ride over on our boat got a little hairy but it was easy to grab a mooring ball. There were two and both had pickup buoys attached. It was a quick dinghy row to shore and easy enough to ferry our gear back and forth. The shore is rocky, so landing while swells were higher was a bit tricky. Be sure to give the lighthouse keepers a call when you’re heading to the island so the can meet you with the ATV and trailer to help haul your gear up to the camp site… we neglected to do so and had a pretty good slog instead. The keepers, Anita & Sean, were very accommodating once we arrived, showing us around and offering their knowledge of the buildings and grounds. The sites themselves are all in a shared clearing with a common composting outhouse and a small shed with a chest refrigerator. The sites have a large platform that just fit our 6 person tent, a few Adirondack chairs, a sun shade, picnic table and propane grill. They’re all within sight of each other. Although not that close, don’t expect total privacy outside of your tent. One thing to note is that there are seagulls around the area and they will get into your food or rubbish if left unattended. All said, this was one of our favorite trips and we will repeat!

Colby S.recommends

June 25, 2023

Bakers Island Light Campsite

Awesome weekend on Bakers Island!! Thank you Ryan, Beth, and Jack - it was magical!

Location

Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United StatesTraditional, ancestral territory of Pawtucket and Agawam First Nations according to To respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking