COVID-19 era review: if you and your RV are passing through Hartford, this is the place to rest and recharge! You have scenery and trail access right from the park, but also a pool, playground, and rec hall. There's a few full hookup sites, two dump stations on the way out of the park in case you had an electric/water site, and propane. Nelson's has a vacation colony of old feel with seasonal sites and themed weekends, and had events/crafts in the rec hall before COVID. The park is also a stone's throw from hiking and biking. Meshomasic State Forest is a short jaunt up the Square Trail--no need to leave the park for a decent hike. Lake Pocotopaug, the Airline Trail and (seasonally of course) leaf peeping. New England stone walls crisscross the Triangle and Square trails. Some of the bathhouses are closed because of pandemic, and the playground is presently closed except for a couple supervised play times, but it's still a great getaway. Our fire pit was like a hearth, and hearing the pond fountain was peaceful. What a great little getaway! read more

It's a nice place if you have kids and want to be packed in like sardines. It's very awkward I'd you don't know anyone, the front office staff isn't the most friendly imho. Very clean and nice bathrooms and the place is very large. read more

Really nice camp grounds whether your a camping novice (like me), like to RV, or a camping enthusiast. Nelson offers reasonable rates and may have discounted rates for the week. I recommend you call to check. If you stayed away from attempting to camp because you envision not being able to take a shower, won't have electric or fear using the bathroom outdoors with mother nature, no need to worry. Nelson's provides these amenities, just bring a roll of quarters for the showers. You can swim in their lake or pond, play a game of volleyball or participate in their many other activities. They also have a nice play ground for kids. I'm a satisfied customer and look forward to going back for a future staycation. read more

DON'T plan on camping here if you have a TENT !! Nelson's no longer accepts tenting as a form of camping. Unfortunately our large group had 5 tenters along with over 25 rigs. We had our sites booked for months and they didn't tell us "NO tents allowed" at the time we booked. Our friends had to cancel a few days before the trip. read more

Friendly staff; great for groups. We went with three other families and there was plenty for the kids to do. Every site has electricity and running water. Great time! read more

I went there to pick up family members who were staying at the campground. I pulled up in a parking lot where I saw other cars and was attempting to go get my family to go to another location outside of the campground to celebrate a birthday. A woman who claims to be the owner stopped me and asked me where I was going. I told her I just needed to park there fir 5 minutes. She insisted I get pass and her staff tried to charge me for it. I refused and was given a pass. When I returned to the truck to place the pass in my widow I overheard her yelling at an employee very disrespectfully. This woman has no class and obviously has no idea how to run a business. The campground is cool. Just stay away from this woman. What a nightmare. read more

My family and I stayed here because we spent the day at Brownstone Waterpark. I found this camp ground on the Brownstone Website, and I'm glad I did. They were very accommodating. It was Labor Day Weekend, we hit traffic going up and arrived a little later then anticipated, to make a long story short, the young girls at the front desk Thursday night had to stay past 9:00 closing to check us in. We arrived at 9:25. They were very nice about it and I thought that was admirable considering their age. We also locked our keys in the camper the next day, so I had to call up to the office to ask for another, they came down and unlocked it for us, again, without making us feel any kind of way for them going out of their way to help us. Between the crafts for adults and kids, dance, bingo, pool, arcade, ping pong, my whole family had tons of fun, made memories, we even stayed a extra night because the whole atmosphere is just so peaceful and relaxing, I definitely felt the, 'Family Campground Vibe.' We will be back next year, for sure! If I could make a few suggestions, it would be to offer linens for the rental trailers, and more activities for teens during the day, (maybe offer yoga, learn to knit, etc), like someone else had suggested before. read more

This campground is great . Me and my family are seasonal here and the activities are amazing even with the covid 19 procedures

Great family oriented campground! Every weekend has a fun theme. The campground has been upgrading the entire property and amenities to include new sewers, WiFi, bathrooms, playground, Gaga ball courts, air-conditioning etc. read more

Very disappointed We just stayed at Nelson's family Campground and was so disappointed with our stay. I am never one to leave a negative review however, I wish I knew about this camp ground before staying there. My family and I camp once a month in the summer from May through October we always travel together and have been extra cautious during this time due to Covid. We follow the state guidelines and have had wonderful trips this year and made great memories. We have never had any issues or complaints at other campgrounds. When we arrived to Nelson Family campground (which they knew we were all together because that is the way we booked it) and they started watching our every move. I expressed my concerns with the owner because the staff was watching our group like hawks for unknown reasons. If we were not following the rules or doing something wrong we would have corrected it right away. We watch our children closely and make sure they are respectful and accountable. However, the owner Glen was incredibly disrespectful stating that he was "not done talking to me (because I stepped back) and that I was to finish the conversation." I found him to be demeaning and rude. I asked him to stop speaking to me in this way because I was not being disrespectful to him and I was not going to be spoken to in that way, he told me I could leave and then he left our site. The couple beside us were Shocked how rude he was and said they could not believe the way he treated me. We decided to stay and focus on our children and family, but while we were at the pool, Glen stood at the fence and just watched me and my family. Other campers questioned the situation and it was terribly uncomfortable. He also was being degrading to his staff in front of the campers, which was also unsettling. Later, we saw Glen yelling at another child( not in our family) and was reprimanding the child until the child cried. Other campers stated that Glen had yelled at them too and even cursed at them. This is NOT a family camp ground and Glen was inappropriate, demeaning, and rude. This was a terrible campground and would highly recommend not going there. Glen actions and approach towards others was aggressive, passive aggressive and not acceptable. I hope you and your family never have to experience this and that you are not treated the way we were. read more

Traveling in a 38 foot coach we stayed 9 nights in a site for big rigs, site G7. The Good.... If you desire privacy, request a site in an area (for example area G) with the full time residents as these sites are large and offer lots of privacy from your neighbor. The residents occupy most of the sites here so this is a very quiet park when summer ends. If you have a dog there is ample area to walk. The laundry facility is clean and equipped with modern washers and dryers. There's even a wall mounted TV to watch! The Bad..... If the office gives you a site in the area with the overnighter's the sites offer no privacy and no shade trees. In the full-timer areas satellite reception is doubtful due to the amount of trees. Not sure about Satellite reception in the overnight sites, but there's certainly no immediate trees to interfere. We walked the entire park and noticed that almost every overnight site was not level, lacked gravel, and most were located on grass pads. The sites in our area (G) were also not level...all tires on the drivers-side of our coach were off the ground, plus it was a mud-pit because it lacked gravel. Big coaches need a gravel pad and this park lacks gravel on the pads. Definitely would be a big improvement if gravel was added to the sites. Is it that hard to put a little gravel down on the dirt? This park has a third party (FastWaveNetwork) that offers wifi.... but it's garbage. We paid $8 per-day for the streaming package. Half the time it didn't work, also couldn't view an entire show without it pausing 3 to 6 times. With our Wifi-Ranger there was no way to achieve direct line-of-sight to the source due to the amount of trees. The office did tell us the third party was having a problem with their equipment however NINE days is not acceptable. Don't know how streaming works in the overnight sites. Bottom-line; if you're looking to stay at a quiet and clean park where you can sit outside and relax... go here. We enjoyed our stay, however because of the un-level sites, lack of gravel, and horrible wifi, we wouldn't stay here again. read more

I have camped at Nelson's my whole life. My family had been seasonals and we were down there every weekend from April until Columbus Day weekend for many years. We only stopped camping seasonally because of financial reasons unrelated to the campground. There were always activities for children and adults alike. Djs, horseshoes, pot luck dinners, sport games, water slides, bounce houses, scavenger hunts, live bands, hayrides, crafts for the kids, movie nights, and bingo just to name a few. The sites are always clean and clear of big debris. They're fairly large in size as well. There are sites that are bigger, for big bus like trailers, but there are smaller sites meant for tents and small pop up trailers. The fire pits were always empty, and the picnic tables were sturdy and maintained well. I've never had any problems with the bathrooms. ( just a few spiders, which is to be expected at a campground) And the showers never seem to run out of hot water! The family who owns the campground are very kind and personable. They take the time to chat if they can. Any concerns we have ever brought up they spoke with us personally and did their best to remedy it; even if it was just a problem within our camper and we just needed some advice on what to do. Overall it's a wonderful family oriented campground and I plan to continue to camp there for many years to come. read more

Nelson's Family Campground - This was my seasonal site in the field area, we had plenty of space for yard games and our two vehicles. Aswell as our trailer and deck. - Campgrounds Near Me - East Hampton, Connecticut

AVOID!!!! Wish I could rate this place with no stars, I have spent many summers here, dirty unkept property. Pool is always gross and never up kept. Michelle and her husband glen are the nastiest people I've ever met. Rude! Screams at children for having fun, LIARS, they steel money from everyone. Absolute worst business owners and people I've met. Do not camp here. read more

We have been a seasonal camper here for years. Our entire family has had seasonal sites. We finally had to leave due to the way it's run. The owner Michelle is the rudest nastiest Owner to campers. We haven't been there for many years went to visit family today for a cook out . The nice young girl at counter took our money to park and we filled out paperwork for a day pass. Went to wait at gate but she wouldn't open it . Went back in owner Michelle was screaming at her don't let them in they are not allowed in. She is mad because we left our seasonal site along with most of our family .She made the poor girl cry. She has alway been mean and nasty and doesn't no how to treat staff or guests. Run run from this place. Not worth the money no activities, dirty pool, dirty bathrooms not a enjoyable place to camp. read more

This place is the best but it's ok. It can be boring for older kids because there is not that much to do. All of it is geared towards younger kids. I think the best thing about this campground is Halloween and that's about it. The pool is meh, it's kinda small and always crowded. The sites are really close to each other and are hard to back into. The owners aren't the nicest people and definitely need to be more honest and not money hungry. I remember they tried to give us a site for our 30 ft camper and we went to check it out and I was nice but the road was so small and close to the site ahead of us there was NO way we could get in. The owner kinda seemed mad that we didn't take the site and you could tell she wasn't thrilled about us picking another site. Some people there are very loud but most of the time the experience is very nice. The owner is a little on the stern side and is not afraid to yell at you. This place isn't that bad and if you have a little one I highly recommend it since it has lots of activities for them. It's an ok campground I have seen much better. read more

We have stayed in the rental campers 2 years in a row now. The owners are extremely kind and are quick to jump on any issues reported. The rental campers are brand new and although the campers are back to back the sites are very private. Our kids love the activities! Each year they seem to add more and more. We are now looking at buying our own camper from their onsite sales and getting a seasonal site. This is absolutely our kids favorite place to spend weekends! read more

I just had the worst experience at a Nelson's campground. I went to drop my son off to family members that had 3 sites with 6 people total. They took $20 as a deposit for us to drive in. Mind you it was only a $10 deposit to drive in. My husband only had a $20 and said don't bother making change. We will be right back. He received no direction of any kind about a time frame. We were there for maybe 15 minutes. When I went to return the visitors pass I was told they were keeping my $20. They said we stayed passed 20 minutes. I then sent my husband in and got the same response. Basically they stole $20 from us. We will never camp there ever again!!!! $20 cost them a lifetime of business. read more

The very worst....owners are greedy and will lie to you. They treat seasonal campers the worst, and are rude to everyone. Money hungry, with nothing in return. Michelle and Glenn both need people skills, instead of screaming at campers. Will never go there again. read more

This site get a 3 because they tried hard. There were many kids activities, though not all quality by any means. The sites I saw were big, but the treed area is more difficult to back in/out of. The campground is a bit hard to navigate as signs are minimal and its a big campground. There are bathrooms throughout and they were clean, but one was broken, another was a bit dingy and one had only 1 bathroom and 1 shower. There is no sewer, though they dont charge for dumping and they didnt have a per person charge. Lastly, its way off the beaten path for our-of-towners. However, I would go back knowing these things as it felt safe and had many kids running around. read more

Nice family campground. We've stayed here twice in two different campsites and had very spacious sites. A good amount of activities for kids ( both stays were on holiday weekends). Ice cream socials, DJ one night, crafts daily, they had a clown show as well as much more. We have a motor home. Only complaint would be that both our sites had no sewer hookup, but did have gray water hooks. It was not an issue as they have a dump station on the way out. read more

very rude and were no help when site flooded due to poor upkeep will not be returning

One star for Nelsons 'family friendly' campground. The staff in the office is extremely rude. One lady in particular who is supposed to be the activity coordinator but clearly is unhappy in her line of work based on her nasty attitude. To the point where she called her boss at home while she was eating dinner to complain about my family and I even though she was giving the outmost nastiest attitude to us. How are you supposed to be a 'family friendly' campground if there is no friendliness in sight. Extremely unhappy. I will continue to visit my family but will steer clear of the office, for sure. read more

Went there under the understanding that it was a FAMILY campground. But in order for family to visit, they must pay a fee to get in $5 per child and $7 adult, Came to town for a family event and in order for part of my family to visit and have a campfire hamburger or hot dog would have cost me more than renting another site, My in-laws came to see us and it cost me $14 for 2 hours. They really need to look at the true meaning of FAMILY. read more