Camden Hills State Park Recognized by Tripadvisor

Visitors to Camden Hills State Park in Camden can take in the magnificent view from Mt. Battie, as well as enjoy hiking, camping and other activities at the popular park. The park recently was recognized by Tripadvisor for its “hospitality excellence.”

Camden, Maine - Camden Hills State Park, in Camden, has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Tripadvisor, which bills itself as “the world’s largest travel site,” offering online advice to travelers.

The award honors “hospitality excellence,” and is given “only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews,” according to the certificate. Only 10 percent of establishments receive the award, according to the company.

Camden Hills State Park also is listed as the No. 2 attraction in the Camden area, out of 12 listed on the trip site. No. 1 is Mount Battie, which is located in the park. Currently Trip Advisor users give Camden Hills an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars, with 55 reviews in total.

“We are honored that Camden Hills as been acknowledged for the wonderful park destination that it is,” said Will Harris, director of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, under the Maine Department of Conservation. “The comments that visitors have made about the beauty of the park and the quality of its staff highlight the dedication and effort of all our park people to providing special experiences at all our 48 state parks and historic sites.

“With all of the hard work and diligence of the Camden park staff, they have surely earned this certificate,” Harris added.

“We’re pleased about receiving the Certificate of Excellence for Camden Hills,” said Park Manager Bill Elliot. “It’s a beautiful park, with great views, trails and camp sites, and we are blessed with a good staff. It’s nice to see that people enjoy the park, and we’re glad that it’s a special place for them to visit.”

Known for the stunning views from Mount Battie and the drive up the carriage road, Camden Hills State Park consists of 6,138 acres overlooking Penobscot Bay and Camden Harbor. The park site is an old Civilian Conservation Corps camp built in the 1930s, and some CCC structures still exist there, including the ski lodge, which can be rented by groups. The park has 30 miles of hiking trails and a large campground of 112 sites, some with electric and water hookups and WiFi.

One of Maine’s most popular parks, especially during the fall foliage season, Camden Hills last year had 135,000 day-use visitors and 25,000 camping over-nights. This year, as of June, the park had 38,000 day-use visitors, up 6 percent over last year at the same time, and 5,000 camping over-nights, up 17 percent over last year at the same time.

Tripadvisor LLC is based in Newton, Mass., and TripAdvisor-branded sites “make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors, and over 60 million reviews and opinions,” according to its company online statement.

For access to the Tripadvisor site on Camden Hills State Park, go to: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g40550-d104055-Reviews-Camden_Hills_State_Park-Camden_Maine.html

For more information about Camden Hills State Park, go to: http://www.maine.gov/CamdenHills

For more information about Maine state parks and historic sites, go to: http://www.parksandlands.com