Before we left Massachusetts, we had to move from Canoe River in Mansfield to The Gateway to Cape Thousand Trails in Rochester, MA since Canoe River closes after Columbus Day. Luckily, the Gateway to Cape Cod is open until Halloween. I am so happy they were because it gave us an opportunity to stay in a Thousand Trails campground for the first time. 

The TT Gateway to Cape Cod is located an hour south of Boston and 20 minutes to the Cape Cod bridges. It’s a beautiful, pine tree covered campground making you feel like you’re in the middle of a forest. It’s also located just 30 minutes from the Plymouth waterfront and other attractions. You can read my post, 7 Things To Do in Plymouth as well. 

The RV sites in the campground are all full hookups and most are pull through. There are back in options, which we were able to get. They line the outside of the campground providing a lot of privacy since there is no one behind you. It was a well needed change for us as we were in a pull through for the 2 ½ months prior. 

As with most Thousand Trails, the campsites are first come first serve. You do make reservations, so you are guaranteed a site. You just can’t pick which site you want until you get there. We were lucky it was the end of the season because I’m sure there wouldn’t have been any back ins available. The pull through’s are all pretty equal and provide enough space between you and the neighbor. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if we couldn’t get a back in. 

The campground is a good size with over 150 sites, several cabins, and tent sites. It is broken up into three sections, A, B and C. We stayed in the A section which was close to the dog park, playground, pool, and the entrance. 

There were two tent sections (map doesn’t show it) but one was in the C section. Those in the C section were very private. If it wasn’t the end of October and close to freezing at night, I may have booked one for a night just to have that “camping” feel. My days of camping in near freezing or below freezing temps are over. 

There are a lot of amenities within the campground as well. They had two dog parks, a playground, pool (closed for the season), a large pavilion with a snack bar (closed for the season), Pickleball courts, and a large field with a community fire pit. Each site had a picnic table and fire ring as well. 

They also had WIFI that we didn’t use. Our Verizon cell service was not great either and because it is so forested, Starlink wasn’t perfect but it was good enough. I was able to stream with a few interruptions. We didn’t turn on our TravelFi so I can’t speak to other cell phone carriers. RV Life campground reviews show spotty service for AT&T and T-Mobile as well though. 

It was really quiet in the campground as well. It wasn’t empty when we went but it also wasn’t sold out either and some of the seasonal sites were covered for the winter already. There was no highway or road noise at all. The campground is set so far back in the woods that street noise is nonexistent which was really nice when were outside. 

No campground is perfect, so there is obviously some cons. The 1^st one for me is the remote location. While the bridges to the Cape are only 20 minutes away, things like grocery stores, restaurants, etc. are also over 20 minutes away. There’s not even a convenience store within 10 minutes. If you’re visiting to get away from everything and stay in the campground, then the remote location is probably perfect for you. If you’re looking to explore, just be prepared to drive at least 20 minutes to anything but probably longer. 

Another con was propane. Since we were there in October and nights were getting down to just above freezing, our furnace ran a good amount at nighttime. They advertised that they had propane on site but when I went to get some, they referred me to a company “down the street”. Down the street meant 15 minutes away. It could’ve been because it was offseason that they didn’t do refills on site. They have a large propane tank that looks like it’s for refills but not when we were there apparently. 

My last con is the laundry machines. The laundry room itself was nice and clean for the most part. However, more than a couple of the machines needed replacement or maintenance. They left our clothes either soapy and extremely wet or just extremely wet. The machines are not serviced by the campground so even after reporting it, they weren’t fixed in the two weeks that we were there.

Overall, we had a really pleasant experience. We would stay again when we are back in the area. It does help that they are open late in the year so when we are back visiting family in the fall, we know we can stay until the end of October no matter what. 

While it is remote, there are things to see and do within 30 minutes. My only gripe is that everything, even a convenience store takes 20 minutes to get to. Plymouth is a great destination as is the Cape. Both are summer destinations, but lots can be done any time of year. If you’re a Thousand Trails member looking to visit eastern Massachusetts, this is pretty much your only option. It is a good one though. 

If you’re not a TT member, there are campgrounds closer to all three destinations (Boston, Plymouth, Cape Cod). The price is about the same at those as they are here. They don’t all have the amenities like this one though. I did a review on Pinewood Lodge and Boston/ Cape Cod KOA which are both closer to Plymouth and Boston which you can read about. The KOA is the most expensive but with more amenities. Pinewood Lodge and Gateway to Cape Cod are about the same in price and offer similar amenities however, Gateway to Cape Cod has a lot more full hook up sites. 

I hope you enjoyed this review. If you did, please give it a like below. Also, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave those below as well. 

Until next time, God bless and stay safe!