lake dennison state recreation area

A great place to enjoy the summer. Plenty of parking, and a nice place to launch kayaks. The water is clear and the park is clean. It has a nice beach and plenty of places to grill and enjoy a cookout.

There is almost nothing to do there. All of the hiking trails start from the Otter River Campground site next door, including the Lake Dennison beachfront.You can get there from the Lake Dennison campground, but the trail is through the mud in places and is not well kept. Its more like a vary narrow path people have created on their own. Expect to get your feet wet in places because the only way through one section is through the water.We went to the Otter River Campground and picked up a trail map. The trails are not labelled on the trail, only on the map. The MacKenzie Nature Trail is marked with blue dots. There was another trail marked with yellow dots, but we could not figure out which trail was which. Eventually we ended up at Millers River, but it was just a muddy, almost non-moving stream that smelled bad. There weren't even any birds around, never mind any other kind of fauna.The facilities were below par. My teenage daughter complained that the toilet stalls didn't lock at all, and someone actually interrupted her. They were minimally clean, but two stalls and one urinal and only one shower stall in the men's room seemed undersized for the number of campsites to be supported. I'm glad it wasn't busy when we were there. The dog thing was a problem. Some stupid mongrel kept barking into the late hours of the night not far from our campsite. Good news was that other neighbors were friendly and we shared a few tunes together around the campfire.

We went to lake dennison when were staying next door at otter river state forest. Lake was clear and had life guards! There was some shaded spots which was nice! The bathrooms were in need of some updating. There are a few trails you can walk. My children enjoyed swimming playing in the sand and catching tiny fish!

This was a perfect venue for the Mass. State Triathlon and the race organizers (Max Performance) added all the needed accoutrements (large tent, etc.) to make the event at this venue a success. Loved Lake Dennison!

We went here on a 90 degree Monday and the place was almost empty. Weekends are probably more busy.It was our first time here and it is worth the hour drive to this hidden gem. Why go to a crowded beach when you can come here. We sat here and enjoyed the view for 4 hours, had a picnic and read. The breeze was coming off the water on this very hot day. So relaxing.Parking is $5 or free if you are over 62 for a full day of rest and relaxation. There is the sunny beach area with a life guard or just past the beach is another shaded area with many picnic tables and out door grills. Here you can sit under trees or at the water's edge.Here at the no-swimming area we saw people with children fishing from the shore, others with dogs who went in for a swim. There was a bathhouse that was being fixed but there were many potty toilets. This lake is a nice size and looked very clean. About a half mile from the beach entrance is the campground. We never went into the campground but I am sure that it is nice and only $12 a night. There were several boat ramps. I saw only non-motor boats on the lake.I am not sure if there was snack bar but the ice cream truck came around 4PM. So bring food and drinks and have a great time.

A little overcrowded for our taste, but it's clean and quiet other than the highway. Lake is large and the camping areas probably need a few more restrooms. Trails surrounding the park are nice, but not all clearly marked. Lots of small children and families and can be loud at times. I'd rate it average for a Massachusetts State Park. I probably won't go again as we prefer more remote camping.

Lake Dennison is a nice family campground. The lake is great for swimming, canoeing and kayaking. There is a nice beach shared by campers and day visitors, as well as a barbeque area and a boat launch (power boats are not allowed). Fishing is popular. There are 2 loops to the campground on the east and north sides of the lake. They are a ways apart. There are bathrooms and showers; sufficient but nothing special. Lake Dennison is close to Otter River. There is a little used connecting road that makes for a nice bike ride. Otter River sometimes has activities for the kids. Mount Monadnoc is 30 minutes away. Enjoy. Chris Kelley - Framingham.

The area has campers on the other side of the lake. There's a beach area which is quite good and has guards. People can BBQ and picnic. There are lots of blueberries to pick. People in canoes quietly ride around the lake. The admission fee is minimal. Nice place in the summer.

Camped with a large group. We were in the east side campground so the sun sets toward you over the lake. Beautiful! Facilities were "not bad" in terms of cleanliness but I give them a little latitude in that it was Labor Day weekend and the place was full, full, full! Stores and shopping within 3 miles in either direction on 202 which is convenient but not too close. Keep back from the sites along the bottom of the map on the east campground as 202 runs near them and the road noise can be quite loud.

Our site was spacious, but served for many as a walk through to the bathroom. There are many sites overlooking the lake and I would love to have one of them on a future trip. The lake is great for boating and swimming. The beach area is nice - but becomes very crowded. It Would be nice if they expanded the swimming area as it is small and very shallow.I would return for a weekend trip, but probably for not longer as there is not much to do in the area outside the campground. My son really enjoyed riding his bike around. We will be sure to bring our kayaks on future trips here.

Hi - we stayed a the camp ground on July 3, 4 and 5 (overnight 3rd and 4th), 2012. The facility is on a great lake and the camp sites seem well kept. We camped on the loop closer to Route 202, but our sites were closer to the Lake than the road and we did still hear significant street noise - motorcycle "crotch rockets" mostly. It was the 4th, so we did expect some noise.The sites we had (11 & 12) were next the the bathrooms and not separated by trees at all - they opened on to a field (good for playing catch, bad for privacy). The flood lights for the bathrooms were on all night and shone brightly through the fabric of our pop-up pretty much no matter where we setup. Also, convenient to our site was the dumpster - full and very smelly by the time we left.We swam and canoed and loved the facility - just not our sites - the online pics are pretty deceptive. It's also too bad that the swimming is limited to two areas - a small campers areas on the other loop and the public/park beach. The fishing seemed pretty good and the lake is stocked.

The lake setting and proximity to Boston (~1 hour) is responsible for all of the stars, really. The place is a bit crowded and the toilets/showers could use updating.

My family of four camped here for two nights in tents. Very reasonable rates ($12/night). The campground was clean, the lake was beautiful, and the other campers were very quiet and considerate. There are two sections to this campground - one along Route 202 and the other located around the lake further into the woods. Because we reserved our campsite a few days before camping, we were left with few choices. Unfortunately, our campsite was located only about 25 yards from Route 202 - a very noisy road with cars passing at all hours of the night. Needless, to say we did not get much sleep. When reserving your campsite, make sure you are not next to the road, unless you like the feeling of camping on a median strip. The only other negative was the bath houses. They are very dated with only one shower in each building. However, they are kept clean and the water was very hot.

Last weekend I visited Lake Dennison State park. I went with my children on a hot day. First stop was the beach which was larger than I expected. The water was crystal clear, clean, and very refreshing on a hot day. I highly recommend the beach area. We also walked a bit on the various trails. We didn't stay at the campground but we drove through and the camp sites are all located close to the lake and there were mostly tents - very few RV's which we like. I certainly plan on camping here soon. Great park for a day trip and I plan to test out the camping soon.