Proposed campground would be located on the Bayside Road abutting the Alton Avenue subdivision in Ellsworth.

Shaun Farrar

Aug 10, 2026

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Viridian Law.

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TRENTON—Ellsworth residents who are opposing a 28-site RV campground proposed for a location off the Bayside Road near Alton Ave. spoke before the Trenton Select Board at its August 4 meeting.

The group of Ellsworth and Trenton residents who are opposing the Anchor In Campground, worry that the campground will bring in too much noise and traffic on a route that’s often used as a bypass through Ellsworth and to Mount Desert Island.

Other worries include the environment and overall safety—such as RV fires.

Ellsworth allows campgrounds in many of its residential neighborhoods. The zoning laws are something those who oppose the project, which is on 52 acres in a wooded section of 566 Bayside Road, hope to change. The site extends past what was the home of John Fink, who had been Ellsworth’s Planning Board chair for 22 years and served on the board for 30 years.

Superior Realty Inc, has applied to make the site, which is close to the residential Alton Avenue, a campground.

One of the speakers, Patty Kelly, said that last year Ellsworth adopted a new comprehensive plan that was years in the making and whose process included a lot of public engagement. Now, the group worries that this proposed campground is going to be built while the city is still in the process of adjusting its land use ordinances to reflect the ideals in the comprehensive plan.

According to the City of Ellsworth’s Planning Department webpage, “there are no current changes proposed” to the City’s land use ordinances.

Kelly also said that Ellsworth’s comprehensive plan recognizes that there are certain areas that will require regional collaboration such as, transportation, natural resource protection, tourism, and economic development.

As the gateway to Mount Desert island and Acadia National Park, Kelly said that the group believes that the Town of Trenton has a vested interest in this campground due to its location and the likelihood of traffic increasing on more residential roads, such as Bayside Road and Goose Cove Roads, that are already heavily used as traffic avoidance routes.

Ellsworth currently hosts three RV campgrounds: Forest Ridge, Patten Pond, and Branch Lake. It’s also had new lodgings built that allow tourists to visit the town as well as Acadia National Park, the Schoodic Peninsula, and the Blue Hill Peninsula. All are within driving range for day trips. Stone Park opened in 2024. It’s a 72-unit suite-style lodging. The 83-room Home2 Suites is still being constructed on High Street.

The Anchor In Campground project has already received preliminary Ellsworth Planning Board approval, according to Kelly, the Planning Board conducted a site visit on July 21 and the project is scheduled to be back before the Planning Board for final review on September 2.

Kelly Bracket, also an Ellsworth resident, said that the group is seeking the City of Ellsworth to have a temporary moratorium on new campground applications so that the work on the city’s land use ordinance can be completed and also to allow time for regional collaboration.

Brackett and Kelly had come to the Trenton Select Board meeting to ask for the Select Board’s support, in the form of a letter or meeting attendance in Ellsworth, with the groups moratorium request, Brackett said.

Select Board member Judith Sproule said that while she understands the groups concerns, she doesn’t think that the Town of Trenton has any standing as a neighboring town to make any kind of official statement.

The Trenton Select Board, unlike the City Council of Ellsworth, is a fiduciary body and not a legislative body, according to Chair Fred Ehrlenbach, and therefore, they could not take a position without a town meeting since the legislative body of Trenton is the residents and the tax payers.

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FIRE DEPARTMENT UPDATE

Fire Chief Steve Heckman said that the requests for proposals for the new water cistern on the Bayside Road have been sent out. There is a walk thru scheduled for August 11 at 11:30 a.m. at the site.

Chief Heckman also said that the department has responded to 10 calls since the last Select Board meeting including an RV fire at the Narrows Too Campground that occurred the very morning of the meeting.

“Kudos to the members who get back to the station at 1:30 in the morning and still have to get up at 6 a.m. to go to their day job,” said Heckman.

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SPECIAL AMUSEMENT PERMIT APPROVAL

The Select Board also approved a special amusement permit for Central Maine Harley Davidson. The store, which is located at the “Cheese House,” had asked to reschedule their grand opening event to August 22 because the initial May date got rained out.

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TRENTON PLANNING BOARD WILL MEET TO DISCUSS SHORT-TERM RENTALS, AUGUST 12

The Trenton Planning Board is holding a Public Meeting on August 12 at 7 pm at the Town Office to discuss Short Term Rentals and the creation of an ordinance to regulate them.

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