Best Campgrounds near Gilead, ME

Large basic cabin that is real rustic.

I have been there earlier this month during a week day for a last minute break from work. Experience was great. Not only the ambiance (one of the rare locations to be just in front of this beautiful river) but also the location that is near all key hiking trails and attractions (ski resorts, breweries and restaurants).

Very nice campground. Plenty of space for 2 vehicles in campsite. Sites are spacious and and shaded. Flush toilets well stocked and clean. Showers available at camp store. Very nice and helpful staff. Surprising that campground does not allow pets. The campground is close to main road and was noisy at night. Visitor center and Flume Trail are nearby.

Have stayed at all upper sites. Beautiful serene and quiet. Site 4 and 5 get some cell service. Upper two top sites beware of bears especially the right side site. Game trail heaven. Amazing little larry brook. Great flat sites except top two. Highly recommend

Great spot w an exception of local officer Rowe. Comes to site unannounced or invited then fabricates the visit.

Other than that it's wonderful. Some really amazing river sites. Moose pond at top left fork has reception as well as lower gate.

General: Small (15-site) campground near Grafton Notch State Park (but not IN the park). No hookups. Not all will agree with me, but I am glad no generators are allowed.

Site Quality: Sites are gravel, level, and have enough trees to afford privacy between sites. 

Bath/Shower House: It is immaculately clean. Each gender has two stalls and one ADA-accessible shower. The shower has nice warm water and a great flow. There is also a very clean vault toilet. 

Activities/Amenities: Horseshoes and cornhole in the lawn area in the center. Information on many local hikes. Rocky beach has tables where you can sit and relax. There are two dishwashing sinks, potable water, and a dump station. 

What makes this campground shine is the owner, Mo. We’ve stayed in many campgrounds but hands down, Mo takes more pride in her campground than any other we’ve been in. Seasonal decorations, flower pots, and Mo is an on-site presence to answer questions, engage in conversation, and make sure the sites and all facilities are pristine. We stayed here five years ago and look forward to hopefully staying again in the future. About the only thing I can find fault with is the proximity to the road but even at that, road noise is minimal.

Loved this campground! Quiet and pretty private spots - outer loop a bit more. Great facilities w wash sink - nice camp store and not at all too close to town! 20 min drive to Mt Washington (be sure to check weather as we had rain at the campground which was ice on the mtn so we couldn’t go to top/they stopped us halfway.)

We pulled in around 7:30 pm on a Sunday night and there were plenty of open spots. We took a huge one. Found a fairly flat area and stayed for the night.

Just enough t-mobile / starlink signal to watch streaming and message, but wouldn't be enough for remote work so we went to the White Mountain National Forest Picnic area off the main road about 5 minutes away and had great signal

About 1km (.6 miles) of gravel road, easy enough for a big road bike, but don’t go any further as it gets rough. Plenty of trees to hang your hammock. Enough space to put up to 3-5 tents. No fire allowed. Would be really quiet if not for the road across the lake. I saw one truck in the evening and one in the morning.

Came into the area after 7 PM on a Tuesday and found several open sites. We stayed one night in campsite 9. This site is about 90 yards from the fire tower trailhead.

Site #9 goes back about 70 to 80 feet back off the road. There appears to have been a longer site, but the Forest Service placed boulders blacking vehicles from going further. Just past the boulders is a large fire circle with room for 6 to 8 campers to sit around the fire.

We were able to collect sunlight onto our solar panel from the site.

The camp site are all disbursed enough that we did not hear any other camping sounds at all. It was so quiet I could hear the sound of crow wings flapping as they flew by.

We enjoyed a spectacular view of the Blood Super Moon from the campsite. Overall the site was open to the sky nea3 the road yet protected from the wind.

The only downside was the lack of any other amenities. As far as disbursed camping in the national forest, this place is not a decent unpaved road and our campsite was only about 3 miles from the highway.

August stay very nice site 210 facing east with views of loon mountain area. These sites are w/E/S. Second stay mid September site 225 good easterly view. Quiet and peaceful. Lower sites by river with wooded sites of all categories. Tenting to small RV’s.

Stayed here in August for a few nights now booking in September for three nights. Like sites on Harley road, with views of loon mountain and surrounding vistas. Very nice campground with lots of wooded sites some with river frontage. Very well appointed store. Lots of sites have electric and water. No RV over 32’ in lower sites over lost river bridge. Also cabins available throughout the grounds for those without RV/Tent. Close to town with stores , restaurants, gas stations

The each campsite is nice and private--I was lucky enough to get a site on the lake for my stay! The shower houses/restrooms are amazing--one big open room with a large shower, toilet, sink, bench, and towel rack. The only downside is you have to press the button for the shower to run, and it's only a few seconds each push, so you're constantly pressing a button as you're mid scrubbing. But hey--after a long day of hiking or swimming, that's no big deal!

The campground was nice and quiet during our stay, but the pit toilets near our campsite were quite rough--super smelly and an endless amount of flies flying out of the toilet.

The staff was very nice and helpful during our stay. There are a variety of sites to choose from and a bunch of things to do around the campground. The campground store also had a good supply of items, too. It sounds like the new owners are making improvements around the campground, so I'm excited to see how it comes along if I'm in the area again in the future!

Great campsite!

Bear box, food area, water source, cabin, Privy, and platforms.