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Best Campgrounds near Amherst, NH

686 Reviews

Campgrounds near Amherst, New Hampshire provide a mix of tent and RV camping experiences throughout the surrounding region. Developed options like Friendly Beaver Campground in New Boston and Bear Brook State Park Campground in Deerfield offer amenities for various camping styles. Most established sites accommodate both tent and RV camping, with some locations like Pawtuckaway State Park and Autumn Hills Campground featuring cabin options as well. Several mixed-use campgrounds within a 30-mile radius combine traditional campsites with glamping accommodations, creating versatility for different outdoor preferences.

Many campgrounds in the area operate seasonally, typically from May through October, with limited year-round options. Autumn Hills Campground runs from May to mid-October, while Field and Stream RV Park remains open all year with higher rates during winter months. "The bathhouses are probably the best maintained of any campground I've stayed at. They're cleaned multiple times a day," noted one visitor about Autumn Hills. Weather considerations factor significantly into planning, as New Hampshire experiences distinct seasonal changes with potential for cool nights even in summer months. Road access varies by location, with some campgrounds requiring visitors to navigate steep terrain. Reservation requirements are standard for most established sites, especially during peak summer weekends and holiday periods.

Campers frequently mention the importance of site selection when visiting area campgrounds. While some locations offer wooded, private sites, others feature more open layouts. A recent review of Friendly Beaver Campground indicated that "the campsites have very little to no privacy," highlighting the need to research specific sites before booking. Water access represents a key draw for many visitors, with locations like Greenfield State Park and Pawtuckaway State Park providing lakefront camping opportunities. Family-friendly amenities appear as common themes in reviews, with several campgrounds offering planned activities, swimming pools, and recreation areas. Visitors to camping areas near Amherst should consider their preference for natural settings versus social atmospheres, as campground environments range from quiet and secluded to more community-oriented with organized events and shared facilities.

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Best Camping Sites Near Amherst, New Hampshire (134)

    1. Greenfield State Park Campground

    21 Reviews
    Bennington, NH
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 547-3497

    $35 - $105 / night

    "Easy access to a bathroom (which was very clean). Quiet neighbors, everyone around us observed the quiet hours (10p-7a) and even during the day no one was super loud."

    "Nice views of the lake, swimming, wide open sites, not too over crowded! I'd definitely go back!"

    2. Friendly Beaver Campground

    13 Reviews
    New Boston, NH
    9 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 487-5570

    $60 - $130 / night

    "The views outside our camper window is amazing. We’re surrounding be trees and it’s breathtaking when surrounded by freshly fallen snow."

    "I prefer trees, but this wont keep us away from trying out RV sites this year."

    3. Spacious Skies Minute Man

    28 Reviews
    Ayer, MA
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (978) 772-0042

    $39 - $999 / night

    "The pool is huge and clean and there is a ton of seating around. The shop has everything you could need. There are horseshoes, can jam, basketball, and bocce. There’s a playground and a rec room."

    "Easily accessible by car to shopping, groceries, etc. but no hiking or good walking paths from the campground."

    4. Autumn Hills Campground

    9 Reviews
    Goffstown, NH
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 529-2425

    $45 - $60 / night

    "Lake access, inground pool, ball field, and lots of activities for the kids makes this a great place to relax with the family."

    "Campground is peaceful and quiet; the lake is within close proximity to most sites; I wouldn’t say it’s the best place for swimming but overall a great place to launch a kayak or canoe and paddle about"

    5. Bear Brook State Park Campground

    28 Reviews
    Candia, NH
    23 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 485-9869

    $35 - $45 / night

    "Tucked away in what feels like the middle of nowhere New Hampshire is it's largest state park. Bear Brook is full of trails, ponds and a fairly large campground."

    "Site 91 is near the entrance, but large and set back from the camp road, so it offers some extra seclusion. It’s across the street from the playground."

    6. Pawtuckaway State Park Campground

    44 Reviews
    Raymond, NH
    27 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 895-3031

    $35 - $140 / night

    "Driving around this past weekend I did notice that some of the sites had damp spots; site 71 was the worst with deep mud on the long approach."

    "My first time experiencing a park in the New Hampshire Park system. We went down with a group. Pawtuckaway State Park offers a variety of landscapes, with something to do and see for everyone."

    7. Cold Springs Camp Resort

    6 Reviews
    Weare, NH
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 529-2528

    $69 - $130 / night

    "Beautiful, extremely clean bathrooms, reasonably priced little cafe, big camp store, very friendly staff, 4 outdoor pools & pretty big campground that has a gated entry/exit that needs a key card pass"

    8. The Pine Campground

    7 Reviews
    Ashby, MA
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (978) 386-7702

    "Small river/ brook rind behind the campground.   Some shots have nice sound of river right behind the sites.  No pond or pool for swimming."

    9. Field and Stream RV Park

    3 Reviews
    Hollis, NH
    9 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 673-4677

    $47 - $80 / night

    "Great site right next to the water. Sites are clean and well equipped. Coin laundry with nice machine. Nice people."

    10. Spacious Skies Seven Maples

    11 Reviews
    Hancock, NH
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (603) 525-3321

    $54 - $999 / night

    "The shower worked well and it was nice not to have to walk to the restrooms, though they were close by. Our stay was during the week so it wasn’t very crowded."

    "We loved being next to the large field and basketball court where we watched the kids play without having to worry where they disappeared to."

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Recent Camping Photos near Amherst, NH

398 Photos of 134 Amherst Campgrounds

Recent Reviews near Amherst, NH

686 Reviews of 134 Amherst Campgrounds

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 6, 2025

    Beach Rose RV Park

    Nice park

    Owners were helpful on arrival, level concrete pad full hookups. Sites close together but quiet.

  • Utshob A.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 2, 2025

    Bear Brook State Park Campground

    Convenient and fun

    The park was easy to get to, only about half an hour from Manchester. It has kayak rentals and a very well stocked camp store, that was close to the camp sites. Our campsite was only about a hundred feet away from the camp store but still felt private.

    Our campsite also had a fire pit and a picnic table which were great.

    The size of the sites varies quite a bit though as well as their isolation, some were out in the open.

    For cell service: ATT seems to have pretty decent coverage but not Verizon.

  • Kenneth P.
    Aug. 28, 2025

    Fort Dummer State Park Campground

    Not So Bad

    We spent one night at site #20 and enjoyed our stay.  It was rather peaceful other than the hum of I-91. The staff was friendly and helpful. The sites were generally wooded, pretty level, and fairly spread apart from one another.  I saw no signs of the problems identified in the June 2025 review.  Yes, I must agree that the restrooms are old, but they were clean.  The other problems might happen anywhere and were obviously brought under control.  Clearly, the writer of the June 2025 post knew way more than any weekend camper would be aware of and this shows that is more to their story that should have been revealed in their post.

  • S
    Aug. 23, 2025

    Cold Springs Camp Resort

    All Around Exceptional

    This place is just great! They have clean, flat sites, easy to navigate and get our fifth wheel in. The facilities are spotless. There are numerous pools and hot tubs, activities and the people that work there are just the nicest! Our kids were never scolded for being loud and neither were the adults. We have booked our return trip already and can't wait to go back!

  • d
    Aug. 19, 2025

    Cape Ann Camp Site

    25 cents for a shower

    The aerial photos of this place are very deceiving. This camp ground is the foreground of the main house which, is situated on the top of the hill. The sites are all dirt. There is no concrete pads. There is no WIFI. There is no sewer hook up however, near the street there is a "dump station."  The camp ground is run down and unmaintained. Our site had a fire ring which, was filled with ash. Our first night we woke up to a trailer filled with smoke because, someone near by had a fire in 92 degree heat. Most campers are full time residents. There is no sight of them during the day light hours but, at night they are up and about on bikes and mingling with each other. 

    25 cents per 5 minute hot shower is offered in the public restroom. Some shady people immediate started to hover near the public restroom once we drove up the hill to use the public restrooms. For $70/nite for a view it's not worth it. I was glad to leave- very creepy.

  • Rachael K.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 17, 2025

    Lake Dennison Recreation Area Campground

    Really pretty and chill

    This campground is pretty and offers many private site options. We didn't use the bathrooms so can't speak on that. But overall it's a clean campground.

    There are two loops. The loop closer to the entrance has a lot of private sites. Although if you have one closer to the main road, it is quite noisy with road sounds. But many of the sites in the middle are more quiet. The sites by the lake are really pretty, but there's not much privacy. All of the sites are good size and the fire pits are placed well.

    The other loop farther away from the entrance has a lot more lakeside sites. But there's very little privacy. The sites with higher numbers by the lake are all on top of each other with little to no trees or shrubs between sites, and you can't really decipher where one site ends and the next begins. We would not stay on that loop if we visited again. Unless it was site 101 which seemed more private for that loop.

    Sites 1 through 5 on the first loop are pretty quiet and peaceful. We stayed at site 4 and we think that it was one of the best sites in the campground. We didn't have neighbors on either side of us. We only had neighbors across from us. The site was spacious , peaceful and pretty. There was a little trail from our site that went down to a marsh. That was absolutely beautiful.

    We will definitely stay here again.

  • gabe N.
    Aug. 16, 2025

    Lake Dennison Recreation Area Campground

    What a gem

    We camped here one night on a pit stop and it exceeded our expectations! We camped on the north shore; sites were big and offered immediate access to and view of the lake. However, there is limited privacy between sites so hope for good neighbors :) also cell service was fine with AT&T.

  • Cassie G.
    Aug. 12, 2025

    Winding River Campground

    Fun laid back place. This campground has a lot of potential. Some info on their website and Facebook isn’t accurate.

    I would like to share my experience this past weekend at Winding River in Exeter NH. My family of 3 Stayed at tent site 523 in the Oak area. We also had family at 553 and 554 and Cabin 2.

    About site 523: I clearly had one of the largest and most private tent sites. It was set back with a long driveway tucked between 522 and 524. It’s a very steep drop into the river making most sites a little nerve wracking with a little one. Online it said water available nearby. Most sites had a hookup but there wasn’t a one on my site. It looked like there may have been one to share on the road, but I didn’t end up needing to figure that out.

    Tent sites 522 and 524: Along with most of the tent sites these sites were very close to each other, much smaller and closer to the road. I wished my family members had gotten 552 and 553 as they blended together nicely if you are tenting in side by side spaces. The ground was very rocky making staking tents down difficult. They were right next to the bathroom which was convenient but loud. Ventilation in the bathroom was not good so the doors were propped open much of the time and loud hand dryers.

    Shower:

    • This is the smaller of the two bathrooms in the campground. There are 2 showers there. Each with a single insufficient curtain and no hooks on the wall or bench to place things down. Water was hot enough, pressure was ok if you set it to the high power massage-like setting.
    • The showers in other bathroom (near the town center area) had a door and two curtains. Some had hooks (some of which were broken). I almost tripped going in and out of these bathroom stalls because they are raised up but there is no marking on the ground to indicate that.

    Cabin 2: Ac worked well. There was a good sized bed downstairs, smaller beds in two lofts. I was surprised the couch didn’t pull out. Fridge and all dishes were nice and clean. All the cabins seem to have different back porch setups. This porch was smaller than C1. There was a propane grill that smelled rancid with sooo much caked on The burners. The location of the ceiling fan under the other lights in the ceiling gave them a flashing effect that really bothered me.

    Pros:

    • Lower price compared to other campgrounds (but I don’t feel like I got everything advertised on the website)
    • Two playgrounds, both were nice.
    • Water slide was fun
    • We arrived Thursday at the gate and were told how to get to our site, to set up and then come over to the office which was nice.

    Cons:

    • The river is very low and yucky so none of the boating or fishing advertised was possible. likely causing the massive amount of mosquitos.
    • The whole arcade building was was “out of order”
    • The laundry room had two washers (one was broken) and two dryers 2.50 each per load. Not sufficient for a campground this size (especially when people leave their clothes in the machine for 30 mins after they’re done!)
    • Camp store was poorly stocked (multiple empty coolers).
    • Ice $3 per SMALL bag.
    • Wood $10 per bundle and rules say you can’t bring from off-site. I saw people with huge metal bins of wood but was never offered that option when I payed for multiple bundles.
    • Camp store closes at 3 on Sunday and doesn’t open until 11 am during the week (which is also checkout). This made it a little confusing when I wanted to return the golf cart. They have a small area with icecream that is scooped and maybe a kitchen. I never saw it open but I think the sign said open morning to 12 and then again in the evening.
    • The pool was green and cloudy on day 3. I called the office and was told they had just shocked it and that was a result of the copper. I am not informed enough on pool safety so I opted out of swimming on the hottest day of our stay. My son was bummed.
    • Planned activities were only scheduled for Friday and Saturday, when online mentions “daily”. During adult kareoke there were plenty of kids and really poor wifi (wasting so much time between songs).

    And just to add:

    • Staff I encountered was friendly enough, but It would be nice if they wore shirts to identify themselves.
    • Golf cart was great, but cost more than the site per night.
    • Pedal go-carts were available for rent (I didn’t ask a price).

Guide to Amherst

Camping near Amherst, NH, offers a mix of beautiful landscapes and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled getaway, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.

What to do:

  • Hiking: Explore the trails at Pawtuckaway State Park Campground. Many campers rave about the scenic views and well-maintained paths. One reviewer said, "So many lovely waterfront sites, clean facilities, camp store and beach are great."
  • Water Activities: Enjoy kayaking or swimming at Bear Brook State Park Campground. A visitor mentioned, "The campground has a beach, a playground, a ball field, and a store."
  • Wildlife Watching: At Wompatuck State Park Campground, you can spot deer and various birds. One camper noted, "You can take a trail from the campsite with good sights while hiking."

What campers like:

  • Spacious Sites: Campers appreciate the large, private sites at Greenfield State Park Campground. A long-time visitor shared, "If you like large sites in a wooded setting with many private ones, this is the place."
  • Clean Facilities: Many reviews highlight the cleanliness of the bathrooms and showers at Normandy Farms Campground. One happy camper said, "The bathrooms/showers are spotless with piped-in music and hairdryers."
  • Family-Friendly Atmosphere: Campgrounds like Jamaica State Park Campground are great for families. A parent mentioned, "The kids were able to safely ride bikes on the camp roads, sites were large and well spaced out."

What you should know:

  • Limited Cell Service: Many campgrounds, such as Monadnock State Park Campground, have poor cell reception. One camper noted, "I wish this were clearer on their website as we needed service to do some work."
  • No Hookups: Campgrounds like Bear Brook State Park Campground do not offer electric hookups. A visitor mentioned, "There are no hookups at any of the campsites."
  • Crowded on Weekends: Some campers found that weekends can get busy, especially at Greenfield State Park Campground. One reviewer said, "The weekend was packed! Our neighbors were playing karaoke till 11 pm."

Tips for camping with families:

  • Plan Activities: Make sure to check out the playgrounds and organized activities at Normandy Farms Campground. A family shared, "It has so many things for the kids to do."
  • Pack Snacks: Stock up on snacks before arriving, especially if you're heading to Jamaica State Park Campground. One camper advised, "Make sure you stock up before you get there; stuff is expensive at the corner stores."
  • Bring Bug Spray: Be prepared for mosquitoes, especially near water at places like Greenfield State Park Campground. A visitor warned, "Watch for ticks."

Tips from RVers:

  • Leveling Blocks: If you're staying at Normandy Farms Campground, bring plenty of leveling blocks. One RVer mentioned, "We basically had to park sideways and use a lot of leveling blocks to get our rig level."
  • Check Site Size: Make sure to check the size of your site at Minute Man Campground. A camper noted, "Some of the FHU sites are pretty tight."
  • Use Dump Stations: Many campgrounds, like Bear Brook State Park Campground, have dump stations available. A visitor mentioned, "Dump Station: Yes."

Camping near Amherst, NH, has something for everyone, so pack your bags and enjoy the great outdoors!

Frequently Asked Questions

What amenities do campgrounds in Amherst offer?

Kampfires stands out with impressive amenities including an ice cream shop, mini golf, amphitheater for summer concerts, and recreational facilities like badminton, basketball, horseshoes, and shuffleboard. They accommodate both RVs and tent campers, plus have a dog park. For families, Woodmore Family Campground and RV Park offers a clean, friendly environment with numerous on-site activities in a well-maintained setting. Most campgrounds in the region provide basic amenities like firewood sales, drinking water, and toilet facilities.

Where are the best camping spots near Amherst?

The Amherst area offers excellent camping options within a short drive. Tully Lake Recreation Area in Royalston provides prime sites with direct lake access and is managed by Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations. For those seeking a rustic experience, Pillsbury State Park Campground offers primitive camping with many lakeside sites. These natural settings are perfect for outdoor enthusiasts looking to connect with nature while staying near Amherst.

What is the best time of year for camping around Amherst?

Summer (June-August) is the peak camping season around Amherst, with most facilities fully operational. Bear Brook State Park Campground offers excellent summer camping with access to trails, ponds, and family-friendly amenities. Early fall is another prime time, especially for hikers. Greenfield State Park Campground provides a beautiful wooded setting and serves as a great base for exploring nearby attractions like Mount Monadnock when the summer crowds diminish. Early-season camping in May can offer more solitude but facilities may be limited.

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