Best Glamping near Ashuelot, NH

Nice sites, clean restroom and friendly staff. You can pick up the Ashuelot Rail Trail at the campground. They have canoes and kayaks on site, plus a shuttle service for water sports or biking.

This small state forest campground in north/central Massachusetts is just up the hill from Damon Pond. I suggest downloading maps before you head out because cell service is iffy in the area.  

Sites are largely level, around a small, bisected loop with towering pines. Most of the sites are best suited to tents and small trailers (think teardrops and pop-ups), but a couple of sites can accommodate slightly larger units. They are level and there's not a lot of brush between sites, so not much privacy either. I liked site 3 for a bit more privacy ; it's also one of the 3 sites designated for an RV. Site 11 is larger and can accommodate a larger unit.

There is a large yurt suitable for 10 people. The yurt does offer electricity, but there are no hookups nor a dump station at the campground. There are flush toilets, but no showers. The small bathroom was under renovation autumn 2020. There is a dishwashing sink. 

There are hiking trails in the area and, of course, swimming at the small pond. A nearby roadside waterfall offers another picnic area opportunity. For a longer hike, you can hike to and from Pearl Lake State Park. Fishing, mountain biking, and geocaching are other activities available. There's a parking lot closer to the beach or it's an easy walk from the campground.

If you are from out of state, check fees carefully. In 2020 MA increased fees significantly in light of the pandemic. Prices are steep for what you get if you are out of state.

Sites along the river, pull thrus in the field, shaded along the edge of the field, completely wooded area towards the end of the campground. Playground, volleyball, horseshoes, game room. Kayaks and canoes for rent. Nice trail to let the dogs go off leash and get their energy out. Fire pits have a nice sturdy grate if you wish to cook over it. Rt 10 was a little loud, I didn't realize there was busy road on the other side of the river. Don't come in off of rt 10, there's a low covered, one lane bridge that you can't tow thru. Some of the turns aren't so friendly either, we weren't going to be able to make the right into pine st so it took a bit to find an area to turn around so you could get in.

Easy access site, riverside electric 30A and water. Nice people. Great for pets. They have pet poo drop boxes and bags. Super clean bathrooms. The sites are not very private, but spacing is decent. Getting there you have to follow directions on their website to avoid the two low covered bridges. u.s. cellular coverage 3 bars.

General Notes:

After a long day we  did a virtual version of throwing a dart at map to head out and do an overnight camping trip.   Our dart landed on Erving and we literally had never heard of it … so we were … skeptical.   However, we were absolutely delighted by this great spot in the  beautiful Erving State Forest.  

Pros / Cons:  

This is a very small campground with only 27 sites and only 13 sites open during the 2020 / Covid Season. 

Situated by a beautiful lake and access to several hiking trails. 

Although you have good privacy to your left and right - you are not far from your  camping neighbors across the way … and we quickly learned the names of their small children as parents yelled their names almost constantly.   

There is also zero cell service (there is an operational pay phone at the showers) which is fine … but wished we knew ahead of time. 

All pros outweigh the cons.  We'll definitely be returning to this small hidden gem which is also situated by a lovely lake and has fantastic hiking trails.

Friends told me about this little gem in north central Massachusetts, not far from Rt 2. The big draw here is the pond, with the public beach on one side and lined with private cabins on the other.  Swimming, boating, fishing, and hiking will keep you busy. There's a separate boat launch at the far end of the road from the beach.

There are only 27 sites, but in 2020 many of the ones served by composting toilets are closed. You need reservations in advance. Fees in 2020 are only $17 for MA residents, but $55 for out-of-staters.

Campsites are laid out in a linear fashion along a one-way road that leaves from the parking area. It's a bit of an uphill hike from the beach to the campsites. Sites are large, wooded, generally level. It was quiet with a lot of families. I took site pictures, but for the closed sites, the numbers were not posted.

Download your maps for offline use! Cell connection was horrible heading up here.

Beautiful grounds, super clean, nice staff. A great escape from the world right now. All staff has masks on and it’s spotless here. Grateful for it. Nai:wen

We’ve frequent this park for 5 years now and this year was our favorite!

The park’s new staff is much younger and thus engaging. My daughters loved the rangers and enjoyed the kickball tournament at night. This was great as it allowed mom and dad time to meet other camps at the group fire.

The staff goes over and beyond and are patient and polite. We enjoyed clean bathrooms and spotless sites. The grounds are pristine and in full bloom. This was refreshing to see as the years prior were much less cared for.

True story. We stopped at Molly Stark state park in Vermont on the way home after vacationing in Maine. The sign coming into the park said no vacancy. When we got to the parking area I went up to the office counter and said, “We’re just stopping through. My husband is going to ride his bike for a bit and we’ll eat lunch, but we’re not staying.” The guy working said, “You still need to pay something.” I said, “Of course. No problem.” He said $4, I paid & started to walk away. The woman working said, “We have very nice clean bathrooms if you need them.” Which I thought was nice. My husband rode for about 45 minutes and then we walked to the bathhouse for him to take a quick shower. He says, “Do you have 50 cents? It’s 10 minutes for fifty cents.” While he’s showering I’m walking around with our dog. She poos and now my husband is walking towards me with a bag to pick it up because his 50 cent shower is finished. Before we can pick up after our dog the office worker comes towards me quickly and says, “Here’s a poo bag. Now you’ve at least gotten your 4 dollars worth.” I said, “Excuse me?” And he says, “You tried to get out of paying in the first place and now you’re using our showers. You said you were just eating lunch and your husband riding his bike.” My husband says, “I paid fifty cents for that shower. I didn’t steal it.” The guy says, “You said you were just stopping in.” I say, “Do you want more money?” And he says he wants another 4 bucks. I walk up to the counter to pay and say, “I try to assume the best of people. I want you to know that I wasn’t trying to get out of paying. I saw the no vacancy sign and didn’t want you to think we were trying to stay the night.” He said that he’s tired of people with the nicest stuff … a multi thousand dollar bike and a nice RV trying to get something for nothing.” I reminded him that he said admission was 4 dollars and his coworker offered the bathrooms. He said, “So you don’t think you got 8 dollars worth of time in the park?” I told him, no, that we’d been there for an hour and 20 minutes and he’d told me admission was $4, but if the extra money would make things right for him then he could have it. I just didn’t appreciate him thinking I was trying to talk my way out of paying park entry, and I didn’t appreciate him assuming I had a character flaw. He told me again that it was rich people who tried to get out of paying, he was jaded & to keep my 4 dollars. What an odd experience.