Best RV Parks & Resorts near Center Strafford, NH

Turtle Kraal RV campground is a gated RV campground just outside Alton Bay NH.  Lots of great restaurants, ice cream shops and water activities are nearby!  

The sign was easy to spot, right off the road, GPS leading us right to the entrance.  There is a long approach after you see the sign, and even a sharp turn before you see the gate.  We met the man at the gate (with his incredibly enormous husky) and provided us all the information we needed.  This campground has wifi, good cell signal (AT&T and Verizon), a great pool, is pet friendly and well maintained.  The bathhouse and pool were both very clean, and for as many RV's that were there - that was amazing!  Each site has a firepit and a picnic table - though many sites have additions and build for an extended stay!  

This campground is huge - there is a lower loop and an upper loop with the bathhouse and pool right in the center.  Kids can ride their bikes around both loops, walk the dogs, play cornhole or horseshoes, etc.  Trash is well maintained, with enough dumpsters for the amount of campers they could hold at capacity.  They also have firewood for sale on your way in, so you don't have to chase a campground host or a little golf cart - you can buy what you need on your way back.  This is a very family friendly campground about an hour and a half north of Boston and about the same from the Whites.  A great base-camp for amazing days on Lake Winnipesauke!!

We chose this campground because it was close to Portland– a city where we love hanging out at great breweries, shopping, and eating at some of the country’s best restaurants. The close proximity to Portland is one of the pluses of this campground. But, it turned out we weren’t crazy about this campground and probably would not be back. 

Campsites for transients and big-rig sites are in the front portion of the park; whereas, the seasonals are along the spring/pond in the back section. There are tons of site types to choose from depending on your amperage, sewer, and cable needs. Our site was a back-in full hook-up, 50-amp site that was o.k. It was level and long enough to fit our 45’ RV. The pad was gravel and the patio was grass with a firepit and picnic table. The utilities were in the far back of the site so make sure you have long enough hoses. Since we hung over the back of our site and our wet and electric bays are towards the back of our RV, we were able to reach the utilities without extensions. 

As the name implies, there is a spring on the property which is fairly large and open to paddling (no motorized boats) and swimming. There are lots of rules about where you can swim (i.e., only within 75 feet of the shore, no swimming to island, no dogs, no diving offshore, etc.). You can fish in the pond (catch and release only). Visitor fees seemed quite high at $8/day use and $15/overnight but I’m sure it helps keep the number of people down. 

Amenities include volleyball/basketball/pickle ball, a swim beach, playground, recreation hall, snack bar, horseshoes, a community bonfire area, and dog run. There is no charge to borrow sporting equipment which is nice (volleyballs, basketballs, etc). The store sells camping supplies, ice, groceries, ice cream, and t-shirts. There is a pretty active events calendar (of which we did not participate) with games (cards, bingo, etc.), themed weekends, and entertainment. 

Overall, the campground has an old, run-down appearance and a dusty dirty feel to it. The seasonal sites are pretty junky with lots of stuff spread out around each camper. I was really glad we were in a transient site away from the seasonals because it was a little quieter as a lot of the seasonals were outside playing loud music and got a little rowdy. We love the Portland area and will return but not to this campground– there are plenty more in the area a little farther away from downtown.

We have stayed at Bayley's a lot over the years and have watched it grow into an RV Resort. 

If you're looking for all the bells and whistles, full amenities and location to town this is it. I saw a few other reviews noting the noise levels, I think this comes with the territory of staying at an RV Resort. It is family friendly, kids ride their bikes around the campground and you can hear your neighbors. 

Depending on your site location you may get more privacy than if you stay in the big rig sites. The wooded sites tend to be more private and less loud. Staying by any of the pools will be louder. The adults only area can get loud in the summer with music during the day. 

We stay on the event weekends, rent a golf cart and sit in the hot tubs for the duration of our stay and it couldn't be better.

The Chocorua KOA is a great campground with super friendly staff, a variety of sites and lots of activities and things to do for everyone in the family.

We stayed with two other families on pull-through full hook-up sites 43, 45, and 47. Although we were on the main road, we really enjoyed these sites. They were wooded and in a central location close to the playgrounds, pavilion, beach and nature trails. Site 45 was pretty narrow but the other two sites had a bit more space so we mostly used 43 and 47 to hang out. We especially loved that the pull-through road behind our sites was not a main access road so we had a nice long stretch of road that was just for us. We played games and the kids road bikes without having to worry about cars driving through.

There are also a lot of really nice tent sites along the water, cabins, teepees, lodges and great areas for groups to camp. They are fairly strict with quiet hours so it is a very quiet campground at night.

The facilities are nice and clean. The pavilion and fire pit area are a nice place to gather with games and a mining station to enjoy. There are two playgrounds for little and big kids. The bathrooms are quite dated but clean. The pool is freezing cold so the kids didn’t swim much. The beach area is small and not deep enough to swim but the kids enjoyed playing in the sand and water. There are a lot of options for boat rentals- paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, and row boats. There is a beautiful board walk that leads through the marsh to a system of short nature trails. We really enjoyed walking the trails though some need a lot of work due to fallen trees and overgrowth. There were also a lot of free activities for the kids like crafts, wagon rides and games with a full schedule of events. You really never have to leave this campground!

This is also an incredibly dog-friendly campground with a fun dog park, a special swimming pond just for dogs and doggie day care available. This is one of the most pet loving campgrounds we’ve ever camped in and our pup loved it!!

We had a great trip and will definitely be back!

The campground has a gravel area at the sites where the fire ring and picnic tables are. Where we parked our trailer was some gravel sand and dirt. We were at the end of a lane, backing in was fine we are small, 21 feet including tongue, we fit fine. Great site across from a beach, on French Pond I’m guessing is at least 25 acres. Most of the sights are long term. Camp was pretty much full, even then it was quiet. Restroom closed to covid, some campgrounds kept them open and just cleaned more. Well no complaint here we’re self contained. Some areas could use some tidying up. Still I would gladly stay here again.