Leighton O.
Guide
GuidePawtuckaway State Park Campground
Very nice campground! Some sites right on the lake. Have camped there several times. Lots of space between sites.
Camping near Concord, NH
6 campgrounds with availability this weekend
Search destinations
Add dates
Campgrounds around Concord, New Hampshire provide a mix of state park and private camping facilities within an hour's drive of the city, ranging from tent-only sites to full-hookup RV spots and cabins. Bear Brook State Park Campground, located about 15 miles east of Concord in Deerfield, offers tent sites, RV spots, cabins, and glamping options with access via multiple routes including hike-in and boat-in sites. Pawtuckaway State Park Campground in Nottingham features similar accommodation types and access methods, while private facilities like Epsom Valley Campground and Lazy River Family Campground provide more developed sites with full hookups for recreational vehicles.
The camping season in the region typically runs from May through October, with most facilities closing after Columbus Day weekend. As one visitor noted, "Bear Brook is quiet, family-friendly and has everything you need for a great weekend away with trails, play structures, a camp store, beach, and even a small baseball diamond." Road access to campgrounds is generally good, with most sites accessible via paved or well-maintained gravel roads. Cell phone coverage varies throughout the area, with Verizon users reporting 1-2 bars in some locations. Bathhouses and facilities are common at developed campgrounds, though cleanliness and maintenance can vary, especially toward the end of the season. Campsite reservations are recommended, particularly for waterfront sites and weekend stays during peak summer months.
Several campgrounds in the area feature water access as a primary attraction. Pawtuckaway State Park Campground lines the shore of Pawtuckaway Lake with many sites providing water views. According to a camper, "The 192 sites are wooded and many provide views of the lake. Each campsite has an open fire ring, picnic table, flat areas for a tent, and a parking space." Bear Brook State Park offers swimming at Catamount Pond beach and another beach within the campground itself. Many facilities provide boat rentals or launches for canoes and kayaks. The region's campgrounds generally feature spacious, level sites under mature trees providing good shade and privacy. Hiking and mountain biking trails connect directly to many campgrounds, making them suitable bases for outdoor activities without needing to drive elsewhere for recreation.
Best Campgrounds near Concord (227)
1. Bear Brook State Park Campground
"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."
"During the peak season, I’m sure it’s a different story given it’s proximity to Concord and Manchester and the variety of activities available. "
Check Availabilityfrom $35 - $45 / night
2. Pawtuckaway State Park Campground
"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."
Check AvailabilityCampground full this weekend
Get a text when availablefrom $35 - $140 / night
3. Spacious Skies French Pond
"I had a view of the beautiful pond, which is really a lake, and wished I had more time to rent a kayak. The bathrooms were clean and easy to access, since I do not have sewer in my small pop-up."
"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."
2 Sites AvailableAvailable this weekend
from $24 - $149 / night
4. Epsom Valley Campground
"I enjoyed the hiking trails in the back and a pretty good amount of things to do near by. Being able to walk to a store and restaurant is great."
"We only wanted to stay for one and when we arrived, the older women drove me around in the golf cart to see which site would best suit us and I just thought it was the sweetest thing!"
Check Availabilityfrom $35 - $165 / night
5. Lazy River Family Campground
"Saturday rolled around and some noisier guests came in for the night, they were several sites away and sounded like they were having a great time, didn't bother us."
"The family will definitely be making a few return trips, especially with the reasonable drive from the boston area to the grounds."
from $26 - $30 / night
6. Sandy Beach Campground
7. Autumn Hills Campground
"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"
Check Availabilityfrom $45 - $60 / night
8. Cold Springs Camp Resort
"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"
"They have hundreds of sites, mostly seasonal but gives you nice walk to see the place. The pools were really nice and again clean. They have a snack shack with breakfast, lunch and dinner."
Check Availabilityfrom $69 - $130 / night
9. Keyser Pond Campground
10. Circle 9 Ranch Campground
Drive Time
- 17 min from Manchester, NH
- 1 hr 4 min from Boston, MA
- 1 hr 18 min from Worcester, MA
- 1 hr 49 min from Portland, ME
Recent Camping Photos near Concord, NH
515 Photos of 227 Concord Campgrounds • uploaded by The Dyrt campers
Recent Reviews near Concord, NH
1009 Reviews of 227 Concord Campgrounds
- Leighton O.Guide
Salisbury Beach State Reservation
Great location if you find a site within walking distance of the beach. Sites are very close together and get pretty noisy. You have to really like people to enjoy this camping area. Bathrooms and shower are very clean though.
- PPatrick
TravelerPawtuckaway State Park Campground
Great spot with all types of different campsites.
- kkevinTraveler
Spacious Skies Minute Man
Beautiful place about an hour from Salem Boston and Plymouth. Be careful getting in Sharp Hill coming up and down lots of scrapes on the ground tight navigation through sites lots of beautiful trees.
Rebecca W.
ScoutBearcamp River Campground
Bearcamp River Campground
Bear camp River campground is a great place to camp for a weekend or be a seasonal. You can walk 6/10 of a mile to the covered bridge nearby and float right down to the beach at the campground or you can start on one side of the campground and float to the other via river for a good 30 minute float!! You get to Camp right on the Riverside. Owners (Mike and Tabby ) are great. Good place for the kids to run around and explore. The Camp store has sweatshirts and sweatpants , candy and snacks ,s’mores kits, and much much more. They also sell wood and ice on site. There is also hot showers for free, and bathrooms. Two thumbs up from this happy camper.
Nancy W.
LegendSea-Vu West Premier RV Resort
Pleasantly surprised.
This campground is mostly seasonal, privately owned park models, but has 45 spaces for RV’s. I was a little skeptical about staying at this campground with so many park models and seasonals but was pleasantly surprised at how nice, clean, and tidy all the sites were. They obviously take pride in how things look because the grounds and campsites were very well-kept.
All campsites are 50/30-amp full hook-up with level gravel pads with grassy patios, a picnic table, and fire pit. We stayed in site#702 which was long enough for our 45’ motorhome and tow car. All the utilities were easy to reach and the electric worked well. The only problem was that we were parked under a large oak tree that was profusely shedding large acorns. There are some sites that are in the open which I would definitely choose, if I came back in the fall. The campground is gated which is a nice feature. It is located a mile or so off Route 1 which means you don’t get the road noise and traffic, but still conveniently located near shops and restaurants.
One nice feature are the shaded walking trails in the park. While they are not super long, it is a nice change from walking the roads (which are paved). Other amenities include a decent size swimming pool (closed while we were there), a basketball court, playground, laundry, and camp store. I thought it was a little expensive at $75/night (for full hook-up) at the end of the season, especially since the pool was closed.
- Nancy W.Legend
Sun Outdoors Wells Beach
Tight sites and expensive, busy area along the Maine coast
We stopped here in the summer to check out the coastal towns in southern Maine. There are many campgrounds in the area and we chose this one because they had a 25% off coupon (on a 7-night stay) which gave us the best nightly price in the area. However, the nightly rate was still$74/night, one reason being they charge a “resort fee” of$15/day which is ridiculous. This is a typical resort-style campground with lots of amenities (most of which we never use). But, for some people, this is a destination campground because of all the amenities- a large heated swimming pool, basketball courts, sand volleyball, bocce, fitness center, two playgrounds, 18-hole minigolf (that you pay extra for), and more.
The campsites in the front of the park are sandwiched between the swimming pool and Route 1 which is very busy and noisy. Campsites in the far back portion of the campground are shaded and a much quieter section. Camping pads and patios are a mix of gravel and sand. Many sites have shade and some have an astroturf patio (I think those are “premium” sites). Our campsite was in the middle section which was fairly quiet but the sites are close together with no privacy. The site was a long and level pull thru with a gravel pad and gravel/sand patio. All sites have a picnic table and fire pit.
There is a tent-only section and they have renal cabins. There is lots to do for families in the area including the beach and amusement and water parks. Restaurants of all sorts are nearby. You can easily walk to Congdon’s Donuts which is a Maine classic.
- Nancy W.Legend
Seacoast Camping and RV Resort
Nice Campground, Love the area!
This is a nice, clean, well-maintained campground for RV and tenting. The campground is located on Route 1 which means you are convenient to a lot of things but there is lots of traffic. Half the campground is seasonal/long term campers and the other side is mostly transients. The roads and campsites are fine crushed gravel with nice grassy patios. The campground is very well maintained (the best part being that the mower collects they cut the grass so no clippings get tracked in your camper). There are some mature trees that provide shade but don’t impede navigating in and out of sites or impacting slide outs.
Campsites range from tent with water/electric to RV water/electric and RV full hook-up 50-amp and full hook-up 30-amp. There are three bathhouses on the property (one of which has a dishwashing sink) and laundry. Tent sites 50-55 are in an are set away from RV sites and more private. They are also close to a large bathhouse with multiple toilets and showers. Tent sites 90-100 are across from a large playground which can be quite chaotic, but if you have kids, this is a great spot.
Our site (#147) was a long pull-thru with a descent amount of space between our neighbors. We got about half a dozen over-the-air channels (one being a major network station) and were able to connect with eastern arc satellites with our Dish Satellite. The 50A electric was good as was the water pressure.
The campground does not have much in the way of amenities except for a game room, basketball court, and playground. The game room is pretty cool with lots of arcade-style games, a pool table, foosball, and table tennis. While we were there, they just finished putting in all new playground equipment and enlarged the size making it really big and a hit with the kids in the park. Once convenience is that maintenance picks up garbage at your site (between 8am– 3pm). Unfortunately, people leave them out after hours and animals got into them and scattered garbage everywhere. We've stayed here before and always enjoy being in the area as it is close to the fun cities of Portsmouth and Newburyport.
Devon B.ScoutCrow's Nest Campground
Play Games
The recreation hall was a nice surprise. We had some rainy weather one afternoon and the kids were able to play games while we relaxed for a bit. Saved the day honestly😂
Guide to Concord
Camping options around Concord, New Hampshire extend beyond established state parks, with numerous private campgrounds within a 30-minute drive of the capital city. The region sits at elevations ranging from 275 to 400 feet above sea level, creating gentle rolling terrain ideal for camping. Most campgrounds in the area operate in a typical New England camping season from May through mid-October, though weather conditions can extend or shorten these timeframes.
What to do
Water activities at Pawtuckaway: Pawtuckaway State Park Campground offers excellent kayaking opportunities around its islands. "This a a fantastic little camp for if you want to go canoeing or kayaking or boating of any kind! It's set up of three islands and a large majority of the campsites are right on the water," notes one visitor.
Mountain biking trails: Bear Brook State Park Campground features extensive trail networks. A camper reports, "We camped here to check out the mountain bike trails in the park and we're not disappointed on either count. The campground is nice and spacious, well kept and the staff is friendly. The biking trails were a blast."
Mini golf and riverside recreation: Some private campgrounds offer additional activities beyond hiking. At Epsom Valley Campground, "We played the mini golf in the front and had so much fun!" One visitor also mentioned, "I enjoyed the hiking trails in the back and a pretty good amount of things to do near by. Being able to walk to a store and restaurant is great."
What campers like
Waterfront sites: Many campers appreciate direct water access. At Pawtuckaway State Park Campground, "The sites on the water book up quickly but they're perfect for fishing and boating. Also, the view!" Another camper adds, "In 2018 we stayed in sites 110 and our friends stayed in 109 on Big Island. Those were wonderful sites, level with great views of the lake."
Multiple swimming options: Some campgrounds feature both pools and natural swimming areas. According to visitors at Cold Springs Camp Resort, "Great campground. The pools are amazing. Kid pools. Adult pools! Adult hot tub." Another camper noted, "7 pools which include 2 hot tubs, a small 2x2 pool for kiddos, 1 adult only pool and 3 family pools."
Attentive staff: Smaller campgrounds often provide personalized service. One visitor to Epsom Valley Campground mentioned, "In my initial phone call to the campground, I reserved a site for 1 month... the hosts were the sweetest older folks and they were beyond friendly." Another camper shared, "The owner was amazing, friendly and super accommodating!"
What you should know
Site privacy varies significantly: Many campgrounds have a mix of secluded and open sites. At Bear Brook State Park, "Mostly level sites sit under towering pines and vary greatly in size. Many of the sites are separated from their neighbors by large, downed pine trees." Another camper notes, "Some of the sites are a bit too close to each other but there are some that are nice and private."
Cell service is inconsistent: Coverage depends on carrier and location. According to a camper at Spacious Skies French Pond, "There's good free wifi at camp, and good cell reception with Verizon and ATT." Meanwhile, at Bear Brook State Park, "Cell phone coverage varies from 1-2 bars, not always 4G, on Verizon."
Seasonal campers dominate some parks: Many private campgrounds have long-term residents. One visitor to Lazy River Family Campground observed, "Lazy River was recommended to us by a family member, for a low key campground to get out feet wet camping!" However, another mentioned, "Some of the seasonal sites look cluttered."
Tips for camping with families
Playground access: Choose sites near play areas if traveling with kids. At Autumn Hills Campground, "They do have a pool, park, dog park, lake and food trucks visits at times. They have community fires and dances." But consider placement carefully as "Site 93 is so close to the playground and the fire ring placement makes it seem like families enjoying the playground will be tempted to walk through your site."
Educational opportunities: Some parks offer unique learning experiences. At Bear Brook, there are "Two archery ranges and wheelchair accessible docks for fishing. For history, check out the antique snowmobile museum and the Civilian Conservation Corp(CCC) museum. The CCC built much of the infrastructure here and elsewhere in the country."
Halloween events: Several of the best places to camp near Concord, New Hampshire offer special themed weekends. At Lazy River Family Campground, one visitor mentioned, "Halloween themed weekend was so incredibly fun. The seasonal sights go all out!" Similarly, at Cold Springs, "We went for halloween weekend in August and their haunted house was incredible for a campground!"
Tips from RVers
Site selection matters: Research specific site numbers before booking. A visitor to Autumn Hills notes, "Before going to camping, I saw some reviews with bad comments and started to worry about this trip. But when I got there, it was way better than my expectations." At Bear Brook, "Site 91 is near the entrance, but large and set back from the camp road, so it offers some extra seclusion."
Hookup availability: While many campgrounds offer full hookups, some have limitations. At Bear Brook State Park, "There are no hookups, but there is running water and a dump station is available." Meanwhile, at Sandy Beach Campground, most sites are "Long term. Camp was pretty much full, even then it was quiet."
Road conditions: Interior campground roads can be challenging. At Cold Springs Camp Resort, roads are "very narrow. Made it hard to back in our spot." At Bear Brook, one camper noted, "I found that the little loop to my campsite was tight to exit (I was towing a 14' teardrop, not a big trailer) and I had to be careful to swing wide at the corner."
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best campgrounds in Concord, NH for tent camping?
What are the best campgrounds in Concord, NH for tent camping?
For tent camping near Concord, Bear Brook State Park Campground offers an excellent option in New Hampshire's largest state park. The family-friendly campground features wooded sites, multiple trails, ponds, and recreational facilities including a beach and camp store. Another great choice is Epsom Valley Campground, providing tent sites with basic amenities like water and toilet facilities in a convenient location. Both campgrounds offer the natural New Hampshire camping experience while remaining accessible to Concord. For a more rustic experience, consider the state parks within a short drive that offer more secluded tent sites surrounded by New Hampshire's beautiful forests.
When is the best season for camping in Concord, NH?
When is the best season for camping in Concord, NH?
The prime camping season in the Concord area runs from late May through early October. Summer (June-August) offers warm days perfect for swimming and water activities at places like Pillsbury State Park Campground, where the lake becomes a central attraction. Fall (September-October) brings spectacular foliage, comfortable temperatures, and fewer crowds at campgrounds like Gilson Pond Area Campground, making it ideal for hiking and photography. Early season camping (May) can be less crowded but potentially muddy with cooler nights, as noted at some campgrounds. Many New Hampshire state park campgrounds close for the winter season, so verify opening dates when planning early spring visits. Peak foliage typically occurs in early-mid October, making this a particularly popular time to camp.
How far are campgrounds near Concord, NH from popular attractions?
How far are campgrounds near Concord, NH from popular attractions?
Pawtuckaway State Park Campground is approximately 30 minutes from Concord and offers easy access to multiple outdoor activities including swimming, hiking, kayaking, and fishing. From this location, you're also within reasonable driving distance to Manchester's attractions. Greenfield State Park Campground is about 45 minutes from Concord and positions you perfectly for visiting Mount Monadnock (approximately 25 minutes from the campground), one of New Hampshire's most popular hiking destinations. Most campgrounds in the region provide good access to the Lakes Region, White Mountains, and coastal areas, all within 1-2 hours drive, making them excellent base camps for exploring New Hampshire's diverse attractions.
What amenities are available at Concord, New Hampshire campgrounds?
What amenities are available at Concord, New Hampshire campgrounds?
Campgrounds near Concord offer varying levels of amenities. Woodmore Family Campground and RV Park provides comprehensive facilities including activities for families, clean grounds, and friendly management. Private campgrounds like Ayers Lake Farm Campground and Cottages typically offer amenities such as firewood sales, beautiful water views, and family-owned hospitality. State parks generally provide more basic but well-maintained facilities - expect water access, toilets, picnic areas, and hiking trails, but possibly no electrical hookups or shower facilities at more primitive locations. Many campgrounds in the region feature water recreation opportunities with beaches, fishing spots, and boat rentals. For RV campers, several options offer full hookups, while tent campers can find everything from developed sites with tables and fire rings to more remote walk-in sites.
Keep Exploring