Contoocook is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that New Hampshire camping has to offer. Discover great camping spots near Contoocook, reviewed by campers like you.
"really loved the weekend we spent there lots to do clean bathrooms and the store on site was so convenient definitely would go back."
"Staff is pleasant and helpful. Quiet during the weekdays, picks up over weekends but not to overbearing."
$35 - $45 / night
"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."
"Located in a 10000 acre forest preserve, the campground is heavily forested and very secluded from civilization. "
"Office staff was friendly and professional and helpful.
Keyser Pond is in the Passport America program, and we paid $25 for a FHU site with that discount, so double that for normal rates."
$45 - $60 / night
"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"
"It’s remotely located and the amenities and activities are amazing, something for everyone!"
$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"
$60 - $130 / night
"Clean, well maintained, private bathrooms/showers. Store is best I have ever seen. Well stocked with everything you could need. Stayed in cabin and tented, as well."
"The views outside our camper window is amazing. We’re surrounding be trees and it’s breathtaking when surrounded by freshly fallen snow."
$30 - $45 / night
"Clean, WiFi available, a pond for swimming, playground, free paddle boats :), a recreational hall with a pool table & video games, laundromat. They have lots of fun family activities!"
"Staff are amazing, super nice people. There is only maybe 8 tent sites? They have 2 cabins to rent. And the rest is rvs. The bathrooms are the cleanest campground bathrooms I've ever been to."
$35 - $140 / night
"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."
"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."
"Everyone is so friendly, they have bathhouses with toilets, showers and laundry facilities. An in-ground pool with a great shallow area for the littles. A pond to fish or kayak or canoe or boat."
TravelerOur family of 4 visited Baker Rocks during a very rainy week and still had an amazing time. The campsites are private and spacious, the property is large and beautiful, close to the river. The owners are so kind and accommodating. We stayed 2 nights in the double bell tent with two clean full size beds and a 3rd night in the yurt both were spacious and wonderful, among tall trees and pines. Definitely will be back next summer! They even have animals to visit like bunnies and goats (far away from the campsites).Do bring bug spray, the mosquitoes at certain times of day were aggressive, as to be expected.
LegendMy 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. The park includes a large family beach on the lake. There are many opportunities for hiking, with trails leading to many special points of interest, including a mountaintop fire tower; an extensive marsh where beavers, deer, and great blue herons may be seen.
The park lines the shore of beautiful Pawtuckaway Lake. 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. The bathhouses are equipped with running water, flush toilets, and 24 hour showers. There are no hook-ups at any of the campsites. The park also has a camp store where canoe and kayaks are available, as well as a plublic canoe and kayak launch. Five cabins are available; each sleeps six people, has electricity, and includes a fire ring and picnic table. Pets are not allowed in the campground or beach area of the park.
GuidePROs: Small and typically quiet (always depends on the neighbors you get) Right on the lake with great views of the mountains Easy access to the adjoining state park beach Always a nice breeze Full hookups (W,E,S) at each site Sites are level and mostly grassy Sites are more spacious than some RV campgrounds we’ve been at
CONs: Do not have fire rings/grills at sites, although some are available at the waterfront area No Pets allowed Little to no shade No privacy between sites, very open. Showers are currently not in service
GuideA great family campground just South of Conway, NH. Close to groceries, the outlets, plenty of restaurants. Across the street to the North is the fabulous Rosie's Diner, a homey place with amazing food and home-baked bread. Seriously their toast and corned beef hash is awesome. Also just across the street from the entrance to the South is a Dollar General with just about anything a camper could want in a pinch, including beer and hot dogs.
The camp itself has a store by the gatehouse well stocked with various items (bug spray, skillet, firewood, sunscreen, sodas) and souvenir Tees and Sweatshirts. There is another store on the beach with the candy, floats and toys. They also have charcoal in just the right size to grill on one of the available charcoal hibachis, scattered among the picnic tables on the beach.
The lake itself is unreal, with the mountains in the background it just feels incredibly peaceful and serene, keeping in mind I mostly visited around dawn and dusk and the Memorial Day clouds and rain kept it pretty low-key. I've seen photos of the beach on hot sunny days in summer and it looks packed with swimmers.
Sites were fairly standard- dirt floor with gravel packed in around the circle fire rings. We grilled right on the grate provided. Big picnic tables are provided on each site. All sites are wooded with plenty of trees to get a good tarp, and lots of options for hammock placement. Our site 1-32a was huge, and the driveway was a rather steep hill. Our site was not water view but we drove around that area to get a look and they are gorgeous.
While we were there there were tons of families around. Bicycles are a good idea since the gatehouse is a pretty good hike away from the camping areas, and you need to drop your trash off each night in the dumpsters that are located there. Showers were coin op. Hot, good pressure and about as clean as you could expect during mud season.
If you arrive between 1 and 8 pm, you check in at the office, but they have a slot for after-hours arrivals.
No pets are allowed here. Bring your bug spray, citronella candles and smoky firewood- the bugs here are no joke. But if you come prepared you can get by with minimal bites.
RangerWonderful sites that are spacious! Clean, WiFi available, a pond for swimming, playground, free paddle boats :), a recreational hall with a pool table & video games, laundromat. They have lots of fun family activities! We stayed with our parents in their camper for a couple nights and had such a positive experience there! They have 3 separate ponds-one for fishing, one for boating & the larger one is for swimming. Plenty of bathrooms throughout campground and sites are not expensive to reserve. Clean & up-to-date bathrooms with hot showers. Family-oriented with friendly staff. We will be returning, for sure!
GuideA friend and I decided to camp here before a backpacking trip in the Whites, to cut down on morning-of driving time. Our site, #02 on Loop 2, was in very close proximity to all of the neighboring sites. We had children on several sides, and a rowdy group of adult men on another side. Quiet hours are supposed to start at 10:00pm, but our rowdy male neighbors were up, playing music, talking loudly, and singing, until midnight. Then, just when we thought they were ready to settle in, they turned on a headlamp aimed directly into our tent. We are both very experienced car campers and backcountry campers, but even we struggled to get any rest through all the noise and light. The staff drove by a few times in a golf cart but never stopped to encourage this group to quiet down or use a little etiquette/common sense with their headlamp use. It wouldn't have been so much of a problem if the sites weren't SO close to each other. I attached a photo to show just how closely all the sites are situated; that's my backpacking tent, for scale.
LegendThis KOA is what you expect from a KOA– lots of amenities, sites of all sizes and levels of cost, tons of activities, and in a vacation destination area. We spent five nights at the campground and found lots to do in the area and that we had an enjoyable and pleasant stay.
The park is a large park that is terraced since it is in a pretty hilly area. There is the range of sites from pull-thrus, pull-ins and back-in sites and can accommodate RVs of any size. Some sites are full hookup while others are not and that is reflected in the cost. We paid $57/nigh for our full hookup site which is pretty costly especially since we did not use any of the amenities. Most sites are gravel with gravel patios but there are deluxe sites with paved patios, patio furniture, umbrella, and gas bbq grill. There are also camping cabins, some of which have kitchenettes and bathrooms that sleep six people.
Our site, was located in the back of the park in a quieter section because it was away from most of the activities and park entrance. The site was a pull-in which was kind of nice because the view out of our front windshield was of a wooded area. Our fire pit was in the front of our site so there was a nice amount of privacy when we sat outside by a campfire and didn’t feel like we were on the side of the road. Despite the hilliness of the park and all the trees, we did not have any trouble navigating our 45’ RV to our site. The trees at our site would prevent satellite television reception but our site had cable and we got about 20 or so channels. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Like many KOAs there are tons of amenities and things for kids to do – swimming pool, fishing ponds, bike rental, scheduled activities, propane sales, camp store, fire wood delivery, and more. There is a fenced dog park which was a fairly good size and our lab was happy to chase a ball.
As a whole, the park was very clean and manicured. No trash laying around and the gravel roads were free of potholes. The campground is located near the Queechee Gorge, covered bridges, hiking trails (including sections of the Appalachian Trail), good dining, maple syrup/cheese farm, the Marsh Billings- Rockefeller National Historic Park.
TravelerI 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:
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:
Cons:
And just to add:
ScoutPros- very clean, bathrooms kept up with regularly. Staff is very nice. They offer boat rentals, canoes, paddle boats and kayaks. Store on site and they do activities during the week. Definitely more kids friendly I think. They do have a pool, park, dog park, lake and food trucks visits at times. They have community fires and dances. Pet friendly. Wood available on site.
Cons- loud cars going all night, some lights in your face. Some people tend to fly down the road on golf carts. You can also hear the main road from the open style campsite. No privacy. People will walk threw your tent site. They will talk during the night while doing this, smoking seems to be allowed at pool. No fires between 9am-5pm.
Overall we had a good time.
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