Best RV Parks & Resorts near Edward MacDowell Lake

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.

This past holiday weekend we went to the campground. Upon arrival the owner made me go with them to the site and leave the motorhome blocking the entrance into the campground. The roads aren’t wide enough to take a motorhome into. The pull through site is not level and is barely long enough to fit my 43’ rig (with my motorcycle lift). The owner was very unfriendly. Driving out of the site was just as bad. You have to go down a small hill and bottom out the front and then drag the backend out of the dirt. This campground is not big rig friendly.

Bear Brook SP, NH: Oct 2023 (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer). I rate based on desire for at least a moderate wilderness type experience w at least some camp site privacy. Overall Rating: 4.5 Price 2023: $30 about Usage during visit: 10% weekday Site Privacy: Open Site Spacing: Very large sites. Site surface: Rocky soil. Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Very peaceful. Road Noise: None. This is a long drive back through the woods from the highway.
Through Traffic in campground: None. Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Spigots are scattered throughout. See my picture of the map. Generators: Allowed. Bathroom: Clean flush toilets. Showers: Individual shower rooms Pull Throughs: Some. Cell Service (AT&T): 1 to 2 bars. Setting: Maple/conifer forest along a pond. Woods obscure atheist pond’s view. Weather: Beautiful day, High 80s, but the thick woods offers needed shade. Bugs: Yes, there are more mosquitoes than we experienced further north. Solar: Our site, B 31 offered enough solar to equal our minimal output late in the day.
Host: I don’t see a host near my location. Rig size: Orrery good size rig can fit in some sites. Sites: See map in my photos. There are some great sites here. Spaciousness is the plus point for this campground.

I stayed here in mid-July, a week after the holiday weekend. Although the majority of the sites are season, there are about 25 sites available for short-term campers, including a number that are within site of the water(although most of the waterfront in the area is occupied by boat slips, there is a walkway to the beach). Four sites are near the rec hall. Near the entrance are 10 sites(half of them pull-through) that are a combination of grass and shade, near the ballfield. My site was in this area. The sites were spacious and level. Sites T 1-10 tended to have sloped access and sometimes had trees to maneuver around, but I saw large trailers in some of these sites; most had tents. All sites offer water/electric. A dump station is available near the entrance. I had 3 bars of Verizon service.

As a seasonal campground, there are a lot of weekends scheduled throughout the weekend. While I was there, there were organized cribbage& horseshoe tournaments, cornhole, and bingo as well as a potato roast. Most of the seasonal campers have golf carts, so you’ll see them buzzing around the campground and providing seats for tournament viewers. The playground with swings, slides, and a see saw saw a lot of kids action throughout the weekend, as did the tennis court and basketball court. The ballfield was the only area I didn’t see in use.

The beach is sandy with a roped off swim area and raft; a boat ramp gives you a spot to launch. Fishing from the boat ramp area yielded bass and bluegill. Millfoil is a problem in the lake, particularly the southern end, and boats needs to be cleaned to prevent spread.

I wasn’t given a map when I checked in, so I looked it up online to locate the bathroom. Initially I only saw the one nearer the beach, which was a bit of a hike from my campsite. It was also very tight with limited space between the sink vanity and the toilet stalls. There was 1 shower in this area. Closer inspection of the map revealed a second, larger bathroom, that had more space, toilets, and showers. That said, they need to do a better job lifting the mats and cleaning the shower drains so they’ll drain. I was grateful for shower shoes! To turn on the shower, you have to pull on a rope or bar hanging from just above the showerhead. As long as you are pulling the rope, the water is on. I’m not sure a child could reach it. It’s annoying, but it certainly enforces a ship-shower approach to water conservation. If you have a self-contained unit, I'd rate the campground a 4.

You’ll need to call to make a reservation and plan to pay by cash or check; no credit cards allowed. My site was assigned upon arrival; I was able to call just a few days earlier to obtain a site, but the weather was bad leading into the weekend, so that may have affected it.

Seasonal site setups vary from spotless and landscaped to ones that have seen a better day, but as a short-term camper, you really only need to pass by them en route to the rest rooms or the beach. 

There are a couple of restaurants nearby if you want take-out: Rustic Table and A1 Pizza are just around the corner. Pisgah State Park is nearby with miles of hiking trails and ponds.