Best Cabin Camping near Effingham, NH

Westward Shores is an expansive resort located on Ossipee Lake. It caters primarily to seasonal campers and those with RVs, but can accommodate tenters as well. There are a couple of camping cabins starting at $70/night shoulder season and cottages that sleep 8-20 (at significantly higher prices).

The campground is so large that many people get around on golf carts. There are ongoing renovations and new areas, so it still looks a little rough around the edges in places. Lots are large and level with pea gravel and hookups; if you are in a tent, you’ll want to be sure to have adequate padding for sleeping. Additionally, you’ll want one of the more basic campsites located near a bathroom. Some of the loops do not yet have facilities (Aug 2019). The bathrooms are basic and clean.

The primary appeal is the location on beautiful Ossipee Lake with beaches, a marina, and kayak and SUP rentals. There is plenty to entertain the children, with playgrounds, bounce pillows, gaga pit, basketball, and tennis to name just a few. Kids were everywhere on their bicycles.

They didn’t offer up prices when we stopped at the office, so I was dreading the worst, but when I checked online, the RV sites range from $50-56 with hookups, picnic table, and fire ring and there are special rates/deals for extended stays. These rates are a significantly lower than a nearby resort campground that starts at $65/night... but then I discovered this is only true during the shoulder season. My fears have been realized... peak season will set you back $87-95/ night and the camping cabin is $117. These are slightly more expensive than a nearby resort that offers a few more/ different amenities, albeit not on Ossipee Lake.

Very friendly staff/family. Had a pool/hot tub, showers, coin laundry. Several different types of campsites from tent to large RV with full hookups.

Snow ploughing happens regularly and reliably. Indoor pool and hot tub are amazing on a snowy frigid winter day. Utility sink for dishes available in heated bathhouse. Squeaky clean - and that’s not always easy especially in the winter when everyone drags snow, slush and mud into the bathroom. Thank you for sticking to such high standards. Will come again.

Old Orchard Beach is a fun, family-oriented campground located in the fun little beach town of Old Orchard Beach. Old Orchard is known for their amusement park, arcade, pier, fun downtown, and expansive beach with seven miles of room to walk. Here you can stroll along the streets listening to the melodic sounds of an arcade, buy an airbrushed t-shirt and eat pier fries and fried dough. And the best thing is there is a trolley that takes you from the campground to the beach so you don’t have to deal with parking. 

When the summer season is in full swing, there is lots to do in the campground and at the nearby Atlantic Ocean beach. There are lots of amenities in the campground like a basketball court, Wiffle ball field, horseshoes, badminton, playgrounds, arcade, swimming pools and hot tub, group bonfire, and dog park. The campground is quite large and divided into a variety of sections, some areas are all seasonal campers and others are for transients. The campground offers RV sites, cabin rentals, park model sites, and simple tent sites. We liked the sections in the back (Bear Brook and Black Forest) which are set away from the entrance and the majority of activities. We visited in the off-season but can only image the park gets pretty busy especially in the front section where the swimming pool, arcade, camp store, and other activities are located. The campground is gated which limits who can come into the park. If you want to have guests, plan on shelling out a bit of cash as it is $8/day for kids and $10 for adults and$12 for overnight guests. 

Our gravel site was perfectly level with no potholes and the roads leading to our site were easy to navigate in our 45’ motorhome. The patio was gravel and there was some grass between campsites. Our picnic table was clean and not made of old rotten wood with sagging benches. There was not much shade at our site which was fine with us because it was October when we visited and wanted the sun. We were able to pick up wifi at our site because we were close to a tower. Our Verizon phone and hotspot worked great as did the parks cable television. The campground is just one mile from Old Orchard Beach and close to Route 1 which is the main corridor leading up and down the Maine coast. 

The nearby town of Biddeford has some great restaurants(Palace Dinner, Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery, and Dunston Tab and Table). While the campground is large enough for a good long walk, we prefer to walk the wooded trails at Ferry Beach State Park. If you are looking for something for kids to do there is Funtown Splashtown which is a large water and amusement park and you can get discount tickets at the campgrounds camp store

We stayed for a winter weekend, they have a few transient sites that can accommodate RV's year round. There are a ton of full time seasonal RV's as many people use this campground as a base for snow machining. Cons: Lots of rules: must provide a$10.00 refundable cash deposit for gate card, bring cash or else enjoy the atm fees, the age limit for hot tub is 14 YO and strictly enforced, Lots of entrenched seasonal single wides that give this facility a mobile home park feel. The hot water in the showers either never happened or took 5 min or more to actually get hot enough to shower, The small green benches in the shower stalls hadn't been moved and cleaned under in a while, lots of nastiness down there. My brother in law came to pick up clothes for his kids from us and we had to pay $8.00 for him to be in the camp for 45 min, it sucks to be nickel and dimed. Pros: Friendly and attentive staff, location, 4 season, heated indoor pool and hot tub, Book at Meredith Woods, also use Clearwater Campground across the way, 4 way hook ups, fair cost per night (in winter, not sure about peak costs) camp store prices were fair. I would consider trying this campground in the warmer months, apparently they fill up and with two campgrounds in one, that makes sense.

This is a fantastic campground. It is clean. The staff are friendly. The pool area and hot tub are open until 8pm and are at a comfortable temperature. We stayed in the newer area with larger spots near the entrance to the park. There are activities and food within walking distance. The mini golf and go cart place has bright lights in their parking area that sometimes are left on overnight, making it bright in our camper at night, definitely not a plus. Overall a great campground in a great location!

This park has so many amenities and things to do that it is a destination in itself and you and your kids will be busy the entire time. The camp store is fully stocked, there are fishing ponds, golf cart rentals, numerous pools and hot tubs, daily activities, weekly poolside entertainment, playgrounds, mini golf, café, game room, arcade, and more. The staff is super friendly and helpful and the park is very clean and well-maintained. 

We like to stay in the “south section” which tends to have less kids because it is farther away from the “action.” Plus, it is close to the Little River Complex which is an adult-only section with pool, hot tubs, café, bathhouse, and laundry(which has oversized machines). The complex is fairly new and very clean and modern.  This section is also the closest to the dog park (which is just ok - it has lots of trees so there is not much runny room and could be bigger but at least they can be off-leash.  If you come in early spring, you can take your dog to the Pine Point Beach and can be off-leash).  Our campsite was level with a grassy patio, picnic table, fire pit, 50A FHU and cable.  Roads in the park are gravel and can get dusty but the staff did use dust-abatement issues that worked pretty well.  Some sites have gravel patios so be careful what you choose if you want grass.  The kayak/paddle board, canoe launch is great because the river is impounded so you never have to worry about the tide going out while you are paddling.  While the park is big enough to go for a long walk, just down the road is a public biking/hiking trail and goes through the Scarborough Marsh.  

You will definitely want to take the short drive (or the free shuttle service offered at the campground) to the nearby beach and visit the beachy boardwalk town of Old Orchard Beach and pick up some famous Pier Fries and visit the amusement park and arcade. The tiny town of Pine Point is a great place to watch the sunset and pick up dinner and a drink at Bayley’s Bait Shed Restaurant. Check out Bayley’s Lobster Pound for fresh seafood, wine, and other prepared food items. 

This campground may not be for everyone because it is huge with lots of people, cars, and kids running around. The other downside is there is not very much privacy between sites. Nightly rates in peak season are outrageous but you can find much cheaper rates if you stay in the shoulder season or go with 30 amp electric and no sewer. You definitely are paying for all the amenities and activities.

We stayed 3 nights at the beginning of summer and had a fantastic vacation. No one wanted to leave, we had so much fun! The campground is very expensive but they do have a lot of activities (although you do pay $1-10 for most of them) and nice pools.

The grounds were nicely maintained, pools were beautiful wih clear water and separate hot tubs for the adults, and bathrooms were cleaned often. Lots of activities all day long with a mini golf course and aerial adventure park. The adventure park was $25 but well worth it. The kids had a blast! And of course the beach was walking distance which was the biggest draw for us. If you have little ones, time your beach trips with low tide. The waves crash pretty hard at high tide.

We have a 25 ft trailer and stayed in the A70s with friends. The area had a lot more space than other areas, the sites were level and groomed with a rocky parking area. We really liked this area best and would definitely camp here again. We were walking distance to the beach and had a pool closeby. The kids loved biking on the paved roads and all of the activities/playgrounds. Our friends were in the V section and they would not stay in that area again. The campers were on top of each other with just enough space for their awnings which they had to retract to have a fire. For $110 a night you should have enough space to keep your awning out while you have a fire.

Our only problem was the staff didn’t really drive around checking on things. Some vehicles were driving way too fast. Vehicles and especially golf carts were contantly driving to and from the beach at all hours even after quiet hours. Quiet hours were not regulated and although we did appreciate being able to sit at the fire past 11, the drunk people walking and driving golf carts around was a bit much. A golf cart of drunk teens crashed onto our site and were driving loops around the campground well after midnight. One of the seasonals told us that drunk teens and 20-somethings were becoming a problem.

But overall we had an awesome time and would definitely stay here again- probably not every year because of the expensive price but definitely for 4 nights or more next time!

Lovely wooded campground where you can swim, hike, kayak, bike, canoe, fish, boulder, geocache and explore to your heart's content. Generally large and level sites, many with water access, Make your reservation well in advance if you're planning to visit during peak season or if you want a prime waterfront site. Sites on Horse Island will cost you $5 more than those on Big Island, but many of the sites are directly on the water, making it easy to slip your boat into the lake from your site. There's a campers only boat launch on Horse Island. Much of the lake is better suited to paddle craft rather than motor boats due to it's shallow nature and rocks. The an expansive beach as well, a camp store and boat rentals.

I've had a weekend when my neighbors were playing loud music all afternoon and stumbled drunk through my campsite after dark and other weekends when it was hard to tell there was anyone around.

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. Site 73 is near the bath house, but it has a long approach that provides a little privacy and it's higher than the surrounding sites with water access. Sites in the 3-15 range are waterfront, but they're higher off the water. Site 43-45 are great. Those along the southern edge of Horse Island offer a more level entry. Roads are narrow and many of the site entrances are narrow with rock/tree obstructions in places that may make backing in more of a challenge to thsoe with trailers or RVs. No hookups.

The bath houses are tired, but they offer free showers. Would love to see them renovated and brightened up. Big Island also has cabins available. Phone coverage is poor (Verizon); can usually get texts out. If you want to geocache, download the info for offline use!

If you are used to camping with pets, you'll need to visit outside of peak season as they are not allowed in the campground Memorial Day to Columbus Day and never on the beach.

It has a longer season than many campgrounds in New Hampshire, running to the end of October, and you can generally get a site last minute if you're waiting on the weather and don't need/want a water site. Its proximity to Boston makes it great for a quick getaway.

My dad grew up going here and so did I. My siblings and I all learned to ride our bikes here. My nieces and nephews are now doing the same. Its where I learned to love nature. I became addicted to kayaking here and am now a wildlife ecologist!!! Its the PERFECT family campground. Kayak, canoe, SUP rentals, a carousel, pool, lake, hike, and sooooo many activities. I've stayed in tents, half moons (kitchen and bathroom but sleep in tent), cabins, RV sites....I LOVE this place so much. Its my childhood

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. 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.

Con: Signage is awful! Hard to find park, office and cabins! Once there, Looong drive to both campground and Cabins.

Pro: cabins are on a remote lake. Perfect for star gazing! Rustic but comfy (beds) cabins. Bring all your own stuff. No electricity, so no lights. Our cabin had a steep path. Others did not.