Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Gilford, NH

The grounds are well maintained with flowers planted everywhere. Staff is extra friendly. Bathrooms and showers could use updating but were spotless. Very pet friendly with dog park, agility equipment, dog pond and dog wash.

My first time in camping in New Hampshire, the whole area is spectacular and I felt lucky to find a spot in this campground next to the stream. There was a microburst over the campground the night I was there but the water drained down into the stream so I was not sleeping in a puddle. My site was in the row closest to the road where there was truck noise for much of the night. I recommend getting a site as far away from the road as possible.

Absolutely beautiful! Clean, quiet, had a shaded site near the dog park which was awesome for us with our pups

I came here last year with my dog.  We only stayed two nights.  It was his first time camping, so I made a note in my reservation request that I'd like a fairly remote site - just in case he got loud.  They put me in the perfect site, near the dog park (they have a dog park!).  When the forecast changed to thunderstorms, they let me switch my dates without any hassle.  The location is convenient for Newburyport, Portsmouth, and the Seacoast.   We ended up having a lovely stay.

Just a note, I took my dog for a walk around the campground and noticed that many of the other sites were rather close together - including the cabins.  Some people don't mind, and even enjoy, close neighbors.  If you're like me, however, you'll want to ask for a more remote site.

One more thing to note; I booked through Rover Pass and ended up paying them a fee.  Next time I'll contact the park directly.

I'm looking forward to another trip soon!

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!

Consider the Thousand Trails membership when booking this site. Our annual membership fees basically covered what it would cost to camp here for two weeks.

The campground has good proximity to Orchard Beach and Portland. However, the spots are pretty tight, and the WiFi is awful away from the registration office. We were in the wooded area, but those camping on the outskirts seemed able to utilize their Starlink.

The dog park and pool were small but nice. The bathroom facilities were pretty good, though they weren't cleaned as often as they should be.

We stayed for two nights at Wakeda with our travel trailer. The paved roads were a plus, as was a very level campsite. The majority of campers seemed to be there for the season and were their own little community. 

Our full hookup site was very close to other sites, so unfortunately we had to deal with some noise issues. We could hear our neighbors loudly talking at 2 AM, and also were treated to the sound of the same neighbor's dog barking for hours during the when they left him alone. That being said, this was not the fault of the campground itself.

Wakeda's proximity to Hampton Beach was awesome -- a less than 15-minute drive for us. We also enjoyed the dog park. It was spacious and well maintained.

Are Pets Allowed at Pawtuckaway State Park?

 Leashed pets are welcome on hiking trails only. Pets are NOT permitted in the campground or beach area during the summer season(May 1- September 30).*Campers are only allowed to bring pets before May 1 and after September 30, which includes the cabins. See the NH State Parks Pets Policy for more information.

https://www.nhstateparks.org/find-parks-trails/pawtuckaway-state-park

This campground overall is very nice. The camp store has most everything you could need, and the campground is gated so you have to make sure you keep your key card with you whenever leaving in order to get back in. Most of the sites are out in the open though, or very close together. Not so bad if you're camping in trailers or RVs, but if tent camping you won't really have any privacy in those locations. I recommend the sites back in Breezy Knolls (K01-K17 I think?) and then I believe sites 203 and 205 were nice and tucked away in the trees as well. There is a zip line course and a metal "slide" or coaster behind the Breezy Knolls area which can get kind of noisy between the sounds of the gear and the kids screaming. Lol. But it didn't really bother me personally. The wooded area back there is beautiful though so the sites definitely made up for it. Campground has a fenced in dog park, playground, showers, clean bathrooms, and laundry facilities. Would definitely camp here again. I just prefer the wooded/shaded tent sites...which are limited at this place.

This campground is huge with over 300 sites set on nearly 200 acres and along a beautiful lake! It is in a great location between the Lakes Region and the White Mountains in New Hampshire with lots to do in and outside of the campground. There are two distinct and separate sections– the Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort and The Bluffs RV Resort. 

They assigned us to a pull thru site (#A16) in the Danforth Bay section that would supposedly fit our 45’ motorhome. When we pulled in the place was packed. The people camped across from us had a huge group of people and a massive load of wood delivered that was in huge pile and it was obvious that fire was going to burn all day and through the weekend. The neighbors on one side of us had a table set up at the end of their site and were selling hand-made goods with their kids. We decided this was not really where we wanted to be for a peaceful fall weekend. Much less, our site was not very easy for us to get in and out of. The office agreed to move us to a site in The Bluffs section which they said were normally only for seasonal campers but they would make an exception since they were closing for the season in one week. They informed us the water would be turned off during our stay but that was fine with us since we have a large freshwater tank that we could fill up before. The site we were assigned to was all gravel with absolutely no grass which was fine with us because we were away from the ciaos of the other section. 

The park was very clean and well-cared for with no trash laying around. Campsites were tidy and people didn’t have lots of junk laying around. There are some transient sites in the Danforth Bay section that are nice and private and some are close to the lake. The campground is huge so you can get a nice walk in without having to go round and round. There is a lake which was great for our lab to swim in and made for a pretty spot to enjoy a glass of wine at sunset. There are tons of camping options at this park and loads of amenities like a camp store, multiple pools, a boat launch, game room, multiple pavilions, free weekend entertainment, hay rides, lots of restrooms, dog parks and lots more. Since we were there in the end of the season, many amenities were closed and the activities had wrapped up for the season.

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.

This campground is beautiful, the tent sites are set up right on the water. Other than loosing power twice due to mother nature its been a pretty good stay. They have a special beach for your dog if you're a puppy owner like me this is one of the only campgrounds that is very pet friendly. They also have free DVD rentals for those rainy days and some games up by the office if you have kids its also a wonderful campground.

Great camping, very clean, pet friendly and workers are very helpful and nice!

I felt it was very awesome that they tag your pets incase they get loose somehow then they can be returned to you. They also gift them nice milk bones. The site was easy to access and was roomy enough for our bikes and dogs outside. The space between us and our neighbors is significant. The only thing that caught me off a bit is the use of golf carts. At times you can have 5 or 6 going past your site at once. I'm undecided it I care or hate it. Itll ilsll just unusual enough to me to mentiloln l.