Best Glamping near Hill, NH

My family loves this camp ground right on the CT River. It has RV sights and cabins they keep the campers busy with fun activities for kids and grown ups. This is what I would call a Glamping campground then a roughing it campground but it’s still amazing.

I tent camped here while doing some fishing in the area.

Baker Rocks had a host of different camping options onsite including tent platforms, yurts, and cabins. I booked one of the tent platforms.

The site had a large tent platform they could fit multiple tents, a brand new picnic table, a fire ring (with a free bundle of firewood), two chairs by the fire ring, and even a few strings of solar lights around the camp area.

The tent sites are within the wooded area around the property and felt very secluded. There was a bit of road noise overnight.

The facilities here were great. There is a full bathhouse with individual rooms for showers and sink/toilets, with running water.

Around the campground there was a little beach along the Baker river. I only caught a few minnows when fishing but that may have been more to do with the angler. Along another bend of the river were two chairs for taking in the scenery.

Check-in was super easy with the camp hosts who were very flexible with timing and wanted to make sure I had a great stay. The property and individual sites are deliberately designed with guests in mind.

I would definitely stay here again if I’m in the area and might try some of the glamping options as well.

Great little campground

spots for both campers and tents right along the river

ample parking with great surrounding sights of New Hampshire as well as being next door to Clark’s trading post, a New Hampshire Tradition

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. This extremely family-friendly campground comes equip with trails, play structures, camp store, beach, and even a small baseball diamond. The sites are fairly large and if you need some privacy, reserve site 12. There is a great trail that is around Beaver Pond, roughly 2-3 miles with plenty of opportunities for dogs to swim, yeah for dog friendly! This campground is beautiful, quiet in places and has everything you need for a great weekend away!

Ashley here with The Dyrt. We're so happy to have this sweet Yurt on our platform. This property is remote and serene while still offering access to downtown. Spend your days adventuring and come back here to relax and unwind. Give them a try and leave a review!

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.

Our 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.

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 family (my wife, two young sons and I) recently stayed here for a short getaway. As a side note, we had planned to stay here last year, but had to cancel. Having said that, I am more than happy with our choice to come to this jewel of a campground. 

Located between the Ellis River and the Saco River, this campground offers so many fantastic amenities. One of the biggest ones that we took lots of advantage of is the swimming and tubing on the Saco River. Our campsite was located fairly close to the river and where you could put in to tube down river. One of the fun things about this is that at the far end of the campground is a place to take out. They have tubes to rent right there which was very handy. The campground also boasts a swimming pool, beach area along the Saco River, free mini golf, playground, golf cart rentals, a fully outfitted camp store and more. Typically when we camp in the White Mountains we like to get out and explore a lot; this is the first time we never left the campground. 

The sites were nice and big, we reserved one that had water and electric as we have some new camping gear we wanted to try out. The campground itself was well maintained, plenty of restrooms and shower facilities spread throughout. The camp staff were very pleasant and knowledgeable. In fact after checking in, one of the camp staff came by because they had forgotten to remind us to take care of our food and gear at night as there are black bears in the area. I appreciated the extra care taken to pass along that information. 

The campground switched over from a local family owned place to be under the Jellystone family. They have lots of activities to do during the day, especially for the kids. There are a lot of campgrounds in the area that bill themselves as family campgrounds, but really aren't. This is place truly is a great family campground.

As a side note, I want to also make a note about COVID-19 safety practices. There were lots of signs reminding campers to keep socially distant and recommended face masks. However, there were many folks who did not have masks on, including staff. New Hampshire doesn't have a mask mandate at the time of this review. I will say that our family felt safe and took our own precautions, but the campground has done a lot as well. This does not impact my overall review of the campground, I simply wanted to share this piece as it is relevant for those who may want to know.

Pros:

beautiful spacious flat sites

clean nice bathrooms

pool

river/creek

store

playground

cons:

on a hill so it can be difficult especially for little legs going up and down.

The bathrooms are up the hill

we really enjoyed our stay. It was only a 2 night stay for us but we plan to come back with our two little ones. It is a resort so it’s not the same as going someplace remote. There are lots of people but we find it’s a good balance between what my husband and I enjoy about camping and what the kids will enjoy.

Autumn Hills Campground is AWESOME! It’s remotely located and the amenities and activities are amazing, something for everyone! The staff is so friendly and helpful and I can’t say enough how clean the bathrooms, laundry room and store are! The super nice owners, Adam& Jennifer are constantly making upgrades and changes and have really created a beautiful, family oriented campground! I recommend you take the virtual tour online so you can pick a sight that works for you and book it soon.

My young family have camped here twice. Both times were very different experiences, but overall very positive. Just because there are a few, I will mention the cons first. -Noise level isn’t monitored by staff, so don’t expect it quiet at quiet time. -Very expensive -The hilly terrain is insaneeee! If you have never been before, book a sight as close as possible to the pool and office, because the further you get, the higher the altitude. We chose bottom of the hill sites so we lucked out but it could’ve been very difficult to navigate with two/three very young kids. -The ‘bistro’ is a waste of money. They didn’t butter my toast.

Pros: -It is absolutely GORGEOUS up here. Stunning. The sites are private and wooded, the grounds are beautiful, the natural pond is a great morning excursion. It’s one of the prettiest campgrounds I’ve ever seen. -I’ll mention the privacy of sites again because it truly is worth mentioning. Avoid 37 and 40 though- expert opinion. -The pool really is as awesome as it looks. -The playground is amazing.

Overall we love it here. We now take it for what it is and we plan our sites accordingly for sure. We’ve brought another family into our circle here and would love to expand even more! It’s a beautiful place and I highly recommend.

My first review. It’s more just a stream of thoughts from checking in to our departure:

First impression: easy to find, check in was easy. Keycard access to get on site (hand it in when checking out. Don’t use the drop box. $50 lost fee). Store is well supplied. (Marked up obviously) Ice is $2.50

Owners and many on site openly displaying many pro-trump/“LGB” signs.

Our site was down at the bottom of the hill near Daniel’s Lake. Site was rocky and sandy. We were basically in a space cut out next to the road and felt pretty exposed. Neighbors are all around and the campground fills up during the weekend. During the week it’s pretty quiet.

Pool was nice when it wasn’t too crowded. Noise isn’t too bad. They do plan and host activities and events for the weekends.

We stayed a week. I don’t know if I would go back because I know there are campgrounds that I prefer over this one. The bugs, the sandy rocky side of the road site, crowded political environment isn’t what I look for and would probably pass and go elsewhere. My preference.

The bathhouses are probably the best maintained of any campground I’ve stayed at. They’re cleaned multiple time a day.

There were a bunch of families and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. So I guess if you enjoy that type of campground, this one is for you!

I hadn’t camped here in the past 8 years, so decided it was time to revisit; it helped that it was one of the campgrounds still open after Columbus Day weekend. Although reservations are available online, I didn’t need them for closing weekend; 3 sites were occupied when I arrived, about 15 by the end of the weekend. 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. 

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. I was in site 38 and 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. This site backed onto an open field with a backstop for baseball/softball. It meant that I could enjoy the the sunny warmth on an otherwise cool morning. Last time I was here I stayed in site 45, a small tent/pop-up site along that same loop, but in the shade. If you are tenting and don’t mind a short walk, reserve site R1 for a raised site overlooking the pond. Sites 13-25 back up against a hill. Site 91 is near the entrance, but large and set back from the camp road, so it offers some extra seclusion. It’s across the street from the playground. I’d avoid site 93 because it 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. If you want to be close to the play area, site 90 or the ones on the loop behind it are better options. 

There are no hookups, but there is running water and a dump station is available. Bathhouses offer coin-operated showers; I noticed a price difference between the two of them, so went with the less expensive option! It was the final weekend of the season, so that may explain the lack of attention to cleaning and upkeep of the restrooms. Several of the stalls were lacking toilet paper and, although it was nearly empty when I arrived, the bathrooms had little bits of debris scattered on floors and around sinks. The bottom of one of the dishwashing sinks was coated with something that resembled dried coffee grounds. 

I was here with a 5-year-old the last time and she enjoyed the playgrounds both at the campground and at the Catamount Pond beach. There’s another beach in the campground itself. Numerous trails call out of exploration, around ponds and up and down hills, with geocaches to be found (if you can, download the info and maps before you get to the park to be sure you have the necessary info). The mountain biking trails are busy even on late October afternoons; some trails allow horses. Canoes and kayaks let you explore and fish. 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. 

The camp store offer a few basics and a selection of Bear Brook attire. Cell phone coverage varies from 1-2 bars, not always 4G, on Verizon.

This National Forest campground in Albany, NH is just west of Conway on the Kancamagus, which means it's a great location for hiking, tubing (Saco Rv in Conway), fishing, and even shopping; the choice is yours. To reach it from the Kanc, you'll need to cross the covered bridge where there's a height restriction. If your rig is >7'9" you'll need to enter via Passaconaway Rd via West Side Rd in Conway [heading north on 113/Main St, turn left just before the library and then after going through the Swift River covered bridge, turn left again on Passaconaway Rd].

Some of these sites are reservable online, but others are first-come, first-served. If you're in a tent, the sites along the back side of the loop, up the hill, offer some extra privacy. These sites won't work for an RV, but the other sites will. This campground is a bit quieter than others along the Kanc because it is set apart by Passaconaway Rd. For services you have water and vault toilets; no hookups. Nearest showers are down the road at Jigger Johnson campground, but not until Memorial Day. For cell service, you'll need to head back into Conway; it is absent for most of the Kanc. If it's open and you're passing by, you can also get cell service near height of land on Bear Notch Rd, but this is closed until late spring.

Lower Falls and Rocky Gorge are nearby. If you're going to be in the area for a while, stop by the Saco Ranger Station and purchase a weekly parking pass for all the White Mountain National Forest parking areas/trailheads. Hiking opportunities abound. Popular nearby hikes include Champney Falls/Mt Chocura. Potash Mountain and Hedgehog Mountain are hikes with nice rewards for moderate effort. The Russell Colbath House offers ranger talks during high season.

A 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.

Campground Review

Friends and I have started a Memorial Day weekend camping tradition and during a visit here last fall two of us decided this would be our destination. White Lake has large sites, a gorgeous lake with a pair of resident loons, and proximity to the White Mountains National Forest (hiking galore, river, history), the Saco River (tubing, etc.), and Conway/North Conway tourist attractions.

The lake is clear, the swimming area is shallow for quite a distance so you can feel comfortable with kids, and there is a separate boat launch area. If you don’t have your own boats, they offer rentals of kayaks and paddle boats. On the day you leave, you can enjoy the beach, but you will have to park in the registration parking lot. You may want to bring bicycles or plan to walk a lot to get to and from the beach.

There are multiple loops, some offering water views. The water view sites are just that…views. There are some short trails leading to the lake from the sites, but for most of them they are down a little hill. A few of them even offer lean-tos.  Most of them can accommodate smaller RVs as well as tents. There are no hookups, but there is a dump station. Sites are close together. There are also a group camping area and a few family camping sites. Although many of the sites are reservable online, some of them are held back for walk-ins. Our sites are now first-come, first-served, but we reserved them last year. Memorial Day weekend, there were still vacancies, but during my Labor Day visit last year sites were full very early Friday morning. Quirky thing about the sites...the maps and the posts in loop 1 just show the basic number, but in the reservation system, loop one numbers are in the 100s (i.e. site 44 becomes site 144) No pets.

The bathrooms at the beach include flush toilets, but no showers. In the campground there are coin-operated (2 minutes/$0.25), hot and clean showers.  I also noticed that showers are available in the bathroom next to the campground store/office, but they are locked when the office is closed, so I didn’t get a chance to check them out. The bathroom serving our area (we were in A loop, sites 44 & 46) could use some maintenance. The toilets don’t flush well at all; the flushing mechanisms need to be replaced. They need to fix this (it was a problem when the season closed last fall, too) to earn that 5th star)

Our neighbor ran his generator ALL.NIGHT.LONG. the first night, but a ranger spoke with him the next day and he shut it off. He ran it during the 5-8pm time slot after that, but we didn’t have to deal with it overnight again. Glad that they addressed it. Your noise experience will vary depending on your neighbors. There are a lot of families here.

Our sites were large and level, but after we pitched our screen tent we realized there were ground nesting bees all over. They didn’t bother us, but it was disconcerting to see them lining the edge of the screen. A little online research showed us that they nest in the spring. It was late spring, so black flies were our biggest challenge! Plan accordingly.

There are some small stores, a gas station, and a Dunkin Donuts just outside the campground. Full shopping needs can be met in Conway and North Conway. During my two stays here (as an adult; apparently our family camped here when I was a kid, too), we kayaked, swam, hiked to Champney Falls, and another hike in the Ossippee area, and went tubing on the Saco (do this earlier in the year when there’s plenty of water on the river!). Mt Chocura is a great nearby hike.

Product Review: Midland Radio  X-Talker T75VP3 Two-Ray Radio.

As a ranger for the Dyrt, I sometimes  have fun opportunities to try out equipment while camping. For this particular trip, I was camping with several others and we anticipated times when we’d split up for a bit or hike at different paces, so it seemed like a great opportunity to test the Midland Radio X-Talker T75VP3 Two-way radio. I found it more challenging than I anticipated just to decide which radios to test. I had to learn a whole new vocabulary to understand the implications of the different specifications; once I received it, I needed to read the manual to figure out the various menu options and how to make the changes. I have a copy of the manual downloaded to my phone for easy reference!

Here’s why I chose this package:

• 1. I liked that the radios have rechargeable batteries and a charging base, both via USB. If the battery dies and you need a back-up, you can use AAA batteries. They charged quickly and I found the battery life was quite long on stand-by.
• 2. They have long-range capability with high and low power settings, though you need ideal conditions to maximize this.
• 3. I could use it on low power without a license.

4. Weather: you can find the local weather forecast as well as receive weather alerts. I may not have cell service everywhere, but I can generally get the radio feed.

Real life:

It worked well over a mile with a combination of lake and trees. I arrived before others and went off to explore, so I left a radio at camp and asked them to radio me when they arrived. When we went hiking in the White Mountains, part of our group went faster than the others, so to radio allowed us to keep in touch even while traveling separately. These are not the staticky transmissions of my childhood walkie-talkies; messages are transmitted clearly and easily. We didn’t encounter any traffic on the radios, so we didn’t bother with the privacy codes.