A
Amber G.
Scout
ScoutTripoli Road
So much fun!
Went on a weekend and it was still very peaceful! Lots to do on such a beautiful back road. We stayed at two different sites each night we were there and both were equally beautiful and peaceful
Camping near Kearsarge, NH
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SUMMARY PRESENTED BY
Campgrounds near Kearsarge, New Hampshire span from dispersed options to full-service facilities throughout the White Mountains region. Town Hall Road Dispersed offers free primitive camping with tent and RV accommodations, while established campgrounds like Jellystone Park Glen Ellis and Saco River Camping Area provide more amenities. These mixed-use campgrounds typically accommodate both tent and RV sites, with several also offering cabins or glamping options. Most established campgrounds are situated along rivers, particularly the Saco River, which creates natural recreation opportunities for visitors.
The camping season in this region generally runs from May through October, with most established campgrounds closing after Columbus Day weekend. "Remember you are in the mountains... you will see wildlife. Respect nature and heed the warnings of leaving food out on your campsite! It was our first time seeing a black bear walking around," noted one visitor to Glen Ellis. Weather conditions can change rapidly in the White Mountains, particularly at higher elevations. Several campgrounds report active black bear presence, requiring proper food storage. Advance reservations are strongly recommended for developed campgrounds during summer months and holiday weekends, while dispersed camping at Town Hall Road remains first-come, first-served.
Water access represents a defining feature of many campgrounds in the Kearsarge area. Campers frequently mention the Saco River as a highlight, with tubing and swimming opportunities directly from campsites. A review described one location as "nestled between the Saco and Ellis Rivers. Clean water, great swimming, tubing and fishing. Mountains and hiking are within easy reach." Family-friendly amenities vary significantly between campgrounds, with Jellystone Park offering extensive activities including water parks and mini golf, while more rustic options focus on natural surroundings. Sites near North Conway provide convenient access to shopping and restaurants while maintaining a natural setting. Despite their popularity, many campgrounds maintain forested sites that offer reasonable privacy despite relatively close spacing.
Best Campgrounds near Kearsarge (291)
1. Town Hall Road Dispersed
"Awesome boondocking in New Hampshire, what a treat in the east coast! Just beautiful scenery, with trees, rivers, creeks, hiking trails with a pond- we absolutely loved our time here. "
"There were plenty of sites to choose from and most (not all) had access to the river as well as a fire ring. Sites were on a dirt road, but it was quiet for the most part."
2. Dry River Campground — Crawford Notch State Park
"Cool location right on the edge of the Dry River Wilderness. Great Basecamp for lots of hikes in the area. Some spots are right on the highway with not much tree cover in between so can be loud."
"This state park campground located between Rte 302 and the Dry River in Crawford Notch is a great location for exploring family friendly trails to (Sawyer Pond, Arethusa Falls, Willard Cliffs to name a"
from $35 - $40 / night
Check Availability3. Eastern Slope Camping Area
"A large wooden shelter stood over our picnic table, with a decent amount of space next to it for tents or a small camper."
"Great location with easy ride to all North Conway attractions. Nice hay ride and playground. The beach is sandy and lots of room to spread out. We visited Story Land and Mt."
4. Jellystone Park™ Glen Ellis
"Located between the Ellis River and the Saco River, this campground offers so many fantastic amenities."
"Plenty to do at the campground and around the surrounding area for people
of all ages.
Remember you are in the mountains... you will see wildlife."
5. Covered Bridge
"He absolutely loved it and there was plenty of space in the tent site for him to roam around."
"This campground is in a great location. It’s nestled right off the Kancamagus with walking access to boulder loop trail and the swift river. It’s a quick drive to many hiking trails."
from $30 / night
Check Availability6. Crawford Notch Campground
"Our site was big and walking around the grounds the other sites appeared to all be pretty good sized as well. They are not lying when they call their sites secluded either!"
"Cabins and RV sites with hookups are closer yo the entrance, store and road. That latter feature is a bit if a bummer bc the noise from cars and trucks zipping by on route 302 is loud."
from $25 / night
Check Availability7. Saco River Camping Area
"They have bike rentals, disc golf, ping pong table, outside big chess game, pool, outlet shopping was near by, near by historic sites, like kangamangus Highway, diana’s Bath, cathedral ledge, we went"
"People to our left and the ones behind us were annual vistors to this campground. We are new to Rving it was refreshing to be around such nice people."
8. White Lake State Park Campground
"Last weekend, our family stayed at White Lake State Park for four days."
"I’ve stayed here a few times and love the location and access to White Lake."
from $35 - $105 / night
Check Availability9. Jigger Johnson Campground
"Located on the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire, Jigger Johnson is one of those great sites that has close proximity to plenty of hiking, exploring, swimming and isn't too far from the hustle and bustle"
"earlier in the day, around 1 pm when new campers are welcomed."
from $24 / night
Check Availability10. White Ledge Campground
"White Ledge Campground is in the White Mountain National Forest and should not be confused with nearby White Lake State Park."
"Water spigot and vault toilets, dumpsters all within easy walking distance of all sites. Great spot to start Carter Ledge Trail to hike Three Sisters and Mount Chocorua."
from $30 / night
Check Availability
Drive Time
- 1 hr 29 min from Lewiston, ME
- 1 hr 41 min from Portland, ME
- 1 hr 53 min from Manchester, NH
- 2 hrs 34 min from Burlington, VT
Recent Camping Photos near Kearsarge, NH
792 Photos of 291 Kearsarge Campgrounds • uploaded by The Dyrt campers
Recent Reviews near Kearsarge, NH
1324 Reviews of 291 Kearsarge Campgrounds
- MMarie S.Scout
Gunstock Campground
Apparently Your Reserved Site Is More of a Suggestion
⭐**Gunstock Campground: Apparently Your Reserved Site Is More of a Suggestion**
I don't believe I have**ever** left a negative Google review. I generally think that when something goes wrong, you contact the business, give them an opportunity to make it right, and most businesses are genuinely interested in doing exactly that.
Gunstock Campground has cured me of that quaint notion.
I reserved a full-hookup campsite for two nights. I was unable to make it there the first night, but arrived shortly after 7:00 a.m. the next morning. The camp store, where registration takes place, wasn't open yet, so I headed out for my planned hike— about six miles through the Belknaps, including summiting Rowe twice and Gunstock.
By the time I returned, I was utterly exhausted, starving, and actually feeling weak. My ambitions for the afternoon were modest:**eat something, take a shower, and collapse at the campsite I had paid for.**
The staff at the camp store greeted me warmly, checked me in, and sent me on my way.
I drove to my site. There was already a camper in it. Not merely*parked* there, mind you. They had apparently moved right in. They were hooked up to**my site's water and electric**, with water spraying from their ill-fitting hose connection and forming a rather impressive puddle underneath the camper.
I returned to the camp store to report that someone had apparently activated Gunstock's new**"Choose Any Site You Like"** camping plan. A staff member went down to speak with them and came back to tell me they were "packing up." Excellent! My mistake was assuming" packing up" meant**leaving**. It did not.
Apparently these campers had actually reserved a site**two rows away** that had**no water or electric**. Yet somehow, sometime after arriving the previous night, they had accidentally found themselves two rows over, in my clearly different site, connected to utilities their reservation didn't include.
We've all made mistakes. I've occasionally parked one space away from where I intended. I've never accidentally parked**two rows away, hooked myself up to someone else's electricity and water, and spent the night.**
But perhaps I lack imagination.
After they had now consumed about an hour of my afternoon— which, incidentally, is an hour I normally bill at attorney rates— I went back toward my site expecting to find it finally vacated.
And it was! Because Gunstock had moved these folks to another site**two spaces away from me**, apparently allowing them to pay for the upgrade they had already been test-driving. So the people who knowingly or unknowingly occupied my reserved full-hookup site, used the utilities, and delayed me from getting into the site I paid for were rewarded with...a nearby full-hookup site.
They never walked over to apologize. At that point, I no longer felt comfortable staying. It's difficult to relax at a campground when you've just discovered that site assignments appear to operate somewhat on the honor system— and that when someone helps themselves to your reserved site and utilities, management's solution is apparently to make sure *they* remain comfortably accommodated nearby. So I left. On my way home, I called Gunstock and asked for a refund. Surely, I thought, this would be the easy part. After all, I had paid for two nights, hadn't used the first, couldn't get into my site when I arrived for the second, waited while unauthorized occupants vacated it, and ultimately left because the entire experience had become so unpleasant.
Nope. Instead, the staff member **defended the other campers**. I was told they arrived late and "mistakenly" took my site. I was even told they supposedly **hadn't used the utilities**. This was particularly fascinating information for me to receive because **I PERSONALLY SAW THEM HOOKED UP TO THE WATER AND ELECTRIC.** I also took photographs. Including the enormous puddle underneath their camper from the leaking water connection. But apparently my eyewitness account and photographs were no match for the alternative version of events.
For my inconvenience, however, Gunstock did give me a coupon for a **free Bavarian pretzel**. So there is that.
I paid for a full-hookup campsite. Someone else occupied it and used the hookups. I lost roughly an hour waiting to access what I had reserved. The other campers were accommodated with an upgraded site nearby. I left because I no longer felt comfortable staying. And when I asked Gunstock to make the situation right, they refused to refund me and instead argued with me about things **I had personally witnessed and photographed**. The most disappointing part isn't that another camper took my site. Campers can behave badly. Businesses can't control everything their customers do. **What a business CAN control is how it responds when that happens. ** Gunstock had every opportunity to turn this into a mildly annoying story about a camping mix-up. Instead, they turned it into my first negative Google review.
But hey... **I do have that free pretzel coupon.**
- KKrista R.
TravelerMoose Brook State Park Campground
Like Dispersed Camping... For $42
Pros: We have the p lube nearly to ourselves, thus it was very similar to dispersed camping. Nice little campground with two small ponds (One for fishing, the other for swimming). Nothing very remarkable, though.
Cons: As others have mentioned, if you want flush toilets and pay showers, you have to either stay at the more crowded, larger loop or walk across the highway to get to those amenities.
Richard P.ScoutSebago Lake Family Campground
Find a better place!
We just came back from a big family weekend there. We had 5 sites with 19 people(including children). This is by far the most rundown campground I've stayed! Only 1 bathroom facility was functioning. Of the 3 times I tried taking a shower, I only succeeded 1 time. The other 2 times(once at night and once the following morning at 6am) I only got drops coming out of the hot and cold faucets. I tried the only 2 stalls. Speaking of bathrooms...these have not been updated since the 60s-early 70s when I was camping with the same style bathroom facilities. The children's playground should be condemned!!! At least 25% of the wood is rotted. Some steps are missing from ladders. My granddaughter was swinging in the childs swing, the bottom unlatched and she fell through the bottom. If she wasn't monkey like in holding on she would have done a face plant to the ground. After looking at the swing, I found the plastic latch broken! 2 positives: the campsites are very nice! and the beach is great! Bottom line, these owners are not putting any money back into the campground and it's facilities. They are running it into the ground. I won't be coming back again!
Jen P.TravelerTwin Mountain Campground
Lovely and peaceful
It was everything we were looking for, right on the river, quiet and clean, the section we stayed in was all tent camping so we weren’t sandwiched in between a bunch of RVs blocking the view. There was no lights, generators or loud music. Alcohol wasn’t permitted so that really cuts down on a lot of unnecessary nonsense. Pets are permitted and our dog loved it. It was very pleasant and relaxing. Can’t wait to go back.
- JJose L.Traveler
Town Hall Road Dispersed
Dispersed it is!
Stayed 8 nights with complete solitude. Bugs weren't too bad. There were plenty of dead birch trees and beech trees for firewood. Not any evergreens though. Site 16 has two campsites. I took the further one with plenty of room. Good size fire pit, but people before me left some large pieces of wood not completely put out along with lit coals.
Nikki M.ScoutCherry Mountain Road Dispersed
Dispersed camping in white mountains
We stayed in site #5. It was grassy and had a little creek running next to it that was lovely to listen to.
- Amy D.Traveler
Ellacoya State Park Campground
Pretty ok!
No major complaints. Beautiful location, easy to get to, convenient RV hookups. Goose poop everywhere so watch your step. Showers are relatively expensive. Sites are very very close together.
- Amy D.Traveler
Jericho Mountain State Park Campground
Warning to RV drivers!
Honestly a wonderful place, gorgeous little lake and beach, incredibly helpful and friendly staff. Note though if you’re staying in one of the new RV sites, it is nowhere near the bathrooms or bathhouse - like a 10+ minute walk, and I wouldn’t want to do it at night. The RV section is clearly still very very new, and they’re working out the kinks, so only go here if you’ve got a self-sufficient RV and don’t need bathrooms. There are all 3 hookups, though the sewer hookup was so far back our short hose did not reach. But they do sell extensions at the visitors center, and there is a dump station, though we had to call to have them unlock it. Overall a great place, but be aware if you’re looking for a place with both full RV hookups and bathrooms, this is not it!
Guide to Kearsarge
Camping near Kearsarge, New Hampshire spans from high-elevation areas at 2,937 feet down to valley locations along the Saco and Ellis Rivers. The White Mountains region experiences temperature variations of 20-30°F between day and night, even in summer months. Most dispersed camping areas require vehicles with decent clearance, as access roads can become rutted after rain events.
What to do
Hiking accessibility: At Dry River Campground, trails start directly from your campsite. "We hiked the Arethusa Falls and Frankenstein Cliff Trail right from the campground!" notes a visitor. The location makes it ideal for exploring multiple difficulty levels of White Mountain trails.
River tubing options: The Saco River provides natural recreation with varying difficulty levels. "You can take a short walk to the pavilion and put a tube in and float the river back around to the beach area. We did it 4 times!" shares a camper at Saco River Camping Area.
Winter adventures: Unlike many seasonal campgrounds, Town Hall Road Dispersed area remains accessible year-round for adventurous winter campers. "It was a great place for Rainy Camping. We went during a pouring rain storm and our site remained relatively dry. We even enjoyed a small fire the next day," reports one visitor, indicating its weather-resistant qualities.
What campers like
River swimming spots: Many campers highlight the natural swimming holes rather than pool facilities. At Jellystone Park Glen Ellis, visitors appreciate that "Crystal clear, ice cold and refreshing. Tube, swim or dip your feet it is a great way to spend the afternoon."
Wildlife viewing: Bear sightings are common throughout the region. "We spent 5 days and wished it was longer... There were 2 active bears while we were there. They circled our camper at night. It was incredible to watch," reports a camper who visited with grandchildren.
Spacious sites: Campers frequently mention the generous sizing of sites at many campgrounds. "We had site Cove 31 which is listed as an RV site. This site was very large. With our 20 foot trailer we could still fit our Ford 150 and Subaru Forrester in front of it and still had room for another car," notes a visitor at Covered Bridge Campground.
What you should know
Weather variability: The region experiences significant temperature swings. "Weather conditions can change rapidly in the White Mountains, particularly at higher elevations," notes a camper who packed extra layers even for summer camping.
Water levels: River conditions fluctuate significantly by season and rainfall. "There is swimming/bathing in the Swift River but it was low (we are in a draught)," notes a camper at Covered Bridge, highlighting the need to check conditions before planning water-based activities.
Reservation timing: For established campgrounds, especially during peak season, advance planning is essential. At White Lake State Park Campground, "Mid-October to Dec 1 sites are walk-in only. Pre-register online and bring your print-out with you to save yourself some time."
Noise considerations: Some campgrounds experience traffic noise due to proximity to major routes. "The campground is directly next to Rt 16, so expect to hear some road noise, more so during the day. Whole site is very quiet at night," explains a visitor to White Ledge Campground.
Tips for camping with families
Kid-friendly activities: Campgrounds near attractions provide multiple entertainment options. At Green Meadow Camping Area, "The band on Saturday night was so fun and the kids loved it. The pool was extra clean and nice. Everything else was super clean and easy to access."
Bicycle-friendly loops: Several campgrounds feature bike-friendly paths. "Very family friendly spot. Had beautiful fall foliage and was close to some great hikes. Our spot near the river was also very cool," notes a family who visited Jellystone Park Glen Ellis during autumn.
Nature education: Many campgrounds offer ranger programs during peak season. "There was an interpretive ranger staying there that held a fun night of scores and spooky stories," reports a family who enjoyed the educational opportunities at Dry River Campground.
Water safety: Families should note river temperature and current strength varies considerably. "The river is great for exploring! But it's extremely cold, swift, shallow, so it's not ideal for swimming," cautions a parent who camped at Crawford Notch Campground with children ages 5 and 7.
Tips from RVers
Site selection strategies: Many campgrounds have varying levels of privacy between sites. "The sites are pretty close together and there was no real demarcation between them. This can be good if you are with friends and reserve sites side by side (2 & 3; 12 & 13)," advises an RVer who stayed at Dry River Campground.
Height restrictions: Access to some campgrounds requires careful planning for larger vehicles. "Covered bridge has 7.9' height restriction from the main scenic highway. We had to go out to Conway and drive back in," warns an RV owner, highlighting the importance of checking alternative routes.
Solar/Starlink access: For those requiring connectivity, tree cover can present challenges. "If all we needed was a campsite with no solar or starlink, this would be 5 star review. Lots of options, great hiking in the area. But if you need solar or starlink, there's only 1 or 2 viable spots," notes an RVer at Town Hall Road Dispersed camping.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I hike to the summit of Mount Kearsarge?
How do I hike to the summit of Mount Kearsarge?
Mount Kearsarge can be accessed via two main trails: the Winslow Trail (1.1 miles) and the Barlow Trail (1.7 miles) from Winslow State Park on the north side, or the Lincoln Trail (1.8 miles) from Rollins State Park on the south side. The Winslow Trail is shorter but steeper, while the Barlow offers a more gradual ascent. Many hikers create a loop using both trails. From Sugarloaf 2 Campground, you'll have convenient access to some of New Hampshire's best hiking, including Mount Kearsarge. The summit offers spectacular 360-degree views of the surrounding White Mountains region and is suitable for hikers of most skill levels with proper preparation.
When is the best time of year to visit Mount Kearsarge?
When is the best time of year to visit Mount Kearsarge?
Late spring through early fall (May to October) is the ideal time to visit Mount Kearsarge, with September and early October offering spectacular fall foliage views. Summer provides warm hiking conditions, though thunderstorms can develop quickly. Jigger Johnson Campground makes an excellent base during summer months, offering proximity to hiking, exploring, and swimming opportunities. Winter hiking is possible but requires proper equipment and experience. Lafayette Place Campground is another great option during peak season, providing access to beautiful trails throughout the White Mountains. Weather conditions can change rapidly in all seasons, so always check forecasts before your visit.
What are the camping options near Mount Kearsarge?
What are the camping options near Mount Kearsarge?
Several excellent camping options surround Mount Kearsarge. Big Rock offers 28 wooded sites just off the Kancamagus Highway and is only 8 minutes from Lincoln where you can restock supplies. For a more secluded experience, Private Field and Woods Camping provides beautiful natural surroundings with a true wilderness feel. If you prefer facilities with proximity to hiking trails, Winslow State Park (on the mountain's north side) and Rollins State Park (south side) offer seasonal camping. Both provide direct access to Mount Kearsarge trails. Reservations are recommended during peak season, especially for weekend stays.
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