Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Nashua, NH

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!

Beautiful clean campground! Great for kids and pets. We love taking the dog to the dog beach for a swim.

Camp store is great, fun fishing on the lake and tons of activities for the kids.

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

Beach Rose RV Park in Salisbury, Massachusetts is a small, friendly, family-owned campground near the beach. The staff was very accommodating and went out of their way to find us a spot on a busy holiday weekend due to a campground mishap. The park is very clean and they have a nice swimming pool and amenities. The dog park area was large and shady, but a lot of mosquitos. You are pretty close to your neighbors, but the sites do accommodate bigger rigs because of the length. The sites are 30/50 amp FHU and wifi was decent. The best thing about Beach Rose RV Park is the proximity to the beach and town. Who doesn’t love a day at the beach? 💗😬👍🏻

For videos on this campground and others, check out our YouTube channel: Jeff & Steff’s Excellent Adventure.

Miles and miles of country/forests surrounding pine acres, however pulling in you’ll soon realize how much goes on inside the campground. AWESOME pools (very kid friendly), parks, dog park, hiking trails and even sections off of the trails to find your own private beach on the water. Went there in a tent rather than our camper, which turned out to be better. Tent sites were very dispersed and way up on the top of the mountain. Camper sites seemed a little close but worth the sacrifice due to the incredible environment. On the more expensive side but worth the money if you have kids. Another big plus was the abundance of wood to get from fallen trees (not having to pay for the expensive bundles at the store) and the size of the fire pits

Easy access site, riverside electric 30A and water. Nice people. Great for pets. They have pet poo drop boxes and bags. Super clean bathrooms. The sites are not very private, but spacing is decent. Getting there you have to follow directions on their website to avoid the two low covered bridges. u.s. cellular coverage 3 bars.

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.

Grounds well kept. Shaded sites. Quiet areas in lower roads with mostly seasonal. Reasonable cost. 30 amp only. Many full hookups. Pet friendly.

Site was clean, easy to get in/out with 21' travel trailer. Swimming at the beach wasn't inviting. Lots of seasonal campers with years of lawn ornaments. There was a sense of the campground being clicky place. Pet friendly. Mixed emotions....

This campsite was great for a first time travel trailer owner like me. I do not have much to compare to yet but the grounds had everything we needed to enjoy our weekend.

- Check-in was smooth as reservation was handled via an online format and validated by email and phone.

- They offer military or Good Sam discounts which is always a plus!

- Since we were there in early April the pool was not open but there was one on site. Shuffleboard was fun with the kids too. I did not see a playground and there was not a dedicated dog park if you are wondering. 

- Site size was adequate. Im guessing these sites will be considered "close" to "moderately close" by other site standards but it housed my 24ft trailer, truck, and my family just fine.

- Roads are a little narrow which made backing in a little challenging. I had to use other sites to complete the back-in process. If those sites were occupied, that would have been real interesting. Perhaps it is me being a rookie with the trailer that added to the challenge, can't rule that out I suppose.

- I did not interact with the staff much but the lady I did was nice and the tenants cruising by on carts were waving so that's a good thing.

- Grounds bathroom/shower facilities were very nice for campground standards. Warm and clean! 

- Only negative was there was a little more road noise than I would like but that's a personal preference of course. There is also a train somewhat nearby which, again, is personal preference. I swear I felt a rumble in the trailer from the train but who knows....I was half-asleep :)

Overall, the grounds were well maintained. My family had a good time and I had the luxury of testing everything out on my new trailer with zero issues or difficulties. 

It was a good trip, thanks Circle CG!

Monadnock State Park is a beautiful hiking adventure for families, beginners, and anyone looking for a fun weekend trip with amazing views. There are several lookouts on the journey to the summit, and the view from the top is amazing. This was my first benchmark and the adventure inspired me to go explore and collect more!

P.S. There are no pets allowed in Monadnock State Park.

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!

We originally had a one day stay here but after some glitches we settled into a spot and it was very nice. At first (and this has nothing to do with camp it’s the people and their pets that make or break a visit) we had lots kid noise some had 8 kids!! Lots barking and we have dogs so I love dogs just not dogs with no training . But inside the rv we were fine. Next day lots people left and luckily for us a lot of noisy spots were now quiet. So we booked another night. We even talked about another night but this space wasn’t available and to move is a lot of work. Camp site mostly level. Lots trees for shade. Nice fire pit and table at each site. Owners unbelievably nice. They lent us a tool to fix a problem. Lots tents amongst rv’s. Tents have nice big spots with power. We detached tow because we read interior roads narrow. Plus we wanted to site see. The roads are narrow but doable in our 37’ motorhome. Yes big rocks but it’s ok. To leave we think we can attach tow and get out fine. I’d come back here again. But you know it all depends on who pulls in near or next to you and many are respectful and understand rv etiquette but there’s a definite group who are here for their own enjoyment without consideration for others. All it takes is one and that can happen at any campsite. But we we comfortable here.

Pillsbury is called a 'primitive' campground which means no showers or electric hookups. 

Most of the campsites are accessable by car with space to park a car or two at the campsite. Many campsites are on the lake. None are very far from the lake. 

There are also a few 'remote' campsites that are not accessable by car. They are accessable by a sort walk or boat. 

There is at least one handicap accessible site, which I have used, near the toilet facilities. It provides a good sized very level area to set up a tent and park your car. There may be other handicap sites. I have only used this one and never checked for others. 

Note: Not all New Hampshire State Parks are dog friendly. If you have a dog check which parks are as part of your trip planning.

This web page  says this about Pillsbury.

Pillsbury State Park is one of the more primitive and lesser known gems of the New Hampshire State Park system. Heavily wooded and sprinkled with several ponds and wetlands, its diversity of habitats makes it home to a great variety of wildlife, including moose and loons. Canoe and kayak rentals are available. Crossed by a network of hiking and mountain bike trails, the park is an important link in the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, a 51-mile hiking trail that connects Mount Monadnock with Mount Sunapee to the north.

Pillsbury State Park

100 Pillsbury State Park Rd

Washington, Nh 03280

Phone: 603-863-2860

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.