Best Cabin Camping near Nelson, NH

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 KOA is what you expect from a KOA– lots of amenities, sites of all sizes and levels of cost, tons of activities, and in a vacation destination area. We spent five nights at the campground and found lots to do in the area and that we had an enjoyable and pleasant stay. 

The park is a large park that is terraced since it is in a pretty hilly area. There is the range of sites from pull-thrus, pull-ins and back-in sites and can accommodate RVs of any size. Some sites are full hookup while others are not and that is reflected in the cost. We paid $57/nigh for our full hookup site which is pretty costly especially since we did not use any of the amenities. Most sites are gravel with gravel patios but there are deluxe sites with paved patios, patio furniture, umbrella, and gas bbq grill. There are also camping cabins, some of which have kitchenettes and bathrooms that sleep six people. 

Our site, was located in the back of the park in a quieter section because it was away from most of the activities and park entrance. The site was a pull-in which was kind of nice because the view out of our front windshield was of a wooded area. Our fire pit was in the front of our site so there was a nice amount of privacy when we sat outside by a campfire and didn’t feel like we were on the side of the road. Despite the hilliness of the park and all the trees, we did not have any trouble navigating our 45’ RV to our site. The trees at our site would prevent satellite television reception but our site had cable and we got about 20 or so channels. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Like many KOAs there are tons of amenities and things for kids to do – swimming pool, fishing ponds, bike rental, scheduled activities, propane sales, camp store, fire wood delivery, and more. There is a fenced dog park which was a fairly good size and our lab was happy to chase a ball. 

As a whole, the park was very clean and manicured. No trash laying around and the gravel roads were free of potholes. The campground is located near the Queechee Gorge, covered bridges, hiking trails (including sections of the Appalachian Trail), good dining, maple syrup/cheese farm, the Marsh Billings- Rockefeller National Historic Park.

We took our new to us hybrid camper out for its inaugural trip.

We chose to stay in the wooded loop of the campground and we were very happy with our site, #66. That section has about 12 sites, some big and some on the smaller side. Our site was easy to back into, even more so since no one was in the site across from us. Our site was very spacious, level and included a picnic table, fire ring, and nicely placed hookups for water and electric. We had easy access to trails that went along the river behind some of the sites with a few paths down to the river.

Everyone we encountered was friendly and respectful. There are quiet hours from 10pm-8am that are enforced. We were grateful to not have to hear loud partying going on into the night. There was car noise from nearby Rt 10 on the other side of the river, but nothing you can do about that.

We asked for assistance at the office with our first time using a pumping station at the end of the trip. We were given friendly helpful assistance and some great tips and advice for the future.

This was a nice enjoyable first visit for us. We will definitely be adding it to our list of places to visit again, but likely later in the year when we can enjoy the river and activities a bit more. We did not explore the options for bike, kayak, and canoe rentals but would like to in the future.

The campground itself is beautifully wooded with mature pine trees. However, the sites are packed so tight you can barely maneuver in and out. We only have a 17' travel trailer pulled by a Ford Explorer and had great difficulty backing it in. I did not see any pull-through sites. Our site had a picnic table, fire ring and water & electric hookups. When we arrived we were given a rules list (as customary) that strongly threatened to remove anyone who was too loud, including dogs. I was a little worried because our Border Collie sometimes barks when people walk their dogs past our campsite. Anyway... after we went to bed we were awakened by a cacophony of road noises, including trains, trucks, and tractor trailers. Planes sounded like they were flying right above our heads. Trucks sounded like they were dumping rocks only feet from our site. In between those noises, we could hear a group of people partying outside on the deck of a house very close to the campground. This went on well into the night. Even though my husband has poor hearing, he couldn't sleep through all that. And yes, the irony of the campground's stern noise warning wasn't lost on me. We were there 3 sleepless nights. I would suggest bringing quality earplugs if you go there. Oh- and they do not allow you to choose your site. You get what's assigned to you.

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.

We stayed in the cabin with a kitchenette and bathroom. The shower worked well and it was nice not to have to walk to the restrooms, though they were close by. Our stay was during the week so it wasn’t very crowded. Our son liked the playground and it was unfortunately too cold for the pool but it looked fun! It has a big slide and what looks like a splash pad. We enjoyed the arcade while waiting for our laundry to finish. The main trail leads to a kayak launch which we didn’t take advantage of but had a nice walk. Highly suggest checking out Tenney Farm nearby for fresh produce and treats.