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 North Sandwich, NH
290 campgrounds · Check availability for any dates.
Search destinations
Add dates
SUMMARY PRESENTED BY
Campgrounds near North Sandwich, New Hampshire range from full-hookup RV parks to primitive tent sites, with options spread across the White Mountains region within a short drive of Mount Chocorua and other hiking destinations. White Lake State Park Campground offers tent, RV, and glamping options with full amenities including showers and electric hookups, while smaller facilities like Waterville Campground provide more rustic accommodations in wooded settings. Several campgrounds in the area feature water access, with locations like Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort and Tamworth Camping Area positioned near lakes and rivers for recreational activities.
Most campgrounds in the region operate seasonally from May through October, with limited winter access due to weather conditions and facility closures. Advance reservations are recommended during summer weekends and holiday periods when sites fill quickly. According to one visitor at Waterville Campground, "Sites are large with space in between. Located super close to Waterville valley ski area, hiking, golf, etc." Road conditions vary considerably, with some campgrounds accessible via paved highways while others require travel on forest service roads. Many facilities provide basic amenities like vault toilets and water pumps, though several larger campgrounds offer full-service hookups for RVs, hot showers, and dump stations.
Campers consistently mention water features as highlights of their experiences near North Sandwich. White Lake State Park Campground receives particular attention for its swimming opportunities. A camper noted: "There's a great beach with lots of room and a big sandy swimming area. You can rent canoes, hike around the lake, and the kids could safely ride their bikes around the campground." Wildlife viewing opportunities are common, with several review mentions of duck families and occasional bear sightings at more remote locations. Campgrounds near North Sandwich vary in their proximity to town amenities, with some offering on-site camp stores while others require bringing all necessary supplies. Sites range from heavily wooded with natural pine needle flooring to more open areas suitable for larger camping groups or RVs requiring increased clearance.
Best Campgrounds near North Sandwich (290)
1. 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 Availability2. Waterville Campground
"Located super close to Waterville valley ski area, hiking, golf, etc."
"A path leads straight down to the river, which we can hear running from the tents at night. The caretaker is one of the friendliest I’ve met, and he keeps the sites and bathrooms very clean."
from $24 / night
Check Availability3. 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 Availability4. Hancock Campground
"This would be one of few places I find acceptable to camp, that are near other people. I usually don't like camping with 20+ other people in one looped area."
"Used the tent sides a quick hill walk down from the parking lot. River great for splashing around and nearby path to Lincoln Woods trail."
from $30 / night
Check Availability5. Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort
"This campground is huge with over 300 sites set on nearly 200 acres and along a beautiful lake!"
"We love the golf carts and sandy beaches as well as the proximity to North Conway and Lake Ossipee. Staff are nice, quiet time is a bit over enforced."
from $40 - $85 / night
Check Availability6. 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 Availability7. Lost River Valley Campground
"The last few years, they’ve added a light display near the entrance at night, which make that last trip to the bathroom before bedtime fun!"
"Nice campground located in the valley of mountains. Wooded sites but close to your neighbors."
from $62 - $209 / night
Check Availability8. Chocorua KOA
"There were some rules in place in order to ensure social distancing and reduce risk to ourselves and to the staff."
"They were wooded and in a central location close to the playgrounds, pavilion, beach and nature trails."
from $45 - $110 / night
Check Availability9. Passaconaway Campground
"The campground borders the Kancamangus Highway on one side, and the tranquil Swift River on the other."
"I only gave the campground 4 stars because the campground is so close to the Kancamagus Highway that you can hear cars and bikes through most of the night."
from $25 / night
Check Availability10. 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 Availability
Drive Time
- 1 hr 16 min from Manchester, NH
- 1 hr 36 min from Lewiston, ME
- 1 hr 44 min from Portland, ME
- 2 hrs 37 min from Burlington, VT
Recent Camping Photos near North Sandwich, NH
732 Photos of 290 North Sandwich Campgrounds • uploaded by The Dyrt campers
Recent Reviews near North Sandwich, NH
1264 Reviews of 290 North Sandwich 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 North Sandwich
Camping sites near North Sandwich, New Hampshire range from lakeside facilities to mountain-adjacent forest campgrounds. Located in the foothills of the White Mountains at approximately 650 feet elevation, the area experiences warm summer days with cool evenings and frequent afternoon thunderstorms in July and August. Most campgrounds in the region maintain pine needle floors that naturally repel insects and provide soft tent platforms.
What to Do
Swimming and water recreation: White Lake State Park Campground offers clear water swimming with gradually sloping sandy bottoms. "The lake itself is unreal, with the mountains in the background it just feels incredibly peaceful and serene," notes Angela T., who visited in early season when it wasn't crowded.
Hiking nearby mountains: Waterville Campground provides direct access to several 4,000-foot peaks. As Michael L. mentions, there are "5 - 4000 foot mountains to hike" accessible from this location, making it an ideal base camp for serious hikers.
Winter camping options: Unlike most seasonal facilities, certain campgrounds remain accessible during winter months. At Hancock Campground, Heather B. notes, "Stayed here for two nights in late December. Site #40 along the river was close to the bathroom yet had plenty of privacy from other sites." Winter camping requires additional preparation but offers solitude rarely found during peak seasons.
What Campers Like
Secluded river access: Many campgrounds feature private paths to water. At Hancock Campground, Molly G. reports, "We were the only ones in it and we picked the site right next to the rambling river. It was amazing. Only a pit toilet- but it's worth it for the beauty and seclusion."
Spacious campsites: Covered Bridge Campground receives consistent praise for site dimensions. According to Norma S., "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."
Wildlife viewing: Morning and evening wildlife sightings enhance camping experiences. Heather B. at Waterville Campground notes, "The caretaker is one of the friendliest I've met... It's early July and there's been hardly anyone staying here! Only downsides are it's a bit off the beaten path; there is some road noise; and the water is very brown/rusty."
What You Should Know
Bear safety requirements: Bears are active throughout the region. At Waterville Campground, Kitty reports a concerning encounter: "The first day I got there at around 5:30 I was sitting in my hammock reading when a black bear cub strolled through my campsite. We scared the poop out of each other. Local police came and said they have been having problems with the bears."
Campsite availability patterns: First-come campgrounds fill predictably. J.W. advises at Passaconaway Campground: "Be sure to get there early in the day because it fills up quickly, we arrived at 1030 on a Saturday morning during the summer and found a spot but by noon they had put up the full sign out front."
Water quality variations: Water quality differs significantly between campgrounds. At Covered Bridge Campground, Jae H. notes, "Water access is via a hand pump in the middle of the campground loop. No car access and can't hook up any hoses." Several campgrounds report iron-rich water that stains clothing.
Tips for Camping with Families
Child-friendly swimming areas: White Lake State Park Campground features graduated swimming depths. According to STephanie C., "This is a VERY LARGE campground, it will be a trek to get to the bathrooms or showers or swimming. You do NOT get to park at the lake if you are a camper. So that will be a long walk."
Noise consideration: Some campgrounds enforce strict quiet hours. At White Lake State Park, Sable W. shares, "Quiet hours are supposed to start at 10:00pm, but our rowdy male neighbors were up, playing music, talking loudly, and singing, until midnight."
Biking opportunities: Several campgrounds feature internal road systems appropriate for children learning to ride. At Jigger Johnson Campground, Rita M. comments: "The road through the campground is paved and mostly flat, making it ideal for kids to ride their bikes."
Tips from RVers
Site leveling challenges: Chocorua KOA requires careful planning for RVs at waterfront sites. According to Michael K., "Most of the waterfront sites are back in, and the only level part of the site is away from the deck and water. My wife wanted to get the camper up close to the deck so our area under the awning was close to that, which meant I had a lot more leveling to do."
Height restrictions: Covered bridge access points limit larger rigs. Jae H. notes, "Covered bridge has 7.9' height restriction from the main scenic highway. We had to go out to Conway and drive back in."
RV site selection for privacy: At Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort, Michael M. recommends specific locations: "Really liked this campground, large sites with full hookups. Beach and boat ramp with some cabins on the water. We stayed at site M-9 and M-10."
Frequently Asked Questions
What camping is available near North Sandwich, NH?
What camping is available near North Sandwich, NH?
According to TheDyrt.com, North Sandwich, NH offers a wide range of camping options, with 290 campgrounds and RV parks near North Sandwich, NH and 10 free dispersed camping spots.
Which is the most popular campground near North Sandwich, NH?
Which is the most popular campground near North Sandwich, NH?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near North Sandwich, NH is White Lake State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 25 reviews.
Where can I find free dispersed camping near North Sandwich, NH?
Where can I find free dispersed camping near North Sandwich, NH?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 10 free dispersed camping spots near North Sandwich, NH.
What parks are near North Sandwich, NH?
What parks are near North Sandwich, NH?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 12 parks near North Sandwich, NH that allow camping, notably White Mountain National Forest and Union Village Dam.
Keep Exploring