Best Glamping near West Nottingham, NH

More of a compound than a campground. It’s a tourist event park but great if you have kids… my particular site was for a tent and it was up against the fence where the maintenance garage was hidden. Right next to the road. So yes lots of family glamping fun. But not for those looking for a more visceral Maine camping experience.

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've been there twice and have reservations for next year. Some sites are in the woods, some are in the field. The pool and restrooms are spotless. There are yurts, power and water available, plus tent-only sites. Highly recommended.

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 small state forest campground in north/central Massachusetts is just up the hill from Damon Pond. I suggest downloading maps before you head out because cell service is iffy in the area.  

Sites are largely level, around a small, bisected loop with towering pines. Most of the sites are best suited to tents and small trailers (think teardrops and pop-ups), but a couple of sites can accommodate slightly larger units. They are level and there's not a lot of brush between sites, so not much privacy either. I liked site 3 for a bit more privacy ; it's also one of the 3 sites designated for an RV. Site 11 is larger and can accommodate a larger unit.

There is a large yurt suitable for 10 people. The yurt does offer electricity, but there are no hookups nor a dump station at the campground. There are flush toilets, but no showers. The small bathroom was under renovation autumn 2020. There is a dishwashing sink. 

There are hiking trails in the area and, of course, swimming at the small pond. A nearby roadside waterfall offers another picnic area opportunity. For a longer hike, you can hike to and from Pearl Lake State Park. Fishing, mountain biking, and geocaching are other activities available. There's a parking lot closer to the beach or it's an easy walk from the campground.

If you are from out of state, check fees carefully. In 2020 MA increased fees significantly in light of the pandemic. Prices are steep for what you get if you are out of state.

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.

The HanscomField Fam Camp is a wooded recreational camp for military families and retirees, as well as for RV camping for active duty military on temporary orders. The campground offers RV sites, some with hookups, as well as more walk-in secluded tent sites as well as one yurt tent. The campground is peaceful and quiet, although adjacent to a very busy AFB. Proximity to the base provides access to the base exchange and other facilities, but the quiet location is a recreational retreat centered around several indoor and outdoor gathering spaces such as basketball and outdoor sports, and an indoor game and recreation room complete with crafts supplies for the kiddos and tourism info for the lical area. In the immediate vicinity are the villages of Lexington and Concord as well as the Minute Man National Park and Walden Pond, so the campground makes a great basecamp for exploration of the area’s rich culture and history. You are also not too far from Cambridge, and can easily access Boston from there if you like.

There are several clean modern bath houses, with hot showers and flush toilets. The office staff is very helpful and friendly!

Dogs are welcome too.

**Campground Review: **

Dixon’s Campground is located on US Route 1 in Cape Neddick, Maine, just minutes from the coast and about an hour south of Portland. Dixson’s Campground is a medium sized private campground that has tent only and water& electric tent/RV sites, as well as three yurts. The campground also has full hook up sites for seasonal guest that sit out on a separate area away from the transit campers. I have included a campground map in my pictures for your orientation. Most sites are wooded with lots of shade. There are a few grass sites with more sun near the office. The sites vary from small and close together to large with some privacy. All style sites include a picnic table and fire ring. 

Check-in was easy and the staff was very helpful in providing info and answering questions about the area. A host guides you to your site and assist you in positioning if needed. The campground is gated and you have to“rent” a swipe card to access the gate for$10 (cash) and you get your$10 back when you return the card at checkout. The roads in the campground are a little skinny so if you have a large trailer you may want to consider your site location appropriately or you may get stuck in a curve or have a challenging time backing into your site. We stayed on site 84 on this visit. The site was level and well shaded, but small yet worked with our teardrop trailer. 

The bathroom were new and very unique here (I have never experienced this style before; see my pictures). The bathroom closest to us had two toilet stalls and two shower stalls each with their own direct outside access. Sinks for hygiene were on one end of the bathroom and sinks designated for dish washing only were on the other side of the building. The Bathrooms and showers were very clean. The showers are metered and cost $0.50 per 5 minutes, so don’t forget your quarters! There is also a trash dumpster and recycle bins at each bathroom. 

Firewood and a small camp store was available at the office. There is a full grocery store about 10 minutes away. 

We found good cell phone service with Verizon throughout the property. The campground did have wi-fi and it worked ok at our site. 

The campground also has a heated pool, playground, and outfitter that provides rentals, lessons, and guides. There is no laundry at the campground, but we found one about 10 minutes away. 

Dixon’s sits between two tourist towns so there is plenty to see, lots of great restaurants, and close to beaches. Many restaurants are dog friendly (at least on the patio) and the beaches at this time of year are dog friendly after 6PM. We really enjoyed walking the beaches and checking out the lighthouses in the area. The only down side of being near two tourist towns is that traffic can get thick at some points in the day. 

We really enjoyed our stay at Dixon’s and the surrounding area to the point we have marked this as a definite stop when we make it back to Maine again.

**---------------------------- **

**Product Review: **

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I tested the Red Ledge Thunderlight Jacket. This rain jacket from Red Ledge is very handy to have in your gear list. It is available in multiple colors (I got black because I somehow get dirty while camping) and is very lightweight. There is no liner so works great in the summertime heat, but is still loose enough to wear a fleece or something underneath. I also like that there are multiple draw strings to tighten up the fit if desired (waist, cuffs, hood, and headband). The pockets are large, deep, and close with zippers. The jacket also comes with a stuff sack so you can roll it up and easily stow it in your day pack or pocket in your car. We did experience light to heavy rain during periods of our stay and the jacket is highly effective and I had no soak throughs even the heaviest rain. I highly recommend this jacket and it’ll be a part of my normal outdoor gear set.

We stayed here twice, once in September 2013 and then again in September 2018 and it is one of my favorites.

In 2013  -site 25 was a little challenging since it was on a downgrade and we were hit with a an unexpected 36 hour downpour and there was only one suitable spot for our tent since the terrain is very rocky.  After a few hours of constant rain I realized the water runoff from the road above and the driveway all ended up flowing right under our tent into the lake. At least I was able to experience a water bed for the first time in my life.  

The closest bath/shower was well kept, with four bathroom stalls and the one huge shower, I imagine that the wait times in the summer months might be a hassle but in the off season it was hardly used. 

In 2018 we stayed in sites 110 and our friends stayed in 109 on Big Island.  Those were wonderful sites, level with great views of the lake and are situated  right across from the bath/shower.  It was in need of an upgrade but with several facilities throughout the island we had other nearby options for a shower.

I forgot the daily visits from the ducks, like clockwork morning and dusk a family of ducks visited looking for grub and although most feed them bread, I know that's not good for them so they left unsatisfied.  

The next day I bought uncooked Quaker Oats and some grapes  that I cut in quarters for them, after that visit I realized that they would never leave so we became less generous.  Eventually, they realized we were on to them.

Lots to do, Kayak, Swim, Hike and more. Very friendly staff, very scenic location many sites are on the water. Only drawback is you can’t bring your dog 😪.

Have been coming here for years. So many lovely waterfront sites, clean facilities, camp store and beach are great. Fire pits and picnic tables at every site.

Great place to bring the kids to make many memories.

I used to bring my kids and all their friends to this campground and we had so much fun. From the beach to renting a boat, fishin, swimmin, riding our bike’s at night with flashlights taped to the handlebars. Just a really great family campground. It’s a large campground so expect some activity going on.

About an 1 1/2 hours north of Boston and 40 minutes west of Hampton Beach lies Pawtuckaway State Park. Many of the reviews I perused before my visit balked at how busy the park was, and it was generally busy, but it was beautiful and turned out to be one of my favorite parks.

After you register its about a 1.5 mile drive before you hit the camping areas. The park isn’t completely isolated, but you get that sense that you’re headed out into the wilderness. You’re passing wetlands, trailheads; there are three separate camping areas- Horse Island, Neal’s Cove and Big Island. Each seems to have their own vibe and feel. The park also has a visitor’s beach, playground, store, plenty of boat access and modern bathroom facilities.

I had site 35 on Horse Island. Gorgeous. It’s a longer “driveway” to the site, but it’s like you’re tucked away in this secret hideout. It was decently sized and shaded, with a fire pit and picnic table. It was also right on the water (Pawtuckaway Lake). There was a small sandy access-you’re not supposed to swim anywhere besides the beach-but I didn’t notice anyone enforcing this. For future notice bring water shoes, but the swimming was amazing. So many other campers had their paddle boards and kayaks out-just such a nice amenity. I really lucked out.

Truly, there really wasn’t a bad site in the park-some are better and more private than others, but this is one of the more solid parks I’ve come across. After some exploring, I compiled a list of some other A-list sites; and while it is by no means exhaustive (ran out of time to explore everything) it could come in handy! As far as Horse Island goes, sites 1, 4 and 48 really knocked it out of the park. 7, 16 and 17 are also some pretty stellar options. If you’re looking for secluded, waterfront- these are excellent sites! On Big Island, my go-to sites would be: 90, 93, 95 and 122. 90-95 aren’t waterfront, but they’re incredibly shaded, private and genuinely seemed to have that in-the-wilderness feel. (at least those are my favorite qualities in a good camping spot!) 111 and 112 are also strong contenders. I didn’t get to explore much of Neal’s Cove, so I will be saving that for my next visit.

I definitely recommend this park-yes there are many campers, seems to be a popular place. But it’s well taken care of, offers a host of amenities and has many beautiful sites to choose from!

The spots them selves had a fire pure with grill grate and a picnic table. A parking spot and a decent amount of room to spread out. The have a hike with a fire tower at the top and you can see for miles every which way. Theres a lake and spots to swim with beach access. And they have kayak rentals. I love this place and a few friends an I go every year. Oh on a ledge at the top of the hike I also proposed to my wife. I 100%recommend this area for a fun get away