The best reason to stay here is if you are planning to hike in the Franconia Notch area, esp. if you want to hike Franconia Ridge, doing the loop up Falling Waters and down Bridle Path. You won't have to fight for a parking spot and it will be easy to get an early start, which is particularly important if you plan to do this hike on a pleasant weekend day! On the same side of the park are trails to Lonesome Lake and on up to Cannon and the Kinsman range. The Pemi River and Trail run through the campground as does the paved multi-purpose trail, so if biking's more your thing, it's a nice way to explore attractions through the Notch.

It's sandwiched between the mountains and the highway, so sites are close together and you WILL hear traffic, but it offers bathrooms with flush toilets and hot showers ($) and dishwashing sinks. The majority of the sites are reservation only and summer weekends you'll want to plan ahead. There's a camp store with a few camp essentials, dry firewood, souvenirs, and a table to sit and explore hiking plans, etc. They post weather information out front and there is a hiker information center out front as well.

Some of the sites along the river are better suited to tents than trailers, with the tent/table/fire on a pad closer to the river. Most sites are wooded, though there are a few (15 & 16) in an open grassy area in a separate loop that is up the hill behind the camp store.