Passaconaway Campground

    I have enjoyed the times camping are Passaconway.

   Our families have been camping here for well over 20 plus years. Red and Lillian were great hosts, and keep place clean always.

    There is new hosts this year, Lisa and Paul really nice people and very friendly. Very helpful knowing area  well and trails to hike. 

     Couldn't ask for better host, other than Red and Lillian.

     The bathrooms are cleaned everyday and even pleasing air freshers inside.

    The only thing was they closed a few campgrounds along river.

    And we always camped along river, now we can't. Hopefully they open ask them back up next year.

   Everyone camping were very respectfully even at quite time.

   I would recommend this campground, look forward to many more years of camping there.

Passaconaway campground has very spacious sites. They seemed well taken care of, raked out, fire pits cleaned. Bathrooms cleaned very well daily. The new hosts this year were very nice and helpful. They even brought wood that you bought to your site if it was a walk from there site #21.

This was my favorite campground in the Whites fir a long time, but the management company changed and the hosts are far from warm and/or helpful which impacted our stay. The bathrooms are atrocious and I mean they are really, really bad!

Passaconaway is a smaller campground, having only 33 sites.  Interestingly enough, sites 1- 4 are walk-in sites, so there is a community parking area and then you walk to your site.  Each site has a picnic table and firepit , spigots are located throughout the campground and site 21 has your firewood for sale ($8 per bundle).  No cell service...AT ALL.  

We liked this campground because it was close to the Sugar Hill scenic view and it has MANY old mature trees.  There were also quite a mix of campers.  Tent campers, a few RV's, hammocks and several rooftop tents were in our loop.  There was no shower :( but with the proximity to great hiking, we could rinse off in the creek!

Pets are allowed on leashes, campsites available on first come, first serve basis. Fees are posted at the entrance of Passaconaway campground. You have to pay by cash or check in an envelope, you get a slip of paper to leave on your dashboard. There are 33 sites.

We only stayed two nights. Not the kind of site I'd spend a week at but I am sort of particular. Nice sites, just too close together for my comfort and privacy. They were selling camp wood for $5-8. Not much around if you're a firewood forager. Picked pretty clean by the multitudes.

Areas were medium sized, see my photos. Nice and flat. No worries when setting up the tent. Restrooms were decent, and there was a water hand pump which I liked. It's really close to Sabbaday Falls which is a nice day trip.

Had fun camping here. Clean place and very quiet. The Kangamangus highway is very pretty in the fall, and North Conway isnt too far away. I enjoyed the short hike up Hedgehog mt which is pretty much right across the road.

This is a first come campground, which means that you can't make a reservation in advance. I arrived on a Saturday in June a little after 9am and had not problem getting a site, the place was mostly empty at that time. In order to reserve the site you must find an empty site, and leave something there (ie: your tent) to signify to others that the site is taken, then you need to pay in the little envelope at the front gate.

I had site 11, which is in the smaller of the two loops, close to both the bathroom (outhouse) and water spigot. Since I was only staying for one night, I liked being close to these. It was a bit buggy in the morning setting up my tent, and also making dinner. Once the sun went down the mosquitos settled and it was fin.

There is no camp store or anything here, so make sure to by your firewood or anything you need on your way through town and bring it with you. Also the ground here is quite packed down and hard, so make sure to be prepared with a good sleeping pad. sites do have a picnic table and fire ring.

Over all this was a great campground, and very convenient to hike hedgehog and/or potash in the morning directly across the street, or numerous other great hiking trails along 112.

If you want the convenience of camping, but love the basic nature of backpacking, Passaconaway might be a good fit for you. The 30 or so sites are nestled among a grove of tall, white pines and other mixed hardwoods. The campground borders the Kancamangus Highway on one side, and the tranquil Swift River on the other.

The sites are level and clean, and many are large enough to pitch two large tents (we use an 8 and 6 man). Plentiful trees for hanging up hammocks. Fire pits and picnic tables at every site. The toilets and water set up is where the rustic adjective enters. The toilets are pit toilets--basically glorified outhouses. There is not any electricity anywhere (great if you like your peace and quiet). There are pumps that provide clean, fresh, cold water interspersed through the campground. There is a nice little picnic shelter that would be great for a rainy day for eating and hanging out. Apparently, coin operated showers are available 1 mile down the road at Jigger Johnson Campground. Additionally, there is ZERO cell service for at least 6 miles.

One of the hidden gems about this spot is the hiking trail to Church Pond that leaves from the campground. It is a beautiful, 2.2 mile round trip hike to some wild spots, with abundant moose sign. It would be stunning in the autumn.

Additionally, the campground is about halfway between Lincoln and Conway on the Kancamangus, which makes it close to many great waterfalls, hiking trail heads, and other natural wonders. However,it is NOT close to any stores or camp stores, just an FYI.

The biggest drawback to this campground would be road noise--but we picked a site that didn't border the Kancamangus and it was fine. The car sounds also seemed to die down after 10 at night. We loved our last night here (a Sunday night) when there were only 2 other people in the campground. It was so quiet and peaceful. Definitely worth looking into if you don't need fancy facilities. And the price is great!

Me and my daughter went up here to camp and swim in the Swift river. The campground was clean and fairly secluded, with plenty of room between sites for privacy. 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. It was nice being able to walk down to the river to do a little wading and swimming for the 5 year old. 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. We will being going back because its so close to alot of nice trails in the WMNF.