Pillsbury State Park Campground

Took my niece and nephew (both from Tokyo) for an overnight. It drizzled all day, and there was an awful lot of mud. However, it gave an eight year old city kid the perfect chance to explore sans shoes. He got to canoe his little face off, and fell asleep within two minutes of sliding into his bag. 

This place was clean, the views were remarkable, and getting boats into the water was a cinch. We will definitely be back!

Muddy Overnight

Pillsbury is called a 'primitive' campground which means no showers or electric hookups. 

Most of the campsites are accessable by car with space to park a car or two at the campsite. Many campsites are on the lake. None are very far from the lake. 

There are also a few 'remote' campsites that are not accessable by car. They are accessable by a sort walk or boat. 

There is at least one handicap accessible site, which I have used, near the toilet facilities. It provides a good sized very level area to set up a tent and park your car. There may be other handicap sites. I have only used this one and never checked for others. 

Note: Not all New Hampshire State Parks are dog friendly. If you have a dog check which parks are as part of your trip planning.

This web page  says this about Pillsbury.

_Pillsbury State Park is one of the more primitive and lesser known gems of the New Hampshire State Park system. Heavily wooded and sprinkled with several ponds and wetlands, its diversity of habitats makes it home to a great variety of wildlife, including moose and loons. Canoe and kayak rentals are available. Crossed by a network of hiking and mountain bike trails, the park is an important link in the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, a 51-mile hiking trail that connects Mount Monadnock with Mount Sunapee to the north._

Pillsbury State Park

100 Pillsbury State Park Rd

Washington, Nh 03280

Phone: 603-863-2860

Love this campground been going back almost every year for several years.

Pillsbury State Park is a great place to get away from it all. There are great hikes that you can get to right from your campsite, connecting to the Monadnock-Sunapee greenway(a 48 mile trail connecting two of NHs beautiful mountains). The park also has great little ponds for exploring by kayak or canoe.
Don’t expect major accommodations at the park, there are spots for campers but smaller ones, and there are a few outhouses but no bathhouse.


A great little getaway 

I only spent 1 night, but I wish I could have stayed longer! Checked in late, at 7:45pm (15 minutes before the cutoff) and found the ranger to be SUPER helpful in regards to picking a walk-on site. The lake is beautiful, my site (#4) had plenty of available tinder as well as trees for my hammock and a fair amount of shade. The sites don’t feel super close to each other, but you can easily see and visit neighbors. Unfortunately my fire was too Smokey for nighttime pics. Hopefully I’ll come back to dyrt in the morning to post some that are honestly useful! :/ 

Excellent state camp ground

We spent one night at Site 11. Check in was simple and quick, Ranger was friendly and helpful. We were able to purchase firewood on site. Our site was waterfront and shared a small beach/kayak launch with the neighboring site. Sites are a little bit close, but feel much more private thanks to the trees. Kayaking on May Pond and discovering little islands and coves was a highlight. Super quiet, considerate campers. Primitive camping, no hooks ups; Water spigots and pit toilets available. Definitely a gem. Wish we could’ve stayed longer. 

Peaceful and Relaxing

   I recently stayed at site 1A over the Memorial day weekend(Late May/Early June). After a very quick checkin at the Park office, I headed out to my site. The site features a 200ft(60yd) hike in on a rustic trail. At the end of the trail you are greeted with a nice private site, and an equally spectacular view of the Vickery Pond. Amenities are small, as there are a few wells on the campground, though a small hike from this site, as it's very secluded. Also by the well there are a few toilets, which amount to nothing more then fancy outhouses. Both didn't bother me at all, but feel some may not enjoy that amount of rustic. Overall I would highly recommend this campground, and especially this site to others.

Small hike into a great and private site

This state park is a small and primitive one. It has less sites than a lot of the other ones. The sites on the water are really nice. 

  

Campsites have cell service.

  

The lake would really be nice for kayaking if you have one. The sites are a good size, we easily fit 2 tents and 2 cars, you could definitely even fit 3 tents if need be. 

  

Everything is cash here, no cards accepted except when reserving a site online.

  

The hiking trail is really steep.

  

I would go back again.