Best Tent Camping near Hartford, VT

There are 2 Big Rock Campgrounds in NH and they are very different! This is not the resort campground convenient to ATV trails, but a rustic campground offering large, level, wooded sites along the Kancamagus Highway just 2 miles east of the Lincoln Woods Visitor Center. It's a great location for exploring the sites and beautiful vistas along the Kancamagus, easy access to Franconia Notch and Lincoln, NH. Lincoln also offers a grocery store, restaurants, stores selling outdoor gear, moose tours, and adventure tours (zip/climbing).

Some of the sites are tent only, with parking separated from the tent pad/fire ring/picnic table. Others are large and level with ample space for RVs. You'll get some traffic noise, but there's less here than at places along 3 & 93.

There are no reservations; all sites are first-come, first serve and it's open from mid-May to mid-October. Bring cash or a check to pay for your campsite. It's self-service with an iron ranger. Fee (2018) is $22, an extra $5 for a second car.

Water is available. There are vault toilets and no showers. No cell phone service.

I reviewed this campground last fall after visiting on the final day of the season, but I just had a chance to sty here during a peak summer weekend and have a few additional insights. Fees are now up to $20/night, still a bargain, but it comes with only the most basic amenities, i.e. vault toilets, running water at faucets, picnic tables and fire rings. Although the campground description indicates that the sites are first-come, first-served, this has changed and many of them are available online in advance. I didn't realize this and when i arrived late Friday afternoon I had 5 or 6 campsites to choose from that could accommodate my small teardrop camper; if I were tent camping, I'd have had a couple more sites available to me. The tent only sites require a short walk from the parking area.

When you arrive, each site will be labelled either Reserved or _Open. _ If it is Reserved, the dates it is reserved will be listed and they may not be contiguous. All the sites filled up Friday night. 

I had site 24 which I liked. it was very large and level, with ample space for today's large tents. The water spigot was near the site next door. I could see my neighbors, but they didn't bother me. Every host site always seems to look messy with tarp-covered items and wood piles and site 24 will give you a view of the host site, but it's far enough away that you can ignore it. 

If I were in a tent, I'd try for site 22. It's a walk-in site that includes 7-8 steps down, but it opens into a large open area and just a bit beyond there is a small brook, too.

The campground is just a few miles west of I-93 and the town of Woodstock. If you want to hike Mooselauke or the Kinsmans, the Appalachian Trail crosses 112 nearby. Lost River Gorge is nearby as are numerous tourist attractions/activities in Woodstock and Lincoln. Take some time to explore Cascade Park in Woodstock if you want to cool off in the river and lounge on the rocks (park on the street or in the lot that is north of 112 just before the traffic light at Rte 3 in Woodstock). While you're there, pick up ice cream at Coneheads; choose among numerous hard serve ice cream made on site (downstairs) or dozens of soft-serve flavors.

This side of 112 seems quieter than the stretch east of Lincoln. Noise level was quite low. Cell coverage is non-existent for several miles around here; you'll start to get a signal closer to Lost River Gorge in the direction of Woodstock.

We had a last minute change of plans to our hiking trip due to a delay. We wouldn’t have the time to hike into our pre planned area before dark, so decided to set up shop here. This place was actually pretty great. Each site was pretty large and most of them had access to the river. Which had nice areas for swimming and wading. Each site had its own bear box and it was only a short hike down from the car. The park connected directly to some beautiful AT trails that we took advantage of the next day. It was also pretty cheap! $12 or $15 if I remember correctly. All self registration.

i stayed here for one night with a large group (maybe 40ish people) prior to setting out on our backpacking weekend.

This is a great campground, very clean. toilets available, and dumpster for trash were very convenient. There was potable water available also, and picnic tables. parking was tricky for our large group, and we had a bit of trouble fitting in all of the cars, but if you have a smaller group it should be no problem.

campground was very quiet, no real road noise or anything could be heard. ground was soft and grassy, although i would still recommend using a sleeping pad, was not as hard as some other campgrounds I have stayed at. had a nice big grassy area for the large group.

I tent camped here while doing some fishing in the area.

Baker Rocks had a host of different camping options onsite including tent platforms, yurts, and cabins. I booked one of the tent platforms.

The site had a large tent platform they could fit multiple tents, a brand new picnic table, a fire ring (with a free bundle of firewood), two chairs by the fire ring, and even a few strings of solar lights around the camp area.

The tent sites are within the wooded area around the property and felt very secluded. There was a bit of road noise overnight.

The facilities here were great. There is a full bathhouse with individual rooms for showers and sink/toilets, with running water.

Around the campground there was a little beach along the Baker river. I only caught a few minnows when fishing but that may have been more to do with the angler. Along another bend of the river were two chairs for taking in the scenery.

Check-in was super easy with the camp hosts who were very flexible with timing and wanted to make sure I had a great stay. The property and individual sites are deliberately designed with guests in mind.

I would definitely stay here again if I’m in the area and might try some of the glamping options as well.

Note this is a back country shelter along the Appalachian Trail, so it is 100% long hike in with no guaranteed water and a basic privvy.

I tented along here for a night during a section hike of the AT from Lyme into Vermont.

The shelter was the basic AT 3-sided wood structure and was generally in good shape.

The water source here was dry during my trip which was expected during the drought (August 2022).

The tent camping here was ok, with some slightly slanted spots around the main shelter area.

There was no real view from the shelter.  There was also a basic privvy available.

This was a decent shelter to stop at along the AT, but I would not consider it a weekend destination.

There was no bear box onsite.

Hancock Campground is one of 6 national forest campgrounds along the Kancamagus Highway. Campsites can't be reserved and the campground does fill up on the weekends. We were lucky to score a walk-in tent site on a Saturday in August, and while it did feel a bit like a tent city, we loved that there were no cars at the campsites. It made the tenting area feel more like a community. This is a busy campground, but lovely all the same.

We got site #19, which was one of the last sites available. It had a picnic table, fire pit, and bear box. There were awesome waterfront sites nearby, but they were taken, of course. Cost was reasonable - $22 per night. Pit toilets were near the parking area, but there was a real bathroom with a sink and a flush toilet in the car camping area. There is also a fabulous swimming hole. Clear, cold and deep just off the car camping area.

Hancock Campground is a five-minute drive from Lincoln, NH, and very close to awesome hiking trails in the White Mountain National Forest and Franconia Notch State Park.

Note: This is a hike in back country shelter with unreliable water and a pit bathroom.

I tented here on a section hike of the AT. The shelter was a fairly basic 8ish person shelter, but this stop stood out because of a brand new privvy, large tenting areas, and a swimming hole and consistent water just a bit further down the trail (when heading northbound).

For camping, there were a few large tent areas where multiple tents could fit and which looked quite level.

The privvy looked brand new and was more spacious than most on the trail.

There was no water on the shelter, but there was plenty of water at Stony Brook / Mink Brook a bit further northbound. I only explored a bit offtrail down the brook but found a decent swimming hole (could just barely submerge myself) to clean off a bit.

There was also a bear box here, which I hadn't seen at other shelters along the AT in Vermont (heading southbound).

Although the shelter was fairly basic, I would keep this on my list as a go-to place to stop if I was planning to hike in the area.