Best Equestrian Camping near Union Village Dam

This would be one of few places I find acceptable to camp, that are near other people. I usually don't like camping with 20+ other people in one looped area. The sites here are pretty well spread out. Not ALL of them, but look around. We found what I would think is the best. The one we ended up at had stairs leading from the car down to our site. It was further away from the other sites and had the pretty much private stream running by it. The area we had for use was pretty huge, we had a giant tent 10-12 plus a pop up tent to put over the picnic table, and there was still a ton of room for the car, fire pit and general run around area for our dog. I never felt like we had to lock up everything we owned either. A short walk to the toilets from all sites. Bring a headlamp of course. TP is in the outhouses bring a spare hand sanitizer bottle to use after.

FYI there is a pretty awesome hike close by you can do. I mean you have to drive there but it wasn't far. It goes up to Mt Moosilauke. We ended up taking Beaver Brook Trail to the Cascades, checked out the shelter and headed to Moosilauke Summit. A crazy hike pretty much going up the side of a waterfall. The peak was 4,802ft. Worth it! I'd say an 8 mile trek from the car, up, and back. I included just a couple pictures to entice you since its not about the campsite! There are a TON of trails near this campsite, this would just be my favorite of the 6 or 7 we did.

I haven't stayed here, but I checked it out on Columbus Day weekend because it's one of the few campgrounds open year-round (plowed, unlike Lafayette Place, which is walk-in) in the White Mountains. Most of the reviews talk about the walk-in tent sites, but there's more to this campground that is located along the Kancamagus Highway just before the Lincoln Woods Visitors' Center.

If you're a tent camper and don't mind carrying your gear downhill to a site, drive straight ahead to a parking lot. A few of the sites (3 & 4) are accessible from the far end of the parking lot, but for most of them you'll head down the steps in the middle with sites in two levels branching out on each side. Sites are large, but close together and although you're in the woods, there's not much to separate you from your neighbors. Even sites 10-20 are directly on the water.

Sites 22-55 are suitable for RVs and tents. Those on the back side of the loop are close enough that you can hear the Pemi River running below. A few of the sites are pull-through. There are no hook-ups, but water available via spigots and flush toilets are available - except in winter. I'd recommend sites on the back side of the loop to provide some more distance from traffic noise. I chatted briefly with a host who remarked that sites on the western end of the loop have some cell phone coverage, unlike the rest of the campground.

If you stay here, you're only a few miles from Lincoln where you can pick up any necessary supplies. This end of the Kanc your nearest hiking options are Lincoln Woods and Greeley Pond for family friendly trails, or Lincoln Woods to head into the Pemi wilderness, including peaks in the Pemi loop and Owl's Head. The Hancocks are via a trail at the hairpin on the Kanc. Franconia Notch and its many hiking trails and the multi-use trail are a short drive away.

Bring cash or a check to pay your camping fee in the iron ranger. Fees cover the first vehicle; a second vehicle is an additional $5.

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.

Pros: Beautiful area, not a bad size campground, quiet nights (but this could be because 3 out of the 4 sites right near us were empty), free hot showers that are not dirty, lots of trails on edge of the grounds, lots and lots of tent sites, platform on campsite, pool and playground available, camp store, bike & Segway trails, quick access to some of NH’s most beautiful mountains. Staff is friendly. Cons: So many roots all over the sites, the platform did not fit our tent for 12 on it. More of the sites have very little separation from the neighboring campers near you. We explored the grounds & noted some sites that were a smidge more secluded and plan to return again sometime!