Campgounds

In NH there is a nice basic campground named Barrington Shores. We go every year. It has two private beaches on the lake, an arcade, new playground equipment, activities and boat rentals. I recommend the kayaks or paddle boats. If you boat out to the right there is a big rock painted as a whale. If you boat out to the left there are little islands. There are no walking trails or frills but it is friendly, quiet and the kids never leave the beach. -M., mom of three

Hi J.,
I hope this helps~ Cedar Haven Campground in Freeport,Maine.You can email Missy Libby at ____@____.com also has a website www.campcedarhaven.com .Phone #'s are ###-###-#### & ###-###-#### .She works for LLBean also.I told her I would put the word out about her campground recently and here you are,asking for one.Missy is an awesome woman,so if you do decide to go there,have a great time and tell her W. sent you,lol!

I would recommend Wild Acres in Old Orchard Beach Maine. The campground has a family atmosphere. My parents took me there as a child and now I bring my three children. There is also beach access.

Danforth Bay is our favorite! Very family oriented, large wooded private sites, clean etc.....

Hi J.,
There is always Flat Rock Bridge Resort. It's located in Lebanon, ME. Literally beside the Rochester, NH border. Mere minutes from grocery stores and other local conviences. I do know they have their own little store there.
They have a playground, a few actually. Pools, ball courts, water slide. i think they even have an indoor family area for inclement weather.
Good luck!

Our favorite family campground is The Shir-Roy in Raymond NH. Family owned and operated. It is small, clean, cozy and safe. There is a nice main lodge with games and puzzles and books for bad weather days (nice fireplace) and little canteen for extra items. A lovely pond for swimming, fishing and boating, they rent canoes and rowboats and paddle boats. There is laundry and pristine showers as well. They have both field and wooded sites, facilities for tents or campers and some cabins available. We have gone back there again and again. The cost has never been outrageous, tho I am unsure of what it is now. I have been working summers and unable to camp much like we used to. I highly recommend this place :)

I don't know of any in the southern area. I live in central Maine. We have a few around here that seem nice. You could go to www.me.gov and you may get some information on some. My husband and I love to camp but we don't have the time. When our boys were younger we camped at a campground all summer. We all loved it. Good luck. Barbara

We love going to Glen Ellis Campground in Glen New Hampshire. It is around the corner from Storyland and North Conway. It is a great place.

this is where we go: http://www.danforthbay.com/
it's full of activities. Lets see.. there is a lake, canoes and other boats to rent, movies 2x a day, ice cream social, water fights, tie dye every saturday, daily crafts, 2 swimming pools, ping pong, facilities are kept very clean, they have laundry equipment, and each week is *themed*.
The site is pushing winter activities now.. but will have those summer activity lists up soon.

I hope this helps.
S. turner
S. turner

Last year we went to Acres of Wildlife in Maine. They have 3 playgrounds, boats for rent, a so-so mini golf course and movies for the kids every night while you are making dinner. They also have a fairly good arcade and a lake for swimming and a fishing area. Myself I prefer pools, but my 3 boys had a blast and want to go back there. check out their website . J.

My family also camps at Shir-Roy, and it is a nice little place. My mom has been going for 50 years, and I have been going all my life. THe only comment I wanted to make on it is that it is in Richmond, NH (not Raymond). Thanks.

Hi J.,

My parents love to camp & when they visited last summer camped at Wakeda Campground in North Hampton, NH. We spent most of the week there and I was very impressed at how clean & well run it seemed to be. We had checked out a few in this area and Wakeda let us drive through and pick out which site they wanted.

Beaver Dam Campground in Berwick, Maine. It is clean, has a pool, lake, boats, playground area and is usually all about families. Not too far out from anything. Depending on what you look for in a camp site...I would highly recommend it.

The best campground we've ever been to in that area is The Lost River Campground in NH. You can get sites that literally are on the river, it's awesome. My 3 year old still talks about it and can't wait to go back this year.

We camp a TON in the summer and into fall using both our huge tent and a friend's pop up trailer. I highly recommend Bailey's campground in Old Orchard Beach. It's up the hill away from the shore but within easy striking distance of everything you need. They have tent and trailer sites and activities for families. I also recommend Dixon's campground in York Maine. Easy traveling to Ogunquit and other areas, trolley stops at campground. Not as many amenities as Bailey's but less expensive. For NH, I highly recommend Ames Brook Campground in Ashland, NH.
That town has the BEST fireworks display at 4th of July we have ever seen! Campground has a nice, clean pool, very clean restrooms, game room, activities and a playground. Great family atmosphere, just completed a large expansion. I would not recommend the Jellystone campground in Ashland, although they have a large water park, we found the restrooms to be lacking (that is one of my huge criteria) and check in was extremely arduous. If you wanted to venture down the the Cape, I would highly recommend Bayview campground. LOTS of family activities, playground, 2 pools, kiddie pools, nice store, ice cream stand and snack stand, laundry facilities, clean restrooms and they do have a group camping area if you are with a bunch. It's a bit more pricey than some others but the perks are worth it. Hope that helps!

Note: Campgrounds in NH are not subsidized by any state funding so they are more expensive to stay at. I learned this last year when I went camping in NH. My husband and I paid $77 for three nights and on top of that the other couple staying with us had to pay another $77 for the same three nights and we were on the same campsite! I don't want this to deter you from staying some place in NH just thought it might be useful information in planning a family vacation.

Hi J.!
We actually just got back from an RV and camping show in Springfield over the weekend with lots of info on campgrounds. Moose Hillock is in Warren NH. We're camping there this summer. One of my students told me all about it. We did pick up a camping guide for NH and Maine at the RV show and they each have a website www.ucampnh.com and www.campmaine.com. I hope some of this info helps!
~K.

Cold Spring Campground in Weare, NH...here is the link so you can check it out! http://www.coldspringscampresort.com/
The children love it there...I have never seen a campground that had so many teenagers camping with their parents...they have tons of great activities for them as well as for the younger children...plenty of activities for adults too! You wont be disappointed!

You have got to check out Hermit Island in the Bath Maine area. It is such a great family place! We are going in July. It is really a wonderful place to go.

We like Smugglers Den on Mount Dessert Island, Acadia Maine. They have a pool, they have the bus stop for free transportation to the park and other places and you can walk to Echo Lake and swim there. R.

Yogi Bear, in Ashland NH, about an hour away from Storyland, 25 mins or so to Santa's village. We went last year and had a blast. we have 2 boys, 5 and one that just turned 3.

http://www.coldspringscampresort.com/ for sure. I have camped all over - my whole life. LOVE IT HEAR. All families, tons of kids, tons of activities... great people!

Pawtuckaway State Park, Raymond NH
Sebago Lake State Park, Raymond ME
White Lake State Park, Ossipee NH

Camden Hills State Park, Camden ME ( not southern ME, mid-coast ME but gorgeous)

Acres of Wildlife in Standish, Maine was great, we went there for 8 yrs until our kids got too old

There are quite a few campgrounds in that area, where do you really want to be?

A couple of years ago we camped in Amesbury,mass. It was a hop.. skip.. and a jump from Hampton beach, NH

This is a really nice area, it was also only a 40 minute ride to the Kittery outlets in So. maine.

At this time i can't think of the name of the place we stayed at, but you can go online to campgrounds in that area, or contact the Mass. NH,Maine travel/campgrounds info, they have a ton of info to send you.

Look for a campground that has kid activities, that way there you know thats its kidfriendly, i think thats the most important point to know.

Hermit Island, Small Point, ME, I went there at the end of last summer with my boyfriend and our then 11 month old daughter, wonderful place :)

http://www.hermitisland.com/

I highly recommend Wakeda Camprground in Hampton Falls, NH. It is beautiful! It's a wooded campground, about 8 miles from the ocean. wakedacampground.com

Hello, I live in Central Maine. I know that the ones in Old Orchard Beach are nice. You can go to the Maine.gov site and research it. ~L.

We like Pinederosa campground in Wells, Maine. They have a website pinederosa.com. You would need to make reservations in advance (like now) as they fill up fast! Good luck!

Hi J.- I don't have any for Southern NH, but Northern NH has a whole slew of them, Lafayette Campground in Franconia Notch is one of the best. In itself is beautiful and is excellent with lots of hiking, lake swimming, and miles of bike trails. It is also a state park so I believe it is reasonably priced. It is also right near the Whales Tail- (a kids Water Park) and Clarks Trading Post- both in North Woodstock, NH-
hope that helps...
B.

can
t remember the name of the site, but it was on the Saco River in Maine-a great family site-3-4hrs from boston. near Beaver falls (?)
has showers & drive in or camp out sites.
Good luck!
(sorry my memory is so bad, but it was a couple of years ago.)

Hello there, SO glad you asked about campgrounds. My husband and I and our sons have been camping at Jellystone Campground since the boys were babies. It's definitely pricier than other places but they have SO much going on for the kids. They have hourly activities all day every day with special themes on the weekends. We normally spend 7-10 days there in July plus a couple of weekends throughout the summer. You can check them out at www.jellystonenh.com. Good luck and hope to see you there!! :-)
Ps. if you kids are a little older (mine are 4&6) you should try Moosehillock in Warren, NH. They have a huge pool with 2 waterslides. Plus some activities too, just not as many as jellystone.
(If you stick to the bath house that is on the middle level and all the way to the left, you won't be disappointed!!) We have a travel trailer so we don't use the bath houses that often. Although i will say i have never found them to be offensive.

Gunstock Campground in Gilford, NH is great for families, they have a Mountain Biking (rentals available), kayaking, paddle boating, mini-golf, skate park, a pool. We go every year and my daughter who is almost 5 has been the past 2 years and loves it.

Good Morning J. M.

Allow me to introduce myself first. I am a 38 year old, work at home mom, married 13 years, with two sons. Ages 11 and 2. We are advid campers and now we are full filling our dream to run our own campground. This will be our 4th summer here at Seven Maples Campground, which has been here for 43 years,

We are a quiet, family orientated campground located in the Monadnock region of NH (south western part)
here is the link to our web page. http://www.sevenmaples.com/

I have an other link for you to check out. NH Loves Campers.
This will give you a list of all campgrounds in NH, divided into different regions. http://www.ucampnh.com/directory.asp

One of our favorite places to camp in NH (before purchasing this place) was in the White Mountains Region. Beech Hill Campground. In Southern NH we liked Merideth Woods.(winter camping)

Where ever you go camping this summer, may you have a wonderful time!!!!
Camping is great family time

Hi J.,
We have a 2 year old and a travel trailer. Last year we stayesd at Meridith Woods in Meridith, NH It has an indoor pool and hot tub, which is great for inclement weather. The campsites offer some degree of privacy, and across the street is clearwater campground and they have alittle lake, paddle boats, a playground,etc...If you stay at Meridith woods you get full access to Clearwater because they are owned by the same people. It was a great camping trip. I can't wait to go back this year.
Good luck,
Jen

Hi J.,
In old Orchard Beach in Maine there is a campground called Paradise campground. It is 1/4 mile to the beach. It has a pool, playground, jacuzzis and pond. You need to reserve soon for the summer. L. P.

We love Point Sebago in Maine. It is more expensive but they have all day activities for the kids and even a group at night if you want to go to an adult activity. My kids love it, we go back the same week every year and they look forward to seeing the friends they have made!