Chocura

[ander420]

Going to be climbing Chocura on the weekend on the 15th of June. I am bringing some friends along who are new to hiking and we are going to camp out Friday climb saturday without all the gear and full packs and then camp out sat night and go drinking in n conway. Granted, its less hiking then I would like but am trying to break in some friends.

Can anyone recomend a good campground near there?
Any trail recs? I havent climbed Chocura in years.

Feedback is much appreciated.

 

[TenPeaks]

If you can get up there early on Friday (before noon) you may be able to find a camping spot at one of the USFS campgrounds on the Kangamangus. They are all first come first serve and are cheap. Keep in mind, only Jigger Johnson has showers so if your friends want to bath after the hike they either have to go there or take a dip (without soap!) in the Swift river. White Lake State Park is also a nice campground, but it is a bit further away and caters to familes.

I usually go up the Champney Falls trail. It's just under 8 miles round trip and the side path to the falls is worth the extra effort. On the way back you have the option to hike over to Middle Sister. There's a great view looking back at Chocurua and usually offers some solitude. I've brought a bunch of newbies on this route and none of them were turned off to hiking.

Don't miss the beers at the Moat Mountain Inn and Brewery!! :beer: Excellent BBQ too!!!

 

[Greg]

They are all first come first serve and are cheap. Keep in mind, only Jigger Johnson has showers so if your friends want to bath after the hike they either have to go there or take a dip (without soap!) in the Swift river. White Lake State Park is also a nice campground, but it is a bit further away and caters to familes.

I've stayed at both Jigger Johnson and White Lake. Both are nice. A group of our college friends go "Cooler Camping" every year for Labor Day Weekend. We used to go to Jigger but with a group of eight to ten we typically need two spots. They can be hard to come by on a holiday weekend (we usually head up Friday). We would aim to be at the campground by 8 and grab spots when people leave. Jigger is a beautiful and clean campground. The showers are nice too.

White Lake is a good option too as you can reserve spots there. It's not a WMNF campground but it's still pretty nice. The lake is neat too with great views of Chocurua and the Sandwich Range. We stayed there last season. 174A and 180A are nice spots. See campground map. Hope this helps!