Cambground recommendations ?

[Bumpsis]

I'm looking for a camground(s) recommendation in NH and VT. I'm having trouble finding something that would replace a campground that I was our "go to place", Mountain Trails Campground, about 5 miles north of Rochester VT, just of Rt. 100. A few year ago they closed and ever since I've been looking for something similar, but so far, no luck.

The place was just perfect for our family. We camp out of a car, using a family tent. It was just charming in its simplicity. Just a few tent sites in the woods, surrounding a nice grassy meadow.
There were many aspects that made Mountain Trails really special, but the feature that's most difficult to find is a campground that has the tenting area separate and far away from the RVs and trailers. These heavily motorized campers often use genrators that are noisy. And with their electric hookups come other noise makers...
I also really don't care much for all the other commecial campground hoopla like game halls, pools etc.

Other parameters that are important:
Spacious campsites that have some distance from adjacent sites
Open sky or at least a good portion of it for star gazing, so of course, no big, glaring lights
Abilty to have a nice campfire, so on-site supply of good firewood (my car is too small to bring my own)
Location: ideally, close to White or Green mountains, but really anywhere nice within 3 hour's drive from Boston
Hot showers are nice but not necessary

State parks, especially in VT seem quite nice but in season (May through September), spots can be tough to get since you have to reserve way ahead of time and I'm usually operating on a much more short term planning time horizont.

So if you know of some out of the way campgrounds, please, let me know.

 

[hammer]

You might want to check out Gunstock Campground...they do have a lot of the typical amenities (pool, playground, etc.) but when we camped there (water/electric site) we saw a lot of nice sites without hookups.

Another option for you would be any of the NH state campgrounds, many of which do not have too many amenities. I'd check them out but with a pop-up camper we like having the hookups.

Have to admit that many commercial campgrounds have smaller sites that aren't very private.

 

[wtcobb]

Lafayette Campground is a nice spot, and you can't beat the location for hiking the Whites.

http://www.nhstateparks.org/explore/state-parks/franconia-notch-state-park.aspx

They do allow generators, but they have quiet hours and you can reserve a tent-only site away from the trailer parking areas.

 

[Bumpsis]

Lafayette Campground is a nice spot, and you can't beat the location for hiking the Whites.

http://www.nhstateparks.org/explore/state-parks/franconia-notch-state-park.aspx

They do allow generators, but they have quiet hours and you can reserve a tent-only site away from the trailer parking areas.

As much as I love hiking in Franconia Notch, the camping area does suffer from the road noise coming from the I 93. It's bothersome enough when just hiking some of the trails, I can only imagine what's like when camping there. This is especially noticable hiking Hi Cannon trail, because you hear the highway all the way up the mountain. It's kind of bizzare actually. You're hiking this beautiful moutntain trail, yet you can every gear change that a passing semi does way down at the bottom of this accustic amphitheatre.

I heard the same camping at Mt Ascutney State park in VT. The mountain and its opposing side make for this perfect accustic refraction of the nose eminating from the I 91 that's running through the bottom of that valley. I recall being awake at 4 am by the noise of the semis cranking through various gears as the hit an incline on I 91 just below the campground. It really takes away from the camping experience when you have to sleep with earplugs deeply wedged into your ears.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Emerald State Park in East Dorset is a favorite
http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/emerald.htm

 

[marcski]

Haven't been in quite some time, but this place was a nice, pretty, fairly small campground with great access to the southern greens:

http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/mollystark.htm

 

[cbackman]

Tripoli road in NH, exit 31 on rt 93, awesome place

Sent from my MB865 using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[HD333]

+1 on Gunstock.

Not rural camping but nice sites as long as you get one in the woods and not the field. There is alot of activities, zip line, ropes course, and a kids area with bike rentals, kayaks, rock wall, etc but they are not intrusive. Plus you can hike up Gunstock and take in some great views from the top.

 

[Huck_It_Baby]

I stayed at Dolly Copp campgrounds a couple weeks ago in NH near Mt. Washington and loved it. It's a big place but they have many secluded sites (compared to others in NY/VT I have been to) which are peaceful and private. They keep 50 sites or so as a first come first serve basis so they can't be reserved.

I think I stayed at site 84. Perfect spot next to a deep creek I was jumping in after hiking.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whitemountain/recreation/recarea/?recid=74443&actid=29

 

[Huck_It_Baby]

Abilty to have a nice campfire, so on-site supply of good firewood (my car is too small to bring my own)

It is illegal to bring your own wood from distances further than 50 miles from the campsite. This is because it brings in invasive species such as the ash borer beetle which destroys trees. Hefty fines can occur I believe.

 

[Bumpsis]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Keep'em coming. Dolly Copp sounds great. I have not camped anywhere close to Mt Washington (sleeping in a car at Pinkham probably doesn't count) and I definitely want to do that this summer/fall.

 

[Cornhead]

I stayed at Dolly Copp campgrounds a couple weeks ago in NH near Mt. Washington and loved it. It's a big place but they have many secluded sites (compared to others in NY/VT I have been to) which are peaceful and private. They keep 50 sites or so as a first come first serve basis so they can't be reserved.

I think I stayed at site 84. Perfect spot next to a deep creek I was jumping in after hiking.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whitemountain/recreation/recarea/?recid=74443&actid=29

I too stayed at Dolly Copp when hiking/skiing Tux a couple years ago. It was Memorial Day Weekend and there were plenty of sites available, no showers though. I too would recommend it, beautiful area.