Stayed here for 3 nights. Yes they have rules but all of them are reasonable and standard for every campsite I ever stayed in or mandated by New Hampshire State Law. Quiet time at 10 pm. No huge campfires. No foraging for wood, etc. Nothing unreasonable. This is largely a family campsite and a real mom and pop operation and I found the owners to be businesslike and pleasant enough. It cannot be a piece cake running one of these places and dealing with people who are above the rules. Every night I did notice someone from the office riding by on a bicycle clearing checking on things and I have no problem with that.
That being said the facilities were clean, in good repair but largely average. A decent sized indoor pool that was highly chorinated and always full of kids. A decent game room with two pool tables and a good selection of coin operated video games. A coin laundry. The campstore had very limited food and beverage choices (no beer)...just the basics.. and some camping supplies and gift and craft stuff but you are not too far (in New Hampshire terms) from full sized stores if you want a bigger selection. Firewood for sale. Also, an outdoor kiddy playground. A small volleyball court. A small 1/2 court basketball area. Driving around most of the sites looked private and nicely wooded. They have a tractor towed hay ride and an ice cream social I believe on Saturday night. We did not attend but I imagine the kids would love that. Things quieted down on Monday after the weekend. I would recommend a Sunday through Friday stay. You are given a pass card that electronically opens the camp gate. A $20 dollar deposit is required. You get it back when you return the card at the end of your stay.
We rented one of the cabins. Very cozy and fully appointed though cleary dated but that was part of the rustic country ambience. Kitchen with fridge, microwave, gas stove (no oven), sink, table for two, dishes, cutlery, pans, etc. Bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower. Decent water pressure and nice hot water. The bedroom had a full sized bed with a twin bed above it in a bunk bed arrangement. The mattess was about 3 inches thick and very hard....like sleeping on the floor I had a hard time sleeping on it and I would recommend bringing an inflatable mattess to place on top or a good supply of sleeping pills. A chest of drawers and a place to hang clothes are also in the bedroom. There is a small screened in porch at the cabin entrance that can just seat two chairs. We had some rain over the weekend and I sat there and read the paper a couple of mornings. A picnic table and fire ring outside. We live in an apartment in a city so this place was a treat. We cooked on a grill every night, had a nice camp fire, and enjoyed nature...while I drank beer and smoked a cigar. I brought my laptop and some DVDs and I had recorded some TV shows on Tivo and downloaded them to the laptop as well and we watched a little laptop tv or movies. At 10 pm we would clean up and go in, read a bit and go to sleep. Lots of chipmunks about. Also the cabin had a bunch of daddy long leg spiders inside that I had to exterminate before my wife saw them. I would bring some bug spray if that bothers you. Not too many bugs outside at all. The cabins are located close to Highway 302 so you do get some road noise but after a day in the fresh air we fell asleep quickly. Bring a fan for the bedroom. No TV reception at all. Not sure if they have cable at the campsites...none in the cabins. Some really good radio stations...classic rock, oldies...top 40. One frustrating thing was we could not find a local station that gave the weather.
My only issue with the campground is its location. I had to drive some distance to every place I wanted to go. Nothing really to do in the immediate vicinity. Next time I might pick another campsite that is situated closer to attractions. But of course in New Hampshrie getting anywhere is part of the charm...the mountain scenery, the moose sitings, the little shops and restaurants on the road...that is why you visited New Hampshire to begin with. If you go in mid August or later buy some of the native corn. Delicious.
So all in all I liked this place. I don't understand the bad ratings. I thought the price was fair enough and the long weekend was a success...what more can you ask for?