We love this small, scenic campground! Very quiet beautiful water. Great trails for hiking. Will be back this year. read more

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It is a good place for relaxed camping plus kayaking or canoeing. We stayed for a night right by the lake and kayaked 1-2 hours on Sat and Sun. Was hoping to see moose but didn't see. According to outdoor book there are moose here and sometime at lake. Campsites are clean and spacious and lakes are calm and good for kayaking, but 1-2 hours is enough to kayak all the lake. Good for relaxed weekend but not for intense outdoor activity. read more

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Wonderful time camping at a remote 'hike to' site. The site was next to a large lake and we were able to see the Perseid meteor shower over the water with mountains behind - stunning. read more

Very nice park. We went canoeing on May pond. This park also has nice trails and camping for tents and RV's.

Beautiful piece of nature, great camping, hiking and fishing. This is a unique experience with a lot to explore

Love this little park, there are a variety of Smalls hikes to check out and the kayaking here is always very scenic. We stayed at a remote campsite which is only accessible by kayak and it was awesome. Great staff too read more

This place is exactly what my boyfriend and I were looking for! We were kind of looking around last minute and came across this state park. We have a small dog, so the pet friendly part was a big plus! I desperately wanted to go camping this past weekend because we didn't get a chance to go as much this summer as intended. It was about a 2 hour drive from home so it was a nice little road trip. I would have to recommend getting everything you need food and camp site wise before you reach the grounds. We had to leave a couple times for firewood ($3 bundles of dry wood that burns great, about a 20 minute drive from camp though, but half the price.) We stayed at site #18 at the end of the horse shoe. Although there are other campsites close by in that loop, I still felt like we had adequate privacy and for majority of the time were not disturbed by noise from other campers. This park seems to be a good one night stop for other campers heading farther up north. There are a lot of families, but there are also a lot of couples, and groups of twenty something's out to have a good time. Basically, whatever reason you are looking to go camping, this place will accommodate you well. I could see where the bathrooms were at the top of the hill from our campsite, so night time trips to and from were easy and I felt safe. The bathrooms are also very well kept for just a toilet and a urinal. There are plenty of hiking trails, and some people even spotted a Moose as well as some young Bears. The women that work the registration office were very helpful and pleasant, and let us know where we could find anything we needed. We actually stayed while there was a blood moon and we didn't even know it! It was crazy beautiful and so close it felt like we could reach out and touch it. Overall, great find and we already are talking about next year :) read more

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I've stayed here twice, at sites 39 and 26. I'm sure I'll be back another time. Site 39 is the canoe-to site closest to the park office. Incredibly private, view of the water, and your very own pit toilet. There's just something special about sitting on a box with no walls around it, doing your thing, with the sound of kayakers talking on the water as they float on by just on the other side of the trees. Site 26 is a hike-in site on a smaller pond. It was close enough to the car that two trips was enough to bring all the necessary supplies for a good time, including firewood and a full-size cooler. There's an overgrown path down to the water which would have been more enjoyable if there was a spot for a chair or two at the end. We took multiple trips down to look for animals and to star gaze (beaver sighting, yes!). You can just barely see the closest campsite across the stream, but the water drowned out all but the loudest sounds coming from their direction. This is a place to get away for a couple of nights to relax, but the lack of showers make it a two night max for me. Also, the hiking trails that are nearby are a little unexciting, in my opinion, but I tend to prefer mountain hiking where the views are my primary motivation. read more

After going to Bear Brook State Park the last few summers for a weekend camping trip, the group decided to try a new spot. This ended up being our destination and we found it to be a step up from Bear Brook. That being said, we'll probably try somewhere else next year, in part because we were able to finish most of the hiking trails nearby and would want a new experience next year. Keeping that in mind, if you haven't been here yet, this is a great place to check out. Come to the campground fully stocked! The campground has a small store, but don't rely on it for much more than firewood. The nearest store is a little over 20 minutes away, so it's best to have pretty much everything when you get here. Our group had two campsites, unfortunately not adjoining as we didn't book early enough to enjoy that luxury. However it did mean we got to walk around and check out some of the other sites. The website was helpful in letting you know when you reserved how much shade you should expect to have at your site, in the event some people are concerned about how much sun they get. In terms of activities, there are a few hiking trails which allow you to get a decent amount of work in. Additionally, you can rent kayaks and canoes by the hour or for a full day. We waited until late Saturday to do it, and as a result there wasn't a ton of choice, so we ended up with a canoe and kayak. Might be worth checking into reserving something if you are interested when you check in at the camp store. If you are considering this place, it is definitely worth it as the place is super serene, has exquisite views, and you really feel like you are unplugging while you are here. Fair warning: squat toilets and no showers (in case you care). read more

This was, hands down, the best campsite that I've ever had. I'm leading with that line and leaving it separated from the rest of the review in order for it to stick out and grab your attention. In fact, I'm gonna repeat it just to make sure I get my point across. This was, hands down, the best campsite that I've ever had. Now that you know how I feel, I'll mention some things that you might not like about the park to weed out the non-outdoorsy people. * This campground has no showers or proper toilets. There are only pit toilets. * There are several ponds in the park, but there is no swimming. You can jump in if you really want to, but there is no beach area, there is a lot of aquatic vegetation, and a ranger told me that you can expect to come out wearing a leach or two. When camping here you do get free admission to Sunapee Lake State Park, however. I hear their lake is great and it's just a 25 minute ride. * There are no "activities". I've seen people knock campgrounds for not having enough "activities". So if you're looking for an ice cream social or bingo night, you will be disappointed. * There is no campstore or even a local convenience store. If you forgot something (or, like us, you ran out of beer), it's a 20-25 minute ride to the nearest gas station. So this place isn't for kids who get bored easy (the playground consisted of an old slide and two swings) or for those who are afraid of dirt and bugs. This is more of a place for those who want to relax at a pond-side site and for those who don't mind sharing with some wildlife. We didn't see the moose and bears that supposedly live in the park, but we did see a beaver taking an evening swim, a fox dash across the road, and heard the coyotes howling near our site on our second night there. Not all of the sites there are equal. Some of the sites in the 10-19 loop were directly on the water, but they looked pretty open and not entirely private. But on the other side of the spectrum you have sites 38 and 39 where you had to park at the office and then canoe across the pond to your own private slice of wilderness. Site 2 looked great. It was right on the water and separate from every other site in the park. My favorite sites, however, were the hike-in sites like ours, site 26. Take a look at the site map on reserveamerica. You can see which ones are isolated, which are directly on the water. To get to our site we had to cross a bridge over a brook with a small waterfall. The sounds of the running water provided the soundtrack for the weekend. It wasn't overpoweringly loud, but it drowned out most of the sounds our neighbors might've made. It was 185 steps (yes I counted...and doing the math, that's about 1/10th of a mile) from our car to the campsite. So setting up camp and breaking it down take a little extra effort. But that also means that you're very isolated. We could see our neighbor's fire in the distance once it got dark, but that was the only sign that we didn't have the woods to ourselves. Our site wasn't sitting directly on the pond like several sites in this campground do, but we could see it through the trees and had our own private path down to the shore. We also had a brand new tent platform, but our site was the only one that I saw that had one. The platform meant that we had a smooth, flat surface to sleep on and the bottom of the tent wasn't covered in crap when we broke camp. I wouldn't stay here for more than a few days. There are plenty of outdoor activities, but it's not exactly the White Mountains in terms of hiking and the ponds inside the park are small and easily explored in a short period of time. But for a weekend trip to get away into the woods, this place is great and it's somewhere I'd want to go back to again. read more

100th review here, so I'm gonna make it good... I went camping this past weekend and it was great. My buddy, Peter, and I wanted to do a weekend camping trip in the woods and we wanted it to be "real" camping, NOT a whole bunch of people around, with rangers and staff patrolling the areas after 10 o clock to make sure the kiddies were asleep and that the bathrooms were clean and the rec hall was in good shape to close down for the night. This park was great and exceeded my expectations. I'd give it 5 stars, but I don't really know how to rate a state park for camping, and because all of the sites were different. If all the sites were the same as the one we got (which I'll get to later), then maybe, I'd give it a 4.5 or 5... anyway, it is kind of hard to find, we almost drove past it twice and that would have ruined our perfect opportunity to set up the tent before the rain started... we got a lucky window of opportunity. Anyway, it's in the middle of the woods, a little dirt road on the side of some small lake/pond, and it's definitely "real" camping. You go to the main office at the very beginning of the park and check in (which is pretty much the only building you'll find in this entire area), and they give you a little tag to put in the window of your car. Then, you drive up to your site and set up your stuff... (there are I think 40 or so sites in total - we got # 22 - a hike to site with a million trees surrounding us - so we had a nice private area - I highly recommend this specific site for these reasons, and I would definitely come back here if we could get this same site) Despite forgetting a lantern and an extra flashlight, and almost killing my friend by taking away the light for 2 seconds and he almost fell into the firepit and broke his face and legs and whatever else bad could have happened, it was almost a perfect camping trip. I'm glad that didn't happen, Peter, but I'm still brooding over it... Sorry. The site was pretty big, enough for 2 big tents, a picnic table, a firepit with a grill attachment for food, and trash/toilet pits/water bubbler at the end of the site roads to do dishes/brush your teeth/whatever... There is a little town center within a 10-15 minute drive if you absolutely need to go into town, and there are some cool shops around there off 31 that we got some other necessary camping supplies for cheap... I highly recommend this park for camping to those of you who really want to do "real" camping out in the messy, buggy, woodsy woods. I hate bugs and I hate being dirty, but I love camping somehow, and this place only confirmed those 3 things 110% over... Let's go get drunk and grill some food... and roleplay in the woods... read more

Great place! Just went for the weekend and booked camp site #1. It was so private, quiet and peaceful. There are no other campsites near #1. We were on Vickery Pond all by ourselves. There is a dock that brings you to the pond and a amazing view. We took a few canoe rides on some of the bigger ponds. (only$10/hour). The staff was wonderful and helpful. read more

1st off awesome campground! I look forward to exploring this campground in it entirety. I went for 3 days and I as well booked site 1. If you want a quiet, relaxing unbelievable site...this is the one to get. The site is HUGE, clean and you have a pond all to yourself., with a dock. I wouldn't recommend swimming but the view is fantastic. I was mesmerized by the wind farm on the ridge, which I feel does not take away from the view at all. There is a trail that leads around the pond but be prepared and go with comfortable hiking boots. The ONLY detraction I had about this site was I was still able to hear the loud trucks on route 31. But don't get me wrong I will be booking this site again...it wasn't much of an issue, just saying that all. If your bringing little ones there is plenty of space to run around and even set up a volleyball or badminton net. It is a very primitive site with no electric or running water. The bathroom or lack there of includes a pit toilet with no shelter, basically a hole in the ground with a box and toilet seat over it. As primitive as it sounds it was very clean. I camped alone so privacy wasn't an issue. Oh and make sure you bring you mosquito repellant, holy mosquitos Batman!! Once I got the cigars and the fire going they were a thing of the past. Anyway I don't think anyone would regret going to Pillsbury State Park!! read more

This was our very first time camping here and let me say wow It was very nice my Better half and I plus two others went we had a blast we camped next to the waterfall our site was fantastic and the staff upon entering the park was great. I recomend this park to anyone who wants to get away and not have other campers right beside you read more

The best camping I've had yet. I have never experienced such a quiet place in my life... talk about relaxing! I reserved site 3A, which is one of the only sites on the left side of the road. We had no immediate neighbors. Most of the site is situated behind a large rock and trees so it was very private among the drive in sites. All of the fire pit rings have a drop down grill attachment so you won't be needing yours. It was very dark at night with no moon. I almost couldn't tell the difference between having my eyes open or closed. For anyone interested in staying here for stargazing or astronomy, this is a plus. However, due to it's position in a mountainous area it's almost always cloudy. I didn't even get a chance to take out my binoculars. The only facilities are composting pit toilets and water spigots. Some of the toilets can get a little smelly but it's not a big deal. The water was fine. I know at some state parks the water can taste really horrible, but it was good here. Park staff was really friendly. We stopped by the office a few times and they were always glad to help. They are really knowledgeable about the hiking trails. They don't go around patrolling in a golf cart, either. I know that some campgrounds will have the staff do that and it can get very annoying. The office sells a few things, namely bug spray. They don't have much so don't count on them having what you need. If you're looking for something plan on at least a 30 minute drive. My favorite part was the hiking. Our first was a nice short hike to balance rock. I think it's about 2.4 miles round trip. The destination is... you guessed it... a huge rock that seems to have been moved by a glacier and is balancing on another rock. Pretty cool. There's also a small overlook. The next day we decided to go a little farther so we hiked out to Lucia's Lookout on the recommendation of park staff. It's about 850 feet above the campground and it's somewhere around 9-10 miles round trip. The trails were a little overgrown and muddy but in the end it was completely worth it. There are two excellent overlooks at the top, and also a little notebook in a mailbox for hikers to sign. We ended up staying at the top for almost an hour. We would have stayed longer if it weren't for incoming thunderstorms. The best part was the privacy. We had the summit to ourselves the entire time. We only saw two other groups hiking up when we were making our way back. When we hiked to balance rock we didn't see anybody. If you're looking to get out of the campground, Newport and Sunapee are only about a 30 minute drive. I really enjoyed Salt Hill Pub in Newport. They had really good food and a nice beer selection. There's also a good cafe in Sunapee harbor. The only thing I don't like about this campground is that there is no swimming area. You can jump in if you want but it's a small pond full of plant growth, etc. I also heard that you may catch a few leeches, so we decided to stay out and we went to Sunapee State Park instead. Your Pillsbury pass is good there for day use. Their beach house has showers if you're in the need for one after a long weekend. read more

This was my first time camping in over a decade. I'm huge on nature, but not so much on camping in public campgrounds or the other extreme of backpacking in to a remote site. This place was soooo nice! I won't repeat what others have said if I can help it. I agree that it might not be ideal for a whole week stay. We stayed two nights/three days and could easily have enjoyed at least one more. May/Butterfield Pond was lovely for kayaking -- bigger than I expected. Mill Pond felt small, and the portage to North was a bugger with my heavy kayak, or would have been without the wheels we had. There's no public swimming beach, but it's not prohibited and we found it to be quite swimmable in places. Our site, 23, was decent but a little weedy. We noticed that the paddle-in site 38 had a nice little sand/gravelly area -- the best beach we noticed for swimming. Site 40 looked pretty weedy. I happen to be able to swim off my sit-on-top kayak, and May Pond was plenty deep enough in the middle. Mill looked nicest for swimming near the inlet at the north end, but very mucky to walk in from the take out. I read mention of leeches, which are probably avoided if you don't step in the mucky bottom. We didn't get any, but were only in twice at our site. The most distinguishing thing about this lovely place was how quiet it was! We were usually the only ones on the water, so felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. Granted, we were there mid-week, but it was super quiet and peaceful. At our site in the evening, we couldn't hear much of anything from neighboring sites -- our neighbors at site 24 had 2 large sounding dogs, but we only heard them bark a bit now and then and hardly heard the people. I actually worried that our normal campfire conversation might have been disturbing others when we lost track of time and it was past 10pm. It might have been a little different down at "the horseshoe, 9-19", but we certainly couldn't hear them down where we were, nor the ones up by Mill Pond. The loons were definitely the loudest neighbors... ...which brings me to the wildlife report. I wasn't sure it was big enough for loons, but there was a pair with two small chicks, so that was wonderful! Also saw an immature bald eagle, a family of mergansers and plenty of other bird life. The curious thing was the absence of mammals. We saw plenty of beaver lodges and dams, and one beaver, but the only other mammal we saw or heard was a chipmunk crossing the main road once. Not a squirrel, chipmunk or even a mouse crawling in the leaf litter at night around the campsite (and I didn't sleep that soundly), or from the kayaks or while hiking up to Balance Rock. The upside was no raccoons or bears bugging the site, even with bacon grease poured on the ground. Still, it was a little odd. Of course, North Pond is a bog habitat, so not much of any interesting animals there, but the plants were very interesting! (and we had the whole thing to ourselves) Site 23 was okaaay. Big open grassy area with two sides bordered by woods, so hard to string up tarps. It felt exposed to prying eyes from the road, but there really weren't many that it was a problem. I'd probably prefer 24 to 23 next time, and would consider one of the paddle-or hike-in sites. Oh -- surprisingly decent cell phone reception here, too.... read more