Campgrounds and RV parks near Woodsville, NH

Franconia Notch State Park is the main draw within easy driving distance. The parkway runs between the Kinsman and Franconia ranges and includes Flume Gorge, Echo Lake, Profile Lake, the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway, and the paved Franconia Notch Recreational Path. Hikers commonly target Lonesome Lake, the Franconia Ridge Loop, and connections to the Appalachian Trail. Closer to camp, the Connecticut and Ammonoosuc rivers support paddling and fishing. Across the river in Vermont, Groton State Forest holds more than 17 miles of hiking trails plus over 20 miles of gravel roads and multi-use trails suited to mountain biking and horseback riding. The Cross Vermont Trail passes directly through Ricker Pond State Park on a graded former rail bed that stays gentle enough for kids and mixed abilities.

Most campgrounds in the White Mountains region operate seasonally, typically from May through mid-October, with very limited winter availability. Vermont State Parks, including Ricker Pond, generally run camping from the Friday before Memorial Day through the second Monday in October. Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia Notch offers full-service reserved camping from late May through early October and shifts to primitive, self-service use the rest of the year, with no water service after mid-October. Summer is the peak booking window, with warm days and heavy demand on lakefront and waterfront sites. Nights can drop sharply from daytime highs, so layers matter even in July. Cell service is inconsistent through the river valleys and forest campgrounds. Early fall brings foliage, cool nights, and lighter crowds after Labor Day, though foliage weekends themselves book out well in advance. Winter camping exists at a handful of sites, including Lafayette Place and the Cannon Mountain RV Park, but expect no water, no staffed facilities, and self-registration.

Options range from full hookups on the Connecticut River to lean-tos and tent-only sites in state forests. River Meadow Campground RV Park provides electric, water, and sewer connections plus showers and a dump station. The Littleton / Franconia Notch KOA Holiday runs family programming and standard KOA amenities such as a pool, camp store, and dog park. State park sites are more rustic. Ricker Pond has 26 tent and RV sites, 23 lean-tos, 5 cabins, and 2 cottages, with coin-operated hot showers and a dump station but no hookups. Lafayette Place is tent-focused with 97 wooded sites, coin-operated showers, a camp store, and no RV hookups; pets are not permitted anywhere in the park. Black bears are active in Groton State Forest and the White Mountains, so store food and trash inside a hard-sided vehicle. Do not bring firewood into Vermont or New Hampshire from out of state unless it is certified heat-treated.