Waterville Campground

Waterville Campground is a popular home base for hikers who want to explore the southern White Mountains, including the scenic Pemigewasset Wilderness. The tremendous choice of local attractions and the proximity to fishing, swimming, hiking and whitewater paddling bring campers back to Waterville again and again. The White Mountains boast pristine forests, clear mountain streams and rivers and the tallest peaks in the Northeast. The forest encompasses nearly 800,000 acres in New Hampshire and western Maine. Campers can easily access the Drakes Brook Trail (4.4 miles) and Sandwich Trail (3.9 miles), which form a loop that begins and ends near the campground. Anglers can cast a line for brook trout in the Mad River. A bit farther away is the Winnipesaukee River, which has a great 2.1-mile category I-II section of whitewater. Summer concerts, a swimming area, a golf course and the Gunstock ski resort are close by. A mix of standard and tent-only sites are well-spaced around a single loop. The facility provides the basic amenities of restrooms and drinking water; showers, laundry and many other amenities are within a short drive. The campground sits in a thick forest of northern hardwood trees, adjacent to the Mad River and surrounded by mountains. The national forest is home to moose, white-tailed deer and black bear, and almost 200 species of birds, including the rare Bicknell's Thrush, live in the White Mountains. Gilford Beach, Dixon Point and Sandwich Beach are all near the campground, as is Waterville Valley Resort, which offers night life, summer concert tours, restaurants, horseback riding, canoeing, mountain bike rentals and shops. The White Mountains region hosts four alpine and five nordic ski areas.