Dry River Campground

Stephen Priest

2023-05

I discovered this campground by accident. Google Maps said it was the location of Stair Mountain 🏔️. It wasn't.The campground has individual lots that can accommodate a vehicle. You have to pay a fee at the building at the entrance. It is run by the park officials at the Wiley House just down the road.What caught my attention was the building that had showers 🚿 and a laundry . There was a sink to wash dishes outside. A dumpster was near the entrance for customers trash 🗑️.The building at the entrance was unmanned. It had information ℹ️ available about places to visit. There is a small park next to the entrance with a few chairs.

Victor C

2023-05

Nice camping spot in the Notch! Here are some tips:- Spots are nice and wide with reasonable distance, but loud voices will carry clearly.- No electric power even in the RV spots- Potable water easily accessible at many sites- Large waste containers at the entrance of the site only- Wood is $6 at the front, cash only- You will hear a good amount of road noise for spots on the West side of the road from the highway. Stay as East as possible.- Do not get the spots near the entrance, the traffic is substantial and privacy minimal- Bathrooms and showers are functional, but unclean. Sandals are strongly recommended. Bring quarters for the shower.Restrooms: Fully functional with potable water, soap, and flushing toilets, but unclean and smelly experience that kept you from wanting to be there very long.

Stacy Collingham

2023-07

Loved the laundry option and many trails connected to the campground. Didn't like dirty bathrooms. One stall had menstrual blood on the wall the entirety of our 4 day stay. Very buggy and road noise was loud.

Dawn Listenfelt

2023-11

Amazing area to camp! Facilities are clean and well taken care of.Restrooms: Very clean and well kept!

Krissy C

2021-05

First time staying here, and had a great time! Sites are spacious and you have a picnic table and fire pit. Some sites have platforms with a shelter. Bathrooms were clean and were flush toilets. There was laundry and showers. Although for some reason they were not open the first two nights we stayed. We stayed at site 28, and because it's right on the 302, it was a bit noisy with cars, trucks and motorcycles on the highway, which wasn't terribly annoying until you're sleeping. There are other sites available that are farther from the road though, that are likely a bit more quiet. There was adequate distance and privacy between sites, when we stayed not all of them were available to be reserved (I think due to COVID). There is a dish washing station next to the bathrooms and water spigots very close to all of the sites. Convenient location, only a short drive to nearby hiking. There is a private campground only a mile or two south that has a store where you can buy ice/bug spray/firewood/light food supplies/etc. in the event you don't want to drive all the way into Bartlett and you forgot something at home or ran out of supplies. There is no cell service, so you're really disconnected from the world! There is a pay phone at the entrance "office" in the event of an emergency.

G M

2023-05

Convenient to a lot of trailheads in the notch. Stayed here several times solely to facilitate early day hike departures.Great place for a cheap shower after a hike.The whole campground is very close to the main road, so road noise is inescapable; it's not a remote camping experience by any means.Spacing between sites is okay, for the most part.I believe a bear came up to our tent while we were sleeping one night, so be bear aware here.Gave park feedback after one stay regarding the cleanliness of the urinals. Problem was not remedied by the time of my next visit. Dirtiest urinals I have ever seen - caked on dried urine. Use a brush! It smelled as bad as it looked.

mariah c

2023-10

Super great location, stayed in site 3, it was right next to site 2 and right along the campground road and there was almost no privacy. I walked around and the other sites seemed better. You can hear the main highway, but it wasn't too loud at night. The kids loved being close to the river, which was just a short walk through the woods from our site. There is firewood available for $7 for a bundle.Restrooms: Decently clean bathrooms with flushing toilets, showers and laundry. There are also a couple pit toilets.

andy palmer

2023-05

F250 Crew 6.5ft bed towing 30ft camper. I was concerned about maneuvering in/out of the campsites. We had site 22 which is a good site for a long rig like mine. The location being at the intersection helps get the right angle to back in. Site 17 also looked to a good site for a large rig. Sorry, I dont have a pic of 17. There is a 30 min youtube video of this campground that shows many of the sites.

Peter Gibney

2020-05

Excellent campground with clean facilities. The ranger was extremely helpful and pleasant. You can take a few big hikes right from the campground or drive a few miles up the street. If you are bored you can walk the couple minutes trail down to the river and knock over all the fake Cairns that people build in the riverbed or throw large stones into the river and hear a satisfying crack and sploosh. The campground is a virtual dead zone for cell phone reception, which is a plus for me.

Shaun Provencher

2023-10

Loved this campground. Site #9 by the river is big and so close to the water. The sound is incredible.Bathrooms, showers and site were immaculate. Nice job staff!

Matthew Rudomanski

2022-05

Nice clean campground with decent size sites, bathrooms, showers, laundry, hiking trails, stream. Only negative right on main rt 302, but road quiets down at night.

Laura Gad

2023-05

This was by far one of the best campgrounds for our family. It was spotless, the bathrooms were immaculate and were cleaned multiple times during each day. Bob was incredibly helpful during our 5 night stay, greeting us on the first night and letting us know about wildlife (specifically bears) that were in the location. All the staff were awesome, but Bob went above and beyond to make sure the campground was taken care of and the gusts felt welcome. This will definitely be our new spot in the future! Thank you!

Mandy Tetzlaff

2023-05

Convenient campground to the trails around Crawford Notch. No hook-ups or dump station. Nice bathhouse with showers and laundry. Dish washing station and potable water available. A bit of noise from the road but may be quieter if the leaves are still on the trees.

Jon Robichaud

2023-05

This campground surprised us in the best way. I'd give it 5 stars but our site description was a bit off as it was a shared site with #2 vs a solo site. The bathrooms and showers are clean and the access to the river is nice.There was no noticeable camp host or ranger in the shack when we arrived (on-time) or when we departed. Not a big deal, just noted as we had a question that couldn't be answered.Will for sure come back and spend more time exploring the area while camping.

Caroline Canty

2023-05

I wish I could leave a better review because everyone else seemed to have a great experience. My boyfriend and I showed up to the campsite to find it did not look like the pictures. We got a platform but when we looked at the platform and it looked like an animal had eaten part of the side and it was slanted inward, it honestly didn’t seem stable to me. The street noise was loud and there was no coverage from trees. I needed up having to find another campsite for the night last minute. Wasn’t worth the money and I don’t recommend for camping with a tent.

Austin Shoemaker

2022-05

Very nice and cheap place to stay! Gorgeous river just a short walk away from the campsite and very spacious grounds. Firewood is available at the office for only about $6 a bundle (cash only). You don't need to make a reservation but it's highly recommended you do. There's a board at the front that tells you what campsites are available upon entrance. Very clean facilities and they have hot showers and a dish washing station. My only complaint is that the showers only take quarters but nowhere on the grounds is there a change exchange. So make sure you have enough or you're SOL

William Sima

2022-05

Absolutely the perfect spot to camp at in the White Mountains! Great location that is centered between everything (half hour to Cannon, 40 minutes to Mt. Washington, etc). Spacious areas with plenty of room between each site, very nice bathroom facilities for a campground (even a washer and dryer available to clean clothes)

Chris V

2022-05

Great location in the white mountains. Camping area has lots of trees which I like and you are very close to many hiking trails. Have stayed here 2x. It's nice that they have washer and dryer on site. It saved the day after rain water ran under our tent and soaked one persons mat and sleeping bag. Make sure you bring quarters for laundry and showers

Nicholas Valle

2017-05

Nice campground, was able to drive into our spot and had a picnic table and a fire pit. The ground was a bit rocky, but we pitched our tent off to side over some softer dirt. There was a nice restroom close by with showers and even laundry machines. You can buy firewood there, but when we arrived there was no one available so we had to get our own (just make sure if buy some don't bring any wood from out of state). Overall very nice and close to some great hikes in the White Mountains!

Vlad Voloshin

2020-05

Very nice campground. Tree shaded sites. Maybe a bit too close to the road

Alissa Delorey

2017-05

My family and I have been staying at this campground a few weekends each year for the last ten years or so. It's so great, this is my gold standard for comparing other campgrounds. *Disclaimer this review is for tent camping only*1.) The sites are spaced enough apart (with the exception of a few joint sites) that you don't feel like you're on top of your neighbor. Some of the sites now have new shelters built on site, which was a great surprise when we came in July and it was downpouring!2.) Super clean and updated bathroom facilities. Showers are 25 cents for 3 minutes, they also have laundry room.3.) Tons of hiking opportunities nearby and lots to do in the area. 15-20 minutes to Mt. Washington and North Conway.4.) Staff is super nice and helpful!Since it's out in the middle of the woods, there is no cell phone service. Also, last few years it hasn't been a problem but a few years in a row about 5 years ago we had a black bear come through our site a few times. Since it was a problem for a few months the bear was relocated. Just a heads up to put all food and trash away as you should at any campsite!

Angela Crampton

2019-05

A great campground surrounded by beautiful mountains. Nice facilities, like shower and laundry. The staff was friendly and chatty as we checked in late. My main reason for 4 stars is it is close to the road with some noise as cars drive by and a little farther from towns with supplies if that is something you like. Other than that, I would definitely stay here again!

Sneha Patel

2021-05

Best laid back campground EVER. But at the same time it's very clean and peaceful. The ranger specifically 'Mr. Collin' is very helpful and knowledgeable. We had the best camping time. The bathrroms are extremly clean. I can't wait until next time to camp at the same place.

Heather Howard

2023-05

I really like the campground but not sure I'll go back. Allowing dogs is ruining camping. Sitting at our own site dogs were barking at us. People walking dogs past our site, dogs barking at us. People walking the path to the river , the site beside had dogs, barking at anyone taking the path. Try to walk to the bath house, every dog barks at us.Tried to come back to our site after a day out, had to stop in the middle of the road for a dog fight. So over the dogs.

Trek_er Rick

2014-05

We just returned home from a 9 day stay here. It was mid Sept. and we had some hard rains while staying here. After looking at endless reviews of other campgrounds we settled on Dry River. Although it is located close to 302 it is also located in the midst of many trail heads and it is the only road that passes through the notch so yes there was some traffic. The traffic was minimal at night and we slept well. We easily detected owls hooting at night. The staff was very accommodating and helpful. A very quiet campground if you don't want or need activities. We will definitely stay here again if we return. So many trails and so much to see.

Alex Landress

2017-05

I spent 2 nights here opening weekend. Showed up in the early evening and picked a spot with a very nice lean too. The check-in shack was unmanned, so we filled out the slip and put $50 ($25 per night)in the envelope.There was only one other person in the campground that night. The next day he packed up and one other couple showed up. We had 1 ranger come through who was incredibly nice. They were selling bundles of wood in the shack (again, honor system rules) but i recommend stopping at the Irvings a couple miles up the road. The facilities include full men and women bathrooms, 3 showers ($1.00 quarters for 12 minutes), and a full laundry room with 3 washers and 3 dryers ( no place to buy soap on site). There were a bunch of newspapers in the shack that were from last yeah, so we used some of those to start our fire. The surrounding woods were plentiful with wood to burn. The site is right off the road, but it was still very quiet, don't know if that changes during the busy season.I plan on staying here again the next time I decide to hike in the White Mountains. Weather only permitted going to Mt Monroe, so we will be back to tackle Washington.

Cindell C

2021-05

This place is BEAUTIFUL. Everything is well maintained, staff is super friendly and helpful. There are beautiful grassy areas with picnic tables and loads of butterflies! Just across the road you can see historic trestles up in the cliffs. It's right down the road from the Appalachian Trail and Red River Falls, so there are lots of really nice places to hike. Our camp site was VERY spacious. There's nothing bad I could say about this place. It's totally worth staying at, even near the end of season.

V J

2018-05

Amazing place, well located, close to many trails and State park parkings. There's a store about 1 mile down the road for the little things you have forgotten. They sell wood for 6$/bunch. Hot showers on site for 25¢ every 3 minutes. Quiet and respectful staff driving around once in a while to make sure everything is well and that campers are happy and satisfied.We were in lot #17 and the walk to the toilet wad about 2 minutes and the main facilities about 5 minutes. We paid 25$/night for tent camping. Highly recommended.

Jordan LaCroix

2017-05

I've stayed here twice at the P sites which are for tents only. I'd recommend sites P6 or P5 which give you the most space from other campsites. All the sites are large, and each one provides a decent amount of space between other campsites. Aside from the sites, the facilities are awesome! The bathrooms and showers are very clean, especially in the mornings. There is also a small office building when you pull in which contains information about Crawford Notch State Park and other local attractions.

Saifadam Pathan

2021-05

Best night sky views even though nights can get chilly. U can literally see the milky way strip. Facilities are good. Warm showers too.. U are not allowed to bring your own firewood, but can buy it there. There is a store nearby within 2 miles if u do forget any stuff or need milk or coffee.There is no network here, which is the whole point if camping, but just thought of spelling it out.