Where to camp friday night and hike saturday?

[Gator]

Hi, new here, been lurking for a bit.

Planning on doing a short hike on mt morgan friday night and hanging out with some friends afterwards. I'm planning on hiking saturday, so I'd like to just camp somewhere friday night rather than drive back to the Portsmouth area.

Holiday weekend traffic is a big concern as is finding a spot late at night.

I don't expect to get to a campsite till 10ish. This might not even be doable I realize.

Also, I plan to head to the wakefield, nh area after hiking saturday... and I'm worried about conway area traffic. Would I have trouble getting onto 16 south from the Kancamangus? What about taking east side and west side road and getting onto 16 south? Doable?


Thanks a bunch if anyone has some insight.

 

[Sherpa John]

Gator.. IN all honesty.. most folks looking for a non-reserved site for the holiday weekend head up on Thursday to claim a spot and leave their stuff there for the night. There is little to no chance of finding a site that late on Friday.. especially with the great weather we are going to have. Start calling around to find places that take reservations ot see if they have opennings... and also keep in mind.. Most campgrounds might make you reserve a site all the way through the holiday. Business IS I guess.

 

[Jim lombard]

Also, I plan to head to the wakefield, nh area after hiking saturday... and I'm worried about conway area traffic. Would I have trouble getting onto 16 south from the Kancamangus? What about taking east side and west side road and getting onto 16 south? Doable?

I've never had a problem exiting the Kanc onto RT-16 South, North yes but not south.

As SJ said, getting a campground or anything that late will be a problem around the Holderness area. I'd try and call ahead. You could try Bethal woods campground in Holderness 603-279-6266, it's on RT3 not too far from Mt Morgan and RT113.

 

[bobandgeri]

Here is a website we use for finding campground space in NH.

http://www.ucampnh.com/

 

[Frosty]

What about Tripoli Road? Do they still have camping along that road? The motto used to be that there was always room on Tripoli Road.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

What about Tripoli Road? Do they still have camping along that road? The motto used to be that there was always room on Tripoli Road.

Yes they do.

Tripoli Road camping info

 

[David Metsky]

What about Tripoli Road? Do they still have camping along that road? The motto used to be that there was always room on Tripoli Road.

At 10:00 PM on the Friday of July 4th weekend I would question that motto.

-dave-

 

[Frosty]

At 10:00 PM on the Friday of July 4th weekend I would question that motto.

-dave-

Yeah, Probably they limit camping now...

But that WAS the Forest Service expression. It's a pretty long road and you usd to be able to camp anywhere north of Thornton Gap. Pick a spot, any spot. That's a lot of roadside...

 

[Sherpa John]

Frosty... your right in that those are old rules wih the camping along the road. They have designated "camptsites" on tripoli road that go from Russell Pond Turn off to just before Osceola Trailhead.

I think the main point with the request is that it is.. again... 4th of July weekend and the individual looking for a campsite is going to be looking for one on Friday night at 10pm. If thats the case. they will be loking for a long time. Its the busiest north country holiday of the year imho.

GET A RESERVATION..

 

[Gator]

I actually found some campgrounds (non national forest ones) with availability for friday night. People coming for the weekend on saturday, means some friday-only spots.

To clarify, one of my concerns with my arrival time was policy and etiquette. Didn't know if it was disturbing to arrive and setup at that hour or if certain places required check-in, but before that hour.

 

[chomp]

They have designated "camptsites" on tripoli road that go from Russell Pond Turn off to just before Osceola Trailhead.

Actually, I was just camping there last night and this is incorrect. There are no designated sites along the road. There are established sites for sure, but there is no rule that you have to stay there. You can, in theory, just pull over, find a flat spot and camp. There are some locations marked NO CAMPING, however. And camping is allowed in spots from Russell Pond all the way down to the last gate before the Livermore Trailhead, in otherwords on both sides of the Osceola trailhead. You can camp off the road even where it is paved in some locations.

As for etiqette, I have arrived pretty late at some campgrounds and I just try to be respectful. Turn off your lights and your car as soon as possible. Use a headlamp to get set up, etc... I think that rules can vary from campground to campground, but just trying to be quiet when arriving late seems to work well.

 

[Sherpa John]

Hey Chomp.. thanks for the correction.. I learned something new.

 

[RoySwkr]

To clarify, one of my concerns with my arrival time was policy and etiquette. Didn't know if it was disturbing to arrive and setup at that hour or if certain places required check-in, but before that hour.

Yes, it can be disturbing to have people come in late & set up, particularly if they drive the loop a couple times looking for the best site and then make one more trip to sign in. Some public and private campgrounds close a gate at a certain hour, others are open all night.

Tripoli Road is a good choice from this perspective as you don't register for a particular site so you can just pay on the way in. The best sites will no doubt be taken (anything vacant appearing particularly good probably has a "No Camping" sign visible in daylight but you can park along the road most anywhere. And campers there expect traffic all night - besides most of them will still be up partying