Wilderness Campground recommendation along the Kanc

[Brambor]

Howdy. I want to take my 8 year old nephew hiking Chocoroua and I'm looking to finish the hike with a nice campsite along a river or a brook, preferably with 2 hammocking trees. I don't usually do car camping and consequently never camped in any of the campgrounds along the Kanc. I think I remember hitting a campground on skis that was along the river while backcountry skiing Passaconaway. I think it was across the Passaconaway trailhead parking lot somewhere. Anyone with better beta? It's no problem for me to just wing it but I thought I'd collect some wisdom before we head out tomorrow morning. Thanks.

 

[JoshandBaron]

I've stayed at Jigger Johnson and Passaconaway before with my hammock. As with any car camping site, hammock trees can be difficult and the caretaker will give you a hard time if you hang too far into the woods around the site. An alternative that's not car camping (and on the other side of the mountain): there is a pretty well developed site on Whitin Brook Trail that's just a quarter mile from the Liberty TH right on Paugus Brook.

 

[Brambor]

Thanks. Because this is car camping I will throw tenting stuff into the car as well and take my chances

 

[sierra]

I used to stay at a campground near that Swift river Inn ( If its still called that, that big lodge type building about 4 miles from t e Conway end of the Kanc). It was across the road and somewhat hard to spot. Had a chain type setup across the driveway. Way better then the National forest campgrounds and its right on the river.

 

[rup]

Is that bear still terrorizing Pasa and JJ??

 

[Brambor]

I ended up hiking Chocoroua with my nephew and then when he fell asleep in the car I figured I'd drive to Crawford Notch and pitched a tent at the Zealand campsite. $18 wow. ... anyway. I then took him to the swimming hole off old Cherry road and that was all worth the trouble.

However he told me he misses his mom and I ended up packing the tent back up and heading home

 

[peakbagger]

Still great of you to get the younger generation hooked As long as he had fun that all that counts.

 

[Brambor]

Picked a good day for it too

He ended up impressing me by identifying 4 different kinds of edible mushrooms. Not bad for an 8 year old kid.

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Is that bear still terrorizing Pasa and JJ??

I hiked the Nanamocomuck Cross Country Skiing Trail one Fall about 10 years ago [bring waders] and I came across a scattered mess of camping gear.

I assumed the gear was pillage from JJ by a bear.

 

[JustJoe]

I hiked the Nanamocomuck Cross Country Skiing Trail one Fall about 10 years ago [bring waders] and I came across a scattered mess of camping gear.

I assumed the gear was pillage from JJ by a bear.

Pretty much any WMNF campground, at least on the ones on the Kanc., will , be visited by bears at night. I forgot and left my trash bag out just once in dozens of stays and sure enough, I was woken in the middle of the night by a bear ravaging it. Pretty sure there's signs at all them stating that.

 

[MikeB]

I used to stay at a campground near that Swift river Inn ( If its still called that, that big lodge type building about 4 miles from t e Conway end of the Kanc). It was across the road and somewhat hard to spot. Had a chain type setup across the driveway. Way better then the National forest campgrounds and its right on the river.

I'm pretty sure you're talking about what is now the Albany Town Forest. Nice quiet access to the Swift River, passed by the usual Kanc mobs. Some walking paths. Can't say that I've ever seen anyone camping there, but haven't seen any indication that it's prohibited either...

http://conwaynh.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Albany-Town-Forest-map-2.pdf

The map doesn't show the entrance, but as mentioned it's a chained pull off on the north side of the road, near the Swift River Inn.

 

[kltilton]

The old camprground is just west of the Albany Town Forest. The Conservation Commission has expressed some interest in purchasing the property.