Gale River Campground

Gale River Loop Road is a free camping area maintained by the White Mountain National Forest. Camping is allowed only in designated sites, which are easy to identify. Each designated site has a number and a rule board.

Entrance on Gale River Trail is on a well graded dirt road, passable to any vehicle. Most of the sites are designed for tents and small rigs like campervan and truck campers, but there are a few sites suitable for a large travel trailer.

Sites are in a wooded area and are well spaced apart. Camped mid-week and saw little traffic (though there is a popular trailhead nearby, if you camp in one of the sites between the main road and the trailhead you'll likely see more cars). It was quiet and comfortable.

14 day limit and 15 people max per site. Pets must be leashed. Pack it in, pack it out. No bathrooms.

No cell service here, closest service is 10 minutes down the road in Bethlehem.

This is a great spot for the night or for the week. Highly recommend.

First we tried Haystack Rd. We rolled into camp via US 2 (a beautiful drive BTW) around 4:00 PM to find that all but one site was occupied. The only remaining spot was under a canopy of trees (no solar power), had almost no cell coverage (can't get any work done) and had a large ditch in the driveway so we couldn't maneuver the camper in, no matter how hard we tried.

Fortunately, I knew that Gale River Loop Rd was near by but, according to this and other websites, there was NO cell coverage at all. We figured we would grab a spot and only stay for a night or two and then move on to a new location that suited our needs.

As we rolled down the road we happened upon this beauty! A wide open space with great 4G LTE coverage. We stayed for 14 nights (the maximum allowed time) and checked out many of the hiking trails within walking distance of our site.

The town of Bethlehem is just 10 mins north and has everything you might need. There is also a Walmart in Littleton just 20 mins away.

While in the area, we saw two bears, one of which crossed just a mile from our site... so be aware and prepared to store your food items away. I would also recommend hiking with some bear mace handy.

Site #3 is ideal for larger rigs (can easily fit 50+ feet) and those using solar power. There are other large sites if sun isn't a necessity for you.

This was a pretty spot in the trees down a easily accessible gravel road. The marked camping areas were well spread out so you have plenty of privacy. Some of the spots were for tents only, but half of them are accessible by most RV's with a little clearance. Really large rigs might only fit in site #3, which is the prime site with good sunshine. All the other sites get very little sun due to tree cover. It is primitive camping with no amenities and if cell service is important, Verizon worked well, AT&T was nothing.

It makes a great base to explore the Northern White Mountains. Franconia Notch State Park is 10 minutes away with lots of popular attractions, that are overpriced, and great fall foliage. There is also 2 hiking trails within walking distance from the campsites right on Gale River Loop Road. There is plenty to see and do here without paying the expensive state park fees. It was really busy here this time of year and we were luck to snag site #1 on a Saturday afternoon, it was the only site open and looked to have been recently vacated.

We wish we had more time to explore the area and would have definitely stayed longer if we didn't have other commitments.

Best camping trip ever

These sites are beautiful and there is totally reception here, but there aren’t many spots, they don’t allow camping in non-designated spots, and they fill up very quickly, so just have a backup in case it’s full.

We stayed here during the colors changing and it was one of the most beautiful spots we have camped!

If you pull in where the GPS directs you, this is the start of the loop. I think there are 12 sites total. As you drive in, not too far from the highway will be a fork. Stay left. The right goes down to a gated road. You will start seeing the sites. Site #3 has access for solar and has great verizon internet. 20+ without a booster.

As you continue you will come to where another road tees into the road you are on. Turn right. DO NOT go straight unless you are small. We had to back down this road after meeting a dead end. I think there was only one more site up that road anyways.

After you turn right, you will see all the other sites. Some are obviously tent only. Some are for smaller rigs. Over here the internet went to almost nothing, and actually nothing at times. Booster allowed a phone call, but no data.

This road continues all the way around and spits you back out onto the highway.

Im not sure which site I was at but its the one where you turn right at the fork in the road and a little further down there is a dead end. There was a little trash at the site but nothing terrible. Overall id stay here again in a heartbeat. Due to the tree cover this spot got extremely dark at night and I couldn't see my hand even when I put it to my face. There is a nice fire ring just be careful of creatures living in it. I had a few frogs jump out when I lit my fire so it would be easy for a snake or something else to get in there. This spot also does have cell signal.

This was a great spot! They were all generously space. We were there on October 13, 2020 and there was plenty of availability. It's probably busier earlier in the year. No electric or water but close to all kinds of great activities including hiking and biking!

We were there in our 20ft Airstream. No issue getting into the site.

12 sites available along the gale river loop road. All sites are numbered. Check the forest Facebook page to make sure the road is open depending on the time of year. Forest rangers drove past a few times but never came to chat. Sites were nicely spread out. Not all sites can be driven into. Sites 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9 you can drive a car right into. The other sites are set back from the road and have large boulders to prevent you from pulling a vehicle into them. We camped in truck tents at site 2. There was a large mud puddle at the site entrance but the rest of the site was nice and we were able to find two level spots for the trucks.

Nice and private. Sites are well spaced all along the loop road. Mostly clean. Lots of trails for hiking. The river is beautiful. Plenty of room to boondock if the sites are all full, including a big turnaround/parking area at one end of the loop and a big pulloff on Rt 3 across from the other entrance at Trudeau Road. Supplies are 15 minutes away in Bethlehem and definitely spend a day in Littleton just up the road.