Lost River Valley Campground

My husband booked and paid for 3 sites in his name. Our kids were staying with their families on the 2 other sites. One of our son's had to leave a day early. About 2 hours later another camper pulled onto the site. We asked to have a refund because we were paid for another day and we wanted to have a campfire on the site that my son left. the campsites were very small for our 23 ft TT,s so we could all sit around and spread out on his site that night. The owner gave us a hard time but in the end put through a credit for one day. We were kind of surprised he gave us a hard time. We spent a lot of money on wood, 30.00 to park an extra car for the week, a 15.00 fee for friends to visit for 3 hours and other purchases in the store all week long. Then there was the bear that roamed the campground. Very exciting but not much sleep as car horns, barking dogs,bear whistles and other campers yelling all through the night at it. The sites are very clean, bathrooms clean, no sewer hookups but the sites are not very wooded and small. Many of them sit right on the road. The pond across a busy road is not a good place to swim. My Grandkids did love the river and hung out there when we were at the campground. I only said no to not going back because we like trying different campgrounds and again the sites are on the small side. Once set up we could not use our fire pit. We went to our son's site.

We stayed here for 9 days (after Labor Day 2018). 10% discount on the 1st 7 day stay.
Stay in the mountain top sites, which there are 27 sites, mostly filled with seasonal RVers. During our stay, we were usually the ones here. WiFi was good.

Great location to see the sites around the White Mountains.

We stayed three nights with our three young children. Overall, the campground is very clean, and everyone working there was super friendly. Our kids loved the playground! The downside... campsites are very small and super close together with no privacy. Literally, not a row of trees to shield you from your neighbors and vice versa. Also, our site was facing the river, which was pretty, but the busy road was right there on the other side, and we could hear the traffic. I said I would stay again, and I would, but not before trying other places.

We gave this place a try and aborted our 3 day reservations after less than 24 hours. The roads are tight and poorly marked
Lots of trees need to be addressed
The sites are unkept
Horrible cell reception with Verizon
This may be great for tent camping and a small travel trailer
Not ideal for 25 and 28 Airstreams

This is a nice campground and overall we enjoyed our stay. The roads are tight and camp spots are extremely tight. We have a small 22’ airstream and I was very nervous driving through and it was tight to park. Our neighbors each had 27’+ rigs and blocked access to our site for over 45 minutes while trying to park. Our riverfront site was beautiful and the sites themselves are well maintained and clean. Sites are very close together and there is very little privacy. Cell service is non existent so plan ahead! Great jumping point for many activities in this region!

Spent 5 nights at the campground in August. Currently, cabins, Rv’s and tent/car campers are all found in the same areas, with the exception of one loop for tent camping only. Owner indicated he intends to institute a new policy where tent campsites must be completely full before he lets a tent camper on an RV site. I have nothing against the tents, just something to be aware of, especially for those staying in the cabins, that we are all there together and you will be looking at a campground full of drying towels and toys.
The roads through the campground are tight, rutted, and steep in spots. Not for the nervous driver, and I would not recommend longer travel trailers or 5th wheels. Many trees and stumps close to the road on turns and near sites. We could not pull out of our pull-through site due to the trees (it *might have been possible if the site across the way had been vacant). We were in a 21’11” TT. The rig in the pull-through next to us also had to back out. In addition, one person arrived who was was unable to maneuver into his back-in site and had to move, and another was only able to get in after we moved our truck (which was completely within our site) and he worked his way slowly back and forth around obstacles. We had to raise one side 4” to be level.
It was quiet until the weekend, and once settled we started to enjoy our stay. Then Friday afternoon the place filled up with lots of tent/car campers and was literally swarming with kids on bikes (no parents to be found) and lots of noise. Quiet times were enforced, so once it got later, things definitely quieted down.
I had intended to do laundry, but the machines looked to be on their last legs and were filthy INSIDE. This was disappointing in light of the otherwise clean facilities.
Store was pretty well stocked but overpriced, which I have found to be typical of camp stores.
We were rudely treated when the owner felt we were going too fast in the campground, but he did come to our site soon after to apologize: he is clearly quite concerned about safety and is catering to families, so understandable that he is vigilant about his speed limit (5mph). I would suggest he also implement a “no bike riding after dusk” as many campgrounds do, also for safety.
The good: utilities at the sites seemed to be in good order, sites are OK in size. Bath house in our area was old but clean. Did not shower there, so cannot comment on water pressure, etc. Good base for exploring the area. The river and a brook are on site and there seem to be a lot of activities for kids. Be aware the nice playground in their web photos is actually across the street from the campground, so you will have to accompany children to same.
Long story short, not our kind of place, but can see the appeal for families. We will likely try somewhere else if/when we return to the area. We are currently settled into a much better fit for us in Maine.

One of the most unprofessional and unpleasant experiences I have had at any campground.

The owner runs around in a full-blown security guard outfit, armed and with his rottweiler. I'm not sure why exactly, but I'm a bit concerned that a campground needs an armed security guard.

The site we got put into was hot, exposed to the sun with no shade, extremely narrow and was down the road away from the main campground and up a gravel road in pretty poor condition. I was reminded of a gravel put when we first pulled up.

I suspected the site wasn't going to be nice when I saw it was so far away from the main campground and surrounded by seasonal sites. But I had called and was told it was beautiful and I would really love it, so I took the chance.

Once we saw it, I immediately went to the office and asked to be moved. This is when I discovered that the office manager had walked out/quite that morning and was only the most recent in a string of recent resignations. So, these poor teenagers were trying to get the owner who was still in bed at noon. I had to wait a full 90 minutes for him to saunter in, and that's when I got the "security guard" get up.

The owner, John, got very aggressive and said I was making his staff uncomfortable. Proceeded to call me names and even took his gun belt off to fight with me. A real piece of work.

We were told to leave and that I won't get my money back. "Get out". So, I'm out over $300 now for the weekend.

I wish I could give zero stars. Be very careful with this place and this guy. He treats his staff like crap, and he has a serious little man syndrome.

I wanted to add a review as I see most are from RV campers. The tent only loop is a lovely, wooded, more private loop … quiet and going to sleep with the sounds of babbling brook nearby. Loved hiking the trails right behind campsite and scrabbling river rocks on our river walk. Our site had electric and water on site which was also nice.

Oh my goodness! What more can I say? I stayed in a double tent site along the river with friends and family and this campground was the best I've been to in years! Seriously! I relaxed by the river, we hung out in the game room when it rained, used the dryers on premises to dry our wet stuff after a rain, and shopped a little too much at the incredibly stocked camp store. The owners were more than gracious hosts. The entire staff was fun to be around and so nice! The housekeeping/grounds team was ALWAYS out and about cleaning something, it's like they never ever stop! No internet but the mountains are always tricky for that. We had no trouble getting text messages to come in and go out so our family always knew we were ok. We booked next years trip before we even left our site! Lost River is now our go-to home away from home!

Hiking and other activities were easily accessible from this campground.

All sites are wooded and nice sized. You will need the provided map to find your site! Check in was easy. Staff was friendly and helpful. Many sites have river access.