Pine Knoll Campground

Okay, so I have some good things to say and bad things to say. The good outweigh the bad. I went through and read all the reviews and any reviews about noise complaints and such go out the window with me when I judge campgrounds before making reservations because those reviews are usually bias. (We stayed the weekend after 4^th of July)
My girlfriend and I arrived and were politely greeted by the owner after the office was closed and she opened the office for us. The office sells supplies, drinks, and beer if you don’t have time to stop at a store on the way up. They also sell firewood which we bought 3 bundles the next day after we came back up.
Finding our tent site was difficult because the numbers are hard to see at night but we ended up at the site next to ours which the owners were okay with. We were located at site 13 for our duration which was next to the lake and about 50 yards from the beach. Running water faucet and electricity with multiple outlets.
Quiet hours was not enforced but it didn’t need to be because it was quiet. The campers next to us and surrounding sites were all friendly. The staff were friendly too and very helpful.
The beach traffic was not bad. People usually quietly walked back and forth next to our site. People usually cleared the beach by 8pm before it got dark. The beach was clean and the lake was beautiful. Small boats only (Probably no motorized boats allowed. Too small)
Facilities were clean for a campground but the bathrooms need to be updated. The showers were great and clean with a hot lamp.
Great location for exploring the White Mountain Region and fishing the local lakes and ponds. Also, surprisingly the bugs were not bad at all. Only got 3 bites during our 3 night stay.
Overall, a great experience and would be back if we were going to stay in the region again!

Terrible experience! The owners were assholes!!! Dan and his miserable wife Tina!
We booked for 2 nights July 3 – 4 .we got set up for the night 2 girls under 12, a dog and wife all had a nice quiet night. We woke up with plans for a hike up Chochuurra. After breakfast we were greated by one of the employees of the campground saying we had to pack up. The next arrival was due. Long story short… they overbooked and told us are we were only registered for the night and proceeded to tell us «sorry there isnt anything we can do, we are booked soild». So needless to say disappointed!!! We get half broken down and they told us they could relocate us for a fee!!!
Even though there is nothing for kids to do but go in the pond. 1 swing and a tetter totter and a xcouple things to climb on! A basketball court with 2 portable hoops that are both broken! NOTHING ELSE TO DO THERE!!!
Decent pond. Beach is small and overcrowded on a 75 degree day. I can onky imagine how packed it would be if hotter! Both the mens and womans bathrooms were out of toilet paper at 7 AM on a saturday. Toilet paper all over mens room for a few good hours. Dirty toilets and sinks were covered in wet tp. Gross! Our tent site was small and un raked when we arrived. Had to borrow a rake from a seasonal site! Good location on a small brook that runs through the grounds, but zero privacy at most of the sites! The over priced pine that they sold in the office was still green and had to be split down or dried on the fire ring just to keep a decent fire going!
The only thing this shithole has going for it is that it is next to Mt. Chocura! You would be better off going across Route 16 to the White Mountains state park!
FUCK THIS PLACE
FUCK THE OWNERS DAN AND HIS WIFE! They are both giant assholes!

Dan was very pleasant, prompt and helpful! He was also accommodating when the size of our party changed We tented here over the weekend and had no issues with noise or partying. We enjoyed the serenity of the lake and the well kept bathrooms and showers.

More so for campers, lots of seasonal campers with permanent residences. Not too much privacy /​woodsyness for tenters.
Clean bathrooms, nice amenities … On site swimming not that accessible or great yet better than none.
Good cheap place to stay if you’re looking to explore the kangamancus or other nearby attractions.

Stayed there a year ago and really enjoyed it. Stayed at Canmore cabin which was smaller than the pictures show and a little outdated but pretty nice. Loved how private and tucked away the cabin was had a great firepit and grill and could see the beautiful lake through the trees. Nice beach area as well. Disappointed they’re not pet friendly though. I can understand really ritzy cabins not being pet friendly but the cabins were just mediocre for not pet friendly.

Had a great and relaxing time at the campground! Loved sitting around the fire at night and kayaking on the lake during the day!

When we called, we informed the staff person that there would be a dozen of us hoping to book some sites in late August. Because of the 4-​person per site rule, we were provided 3 sites adjacent to one another. No problem.
When the first member of our party arrived to check in, the booking manager, said we have to book a fourth campsite although we did not exceed 12 people. When word came around to the rest of our party that we had to cough up extra money for the campground, those I was with were confused about the situation.
We called the campground and calmly and politely explained who we were and asked to speak with the booking manager. The lady barked, «you are speaking to the manager.» Ha, okay. We ignored her aggression and continued to politely explain our situation when she spit something to the extend like, «hurry up». Again, we kindly continued, explaining that we only had 11 people and were confused why we had to pay for a fourth site. Furious, she said that we should not have booked a party site for 20 (sure, lady, it’s our fault because your staff people screwed up). Her attitude was very rude, aggressive, and judgmental. Yes, we are young, but we are respectful and reasonably quiet. She said that we could either take the money we deposited and leave or pay for the fourth site in the cluster. She claimed that the fourth site would be unusable since we were there so we have to pay for it. Well sweetie, you essentially leave us no choice… We are driving 4 hours to get to your crap hole of campground and it’s already 6PM. So we were manipulated into paying for a fourth site. Mind you, I’ve never seen a campground so empty. There must have been thirty open campsites, yet we had to pay for this fourth one. What customer service, huh?
Negatives: management, tiny lake and questionable water (I would not swim in it), tiny camp sites, hardly any trees/​nature, interesting population… I’m still not sure if it’s actually a tailor park.
Positives: free hot showers, sports field & playground (with see-​saws!), wifi (which I could not connect to), and alcohol is permitted.
I will never return to that campground, not just because the staff’s attitude, but because it is a trashy campground with tiny camp sites which lack nature and charm.

Never coming here again.
This campground was great. I’ve been coming here for four years and it has always been a really fun and relaxing time. We usual have a group of about eight friends, always staying at site A. The first time booking the camping trip, we talked to one of the managers asking to recommend a site that was the most secluded from the other sites. She told us Site A would be fine. And it always has been fine! We were upfront in saying that we usually stay up later than most campers and were not looking to disturb any other sites. I need to make this clear, the woman we spoke to said that site A would be PERFECT for a group of 20-​somethings to have a good time. That is the only reason we book the trip.
Anyways, this year was different. Early on in the night, we witnessed a trio of State Troopers driving into the site led by one of the campground workers (we were situated right by the entrance and were able to see anyone that arrived late). This was the first night of our stay. Later, at about 1 am, a few of us were sitting around a campfire talking when the same campground worker drives up to our site in his golf cart. Apparently we were playing music too loud. He appeared to be drunk. He begins by saying he’s had a long night, and we shouldn’t &$@# with him on this (I swear to god he said this). He then goes on to tell us we need to shut the music off and go to sleep, or he will call the cops. The whole time he is slurring his speech, and in all honesty it was kind of frightening. I told him that we’ll turn the music and lights off and be quiet. So we do. And he leaves (for the time being).
After this occurred, all but three of us went to sleep. I was one of the ones that stayed up. We weren’t ready to go to sleep, and we wanted to stay awake and catch up. I was on a break from school in New York, so I hadn’t seen my friends for a long while. I knew there was no grounds for him to call the cops on us for «not going to sleep». At about 3:30 am, we see his car drive up to the entrance with the high beams on. He sits there, blaring us with the beams for 10 minutes, before he literally burns rubber to drive away. It was straight out of a horror movie! Let me remind you that this man was most likely DRUNK. Me and my friends ignored it at the time and stayed up. We were awake until 4:30 am, all the while being respectful and quiet.
Now this is the worst part. The next morning, at 9:30, the same campground worker rides up to our campsite on his Harley motorcycle while we were all sleeping. He then starts revving his engine LOUDLY to wake us up. It was purely psychotic! To be woken up by a motorcycle like that without knowing what it is at first is terrifying. My girlfriend thought it was someone standing outside of our tent with a chainsaw, that’s how frightening it was. We were all pretty scared to even approach the guy, considering his actions the night before. It went on for about 10 minutes before one of my friends got the nerve to talk to the him. He then goes off on my about how we kept him up all night by not going to sleep, and «now we all know how it feels».
I know that was a long read, but I wanted to share this with somebody (whoever may read it). We didn’t even complain to the front desk, afraid he would still be working there that night. It was the behavior of a crazy person! Anyways, that’s my story. If you’re looking for a nice campsite with a friendly staff, this may not be it. If you’re looking for a nice campsite with a «The Hills Have Eyes» theme, then you are in for a treat.

I have been camping at PKC for years. During the week the campground is pretty quiet — weekends do get busier. They offer many tenting sites that have privacy. You can look at the website to get an idea of the sites that are offered. The lake is nice and quiet; great for a peaceful canoe or kayak ride. If you enjoy fishing you just may catch the big one! The campground is conveniently close to some of the best hikes in N.H. Right across the street is White Ledge, a steep little hike with a great view. The prices are very reasonable compared to other camps in the area. Overall, I always look forward to camping at PKC

I find the criticism interesting from the owners of the camp ground given the laws of the town regarding amplification. I have personally have never met the owners. I personally was not invited to visit. The campground has had family fun for years with wonderful activities with no amplification. It made for enjoyable weekends, listening to the sounds of children laughing, people sharing and families have a good time. Canoeing and waving and having fun with others enjoying the peaceful surroundings.
Thank you for a response. I hope you will respond to the other unfavorable reviews also that were written by others commenting on similar issues. Be well.

Went camping for a night after climbing Mount Chocorua (which I highly recommend doing). As a tent camper I really don’t understand the appeal of RVs, but to each his own. This campground was almost totally RVs and loud screaming kids. Luckily we were able to obtain a campsite a little farther away from everyone else, but it was still noisy. I think one of the coolest things about this campground was a water faucet at every site. I’d never seen that before, expecting to have to walk a half mile to get water for the night. Had a good time.

We were in a pinch trying to find a place to spend the night and Pine Knoll came to the rescue! Thanks Tina! We only camped one night, but everything was quiet and certainly up to our paltry standards. The grounds included a laundromat, showers, and a small store to buy the essentials. The beach on Iona Lake was a nice place to take a dip and have drunken swim races at midnight. We’d definitely stay here again if needed!

I also totally disagree with Nat C. It’s camp, not the Ritz! We have been camping there for almost 7yrs now and look forward to summer because of it. The tent sites are NOT on top of each other and as Kerri B. says, you can always ask to be moved if you don’t like your site. Everyone there is friendly, respectful, and helpful and the location is great (close to N. Conway, and easy to get to Maine etc…).

I totally disagree with the previous reviewer! I have been camping at this campground for about 6 yrs now. It is not a party campground, during bike week in NH it may be a little louder than norm but what in NH isn’t during that week? I have been there when the owners have asked the music to be turned off at 11. They don’t come around and hose down your fire like some places. As long as you are being respectful and quiet you are allowed to enjoy your fire as long as you like. PKC is convienient to N. Conway etc. They have a lake, ball field, playground etc. the camp sites are not on top of eachother you have plenty of room, and if you really dont like your site when you get there the owners are so flexible that you could change it. I have seen campgrounds where you are packed in like sardines ! this is not one of them! I think the previous review doesn’t give this campground justice. Its really not terrible or the worst to stay at in NH. I have met some of the best people up there and had some pretty fun times !

TERRIBLE! There are plenty of places to go camping in NH but stay away from this one. You’re practically on top of the person next to you & forget about the «music off» rule. If you like partying every night with a bunch of be-​mulletted dudes & shitty 80’s rock blaring all around you then maybe you’ll like this place.