Another NH campground, another management change. Is everything ruined?
When we first returned to New Hampshire this fall, we stayed at Meredith Woods Campground, a park we had called home for nearly three weeks back in 2022. Only, now named Hunter's Run RV Park, new management had taken over and we noticed unfortunate changes even before we booked our stay. The biggest letdown was that Meredith Woods was a four-season campground, something we took advantage of when we stayed there in November. Now, the campground would be closing in October, like so many others in New England. We booked a stay for September anyway and looked forward to seeing what had changed, and what had remained the same. You can read the full blog post here, but for the most part, we were impressed. The grounds looked and felt the same, the amenities were consistent, and the staff was friendly.
The management company that took over Meredith Woods is Modern America, and they have burst onto the scenes in New England, creating their own regional Thousand Trails-esque membership program for campers who frequent parks in this area. Their Freedom Trail Pass offers "unlimited camping" at their parks for a yearly fee. When we break it down, it's actually a pretty good deal. For $2250/year, campers can enjoy unlimited stays up to 4 nights at any of the "standard" Modern America owned parks. Longer stays up to two weeks are also allowed, as long as there is a week-long break between the stays. Modern America also owns "premier" campgrounds, which members can stay at full hookup sites for 30% off or water and electric sites at non-peak times for free. There are other perks like priority access to seasonal spots and a concierge service to help you book, but those aside, when we break down the numbers, campers would get a return on investment in about 6-7 weeks of camping at a standard Modern America park. This of course depends on the nightly rate at these campgrounds, which varies, but we're calculating this based on the average rate we've seen, which is around $50-55.
At first glance, if we spent more time camping in New England, we'd consider getting this pass. However, the deal is only as good as the campgrounds this company owns. We've already determined that Hunter's Run is a campground we would frequent, but this is one of their "premier" locations, so it wouldn't be included for free unless it was outside peak times. Not necessarily a huge deal for us, as we like to camp in NH during the shoulder season anyway. However, this is the only Modern America park we've camped at. In looking at some of the others listed, we have high hopes. Many are well-rated and highly sought-after. Others have suffered some poor reviews in recent times, so perhaps the new management would revitalize them and help them reach their potential.
We became curious about one other Modern America campground because, much like Hunter's Run, we had stayed at this campground back in 2022 when it was under different ownership. Now, two years later, Modern America has taken over and we wondered about any new infrastructure. Also similar to Hunter's Run, the management has taken two campgrounds near each other and morphed them into one. In 2022, we stayed at Riverbrook RV and Camping Resort. Now, it shares space with Baker River Campground about a mile up the street.
A nearby appointment brought us to this neck of the woods unexpectedly, and so we booked 5 nights at "Riverbrook and Baker River." We reserved a site on the Riverbrook side so we could directly compare our two stays. Well, at least we would try to compare them. Back when we stayed here in 2022, we were going through some stuff. We had just dealt with a major blow to our trailer, in the form of dangerous voltage. We almost didn't even make it to Riverbrook, but we used our stay there to regroup. This is where our friendly neighbor taught us how to jerry-rig our transfer switch using a wooden rod, something that has come in handy more than once. This is also where we finally got to enjoy experiences not related to rig repairs, like hiking this beautiful ridge on the nearby Rattlesnake Mountain.
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Nicole Anderson
Nicole Anderson
Thinking back to our first stay, though, most of the memories were a blur. We remember the friendly atmosphere, game room, and recreation path. We remember needing to be really careful for kiddos running and riding their bikes without watching for vehicles and rigs. This always scares us. Otherwise, we would need to see if any memories came back to us upon our return.
This time, we camped outside of peak season, so the campground was a lot less full. I booked us a spot that would typically back up to another camper, but the site was vacant the whole time. Several sites had RVs, but the occupants were seldom there. Occasionally, a family with children would come in, but these kids were much better at staying out of the roads. We retrieved a core memory immediately when we almost missed the entrance because our RV GPS puts it a few tenths of a mile away. There is an overflow lot close to the street, and the main office and rec building is positioned toward the back of the RV sites. Everything looked the same in the office and game room, all the way down to the chalkboard wall that was scribbled with much less provocative camping graffiti this time – another sign of the off-season.
Behind the building is the pool, closed for the season. Then, a surprising thing to forget, was that the back area of the campground is so much more than just the recreation path. There is a tent area, and beyond that, a massive field that leads to more walking paths and the river, where campers have access. From there, we could see the tops of rigs staying in Baker River Campground upstream. The two campgrounds are awfully far apart to be considered one and the same.
Returning after two years of full-timing, we now have a much better sense of what we like and dislike about campgrounds. Perhaps just 6 months into our RV life, we didn't know how wonderful it was to have ample places to walk. Riverbrook is deceiving in this way; it looks like a small RV park off a main road, but the back boasts expansive land with gorgeous views. We now know to not take features like that for granted.
The rec path that we remembered is used for snowmobiling in the winter, which begs the question once again: Does this campground really not take reservations in the colder seasons? Does it stay open for winter seasonal RVers? We couldn't find this answer for Hunter's Run, and we can't find it for Riverbrook. Something cool about both of these campgrounds is their access to all-season recreation. This is the case with many New England campgrounds. It's a shame to take away our ability to winter camp when we have so many opportunities for snowmobiling, skiing, XC skiing, and winter hiking nearby.
If we hadn't known that Riverbrook was under new management, we honestly wouldn't have noticed. This is a good thing. Riverbrook was not one of the campgrounds that needed revitalization. Hopefully with the ones that were more disheveled, Modern America is taking care of them.
So, what is really up with all of these management changes in NH? They spread beyond Modern America's quest to become "pioneers of east coast camping" (their words). We have noticed tons of campgrounds change ownership over the past couple of years. Some get taken over by companies with more manpower and financial means. Others are handed to the next generation – millennial couples who strive to preserve the heritage of family-owned recreation. Is this a solution to meet the increasing demand for campgrounds? If it is, it only gets us part-way there. New England is in desperate need for more campgrounds in general, so anything that keeps the current ones running and in decent shape is most welcome. However, we could benefit greatly from an increase in the number of campgrounds available, especially in areas with high levels of outdoor activities. This seems to be the popular opinion everywhere, but here in the Northeast, large parcels of land do not come about often, and when they do, they are not cheap. There are also strict zoning and permitting laws in many areas, causing even more obstacles in the way of campground establishment. Then, we have the sharpest thorn in our side, which is the dearth of all-season campgrounds in an area where fall and winter recreation is plentiful. When we return to New England at the end of each year, we cannot ignore of the number of campers who truly embrace the cold weather. We do not see this in many other places. Unfortunately, like everything else in this part of the country, most campgrounds find expenses too high to stay open all year long. Plus, because the winters get harsh, campgrounds need to take special measures to keep hookups insulated and water running – or if not, come up with an alternative solution to not having water. These are hoops that many campground owners would rather not jump through. However, we can't help but wonder, if more campgrounds did open their doors to winter campers, would they be surprised at just how many would take advantage? Could we possibly normalize winter camping over time? In places like NH, we see this as a definite possibility. This is a state that boasts never-ending beauty and outdoor adventures – and true New Englanders embrace it all, every month of the year.
Site 31, back-in, full hookups
Standard site, end of row, picnic table, fire ring
Campground recommended? Yes
Site recommended? Yes