Campground Review: Meredith Woods, Meredith, NH

We spent close to 3 weeks in Meredith, NH, during what we can safely say was their slow season. Though a 4-season campground, we seemed to hit the liminal time between the warm weather camping and the "break out the snowmobiles" camping. Funnily, our few weeks brought us all kinds of weather, and we got to watch in amusement as weekenders seized the warmth and flocked to the sites with their tents, staying right next to seasonal RVs that had already been winterized and covered for the rest of the year. Sometimes when we stay at a campground long enough, we start to feel like we rule the roost. Even though there were plenty of manufactured homes and seasonal sites on the premises, we were the only brave campers who remained at the campground for the entirety of the weather changes. We even found ourselves all by our lonesome a few of the days, which is a very strange feeling when you're staying in a 300+ site RV park. We won't lie, though. We loved the peace and quiet.

Finding cold weather accommodations up in New England is no easy feat, but thankfully some New Hampshire campgrounds do cater to the skiers, snowmobilers, and us weirdos who do none of that winter stuff. We booked our reservation early, not knowing how filled they'd get, but also because we knew we'd be staying a while. Initially we had booked from late October, but we spent extra time at our home-base to get our cat Lily some vet care. We changed our date of arrival to November 2, and right away we gave a huge plus to this campground. We had to change a lot of reservations in 2022, and this was a pretty last-minute change, but they still gave us a refund for the nights we wouldn't be there. They didn't have to do that and we totally weren't expecting it, but that earned them major brownie points.

We didn't know much about this campground but booked it because it was in a desired location and, well, it was open. To our pleasant surprise, the sites were huge and rustic, surrounded by trees, but remarkably level nonetheless. We were perfectly level left-to-right and only needed to worry about our front-to-back slope. Meredith Woods keeps some sites open all year, providing insulated hoses for water. Lots of other campgrounds we've looked at totally shut off their water, but staying at a campground for an extended period of time makes full hookups very convenient. Though we did disconnect on a few freezing days, having the water availability right at our site was wonderful.

When the weather was warm, we had plenty of outdoor recreation right at our doorstep. The campground has an ATV trail, but we don't ATV, so we instead went for nearby hikes. The Hamlin Conservation Area is just up the street, or if you want to travel further, you have Lake Winnipesaukee less than 10 minutes away and the White Mountains a short drive up the highway.

Meredith Woods is one of those perfect balance campgrounds that feels secluded but is actually right near civilization. It's right off a main road that has tons of shops and restaurants, and is only about a 5-minute drive from I-93. We ran lots of errands while we were there, popping over to one of our favorite farm stands, Moulton Farm, which was less than 15 minutes away. Between the farm stand and the campground were 3 stores we frequented, the Hannaford, the Aubuchon Hardware where we got our propane refills, and the Rite Aid, which is by far one of the best, most well-stocked pharmacies we've been to. Best yet are the views of Lake Winnipesaukee as you drive through town. Meredith Woods is on the far west side of town, right near the New Hampton border. This means that it's only a short distance to the surrounding towns of Bristol and Laconia. If you want a quintessential New England experience, head to downtown Bristol, which boasts a lovely, quaint walkable center.

The campground itself has plenty to keep you occupied on the days you're staying put. Our site was a short walk from the office, which also houses a campground store, lounge room, game room, and our favorite, an indoor pool. There is nothing better than a warm soak in the hot tub on a cold November night, and I was happy to have the pool to myself to get back into lap swimming, which I hadn't done in over 10 years.

We love ourselves a good game room, but unfortunately for us, this was the weak point of the campground. At first glance the room looks great. It has air hockey, billiards, pinball, darts, and some other arcade games. It also has a shelf stocked with board games. Some of the arcade games are coin operated while others are free, and it's a little confusing to know which is which. The pool table seemed to be coin operated but then allowed us free play...for about 2 seconds. The 8 ball ended up disappearing into the recesses of the table and we couldn't get it back. The cue sticks were also very worn down. The dart board was working, except there were no darts. One of the arcade games was out of order. Pinball seemed to work decently, but after a couple games, we lost our zeal for the game room and called it a day.

We loved the lounge area, which felt like a homey living room. We only spent a few minutes there to check it out, but it could easily be a place to sit for a while, read a book, or watch one of the many DVDs they had available. They also have racks full of brochures for area attractions.

The downside to the amenities is that the main office building has limited hours in their cold weather season. Understandable since it's slow and the staff can go home early, but 5 days out of 7, the building closes at 6pm. But what if a family comes back from a long day of exploring and wants to borrow an after-dinner movie? Or us, full-time travelers who are working all day, and we want to take a quick dip in the pool in the evening? Fridays and Saturdays the building was open until 9pm which was more reasonable. We just wish there was some way to keep some of the facilities open later on the other days, perhaps granting campers key card access to the lounge room even if the office is closed.

Fortunately, the laundry room was in a different building and was open late, so we were able to throw some clothes in after a workday. We loved our site's location, but we did need to drive our laundry over to the building, which was in the middle of the campground. There was also only one dumpster area, at the exit. Not a big deal because we'd just drive our trash over whenever we were leaving to go somewhere, and each site does have its own trash can in the meantime. It wasn't big, but it at least got the job done when we needed to throw away Tanner's waste bags and other small disposables. The only big note about facilities is that we wish the campground had their own propane fill. Winter campers who aren't seasonal only have a couple small propane tanks at most, and because we have propane heat, we run through the tanks fast. We had to go about 10 minutes up the street to get our refills which wasn't bad, but getting filled at the office would have been wonderfully convenient.

Other amenities at the campground include a playground, horeshoes, basketball, volleyball, and a dog run. Half of these amenities weren't usable when we were there; the basketball court was covered in leaves and the volleyball net had been taken down. We'll give a point to the dog area, though. You wouldn't believe how few have trash bins! Many don't even have waste bag dispensers. This dog run had both. Major props there.

We often mention that we don't stay at a place for the amenities, and Meredith Woods was no exception. We were glad for what they offered, but we were there to hunker down. November has become one of my busiest months of the year for my business, due to end-of-year tasks and my extremely intensive advent calendar offering. I couldn't imagine having to travel in the middle of getting all those recordings done. Being in one place, and then just needing to take a short drive down to MA mid-month, was a huge stress relief. The campground was also very quiet 99% of the time, and I was near beautiful natural areas where I could do some on-scene recording. Having a distraction-free space to work was a must, and Meredith Woods delivered. As for connectivity, it was good enough to get the job done. Their website says they offer WiFi for a fee, but we didn't partake. Our cellular internet + booster gave us OK speeds, but we actually ended up connecting Starlink and facing the dish up to a bald spot in the trees. We had regular interruptions, but they were usually very quick and not too noticeable. We imagine Starlink would be a no-go in other seasons, but because the leaves were off the trees, we had enough clear sky views to make it work.

It didn't take long for us to feel extremely comfortable at Meredith Woods. We could see ourselves spending our Novembers there in future years. It's the perfect location to situate ourselves back in New England before our annual holiday celebrations.

Visiting in one of the other seasons? Check out the sister campground, Clearwater Campground, with lakefront camping!

Campground:

Meredith Woods, Meredith, NH

Site #218, 50 amp FHU, back-in, firepit, picnic table

Campground recommended? Yes

Site recommended? Yes