Danforth Bay Camping And RV Resort Review

Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort – A Natural Playground

We are so grateful that the Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort, located in the gorgeous Mt. Washington Valley in Freedom, NH, sponsored our week-long stay.

To top it all, we were lucky enough to experience the resort and surrounding areas at the peak of the fall foliage. The colors were SPECTACULAR!

And the leaf-shower opportunities were endless.

In a sentence, Danforth Bay is a family-friendly natural playground. 

Comprised of 185 forested acres and with over a half-mile of lake frontage on Danforth Bay, you’ll have plenty of places to have memorable experiences.

Whether you want to tent camp, rent a cozy cabin, or stay in your own RV, you’ll be able to find something to your liking in one of their 300 roomy sites, and of course if you’re an angler, you can fish to your heart’s content!

We Stayed In Our Trailer

When we visited Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort, we stayed in our travel trailer. 

The roads getting to our site were well maintained and pothole-free. They were wide and had plenty of overhead clearance too.

And…

We were more than satisfied with our lake-side, laser-level, full-hook-up site.

No need for our Lynx Levelers here! 

We Had A Lakeside View

The view of the lake was beautiful, and we were a stone’s throw away. 

Peri and Kai played on the beach quite regularly, since it took us about 10-seconds to walk to it!

And since it was so close, we enjoyed it at night too.

Beyond The Resort

There is also a TON of outdoor adventures at a mere arm’s reach from the resort, and we’ll get into all of that below. 

But first, a bit more on the Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort itself.

Danforth Bay Camping And RV Resort Amenities and Facilities

To say the very least, Dan Forth Bay Camping & RV Resort has just about everything you’d want in a camping and RV resort while still maintaining that refreshing back-to-nature feel. 

What you’ll find at Danforth Bay includes:

• Ball Field
• Basketball Court
• Boat Launch
• Camp Store and Gift Shop
• Camping Cabins
• Coin Operated Showers 
• Depot
• Dog Park
• Dump Stations
• Family Room
• Game Room
• Gated Entrances
• Lakeside Room
• Laundry Room
• Pascoe Study (Adults only)
• Pavilion
• Playgrounds (4)
• Propane Fill Station
• Safari Field
• Sandy Beaches (2)
• Snack Shack
• Spotless Bathhouses (9)
• Swimming Pools
• Waterfront Sites
• Amp Service – 50/30/20
• Arts & Crafts
• ATM
• Bingo
• Boat Rentals
• Cable TV
• Fire Rings with Grill
• Fishing
• Golf Cart Rentals
• Hiking / Biking Trails
• Horseshoe Pits
• Kayak Trips & Instruction
• Kiddie pool w/ Slide (1)
• Ping Pong
• Planned Activities & Themed Weeks
• Rainy Day Activities
• Snowmobile Trail System Access
• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Wagon Rides
• Weekend Live Entertainment
• WiFi Access

Again, Danforth Bay had everything we wanted, and more!

Danforth Bay Camping And RV Resort Things To Do

Below is a bit more detail on some of the things you can do at Danforth Bay. We’ll have to come back another 10 times to fully share about all they have on offer.

Things To Do At The Resort

Keep in mind, we visited Danforth Bay in the fall, so it was not prime time for water activities. However, Peri and I did take a dip in the lake, and of course, there are indeed many water sports activities you can do.

Boating

You can certainly do some boating at Danforth Bay. In specific, you can rent canoes, kayaks, paddleboats, and rowboats, but feel free to bring your own too!

Swimming

You’ll be at a lake, so of course, you can swim in there. But, you can also go swimming in the pools or even the kiddie pool that has a slide!

Fishing

You can fish to your heart’s content at Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort. We didn’t have any gear but seems the fish were biting quite a bit.

Sports

Water sports are not the only thing to do here. There are also a number of sports fields and courts including a baseball field, a basketball field, a beach volleyball court, and even tennis courts.

Playgrounds

Admittedly, since Peri and Kai both go head over heels for a good playground, we did spend a lot of our time enjoying one of the four very nice playgrounds conveniently located about a two-minute walk from our site.

Hiking

While technically not on the resort itself, the very nearby hike up Mary’s mountain and over to Trout Pond were two of our favorite things we did while at Danforth Bay.

Mary’s Mountain wasn’t the easiest of hikes, but the views from the summit were spectacular. And, from that vantage point, we could see all of Danforth Bay!

Peri was so tired from riding on my back, he needed to cool-off his belly up at the summit.

Biking

We didn’t have time to do any mountain biking on the nearby 5000 acres of undeveloped working forest, so we added that to our to-do list for the next time we visit.

Rainy Day Activities

Thankfully, we didn’t have any rainy days while we were at the resort.

However, Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort has you covered if indeed you find yourself there during inclement weather.

Not only do their activity staff regularly plan programs for kids and families, but they also have a pavilion, game room, free movie rental library and viewing TV as well as various other indoor spaces that you can enjoy if indeed the weather doesn’t permit you to enjoy the great outdoors.

Clearly, if you look at the bulleted list above, you will notice that we did not experience nearly all that Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort has on offer.

And keep in mind, we were there for five days.

We could’ve easily stayed for five more, and I still don’t think we would’ve been able to fully take advantage of the wide range of experiences on offer at Danforth Bay.

Things To Do Nearby

While there are many things to do at the Danforth Bay resort itself, there is even more to do in the nearby Mt. Washington Valley area.

Here are three family-friendly hikes that we consider true gems. Below we get into all three.

Foss Mountain Trail

If you only have time to do one offsite hike while visiting the Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort resort, we highly recommend you hike the Foss Mountain trail. We loved it so much that we wrote our own guide!

Keep in mind, however, you will need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to get to the trailhead.

In a sentence, this is one of the easiest and most scenic hikes we have ever done anywhere in all of our world travels. 

Peri, who at the time of writing was 2.5 years old, was able to hike nearly the entire trail on his own, including the bear rock patches at the top which led to 360-degree panoramic views of the Conway New Hampshire and Mount Washington Valley area. 

Our son Kai, who was 1 at the time, even toddled up the trail a bit, but we did need to carry him most of the time.

Additionally, we were lucky enough to do this hike during the peak of the fall foliage, so the scenery was extraordinarily spectacular.

But even at any time of year, this hike should be on your family-friendly hiking bucket list.

Black Cap Mountain

Black Cap is another hike that we would consider family-friendly.

Admittedly, it is a bit more challenging than the Foss Mountain trail, but it’s still totally doable with kids, and the views from the summit are UH-mazing!

Kai even toddled a bit with some help from Julia. 

Fortunately, while the road to the trailhead is very steep, you should be fine if you do not have a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Nevertheless, if you have young children who are accustomed to hiking, you’ll be fine.

Also if you have suitable child carriers such as an Osprey Poco AG or a Tula, you’ll be doubly fine.

And, if you do hike Black Cap, reward yourself with some FANTASTIC Mexican food from Fiesta Jalisco, one of our favorites.

Cathedral Ledge

Last but certainly not least, if you want to experience some of the beautiful views of the New Hampshire mountains, but you don’t want to sweat at all, you should consider checking out Cathedral Ledge.

You can drive up to these beautiful granite outlooks in just about any car.

Once you reach the parking lot, you will have about a 30-second walk on a nearly flat trail, and then you will be rewarded with some stunning views of Conway, NH. 

Fun fact, from Cathedral Ledge, you’ll be looking out to Black Cap Mountain!

Beyond Hiking

As you likely know, we are family hiking junkies, but there is plenty to do in the Mount Washington Valley area beyond hiking. 

This next list is by no means exhaustive, but it is indeed a sampling of what this area has to offer. The larger point is, while you are at the Danforth Bay resort, you will not be at a loss for engaging and memorable experiences!

• Conway Scenic Railroad
• Travel through Crawford Notch
• Story Land
• Attitash’s alpine slides
• Various golf courses in the area
• Mt. Washington – The highest point in the Northeast [Take to the summit either (1) The Auto Road or (2) The Cog Railway]
• Explore Lake Ossipee
• Enjoy various kinds of sales-tax-free shopping

Our Closing Thoughts

Even after our five days at the resort, we still felt like we had only scratched the surface of what the resort had to offer, let alone the surrounding area.

We suggest you pick a handful of items that you would like to do throughout the course of your stay but plan on coming back to this area a couple of times if you really want to get a good feel for everything!