Meet the newest addition to the Bear Brook Campground! (Well…sort of)
If you love camping but don’t love sleeping on the ground then you might be interested in staying in our Bear Hill Cabins. Here, deep in the middle of a state park forest, you can be fully immersed in nature while having the comforts of a furnished cabin to spend your nights. This is especially appealing in the spring and fall months when temps can drop down in the 40s at night and rise into the 70s during the day. Families may also find this setup quite convenient since it doesn’t not involve wrestling with a 10 or 12 person tent and lugging additional gear.
The Bear Hill Cabins are located within Bear Brook State Park (Allenstown, NH) and are roughly 5 miles away from the main campground. There are currently 8 cabins available for reservation – each of which sleeps up to 4 or 6 people. Inside each cabin you’ll find bunk beds, futon pull-out couch and a table and chairs. Clear vinyl windows (covering the screens) can be opened/closed from the outside depending on the weather and a front porch is complete with adirondack chairs for lounging.
Next to the cabins a fire ring and picnic table are the standard as well. Presently a single family-style bathhouse is the only facility available along with a few extra porta-potties. The bathhouse has an outdoor sink (non-potable water) for washing dishes and bottled water is provided for drinking.
One downside to the cabins (if you’re a dog owner) is that pets are not currently allowed. Electricity is not available in the cabins either but there are outlets on the bathhouse building. Since the park office and store are located in the main campground (5 miles away) you’ll also have to drive there to purchase firewood or supplies.
Bear Hill Pond is a short distance from the cabins and can be used for boating, fishing and other water sports. There is a small beach area, which you can also drive to, for launching a boat or wading into the water. The pond has a wild and isolated feeling to it with it’s jagged shoreline and massive boulders jutting out in places. It is significantly quieter than Beaver Pond or Catamount Pond and you are likely to have the entire pond to yourself if you venture out paddling.
In the years to come NH State Parks will continue to expand the number of cabins being offered at Bear Hill. The 8 cabins we have now make up the Oaks Unit of what is known as Bear Hill Pond Camp – a system of cabins units built by the CCC in the 1940s and used as a summer camp by 4H, Girl Scouts, and the YMCA over the years. Back in 2018 (years after the summer camps had shut down) NH State Parks began renovating cabins in the Oaks Unit so that we could offer them to the public for camping. Renovations will continue and more cabin units will be added along with a fully functioning bathhouse that would include showers, flush toilets, potable water and a dish-washing station.
The cabins (and the rest of the Bear Brook Campground) will be open until October 31st this year – so there is still time to book a night or two and check them out for yourself. Since there are only 8 cabins so far – they can fill up quickly so book a few weeks in advance if possible. Or – if you just want to take a look you can always hike, run or bike up to Bear Hill Pond from the hiker/biker lot on Podunk Road or Hayes Field on one of the many trails that leads to Bear Hill. Check out the state park trail map for details.
Have you stayed here? Leave a comment about your experience. Have questions – or want more information? Send us an email or message us on facebook.
More pictures of the Bear Hill Cabins:
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