This was our first time staying at Adventure bound in Nh. We used to stay at Glen Ellis before it became a Jellystone and fell outside of our budget. I was unaware that Adventure bound in NH was formally a Jellystone until after our arrival and I was pleased to hear that although it had the big name, it is family run.
Pros:
We stayed from Thursday to Sunday and booked the preferred rustic cabin near the welcome office. The cabin itself was simple as expected and very clean. For a cabin that allows dogs, there was no smell or animal hair which was nice as we didn't have a dog with us. Although the rustic cabins state online when booking that there is no Air-conditioning, ours did! I'm not sure if it is because it's a preferred cabin but we were extremely happy that it did, especially since Thursday was very hot and humid.
As for the location, we thought it was the perfect spot. It was close to all the amenities and a short walk to the river. We did scope out the entire campground to scout future spots and were not particularly impressed with the sites closest to the road on the campground as you can hear the cars and it's a hike to get to the center.
We travelled with our two children ages 11 and 4 and they had an absolute blast! The staff does a great job with the extra events on Saturday and my 4 year old was obsessed with the train ride that runs twice a day. The Manager who drive the train is always very pleasant and has great energy when driving the train, it makes a big difference in the experience!
I've read reviews that the campground is like a "frat party", we did not get that vibe. I got a live active campground with families and kids everywhere. It was nice to see kids riding their bikes and using the basketball court. We saw teenagers playing volleyball all the time and adults having a great time with horseshoe and shuffle board. I've been to campgrounds where those activities are underutilized and it's sad. This was not the case with this campground.
We do not have a dog but it was also nice to see how pet friendly this campground is. There were so many families who had dogs with them, it's nice to have a campground where it's super dog friendly as I know so many people with dogs who feel restricted because of pet policies.
I also appreciated how the toddler splash pad was separate from the pool so I could feel comfortable keeping an eye on my little one while also being able to relax. The pools were also clean and well maintained. The hot tub was out of order. I can't speak to the inflatable slides as it was windy on the day we attempted to check it out so it wasn't up.
The snack bar has a ton of great breakfast and lunch items. The ice coffee and root beer floats are delicious!
Lastly, the river... it's amazing. We brought some tubes and lifejackets and had a great time! This was the highlight to our trip to be honest.
Some Cons:
If I had to provide some feedback, I'd say a few things. Unfortunately there is a good amount of mold in the showers near the pool. I'm not sure if they're being cleaned often, there were Qtips in the showers and when I showered another day they were still there. I informed the staff and they apologized and said they'd tell their cleaning crew.
It seems like it's understaffed, we had to wait in line for over an hour to just get to the counter to do ceramics Saturday morning. By the time we sat down to paint, the activity was wrapping up. There was one girl doing the transactions and pouring the paint.
We also wish that there were more activities Friday night and/or during the week. We arrived Thursday and the vibe was alot quieter of course than the weekend so the pool was not overcrowded which was lovely, however it would've been nice if there was ceramics or a movie nice on Thursday or Friday. It would be a nice incentive to stay during the week for a longer period of time. We felt as though all the activities were crammed on Saturday.
We also wish the bathroom near the store was open 24/7 and not just during store hours. We booked the preferred spot because the bathroom location on the map, understanding that our cabins did not have a bathroom.
Ultimately, we had a great weekend, I'm not sure why some reviews are so negative. At the end of the day, you're camping and you make the best of it, you make lifelong memories and enjoy the time with your family/ friends.
The staff was always pleasant and kind and you saw them wearing multiple hats to maintain the grounds so you can tell everyone is working hard. Yes, the grounds could use a little TLC. Maybe this campground is understaffed but the team is doing the best they can with all their guests requests.
My family and I may have found our new favorite campground to make memories year after year. We plan to book a longer stay at Adventure bound NH next year :) read more