Yes, last year we stayed at Big Rock. Unfortunately, they went out of business. But I would have recommended the Connolly Campground anyway. Their site is a little more secluded and directly on the trail. Big Rock was right on the main road....but anywhere you stay works. There's definitely a weekends worth of trails to ride.

 

Wilson, am I correct in thinking there is no trail all the way from Connolly into Berlin???

 

They are not now connected. I had heard they were trying to connect several systems in that area, but not happening soon.

 

Sorry to hear about any small business closing, really sucks.

I did check out connolly, looks decent, i wouldnt need anything more as i bring my house with me to camp. ONly issue i do see is i may possibly have a person coming with that would need to rent an atv, thats why i was looking at berlin area.

 

When we went last year, one of the guys with us rented at Berlin and they let him bring it up to Stratford.

 

So while i was staying at barlett(N.conway area) the wife and i took a ride to Berlin to check out the ATV situation. I must say i feel bad for the people up there, not only is it a depressing looking town and i am sure financially it is hurting, but any business that relied on snowfall surely is struggling now after having almost no snow.
I did stop in at Jericho powersports and the person there was helpful in getting me some info including maps and such. It is a smaller shop but located right on the trail.
He did confirm that there are no campgrounds around there with camp and ride ability.
Drive from north conway to berlin was about 40 minutes, nice and scenic up route 16.

Wilson i am curious how long it takes you from the boston area to get to stratford, seems like it could be a long haul.

 

Berlin used to have 5 or 6 wood/paper mills in its hayday. Now they are down to one. It almost closed last year but an investor bought it and is keeping it running. Not sure what its status is but I understand they were going to build a prison in Berlin. They really do need the jobs up there. I'm sure it's been hard on the North Country this year. There are many towns like Berlin in New England.

 

I am not picking on Berlin, certianly there are plenty of financially burdened towns in new england. And yes i could see where they had a mill, also where they were tearing one down, it just looked bad.

I could also see why the mayor up there would be embracing the idea of ATV usage in the area to bring in revenue and vacationers do spend money.
I hope it all works out up there and would love to see a campground built with the ability to ride from my site.

 

The place we went to in Stratford was two hours north of Concord. It takes me a little over an hour to get to Concord, so in total its about a 3.5 hour drive for me. It is a bit of a haul, thats why I only do it when I'm staying for the weekend. Otherwise, I'd be up there every weekend!

Its tough to think about the businesses up there that rely on snowmobilers to get them through. Although I enjoyed this winter it relaly did hurt them up there. Maybe they will be able to open the ATV trails a little earlier since they will dry out faster this year?

 

sounds like it could be a good trip, i will definetly check it out as i am about 2 hours from concord, maybe 2.5..so it would also have to be a weekend trip for me.

Wilson when i do a search for conolly cabins in stratford NH i find a place that is south laconia, are these places with similiar names?