Pillsbury State Park spreads across 4,456 acres of rugged backcountry in Sullivan County, making it one of New Hampshire’s largest and most remote state parks. Unlike the well-trafficked parks of the White Mountains, Pillsbury offers a quieter, wilder experience — the kind of place where you’re more likely to hear loons calling across a pond than another hiker’s conversation.

The park is built around a network of pristine ponds — May Pond, Mill Pond, Butterfield Pond, and North Pond among them — connected by roughly 20 miles of trails that wind through dense hardwood and spruce forests. Paddlers will find excellent flatwater kayaking and canoeing, while anglers can cast for brook trout in waters that see far less pressure than most New Hampshire fisheries.

Pillsbury operates a rustic campground with both tent sites and primitive backcountry options scattered along the trail system. If you’re looking to introduce someone to backpacking without committing to a multi-day trek, the walk-in sites here strike a perfect balance — remote enough to feel like wilderness, close enough to the car that forgetting the coffee isn’t a disaster.

Fall foliage season transforms the park into a patchwork of orange, red, and gold, making September through mid-October the most visually stunning time to visit. Summer brings warm swimming and reliable trail conditions. Winter visitors will find ungroomed but navigable terrain for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

Come here when you want New Hampshire’s backcountry without the White Mountains crowds.

Explore Nearby

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• Baltimore Covered Bridge — Covered Bridge in Vermont
• Connecticut River Byway — Scenic Byway in Massachusetts
• Victorian Village Covered Bridge — Covered Bridge in Vermont
• Green Mountain National Forest — National Forest in Vermont