White Mt. NF--Dolly Copp Campground, Gorham

White Mt. NF--Dolly Copp Campground, Gorham

Gorham, New Hampshire 03581

Official Website
White Mountain National Forest Official Website

About this Location

Dolly Copp Campground is a historic and popular camping destination in the White Mountain National Forest, located 6 miles south of Gorham. The campground offers access to some of the most scenic and challenging hikes in the region, including trails to Mount Washington, the tallest peak in New England. The campground has a variety of sites, some with electric hookups, and amenities such as flush toilets, showers, and a large picnic pavilion. The campground is open from mid-May to mid-October and reservations are recommended. 

About White Mountain National Forest

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In the decades prior to 1911, the unregulated logging practices of private timber companies in the White Mountains had resulted in a damaged landscape susceptible to both fire and flood. Fires had burned thousands of acres, and flash floods affected the water power necessary to the mills of major industrial centers downstream, such as Manchester, New Hampshire, and Lowell, Massachusetts. Concerns over losses to industry, business, and tourism, and the growing conservation movement led to citizen action. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) spearheaded an effort to ensure the permanent protection of the White Mountains from further depredation. After years of lobbying and intense public pressure, Senator John Weeks of Massachusetts, a native of Lancaster, New Hampshire, introduced legislation that became known as the Weeks Act. The Weeks Act was passed by Congress in 1911, appropriating 9 million dollars to purchase 6 million acres of land in the Eastern U.S. In turn, this led to the creation of the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) in 1918, and twenty-one other national forests throughout the north and southeast. Many of the groups who were instrumental in the passage of the Weeks Act, including the SPNHF and the AMC, are still active today, and the WMNF has grown from 7,000 acres to almost 800,000. Today, the reforested mountains and hillsides supply forest products and provide magnificent recreational opportunities while maintaining healthy watersheds and ecosystems.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Entrance fee

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

Content from White Mountain National Forest Official Website

Last updated November 22, 2023