Summary

Jon and Mike are hosting a glamping weekend at the Mad River Retreat in Waterville Valley, NH!  The Mad River Retreat is on the Mad River with breathtaking views of the Sandwich Range. A large grassy tent area overlooks the Mad River and Sandwich Range. A 5-person hot tub is on the premises to soothe those tired muscles.

We have six bunk beds available at $25/night. Linen/blankets/towels are provided. Space is limited so email ASAP to reserve a bunk! Tenting is also available at $25/night.

The price includes coffee and bagels for breakfast each morning.

Below is a tentative schedule:

Friday:

You can arrive anytime on Friday after 2PM. Relax on our deck, enjoy the spectacular views; or take a short walk to the Mad River to hang out by the water or take a swim. You are on your own for meals on Friday. You are welcome to use our kitchen facilities to cook.

Beer/Wine Blast ~ 7:00PM

We’ll start off the weekend with a Beer/Wine Blast on our deck! Bring a six pack of your favorite local craft beer or vintage wine to share in our communal cooler and sample what everyone else brought! It’s a great way to meet the guys. Socialize and meet other members!

Saturday:

Below are suggestions. We hope participants will host and post one of these or an event of their own.

>>Post An Event

9:30 am – Kayaking/Canoeing at Squam Lakes Association in Holderness. Rent kayaks/canoes from Squam Lakes Association by the hour or day. The Squam Lakes offer excellent paddling opportunities, with many islands, coves, reefs and miles of protected mountain views. You can paddle to Bowman Island that is open to the public for swimming, sunbathing and hiking. If you would like to run a paddling excursion to Squam Lake but need help, contact us! https://www.squamlakes.org/boat-rentals

9:30 am – Smarts Brook Loop near Mad River Retreat. Take a short and easy hike on the popular Smarts Brook Loop that features a scenic gorge and has views of Smarts Brook Cascades in places. It’s about 3 miles. 

1 pm – Swimming in the Mad River. Saturday afternoon we can chill on the Mad River at nearby “The Eddy”. It’s open to public and will have children but it has a nice deep swimming hole where the river curves. Great for sitting on floats! It has a rocky beach so beach chairs will be needed and we recommend wearing sandals. There is some shade under trees on one end. [Carry what you’d normally bring to the beach: towel, sunscreen, chair, beverage, etc.].

1 pm – Window shopping in Plymouth, NH.

If you’d rather take a longer hike that stretches to the afternoon, there are plenty of options. Waterville Valley itself offers a number of hikes including Goodrich Rock, The Scaur, Snows Mountain and Noon Peak. Moderate hikes include Jennings Peak, Mt. Tecumseh and our adopted trail, Mt. Osceola. Closer to the Retreat is the ever-popular Welch/Dickey Loop. If you would like to run one of these hikes but need help, contact us!

Appetizers on the Deck ~ 5:00PM
Bring some snacks and appetizers to share while we enjoy views from our deck as meals are being prepared for the potluck.

Potluck ~ 6:30 PM

Bring something tasty to the BBQ/potluck to share. Please focus on main dishes since we usually have so many appetizers and dessert that it gets thrown away; packaged food usually does not get eaten. You can use our gas grill if you need to grill something, oven to bake/warm up something, our stovetop for cooked pasta and we’ll have lots of outlets if you want to plug in a crock pot. [Time you’re cooking so that it will be finish for the start of the potluck at 6:30].

In order to have a varied menu of food, once you sign up, please post a message to let everyone know what you will be bringing for the potluck. If you are looking for ideas as to what to bring, here are some suggestions: burgers/buns, hot dogs/buns, veggie burgers, potato chips, grilled chicken, chicken kabobs,  finger sandwiches [ham salad, tuna salad, etc.], pulled pork sandwiches, garden salad, Cole slaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, pasta salad, fruit salad, crockpot dishes [we have outlets to plug them into], oven casserole dishes [we can warm them up in our oven], watermelon, homemade desserts, etc.

Main entrees is where we typically fall short so, please make this your first choice to contribute to the potluck. Vegetarian dishes are appreciated. Pasta dishes are a good second choice. And everyone loves salads: potato, macaroni, pasta, fruit, garden, etc.

We usually have way too much dessert so please make this your last choice for the potluck. Please refrain from contributing packaged bakery items, bread, soda/lemonade, etc. Homemade food always gets eaten and we usually end up throwing away the packaged food.

We will provide paper plates, plastic utensils, napkins and serving utensils.

Campfire ~ 8:00PM

After the potluck we’ll light up a fire.  

Fireworks ~ 9:30PM

MEALS

You are on your own Friday night and all lunches.   You will have full use of the kitchen/house while you are here so don’t be shy opening cabinets/drawers, using utensils/pots/pans, turning on the stove and checking out our extensive collection of hiking books/maps. Our home is your home while you are here!

There are many reasonably-priced restaurants in Waterville Valley/Campton area, should you wish to dine out.

So come and enjoy the lovely and secluded natural environment of the Mad River Retreat’s 5 private acres along the Mad River…gorgeous mountain scenery…swimming in the Mad River…white mountains hiking…delicious Potluck, campfire and fireworks! Put the dates in your calendar! We’ll see you there!!!

Your hosts,

Mike and Jon

Directions To Trailhead Parking Lot

Email me for directions to the house.