Agency-listedUSFSFree
Three Ponds Shelter
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · NH · 43.90185, -71.82118
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Three Ponds Shelter
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,758 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Three Ponds ShelterNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Three Ponds Shelter · White Mountain National Forest · NH
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel3 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- +Urgent care4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- MMechanic8 mi
- EVEV fast charger9 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- OOutfitter12 mi
- WWater18 mi
- DDump20 mi
- AAir-up27 mi
- ShShower30 mi
- PPropane40 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Three Ponds Shelter
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,758 ft
State
NH
Coordinates
43.90185, -71.82118
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Three Ponds Shelter · White Mountain National Forest · NH (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureThree Ponds (water) · nearby
- Nearest townStinson Lake · ~2.9 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~8.4 mi
- FuelAppleknockers · ~3.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~20.1 mi
- GroceriesCampton Cupboard · ~9.6 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~10.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicAmmonoosuc Community Health Services · ~3.6 mi
- HardwareRand's Ace Harware · ~12.0 mi
EV charging — from Three Ponds Shelter · White Mountain National Forest · NH — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger8.7 mi straight-line E — Thornton, NH - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach9 within 25 mi · 54 within 50 · 340 within 100 · 921 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS16.1 mi — Hannaford Bradford, Bradford
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO16.1 mi — Hannaford Bradford, Bradford
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.8 mi — Best Western Plymouth Inn - White Mountains, Campton, NH · NOODOE · J1772 · 3 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 307825 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Three Ponds Shelter · White Mountain National Forest · NH — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomThree Ponds · ~1.7 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRumney 1 Meadows · ~6.9 mi S · USFS
- RestroomDOC Ore Hill Campsite Privy · ~6.9 mi W · NPS
- RestroomElbow Pond · ~7.3 mi NE · USFS
Open Three Ponds Shelter elsewhere
Other camps near Three Ponds Shelter
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Ore Hill Tentsite~6.9 mi
- In White Mountain National Forest~7.3 mi
- Jeffers Brook Shelter~7.4 mi
- Beaver Brook Shelter~9.1 mi
The unit that manages Three Ponds Shelter
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Three Ponds Shelter are set by White Mountain National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Three Ponds Shelter
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Three Ponds Shelter
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Three Ponds Shelter
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →How to read this page →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →