Franconia Brook Tentsite — Hotel in Lincoln

Aug 6, 2025. N.H. campsite closes after hungry bear damages tents By Truman Dickerson, Globe correspondent A “food-habituated’’ black bear damaged several tents and a screen enclosure in New Hampshire’s White Mountains last week, causing officials to close an affected campsite and consider euthanizing the bear, authorities said.

“The Franconia Brook Tent site will be closed until the habituated bear is judged to no longer pose a safety risk,’’ the Forest Service said in a Facebook post Friday.

The bear has been “panhandling hikers’’ who leave food unguarded at campsites and occasionally throw the animal food, said Daniel Bailey, the bear project leader at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

If the bear’s behavior doesn’t change, it will likely have to be euthanized, he said.

“It’s just up to people to make the right choices and not let these bears get food rewards or be intentionally fed, which will change their behavior and lead to these kinds of issues,’’ Bailey said Tuesday. “Storing food in a manner that the bear can’t get at it is really the key factor here.’’

Bailey said simply removing the bear from the area isn’t an option because adult bears have a “homing sense’’ that leads them back to their “home range.’’

“We’ve moved bears that have GPS collars and then watched them straight-line distance their way right back within a couple weeks,’’ Bailey said.

Forest Service officials stressed the importance of storing food in bear-proof containers. “Improperly stored food not only attracts bears to people currently camping at a site, but lets the bear know that it can find food at that campsite in the...

A very easy hike and a great area, however it's clear this place is overused as there were tons of trees cut down, Burnt logs, glass in the fire pits and trash all over. We backpacked in for the night and ended up taking a quart size bag of trash and glass out.

Practice "Leave No Trace", carry out what you take in. DON'T cut down trees, don't destroy the sites.. We have to take care of these places in order to...

Easy access, but far enough back from the road to not be crowded. Just across the river from multiple trails, makes a great starting point for several great hikes in the Whites.

Just tent spots, no other facilities besides pit toilets. Cost a few bucks to park in the roadside lot, which does have...