Lebanon KOA Holiday on Salmon Falls River Blog
Now Booking the 2026 Season - May 8-October 12!
Whether you’re exploring the local area or hanging out at the campground, KOA Holidays are an ideal place to relax and play. There’s plenty to do, with amenities and services to make your stay memorable. Plus, you’ll enjoy the outdoor experience with upgraded RV Sites with KOA Patio® and Deluxe Cabins with full baths for camping in comfort. Bring your family, bring your friends, or bring the whole group – there’s plenty of ways to stay and explore.
Whether you’re exploring the local area or hanging out at the campground, KOA Holidays are an ideal place to relax and play. There’s plenty to do, with amenities and services to make your stay memorable. Plus, you’ll enjoy the outdoor experience with upgraded RV Sites with KOA Patio® and Deluxe Cabins with full baths for camping in comfort. Bring your family, bring your friends, or bring the whole group – there’s plenty of ways to stay and explore.
From Boston: Take Route 95 North to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Go left at the split (Exit 4), which will put you on the Spaulding Turnpike (Route 16 North) toward New Hampshire. Follow the Spaulding Turnpike to Exit 16 and follow the signs to Route 125 North toward Milton. Go one block and take your first right onto Flat Rock Bridge Road. At the stop sign, cross Salmon Falls Road and continue driving straight over the bridge to the campground entrance.
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Lebanon is the kind of Maine town you drive through on Route 202 without noticing much. Its 55 square miles are mostly woods, farms and water, with the Salmon Falls River marking the New Hampshire border to the west. That's exactly why it works as a camping base. The river runs past your site, the Three Ponds are just upstream, and Rochester and Dover, New Hampshire, have the restaurants and rainy-day options within half an hour. This list sticks to things to do near Lebanon, Maine, within about 30 minutes of Lebanon KOA, grouped so you can plan by mood: water days, camp days, local stops and family outings. For longer drives to the coast and the Lakes Region, see our guide to day trips from Lebanon, Maine.
The two best things to do on the Salmon Falls River near Lebanon are tubing and fishing, and at Lebanon KOA you can do both without leaving the campground. The river borders the property, and the campground offers riverfront sites if you want the water a few steps from your door.
The tubing run starts at one end of the campground and ends at the other, and it takes about 40–45 minutes. It's a lazy float, not whitewater, which is why families with school-age kids repeat it all afternoon. Tubing is bring-your-own, so pack a tube or float from home. A few tips from regulars:
Anglers can fish right from the bank. The campground lists smallmouth bass, perch, dace, suckers, sunfish and rock bass in this stretch of the river. Smallmouth bass are the best fight, and they hold near rocks and current seams. Early morning and the hour before dark are the best times, after the tubers have gone in.
You'll need a fishing license. The river forms the state line here, so confirm which state's license covers the bank you're on before you cast. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife sells licenses online, and they take a few minutes to buy.
You can fill a full day at Lebanon KOA without starting the car. Most of the big activities are free for registered guests. For families, that's often the best day of the trip.
The giant waterslide twists down into a heated pool, and there's a second pool plus a hot tub and sauna for adults. The slide, pools and hot tub are open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Hours vary, and they close for weather.
The 18-hole mini golf course is free for guests. It's the easiest after-dinner activity on the property, and it works for ages 4 to 84.
The Adventure Land ropes course is also free and has higher-level challenges for older kids and adults who want something harder than the playground. The jumping pillow is open to all ages and stays busy from mid-morning until dark.
Gemstone mining is the one paid activity on this list. Buy a bag or bucket at the camp store, then sift for stones at the mining station. Younger kids love it, and they take home a small bag of Maine souvenirs. At 8 p.m. most nights, the movie house shows a free film, so the evening is planned too.
Between those, there's an arcade with prize tickets, two playgrounds, basketball and volleyball courts, cornhole, kickball and wiffle ball. Current hours are on the recreation page.
Milton Three Ponds is the closest big water to Lebanon. It's a chain of three connected ponds (Northeast Pond, Milton Pond and Town House Pond) covering more than 1,200 acres on the state line, less than 15 minutes from the campground. The Salmon Falls River starts at the dam on Milton Pond, so it's the same water that flows past your campsite.
New Bridge Marina, on the Lebanon side of the Northeast Pond channel, rents pontoon boats, fishing boats, canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. A pontoon is the easy choice for a family or group of friends: pack lunch, cruise between the three ponds, and anchor in a cove for a swim. Call ahead on summer weekends, because pontoons go first.
Northeast Pond covers 645 acres and reaches 40 feet deep. Milton Pond is smaller, at 271 acres, but goes down to 52 feet. Together they hold largemouth and smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, white and yellow perch, black crappie and horned pout. Rainbow and brown trout live in the deeper, colder water. If the river bass are too small for you, this is where to go.
Our Milton Three Ponds guide covers rentals, fish species, boating rules and a full weekend plan.
Two businesses in Lebanon are worth leaving camp for: a hilltop winery for a slow afternoon, and a skydiving center for anyone in your group who wants a real adrenaline rush. Both are about 15 minutes from Lebanon KOA, so either one fits between a morning on the river and dinner at camp.
Prospect Hill Winery sits on Orrills Hill Road in Lebanon. It makes wines from grapes and other fruit grown in the area, and it's a relaxed stop for the adults in the group. Bring a cooler if you want to take bottles back for the campfire. Hours are seasonal, so check before you drive over, especially early or late in the season.
Skydive New England, also in Lebanon, runs tandem jumps for first-timers. You don't have to jump to enjoy it. Watching canopies come in over the landing area from the ground is a fun 30 minutes for kids. Tandem jumps need a reservation and depend on the weather, so book early in your trip and keep a backup day.
Both are good examples of what makes the Lebanon area different from the busy coast: small, local businesses run by people who live here. The campground's local area page lists phone numbers and addresses for both.
The best rainy-day options near Lebanon are in Somersworth and Dover, New Hampshire, about 25 to 30 minutes from camp. They're close enough that a rainy morning doesn't wreck the whole day, and the weather in Maine often clears by mid-afternoon.
Hilltop Fun Center on Route 108 in Somersworth has go-karts, mini golf, laser tag and batting cages. Laser tag is indoors, and the go-karts reopen as soon as the track dries. Teens usually like it best.
The New Hampshire Children's Museum in Dover is about 30 minutes from the campground, in a renovated armory on Washington Street. It's built for kids roughly 1 to 10, with hands-on exhibits that keep them busy for two to three hours. Pair it with lunch in downtown Dover, where restaurants line the Cocheco River mill buildings.
If the rain sticks around, head back to camp. The arcade and the 8 p.m. movie house are both under a roof. A board game at the picnic table under a tarp counts too. A deck of cards and a tarp take up almost no room in the car, so pack them even if the forecast looks clear.
The easiest way to plan a weekend near Lebanon is to give each day one focus: one river day, one pond day, and one flexible day that changes with the weather. Here's a simple version that uses only the stops on this list.
Book at least two nights to avoid feeling rushed. Three nights let you add a coast or mountain day trip without giving up a river day. Everything in this plan is within a half hour of camp, so you'll spend more time doing things than driving to them. For packing lists and the best months to go, see our complete guide to camping in Southern Maine.
Lebanon is a rural town in York County on the New Hampshire border, known for woods, farmland and water. The Salmon Falls River forms its western boundary, and Milton Three Ponds straddles the state line nearby. It's quiet and small, but Rochester and Dover, New Hampshire, along with the Seacoast, are all within easy reach.
The top things to do near Lebanon, Maine, are tubing and fishing on the Salmon Falls River, boating on Milton Three Ponds, wine tasting at Prospect Hill Winery and tandem skydiving at Skydive New England. For families, Hilltop Fun Center in Somersworth and the New Hampshire Children's Museum in Dover are both within 30 minutes.
Yes. At Lebanon KOA, guests can tube the Salmon Falls River from one end of the campground to the other, a float of about 40–45 minutes. It's a slow, family-friendly stretch. Bring your own tube, wear water shoes for the rocky bottom, and put young kids in life jackets.
The best rainy-day options are within 30 minutes: the New Hampshire Children's Museum in Dover and indoor laser tag at Hilltop Fun Center in Somersworth. At Lebanon KOA, the arcade and the free movie house (most nights at 8 p.m.) are both indoors.
The river, the ponds and every stop on this list are close to one riverfront campsite. Book your stay at Lebanon KOA on Salmon Falls River and spend your weekend doing things instead of driving.
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