Campgrounds in Adirondack area?

vcrt

vcrt

Senior Member
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Location
Walkersville
My family is getting kind of tired of going to Ocean City Maryland every year, and since we like NY state, we were thinking of maybe heading to the Adirondacks for vacation this summer. Does anyone have a recommendation for a CG? It's just three of us, our daughter is 17, so activities in the CG are not a priority. We do like state parks and find NY to have some of the best.
Thanks,
Rich
 
I know it's not a state park, but we went to Lake George in '99 and it was one of our more interesting stops. The area has lots to do, and I really can't even remember doing anything in the park except riding a bike around a couple times.

We stayed at Lake George RV Park:

www.lakegeorgervpark.com

Jon
 
If you like a very nice, large sandy beach then Moffitt's beach campground is the place. Large sites and beautifuf beach. Located in Speculator on Rt 30. The Adirondack Museum is not far in Blue Mt lake and there are a few restaurants near by. For a quiet campground, on Rt 30 south of Speculator is Sacandaga Campground in Wells with a shallow rocky river. I don't recommend Northhamptom beach on the Sacandaga Lake only because sometimes the water is high and some sites are closed. If you reserved one, you're out of luck. Then there's Nick's Lake in Old Forge, beautiful too, see Meet and Greet for September. The State and Dept of Conservation campgrounds in NY are about $18- $20 per night with no utilities. Few parks have electricity. There are many, many beautiful campgrounds in the state. The ones I mentioned are our favorites and we've been going to them for all our lives. My wife and I met at Moffitt's Beach in 1968 when our families were tenting and we crossed paths. There are many quiet parks up and down Rt 30 and then there's Lake George up the Adirondack Northway (RT87). Lake George is certainly beautiful but it's a little busy and a little more expensive. A lot to do though. Lot's of traffic on the holidays. I could go on and on so If you have a park in mind, toss it out and I'm sure someone will comment.
 
Thanks Jon, the last time we visited Lake George was when our first daughter was about 5 yrs. old (she's 27 now!)
pwbo1, thanks for all those suggestions. I will check out all of these.
BTW, the Feb. issue of Highways magazine has an article on Good Sam award winning CG's and Buttonwood (Eastern M&G) is the first one on the list!
Thanks,
Rich
 
One of our favorite campgrounds is the KOA in Willmington. It's in the high peaks region near Lake Placid. You can sit on the deck of the lodge and look Whiteface Mountain. Whenever we've been there it's been a nice quiet campground.
 
Lori & I also stayed at the Wilmington KOA. Nice place in a nice area. The AuSable river runs through the area. Lots of places to hike right in the CG to the river. Lots to see and do in Lake Placid, Whiteface, and Burlington, VT. :D
 
chuck & lori said:
Lots to see and do in Lake Placid, Whiteface, and Burlington, VT. :D
Click to expand...

Oh yeah!

May I also recommend that if you go to Vermont from the Adirondacks, take the ferry across Lake Champlain. Either Plattsburg to Grand Island or Essex to Burlington. Both are a great ride plus they'll save you many hours of driving around the lake. Lake Placid = bring money, but it is some of the best high-end tourist shopping in the country. Adirondack Steak and Seafood is our favorite restaurant there. Try the lobster bisque!

Whiteface is a must. Drive up to the summit and spend some time there. If you can, ride the chairlift. They run it in the summer as a super way to see some of the scenery.

There is also what used to be a KOA on the eastern edge of Old Forge. It is now owned and operated by the Water Park. oldforgecamping.com and watersafari.com While in Old Forge, ride the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. If you prefer a State Park Campground, Nick's Lake is awesome - no hookups, but still a great park. The lake is paddle power only. There is also a white water rafting company there and plenty of other lakes and streams to explore by canoe or kayak.

If you're doing the southern or central 'Dacks, visit the museum at Blue Mountain Lake. Northeastern area, visit the Wild Center in Tupper Lake or the Vistors Interpretive Center (VIC) at Paul Smith's.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
So far, the problem we're having is that although my wife and I would love to go to any of these places, our 17 year old daughter is not really into hiking, canoing etc, (heck, she's really not into camping with her 50+ yr. old parents either!) but that's not on the table).
Today, the talk is turning to Myrtle Beach (I say, go to Ocean city and save the gas, but that's just me).
I'll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks again,
Rich
 
Jon, once she's there, she has a good time, but I think she just balks at going to places she hasn't been to yet. Mom and Dad will make the plans and everyone will have a good time!
Rich
 
OK, we've decided to stay 2 nights of our week in PA near Knoebel's amusement park (Elysburg PA), then maybe drive up to the Adirondacks. We're investigating that area now.
Jon, Lake George RV park looks very nice, but we probably wouldn't use the amenities enough to justify $62.00/night. The other parks mentioned (Moffitt beach and Nick's lake) look like they'd be great lakeside camping experiences, but it seems like there are no hookups. We'd at least like to have electricity for a 4 or 5 day stay, any come to mind?
Thanks,
Rich
 
vcrt said:
Lake George RV park looks very nice, but we probably wouldn't use the amenities enough to justify $62.00/night.
Click to expand...

OMG! I didn't look around the site at all, I just took a guess on the address and typed it in to see if it worked. I don't blame you, I don't think there's a single park here in MI that costs that much!

Now I'm really curious, I'll have to go home and see what it was when we were there in '99.

Jon
 
Only a few State Parks and Conservation Dept Parks in New York State have electricity in some sites but that's all you'll find. You need a private park for full hookups. Lake George is a tourist area and as beautiful as it is it's probably the most expensive area for RV parks. Generally you'll find full hookups for around $40/night including some around 10 miles from Lake George and in other areas around the state. You'll need a camping guide to find them or do some fancy googling for the area you want to visit but they're there.
 
vcrt said:
we probably wouldn't use the amenities enough to justify $62.00/night.
Click to expand...

I dug up the old receipt from Lake George. We were on site 102 from 7/24/99 to 7/26/99.

Price was $41/night at the time. Sure has gone up since then.

They also charged for "1 additional persons >5 year" (I was 9 at the time), and the charge was $10.

Jon
 
Yes Jon, that's about 50% higher in 10 years. Considering that they may have added amenities, it's probably what they need to charge.
Has anyone ever camped at Ledgewood campground in Queensbury (Lake George area)?
Thanks,
Rich
 
look at old forge camping resort, it's connected to a water park and very nice little town. Full hookups and still has the "woodsie" feel of the Adirondacks. We have gone there quite a few times, and what we do is stay at Nicks Lake for a couple of days(state park, no hookups but very very nice) for us adults, then move to old forge camping resort for a couple of days which is only a couple of miles away to satisify the kids who like all teenagers feel they need to have Cable TV and a waterpark to enjoy camping.
 
We stayed at Knoebel's Lake Glory Campground in July 07. Nice place with full hookups available. Kind of out in the boonies, but still an easy shot to the Amusement Park (5 minutes).

J&D is closer to the Park and looked very nice, but we haven't stayed there.

Memorable trip......lost awning to excessive rain. :(

Small tornado stuck the campground while we were returning from the park. :shock:
 
NY State Parks - Fish Creek & Rollins !!!!!

Don't take any more time to think about it ... just book it NOW ... or it may already be too late to get a reservation for this year! Fish Creek Ponds & Rollins Pond state campgrounds are VERY popular and demand means people book WELL AHEAD!

Fish Creek and Rollins are technically seperate campgrounds but the road into Fish Creek leads right into Rollins. I've been camping there since my childhood, and each generation of my family introduces the next. It is our little bit of heaven on earth.

They are located near Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake NY. Virtually every site is on the water and has its own tidbit of a beach for swimming and boat/canoe perching. LOVELY! The sites are well treed with balsam fir, white pines, maple and birch trees dominating on sandy soil.

Fish Creek has hook-ups, can accommodate larger boats, and provides them access to other lakes. Rollins does not have hook-ups, is mostly a paddling venue, but also provides easy access through streams to other lakes.

These first two links will take you to a site developed by a couple who seem to have just about dedicated all their time to publishing info about Fish Creek/Rollins. There's even a picture of every campsite.

http://fishcreekpond.com/introduction.html

http://fishcreekpond.com/rollinspond.html


These are links to the official NY State websites:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24466.html

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24494.html


Reservations are made through the Reserve America site:

http://newyorkstateparks.reserveame...abIndex=campDetail&contractCode=NY&parkId=574

http://newyorkstateparks.reserveame...abIndex=campDetail&contractCode=NY&parkId=547

ENJOY!

RoadLou.
 
Thanks for the responses. I can appreciate the time factor-I plan on setting something up this weekend.
We can be very conservative with our water usage, but I think with three people, our tanks are going to be filled before the end of our 5 day stay and I can't see having to hook up the TT and travel to the dump station and water fill spigot. Do they have a service that comes around to clean out your tanks? If not, we'd probably be better off at a private CG and pay the extra for the on-site hookups.
Rich
 
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