Are you looking for a place to stay in Hancock with your horse? Finding a place to camp in Massachusetts with your horse is easier than ever. The Dyrt can help you find the perfect equestrian sites that are scenic and easy to access.
North South Lake Campground is the biggest and most popular state campground in the Catskill Forest Preserve, offering extraordinary scenic beauty, and historical sites, such as: Alligator Rock, Kaaterskill Falls, and the former site of the Catskill Mountain House. An abrupt change in elevation occurs from about 540 feet above sea level at the base of the escarpment to approximately 2,250 feet at the site of the former Catskill Mountain House. The provinces around the lakes have long provided visitors with exceptional views of the surrounding countryside. It is said that on a clear day, five states can be viewed from the escarpment. 7 camping loops; 219 tent and trailer sites; 2 lakes; 2 beaches; Two picnic areas: one on North Lake with two picnic pavilion rentals a 20' X 32' and a 44' X 24' (the larger of the two with electricity) and one on South Lake with a 40' X 60' picnic pavilion rental (with electricity).; 2 picnic areas with tables and fireplaces or charcoal grills; playground; flush toilets; hot showers; boat launch (no motorized vessels); rowboat, canoe, kayak and paddle boat rentals; firewood sales; volleyball; horseshoes; fishing; playing field; trailer dump station; recycling center; solar cell phone charging station; ADA fishing platform.
$22 - $27 / night
$55 - $195 / night
$125 - $500 / night
Legend
We were on a 5 state East Coast camping trip. Our first campground was in New York Aug 8th. Unfortunately, Debbie was socking New York hard. North South Lake Campground in the Catskills was our camping home. Thursday & Friday it was Neverending rain & wind. Saturday was the nice day.
North South Lake has no electricity. The sites are almost all beautiful, tucked in under shady trees. Not a good way to try out our solar panel! Some are by a stream. A few are by the lake. This is a tent campers paradise. New York tent campers are hard core camping during Tropical Storm Debbie!
There are 7 loops. We were in loop 2. Site 85. There are some sites with an incline down to the site. That might give some rvs trouble. It did for us & I had to be driven out of the campground to call 911. Thank you Mary!! It all ended well & we got a different site.
There are bears that visit the campground & one came one of the nights & visited our camping neighbor's site. They showed us a picture- it was a large black bear.
Generators are allowed for 5 hours & they tell you when you can use them.
The bathrooms/showers are state park clean- which means not very.
There is NO cell service & just forget about WiFi. You are unplugged.
This is a hiking park & for this middle aged overweight flatlander they are pretty strenuous. Kaaterskill Falls is an exception - short, easy trail, but the parking fills up quickly. Then they close it! You'll have to take a shuttle to get in.
The trail to the Mountain House Site is also pretty easy, with more of an incline.
There's 2 nice lakes with beaches.
The Catskills are very scenic& we enjoyed our time there!
ScoutGorgeous. There was a brook not far from our campsite, and it was only a short stroll to the lake. It was really peaceful when we visited in the middle of the week. Most websites are secretive and dark can play penalty shooters 2.
Scout
Had a pleasant stay at Woodford State Park. Sites near T38 have a great elevated view of the reservoir. Also a nice loop trail for those looking to do a little bit of hiking.
GuideI really love this campground each of the campsites in our loop which was in the lower 100s, has a lot of foliage around it, creating privacy between you and the site next to you. There is a lake with swimming, clean bathrooms, clean, clean showers. Picnic table and fire pit with grill top. There’s a lot of bear activity here, so constantly cleaning up your food is very important. Definitely love it here for woodsy feel.
TravelerBeen there couple of times. Love it. Two lakes. Highly recommended.
ScoutThis is a very nice campground.
We stayed in site 64 which is set back more than 2 car lengths from the road and is pretty well surrounded with trees so it feels very private and secluded. Could see one neighboring site slightly through the trees but that neighboring site was lower down so it still felt private. It was a good sized site. Not sure if we could hear any noise from route 9 or not. If we did, it was very faint and did not disturb us.
Site 64 is across the road from a water spigot and the path to the bathrooms/showers. It was very convenient and we didn't feel like we were right by the bathrooms (no compromise to our site's privacy, no noise, etc). Our site wasn't waterfront but wasn't far from path down to reservoir.
The bathrooms are BEAUTIFUL! the nicest I've seen yet. Very clean, well stocked with toilet paper and soap- convenient shelf and hooks for toiletries/towels.
The showers are beautiful as well. There are 3 individual shower rooms that lock. Each one has a bench/chair and hooks to hang towels etc. There is also a small shelf in the actual shower for soap.
NEW for 2024: the showers do not accept quarters anymore. You need to buy tokens from the campground. It is 1 token for 5 minutes and it is 50 cents a token. The issue we encountered was that apparently people still try to put in quarters and this jams the machine. Therefore, when we put in our tokens, though we thought everything worked fine, in fact the machine did not register the tokens and we were left taking ice cold showers. When we told the office in the morning, they explained the issue and said that had we called them they could have fixed the shower. They are going to try to put some guard over the slot to prevent quarters from going in. Hopefully, this is implemented soon. They were very apologetic and gave us new tokens to replace the ones we had lost on cold showers.
The office sells wood for $6 a bundle and you can get free kindling from their leftover cuttings/sweepings. They also sell ice and some "merch"/"swag".
We really enjoyed our stay here.
TravelerThis place is all in all a fantastic place for camping. The sites are nice, the facilities are ok, the staff FANTASTIC, and most people camping want to be out in nature. Saw some bears up close. Great hiking. Especially for someone with limited mobility at the time. Also some challenging hikes. What I also experienced was a LOT of people having loud parties, playing all kinds of music very loudly and leaving trash everywhere. Not my style of camping. I have to add no one was breaking any rules and maybe I am the old codger my wife says I’m turning into but that’s mt 2 cents.
TravelerBeautiful. Our site had a creek close behind it and only a short walk to the lake. We were there in middle of the week and it was very quiet. Most sites a shady and private. Loved it, hope to visit again sometime.
GuideIt’s incredibly difficult to bag a site here and now I understand why. Walking around the lakes provided Incredibly scenic views during the fall when the leaves change colors. The site was spacious and flat although some of the sites closer to the lake are rocky and smaller.
The only complaint is the set up of the fire pits which are enclosed on three sides.
ScoutGorgeous campgrounds, friendly staff, and spectacular facilities. Loved that trailheads are walking distance from the sites. But we felt very close to campers next to us, not a lot of shrubbery between sites to feel somewhat private. Fire pits are very nice but more catered to cooking instead of being able to sit around in a circle. Also, we picked a site hoping we’d have a nice view of the lake but it’s hard to see from the site and a good walk away. Overall, beautiful grounds but I’d take less facilities to have a more “woodsy” vibe but that’s just my preference!
TravelerVery well run, well spaced, drive-in sites suitable for tent camping as well as rvs. Spotless clean showers, wash areas, toilets. Excellent hiking of all classifications.
TravelerThis campground was great. Quiet, great fire pits, clean bathrooms, firewood and starter for sale plus access to day use area. The lake next to the campground is beautiful and has plenty of picnic tables and grills for use. Close to hiking trails and the city of Bennington.
TravelerStaff was professional, bathrooms and showers were clean, reasonable stay prices, beautiful tree canopy. Beach areas look family friendly. We had our 26ft travel trailer boondocked at 049. Tight squeeze, but we made it. Close hiking to Kaaterskills Falls. Can't wait to visit next year!
GuideThe campground was active but not crowded. There is a variety of water sources with multiple camp sites abutting them. Each site is spacious and is tucked nicely into the woods giving optimal privacy. The sites do not have water or electricity but there’s a water tap nearby the sites. The sky is open and brilliant at night.
TravelerStayed over for 2 nights, the campground is easy to access, amenities (showers and toilets) are in excellent shape and clean. The overall conditions of the campground are great. Some campsites are more private than others, we stayed at #84 and loved it. Showers are $0,50 for 5 minutes, $0,25 per extra minute. Bundle of wood fire is $6 and big bags of ice $3. The campground was very quiet most of the day and totally at night. There is a nice ~ 30/45 minutes trail around the reservoir, easy level.
We had a great time and would stay there again!
ScoutBeen taking my son here since he was a baby. Great place to relax
ScoutNice wooded sites. Pay showers I wasn’t too thrilled about but the new one was nice. The old bathrooms need a little sprucing up there’s no place to put your soap and shampoo, wouldn’t take much to fix that. Great lake there for kayaking and fishing. Rained most of the time but still had a good time.
ScoutHave wanted to come here for years and finally decided to snag the last weekend that they're open for the season. End of October the leaves are still incredible and there are great hikes in the area, including right from the site! (You aren't going to want to drive out of the campground because parking at all of those trailheads are insane). We did the Newman's Ledge hike and it was crowded at the ledge, but otherwise amazing. The campground is really nice, sites were relatively private, bathrooms clean. Will be back this season! When you're hungry head down to get fresh-made donuts in Tannersville.
LegendThis is an amazing campground! We had plenty of space and easy access to the lake. We went on a busy weekend and they are currently only operating at 50% capacity. I would recommend reserving a spot well in advance. This is a very large campground with multiple different areas. It has a good water pump and the bathrooms were well maintained and had a nice sink washing area.
GuideI had to make a last-minute reservation for a campsite on my drive back from Maine to DC on a Friday night in September, so was a bit worried about finding anywhere decent at all. This campground was one of the few with any sites available, and I got the second last spot. So I had pretty low expectations.
Actually this campground is pretty nice--the campsites are of a normal size, with enough rocks and trees between sites to provide a decent amount of privacy. Again, my campsite was one of the worst, right on the road, but still not too bad. It would have been pretty decent if every campsite around me hadn't been full, generally with families with a bunch of shrieking kids. But that's a weekend in September...
There are also a limited number of campsites right on the water. The lake is nice enough, although much of it is covered in lily pads.
Bathrooms are fine.
No wood for sale on-site, but there are several places nearby to get wood, and any other supplies you need. The campsite is not exactly remote, I think it was about a 5 minute drive to a gas station with firewood and all manner of supplies.
I would definitely stay here during the week when it might be a bit quieter.
GuideWe stayed on T67 over Labor Day weekend. This was listed as a prime waterfront site, which is what we look for so that we can launch our kayaks from our site. The map showed a short trail to the water, but it was a 40 foot drop in elevation. We still managed to get our boats down there and lock them up at night near the water. Our site was a tight squeeze for our 8 man tent, 4 man tent and an EX Up over the picnic table. The campground is in good shape. Clean bathrooms, well maintained roads. Firewood is $6 a bundle and almost all pine. We were at the furthest point away from Rte 9 but we could still hear trucks occasionally. The sounds from within the campground were very loud by virtue of the campground topography. We could hear every shrieking kid and barking dog. But the hiking trails were really cool. I'd go back here, but it wouldn't be my top choice.
TravelerLoop 6 is quite, water front view
TravelerGreat grounds. Pet friendly. Boat launch. Check out the easy Catskill Mountain house hike (super easy). Only drag is the sites are a bit close together. Bathrooms are super clean. Recycling center super clean
GuideThere weren’t any boat rentals due to COVID, which was a big disappointment. The staff is super friendly, bathrooms clean. Awesome dishwashing stations. Hot high pressure showers. No WiFi or any cell service, but that made for a better trip with the kids. They gave us junior naturalist workbooks for the kids, and they turned them into the ranger station for review and got super cool patches. They cannot wait to return!
ScoutI go there almost every year to go swimming with my family and friends and it’s always a good time
GuideBasic camping in a quiet, older campground. Very pretty beach area at the reservoir where you can paddle and swim. No hook ups available but only $20 per night for a site that was plenty big enough for a small motor home. Mostly tent campers though and spots would be tough for anything much bigger. Bathhouse was clean and had a pay shower.
GuideI was headed from NY to ME and decided to make it a two day trip. VT State Parks have a two night minimum but as this was a Thursday I decided to take a shot. Got there in the late afternoon and a couple sites were open so it all worked out.
This was just an overnight stop so I didn't explore much but it is definitely on the list should I get back up that way again.
Site was shaded and private. The bath house was nice. The coin operated shower was a surprise but I had enough quarters for 10 minutes :)
Horse camping in Massachusetts offers a unique way to explore the great outdoors while enjoying the company of your equine friends. With a variety of campgrounds that cater to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to set up camp and ride the scenic trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Hancock, MA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Hancock, MA is Woodford State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 19 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Hancock, MA?
TheDyrt.com has all 4 equestrian camping locations near Hancock, MA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
