Best Equestrian Camping near Hancock, MA

Gorgeous 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!

This place is enormous. This is a NYS park run by DEC. They are very strict with quite hours which are from 10pm to 7am. The had a truck come around many times after 10pm to make sure everyone was quite. This is a great spot for young kids. I was warned about high black bear activity in the region and even had to sign a waiver acknowledging their presence and all the rules associated.

Each site had a fire pit with a grill on top of it and a picnic table. Sites are very close together but that didn’t bother me. There are bathrooms and showers, both very clean in every loop. Attached to the bathroom area is a large sink to wash dishes.

The north lake is under construction so there is not beach front there. Beware of staying in Loop 6 as you will probably hear the construction noises.

The north lake does however have a nice path alongside it and a spot to deploy a non motorized boat.

No cell service anywhere in the park or close by.

I highly recommend staying here.

Campground Review:

North/South Lake Campground is located in the Catskill Mountains in Haines Falls, NY. There are 7 loops with a total of 219 primitive sites. Most are fairly level and shaded many with views of North lake or a creek. Each loop has a bathroom and showers. There is also a dump station and several places to fill up with water. There are many activities to do here like swimming, hiking and boating. There were walk-up sites available when we arrived after hours. The cost was about $28 per night. We selected site 13 located in loop #1 which was very peaceful and shaded located next to the creek. There were many rocks for the kids to climb on nearby. The showers had no hot water available and were locked during our stay which was a bit inconvenient. We hiked to some waterfalls nearby which were very beautiful.

Product Review:

As a ranger for the Dyrt, I get to test products from time to time. At this campground, I tested the Flight+ tree tent by Tentsile. This is a combination of a hammock and tent. I was very excited to get this product and have been looking at them for a while.

Pros:

• The Flight+ tree tent is very lightweight and convenient to take backpacking weighing in at only 7 lbs.
• It has a mesh netting that keeps bugs out and can be used with or without the rain tarp. In upstate NY, we left it off because there wasn't any humidity or dew at the time. It gave us a great unobstructed view of the creek and trees.
• keeps you off the ground- high and dry
• 2 person size and each has their own door to get in and out so no crawling over your tent mate.
• a variety of colors to choose from unlike most tents and has a sleek eye-catching design that peaks interest of other campers
• Customer service is great at helping you troubleshoot your setup as well as providing videos on the website.

Cons:

• There was a bit of a learning curve to the set up. We tried it in a variety of places and with different tree configurations.
• Had a hard time getting it level so there wasn't a lean one way or the other when you were in it. Couldn't get all the tabs to line up on each strap.

North-South Lake Campground was a blast. My family and I loved every second of it. We enjoyed some beautiful hikes- one that lead to a rock that they call "alligator rock" which obviously looked like an alligator. This same hike took us around some other pretty cool sites as well. It was really nice to get away from the busy city and come here to escape the busyness. North South Lake is located within the Catskill Forest Preserve and I was told that this is the largest campsite available. I believe them because we did get lost once we were in the park, trying to find our camping spot. I would recommend downloading or asking for a campground map before going so you know exactly where your campsite is. We also enjoyed the lakes that were located within the campground. We found 2 different lakes, but not sure if there are more. We also did some hiking (to Alligator Rock). One hike that I really enjoyed was Kaaterskill Falls- This was absolutely gorgeous and the views were amazing. We did some research prior to coming, and from this hike you are able to see 5 different states from the top of this hike. We went on a beautiful, clear day so we were able to see miles ahead of us. Other activities you can do are boat, fish, and swim at the beaches. This campground literally has everything you could want in a campground and more! I would recommend coming here, and would give this North-South Lake a 10/10, A+++