Went for a quick getaway to this little gem of a state park in the finger lakes region of New York. I’ll be coy, and use their slogan ‘Ithaca is Gorges’ and Gorgeous!!! The falls trails were all well defined and excellent for a beginner, moderate hiker. More advanced trails were also offered as well as biking trails, so plenty for any level of adventurer!! Lots of educational posters along the way to keep you informed of what you were seeing and the history about how it was created. The locals were pleasant, and eager to share fun facts about their area. We stayed at the campground in the park. It was cozy, clean, and just right for a little off the grid fun. No electricity or water hook ups available, but nice big public baths and plenty of water access all around the camp ground. (Say one water spot every 3-4 camp sites). There was also a dump station and trash dumpsters easily accessible at the entrance. Can not wait to go back, planning a week long trip next year and will do all three tours, wine, beer, and cheese!! Till next September!! Stay Gorges!!!
Nice campground. Clean Friendly staff. A lot of outdoor features for kids which were closed while we were there.
We had the best time at this campground. Walked the Creek, played in the waterfall and talked with friendly neighbors.
This park is in Potter County in the PA Wilds. The campsites are flat, some in full shade and others out in the open. Electric sites are available with water access to fill tanks but no water hookups. The bath houses are well maintained with newer renovations, tiled floors, shelves over the sinks, large stainless steel utility sinks for dish washing. Firewood is available 24 hours on the honor system for $6 per bundle. The campground hosts are right next to the ranger station in case the ranger isn't in.
There is a lot to do in the park; hiking, fishing, swimming in Kettle Creek, horseshoes, swings and playsets, and several charcoal grills and picnic tables for day use. This is a great location if you want to explore the area, Ole Bull is less than 20 minutes away from Cherry Springs Dark Sky preserve. It is an hour and 30 minutes from Kinzua Bridge State Park, The PA Grand Canyon is near by, and the Town of Wellsboro. Its also near Route 6 Scenic Highway.
Large open grassy campsites that are obviously maintained and manicured. Friendly guy Pat at the gate helped me and and chatted with me for a while bout photography and the area. 3 loops, 150 sites, clean bathrooms and showers, boat ramp, beach/picnic area, a few short trails
Beautiful scenery, great campgrounds, hiking trails, historic town and area to go site seeing for the day. If you like Watkins Glenn road course right around the corner
This is one of the darkest places that I have ever been. They go to a lot of trouble to make sure that it stays dark. There are no lights in the bathroom at the campground but that’s a sacrifice for the dark sky and they give out red cellophane to put over flashlights that are too bright. The stars were so bright during our visit that I could probably have counted over 1000. I would love to go back with a telescope when the kids are a little older.
Close to wine country you will find this gem of a family campground. Dog and kid friendly with activities such as wagon rides, arts and crafts, movie night and various themed weekend events. The hosts were super friendly and welcoming during our entire stay. An easy back in site with full hookups (B10) backed against a row of trees and a field that provided much entertainment of squirrels and birds. There is a camp store with very reasonable prices and accepts credit cards. Wood ($4) and ice ($2) are also for sale. There are two small cabins to rent along with a couple of family tent sites. The bathrooms/showers were clean near the camp store. Amenities include a pool, mini golf ($1/person), two playgrounds, horseshoes, a recreation center with games and movies, basketball and shuffle board. There are many seasonal campers at this campground, but all seemed friendly and welcoming as well. It truly seemed like one big happy family there.
This was a great campground. Just be advised that if you plan to camp with just a tent you will have to cross a creek to do it, so make sure to have an elevated, AWD/4x4 car or truck to help with the process. Showers were great and with consistent hot water, but it’s only one temp, no adjustment. The bathrooms are clean and they provide poop bags for your pups.
Stayed there the August 2-4. Great little campground. Very friendly staff. Minutes away from a town and the gorge. Hiking trail from the campground to the gorge! Highly recommended!!
No electricity or water hook ups, very secluded, has a pond to fish in, by far my most favorite place to camp
We stayed in the Tuscarora village loop. The sites there were non-electric. There was one central bathroom/shower house, so if being close to a restroom is important, choose your site accordingly. Some of the campsites were quite a walk from the facilities. Many of the sites back up to the woods, making them feel more spacious. There are also sites that are very close to together and we saw several extended family groups using adjoining sites - one for cooking, one for sleeping and one for hanging out. here is a wonderful playground in the Tuscarora loop. There’s another great playground next to the swimming pool. The town of Watkins Glen is adjacent to the park and has lots of little restaurants and shops - even a Ben and Jerry’s scoop shop! The town itself gets very crowded with people arriving on tour buses to see the waterfalls, and the bottom half of the Gorge Trail can be very busy. The rim trails and the upper half of the Gorge Trail were much less crowded.
Super kind people who work there. Great amenities. Climbing wall, pool, putt putt, giant bouncy thing. Basketball hoop, playground. Lots of cars, lots of people, super close campsites. None of the 3 toilets flushed well. Sink was a little clogged. It WAS clean though. They clean and collect trash daily. I dont have kids but could see how parents would like this. For a couple with a dog, it was too crowded and loud.
We stayed in a tent site for the weekend and loved it! The camp site was set back in the trees with a ton of privacy. Very clean facilities with hot water. We will definitely be back to Back Achers.
We went looking for waterfalls to hike and the Gorge hike is located in this state park. We camped for 2 nights at site 166 in the Onondaga Village camground. The site is spacious and has a picnic table and fire ring. Although it was gravel, there are some sites with grassy areas. Our site was right behind the shower house which had clean, hot showers and restrooms. There are water spigots to fill containers located throughout the campground. Most sites don’t have electric and water except on one loop for RVs. We hiked through this park and the Gorge, and unfortunately we lost our camp photos when one of our phones fell in the Gorge and we couldn’t retrieve it. This is a great Basecamp for neighboring parks and trails. We will definitely be back again. Check the website for closures and hours as some things are weather dependent.
If your looking for a smaller, quieter campground and you don’t have kids with you then this is the place. The owners are great people and the campground is very clean. Seasonal people seem very nice and willing to chat with you. There is not many overnight sites but all in all a nice campground.
What a great campground! Small, beautifully kept and the staff is absolutely amazing. The fishing is great, the amenities are very clean and there is not a bad site in the park.
Amazing park. We’ve gone there multiple times. We prefer walking down and catching the bus back. There is a shop. There are bathrooms at the top and bottom of the trails. There are many trails we haven’t walked them all yet. Bring your camera for sure lots to see!
We stayed in the cabins. Bathrooms were clean. Had a pool and playground. Friendly staff.
Great place, low key camping with power. Nice spacious lots. Gravel sites help keep the camper clean and keeps the mud down. Convenient location to explore the Finger Lakes. 30-40 minutes from Watkins Glen, Ithaca and Corning.
I chose this campground because the photos of the pool/splash pad looked fun. It turns out the tent site we had was the most wooded and cozy site we have camped in all year. So much room for tents/hammocks. Trees galore. The tent sites were right behind the athletic field where they did activities the weekend we were there (bounce house). The restrooms were fantastic too, the buildings held two complete rooms with a toilet sink and shower in each. It’s the only shower camping this year my 4yr old wasn’t afraid of because we had the whole room to ourselves.
This is a great little campground with fairly large sites. We were initially going to stay at Blueberry Patch however our tent was too large for the sites available. We see a posting that there were sites at Backbone that were for people with or without horses. More than half of the camp is designated for horses but only one horse trailer came into the camp the entire time we were there. The fire pits and picnic tables are very nice. Sites are first come first serve. Payment of the low fee is on the honor system and check in / out is very flexible. We seen maybe three people pass through the three days /two nights we were there. A Sheriff's truck did drive through Saturday morning just to patrol.
Spent a week here and loved it. Very remote wooded area with small stream. Sites are tight but worth it, gorgeous area. Bathrooms are clean and large, staff keeps the grounds immaculate. Lake and beach nearby.
Sites are close together small and in wooded areas. Close enough to the lake and beach which is clean but small. Bathrooms are well kept and clean workers keep trash picked up and grounds immaculate. Very close to Cherry Springs International Dark Sky Park with its amazing views of the stars and Milky Way.
We were not familiar with the area and stumbled on this little rustic gem by chance. Good old fashioned self serve rustic campground that was practically empty. So pretty too! Located right in the middle of the national forest and finger lakes area. So many sites to see, but it was nice to escape the people here. Waterfalls within a few minutes in most directions. Lots of good hiking too! Great hidden spot tucked in the woods!
This is a beautiful campground. I stayed at site 42, which was mostly shady. The upper part of the campground is pretty private, while the lower end near the entrance/exit is more open. There is a small playground for kids. The bathrooms are fairly clean and well maintained. For washing dishes there is a sink in each bathroom. The campground is very walkable to the swimming area, which goes to 12 feet deep and has a dock to jump off of. The hiking to the waterfall is very manageable. There is also at least 2 other state parks within 30 minutes to visit if you have time.
If you are looking for a deep woods experience… this is it! We only stayed one night. The scenery was absolute beautiful but we were given the last open tent spot available. Because of this, we were not as prepared as we would have liked. We were in a primitive spot and we usually don’t do that. This site was beautiful. You crossed a small foot bridge to get to it. There was very little grass because it was deeply wooded. The cabins next to us were very loud so that was distracting. The cabins looked very nice though.
The shower house was clean and nice but did cost money, which I think is not appropriate. The creek that ran by our tent site had a beautiful sound but we were also distracted by the out house. We were not near the bathhouse so there was a port-a-potty there. It was clean but still a port-a-potty. The sites are very secluded though and if you want some peace get one of the sites in the woods and have some time to yourself!
The winning attraction is clearly the gorges and we spent 5hrs hiking through them. Wonderful! Pool was nice, but you need to drive to it. If you have a choice, camp in the Iroquois area or another in the back. The front area (can’t remember the name) is really overcrowded. We basically shared our little campsite with the people on each side. Our picnic table was all of 10’ from that of our neighbors.