Best Glamping near Alexandria Bay, NY

We stayed at Swan Bay Resort in Alexandria Bay, NY, for our last trip this year. Spoiler alert… we had a great stay! 

This is a great park. It’s an easy mile from I-81 and just 10-minutes drive to Alexandria Bay downtown. The staff was great— friendly and helpful. Our waterfront pull-IN site was a level concrete pad and gravel with FHU and everything worked great. Oh, and the best part was our view of the St. Lawrence River with passing ocean liners and lots of migrating birds. 

The park has 2 swimming pools, a tiki bar, a food truck, and nice communal hang-out areas. There’s a marina with pontoon boat rentals. They put on Octoberfest during our stay which featured a live band and food and craft vendors. 

There are plenty of restaurants and stores nearby. Adjacent to the entrance is a self-service car wash with bay large enough for motorhomes. 

I have nothing bad to say about this place and encourage you to visit when you can.

There is TONS of beach to explore at this little State Park in New York. I used to visit here as a kid years ago because my grandparents owned a cottage on the lake. Since they sold it, visiting Southwick is the next best thing. Lake Ontario is an amazing lake to be on and the water is pretty warm in the summer time. the waves don't get too big, so it is very safe for kids. Southwick itself has great camping spots right next to the beach. It is a little pricey if you only want to visit for the day, $8, but you can get a tent spot for $18 which is comparable to other state parks. Showers are available, and there are some short trails that are good for running or probably cross country skiing in the winter. There is also a sizable playground near the beach that is great for the kids.

Sites are large level concrete. You can watch ships on the seaway from the front

A big park right on the St Lawrence. Sites are concrete and level. WiFi was ok. Washrooms were clean and adequate. From waterside sites you can see vessels on the seaway. There are a lot of rules!

Blacktop roads, cement pads, big rig friendly, tiki bar, and a professional, polite, and efficient staff make this a great campground.

I’ll start by saying Swan Bay is a busy, family-oriented campground. We arrived on a weekend and it was pretty busy but loved it during the week when everybody left and things were quieter. Our site (#38) was a Passport America site so we got a great nightly rate of $42 which is half of the regular nightly rate. Our site was a “standard site” near the pool, boat launch, activities, and Tiki Bar which surprised us because sites close to activities are usually desired and not discounted. Campsite costs depends on whether you get a waterfront (which is $95/night even in the off-season), water view, pull thru, or standard site. Most sites do not have shade but they added a new section that does have some old mature trees and sporadic shade. All the sites are the same in that they have paved parking areas with gravel in front, pavers for a patio and full hook-up. Some of the newer sites now have a bit of shade from trees. There are lots of rental park models and cottages close to the pool and Tiki Bar. Within walking distance is a Price Chopper Grocery, Dollar General, gas station, and wine and liquor store.  

There is a free boat launch and boat slips (not sure if they are free) for guests. I was hoping to spend a bit of time on my paddleboard but soon realized it is very windy here and found very few windows to paddle. Our neighbor (who has camped here seasonally for the last four years) mentioned that he lost three awnings to the wind. So, don’t leave your awning out when you leave your camper and beware of winds if you want to be on the water. Check-in was quick and easy. The park is gated so you get a gate card to enter the park. You also get a BOGO card to use at the Tiki Bar which has specials during the week (like margarita Monday, bucket of beer, bloody Mary’s, etc.). The pool and Tiki Bar were not very busy when we were there. There is a second pool but it was not open yet for the season. In between the pools is a community fire pit with nice Adirondack chairs which is pretty cool. The playground is awesome and huge with lots of cool features for kids to explore. The dog park is very nice and a decent size to throw a ball for your dog. It also has potable water for drinking, which, for some reason, did not work during our stay. There are gobs of activities for kids and adults. Plenty of rentals too – ranging from boats, kayaks, golf carts, etc. 

A couple of the downsides of this park are the price (unless you get a discount like we did), sites don’t have much privacy, the park gets crowded and noisy, and there was lots of noise from the construction work within the park they were doing. If you are in the back of the park, you get some road noise from Route 12 and the refrigerated truck at the neighboring Price Chopper. Overall, we loved this park during the slow season and during the week when there were not kids running around and adults playing loud music and drinking constantly.

Relaxing

Everything about this place is nice. Sites are large and staff is nice. It was great to have two pools and a bar. Things I would change. Make River sites hookup for TT’s, add cable TV, and pave the rest of the campground.

We stayed here for a long weekend in June, just after the Summer Solstice. Lets just say it was perfect in every way. Unfortunately we couldn't get over to Canada.

Very beautiful area. Pictures don't do it justice! We paralleled Cayuga Lake (which is part of the Finger Lakes) for some time and then took the Great Lakes Seaway Trail. On a day trip, we stopped for lunch in Oswego which is a small, quaint town on the shores of Lake Ontario. We also walked around the waterfront taking in the views.

Swan Bay Resort is exactly that. All of there sites are on slabs,neat and clean hook ups. There is riverviews from just about every site which is nice and then there are sites right on the river, the river sites do face west , so you do get beautiful sunsets. Check-in was smooth and the staff was very helpful. There are plenty of bathrooms and washing machines are in all of them. They offer boat, kayak, and paddle board rentals. They have 2 pools and a tiki bar on site. They looked beautiful but they were crowded and nobody was practicing social distancing , and for me we are still in the unknown with covid so we stayed away. No judging at all just a personal preference call. The shop was mostly chatchskis and except for the normal staple items sewer hoses and stuff of that nature. There is a supermarket that is walkable which was nice. Now for the downside and it's only 1 , this place is a bit pricey. What I spent here for 2 nights I could have stayed a week at a KOA, so I did pay for those beautiful river sunsets.

One of the finest and looks to be expanding! Clean facility clean pool yes pools! And a TIKI BAR!! It’s rated 10/10 for a reason! Come check it out! Don’t bring groceries either! There is a price chopper with in walking distance!

Staff was very helpful! Clean place. Easy to find as well! Prices were a little more expensive but they do a discount for good sams

Great fishing from almost every part of this park. Two beaches to swim. Almost every campsite is on the water. It’s so nice it’s hard to reserve, because people grab it nine months in advance! Wonderful!

We've camped here every year but it's getting difficult to get in here. We've camped all over from tents to all kind of campers. Never stayed in cabins but been inside. It's beautiful park. Goose bay on one side St Lawrence River on other. Every site is beautiful with rocks. But the rocks make it beautiful. We love sitting on a big rocks, watching sunsets and ships go by. Playground, private bathrooms, boat launch, docks, beach and fishing.

Rocky (flat) but beautiful. Hard to get into because people book far in advance.

Great place. Nice camp store. Access to the water great for boating and swimming. Kring point has islands as well you can jump off the rocks into the water.

Beautiful campground. The ladies at the check in point were very nice and helpful! Bathrooms were clean (no hot water). Just didn't expect the plots to be so small with no privacy. Thought we chose a plot in an area with tents only, but there was a massive camper right beside us with noisy people. I would go back again if I could pick a site that had the neighboring ones not reserved, to get a little more privacy.

This is a great campground to spend a week in the summer. There is a lot to do, not only in the park, but also in nearby Alex Bay. Facilities on site, friendly neighbors, and lots of swimming areas. Pirates Weekend is very busy at the beginning of August, but well worth it.

My family and I love this campground....the area has such history! It has a little beach area and great rock cliffs to jump off and swim! The fishing is also awesome, my husband caught a pike and small mouth bass his first day! And the sunsets are my favorite part!

We arrived on July 5th for 5 nights. Our original site was listed at 55’, but there was no way our 43’ camper would fit, nor make the tight turn into it. The owner quickly moved us to another site and we’re happy with the result. I only gave a 3/5 since I reserve 4’s and 5’s for parts with more amenities and larger sites.

Extremely clean, well run and has the most options for all kinds of camping. The grounds are spotless, as are the bathrooms and showers. There are several hosts, so help is always available. The campground is conveniently located near many of the attractions.

Beautiful campground! Very clean, grounds are nicely manicured and the picnic beach is very well maintained.

Recommend highly for family’s

We come here every year. We book early so we can get a water front site. I’m not sure what the other reviewer meant by not being able to get in the water. Everyone swims, kayaks, and paddle boards off their sites. Until 2018 you were not able to get in the water on the St Lawrence side of the park (the campground is in a cove) but the life guards told me last year they allow it now. There’s a great guarded beach if you have young ones with a newer playground right next to it. They pick up your trash everyday, just leave by the road. And on Saturdays a ice cream truck rolls through after dinner!

We have never heard of this place and had always stayed at Wellesley Island when headed up to the 1,000 Islands. Took a chance and it didn't disappoint.

Swimming hole was nice and relaxing. Plenty of sand for the kids to play in and the water was warmer than expected.

We stayed in the non-electric loop with a small travel trailer and it was great. Half of the loop is in the woods and the other half has spacious, grassy sites bordered with woods behind them. Some sites were hilly and we would not have been able to get our trailer in, so its worth calling before you book.