Au Sable Forks is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Au Sable Forks. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Au Sable Forks, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.
"Easy distance to Poko-moonshine mountain and several smaller mountains.Beautiful location. Removed from trafficked roads, very quiet. Can be busy in summer. Waterfront access to Long Pond."
"This prime location is very private. There is absolutely no one around as far as the eye can see in the area close to the river. "
$25 - $55 / night
"There’s no explaining the views around here. The mountains are beautiful, Lake Placid is beautiful, and this campsite is amazing."
"Rode in on a motorcycle late at night expecting to not be able to get in, but you can take a parking pass and drop an envelope with your fee at the entrance booth. $15 for a full day $8 after 1PM."
"Just a truly beautiful place ♡ One of Lake Champlains BEST hidden gems!"
$22 - $40 / night
"You'll need a boat or canoe (rentals available in Saranac Lake). Sites have tables, fire rings, and outhouses. You'll need a tent, bag, pad, cooking equipment, etc."
"All campsites have picnic tables, firepits/grills, and privies. Saranac Lake Marina has great rental boats. I even think the dogs look forward to these camping trips."
$23 / night
"Nice trails that lead to scenic views of Lake Champlain. Bathrooms and showers were clean. Showers were quarter operated, 50 cents for 5 minutes. Firewood sold on site."
"There are less than 20 sites total, and all sites are near walk-in paths to excellent views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks or the Green Mountains. The facility is small, but adequate."
"It was over the July 4th week, so very busy and found people would just walk through your campsite. Which of course would make our dogs bark at them."
"Jones Pond has five primitive campsites along its northeastern shore accessible by a two track service road. The sites are on a first come basis and are free to use."
"This campground is conveniently located near the trails for Mt. Marcy, Mt. Colden, and Avalanche Pass. Everything is first come first serve."
"The scenery was gorgeous and there were lots of nice hikes around."
LegendPros: Full hookup (sewer, water, 50 AMP) 1.7 mile from #7 Ranked World's Best Disc Golf Course: Fox Run Meadows New fire ring New picnic table Gorgeous Mountain View
Cons: Grass site No amenities No Wi-Fi Soft ground, sinked during setup
RangerCampground Review: Lakeshore camping! Beautiful little peninsula where you can watch the sunrise/set. Lovely in autumn. Good birding, water activities, sunsets, geology/gorge, short easy forest hikes, beach walking, all the good stuff you expect from this part of New York. Most of the site is off limits because of wildlife preserve, still a lot to explore. Good as base camp for a few days in the area. Get the tents sites near the lake! Popular for day use area (picnics, birthday parties, etc). Stay here and you can say you camped in Peru! (Lots of upstate NY towns are named for countries.)
Gear Review: As a The Dyrt Ranger I receive products to test and review. I won the Crazy Creek Air Chair Plus in a campground review contest in June 2016. I had been thinking of purchasing both a camp chair (for camping) and an air mattress (for camping & backpacking), as on my last few trips I got pretty sick of sitting on my closed-cell foam mat and a recent knee injury was making me rethink my open-cell foam ultralight sleeping pad. Well, this Crazy Creek Air Chair Plus does both and does them both well. It starts out as a camp chair (adjustable angle, typical back height) and flips open to a full size air pad made by Klymit. Sounds great right? I flew to NY for a whirlwind family/business/camping trip soon after receiving the chair and had ample opportunities to try it sleeping on friends’ floors and in tents. The chair portion was super comfortable, way better than any simple camp chairs I’d used. I was nervous about sitting on more rugged surfaces (I’m just paranoid about inflatables!) but so far so good. You can also flip open the bed part while you're sitting and have an extended leg rest to protect against hot sand or dirt. The conversion to the sleeping pad was simple. It inflates fairly easily, but at high altitude after a long day of hiking you might be a little annoyed puffing it all up. Sleeping on it was great: my knee and back were happier than with my open-cell foam mats (similar to the typical Thermarest). The one issue I had was that there’s a big dip/joint where the mattress flips out in the conversion from chair to bed---it’s not really that intrusive but I guess my side-sleeping and height (5’4”) conspired to annoy me a bit. Also the R value is very low (it’s not insulting) just like every other air pad but in the summer that’s fine with me. All the other aspects of sleeping on it were similar to other pads I’ve used (it’s kind of narrow, your bag will slide around a bit, etc). Doesn’t pack down too small & isn’t ultralight, but you could remove the chair aspect to help with that. In sleeping mode it’s 20” wide, 70” long, 2.5” thick, 2 lb 13 oz (according to packaging). So while this is my very first camp chair and air mattress, I’m really happy with it after 7 nights sleeping on it and many hours in the chair. It’s not gimmicky at all!
PS: Can you tell I’m way more picky about gear than campsites? :)
GuideWe thoroughly enjoyed our stay at North Beach Campground.
We spent 4 days in a full hookup site. The site was spacious, tree covered, and hard packed grass/dirt. Overall the site was very level with good water pressure. The water/electric sites in the middle of the campground were a bit snug. The campground is a city operated campground and we were impressed with the upkeep, maintenance and friendly service during our stay. The camp office is small, but has information on area attractions, Ice, and fire wood. The bathhouse/restrooms were well kept during our stay even with the volume of campers at the site.
Location, Location, Location is the main reason to stay at North Beach. The campground is literally along the Island Line bike/walking trail and had direct access to the beach on Lake Champlain (life guards, snack bar, and patio bar). The city center of Burlington is only 1.5 miles along the bike path from the campground. Most days we either walked or biked into town (which has ample bike racks to park your bike).
While we stayed in our camper, as a former die-hard tent camper, I was impressed with the number of tent friendly sites, because most campgrounds see tenters as “second class”. The tent sites were spacious, level, and not located in some obscure location.
We loved North Beach and plan to camp here in the future!
LegendThis is a short and sweet hike to one of the higher points in Vermont. It is a beautiful scenic (somewhat strenuous) hike to the summit. The views are pretty epic though. The designated primitive camping area is about 1.5 miles into the hike. If I recall it had about 10-12 sites. The area had a host who was there 24/7 and a shared area for eating and food storage (I guess Bear’s are a problem there). We hiked all day, so we didn’t have a fire and to be honest I can’t remember if there was a shared spot for them or not. Either way, this hike was gorgeous and so was the camping. I would love to go back!
GuideWe got rained out!! Our site did have good drainage and ample tree cover so that helped. Easy access to buy firewood on the road into the campground.
GuideTucked down a gravel road in the Green Mountain National Forest is this hidden treasure. Large sites, friendly campground host, the moosalamoo trailhead right next to campground. The trail connects to many others. You will pass several trailheads on your way up to the campground. Many of the sites are reservable, others are first come first serve. You will find a pay station as you enter the campsite. The camp host is at site 1. Surprisingly clean vault toilets. No showers. There are dumpsters on the way out for trash and recycling. I saw bear storage lockers but I did not use them as I had my bear keg with me. Behind the parking spur at the site there is gravel with picnic table and fire pit. Beyond that in the trees was a spot for the tent. I didn’t experience many bugs, no mosquitoes, what I saw the most of were caterpillars. But If you needed bug spray or forgot anything back in town a few miles Ripton grocery has you covered.
LegendWe travel in a 17-foot camper van, but no one ever believes that we are no bigger than a standard cargo van and can easily fit in a regular size parking space. Upon arrival at Ausable Chasm, we were told we had to take a site with water and electric since we had a camper van. These sites were $13 more per night and we really did not need the hookups. We were finally able to convince the staff that we could take a standard tent site, which was more than big enough.
The road through the campground is dirt and rutted but the speed limit is 5 mph, so it wasn’t that bad, but it would be a mess if it was raining.
Bathrooms and shower rooms are individual rooms, but the doors are not labeled so it’s a game of “what’s behind door number 1?” There was no light in the shower room that I looked at so a night shower would be out of the question. The bathrooms were clean and had soap, paper towels, a garbage receptacle, and a mirror in each.
Lots of ant hills throughout the campground so be cautious where you set up a tent. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. Large and nice-looking playground, pool, volleyball net, disc golf and mountain biking/hiking trails. It also looked like there were cross country ski trails but not sure if the campground or cabins would be open in the winter.
Biggest advantage is that Ausable Chasm(a separate business) is directly across the street from the campground and it is very close to the ferry that will take you to Burlington, VT, our next destination.
GuideSpent 3 days, 2 nights here from a Wednesday-Friday. Very large and busy campground, close to Lake Placid and other cool activities to take in. Pros- hot showers, convenient laundromat, you are guided to your site by staff on golf carts. Cons- tent sites aren’t given much privacy, on the days we stayed we were put very close to the main building when we requested a spot near the back away from the busy area, kids allowed to run and yelling and screaming WELL after quiet hours.
LegendBeautifully set on Lake Champlain in Vermont! This is a relatively large campground but is well laid out and doesn't feel small even when it's packed to the gills. We spent a long weekend here to enjoy some mid-summer bike riding along the many bike-paths Vermont has to offer.
The facilities are well maintained and clean. There are several camp hosts on the property and they are attentive to the needs of all the guests coming and going. There is a small welcome kiosk with a few picnic tables behind it where you can get wifi access if needed.
You can bike directly from here all the way to Burlington,without ever getting back in your car! Take the bike ferry across a small section of Lake Champlain and keep on riding.
While we were here there was even a little band playing some music one evening! We actually stayed in an ADA site (it was the only one left). It was REALLY nice. Gravel drive all the way in to a nicely built 3 walled platform with a roof. We were able to set up a tarp just off the edge to cover the picnic table as it rained for part of our stay. The site drained well and was plenty big enough for our tent and needs.
Tent camping near Au Sable Forks, New York, offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying a variety of amenities and activities. With several well-reviewed options available, campers can find the perfect spot to set up their tents and explore the beautiful surroundings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Au Sable Forks, NY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Au Sable Forks, NY is Poke-O-Moonshine with a 5-star rating from 2 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Au Sable Forks, NY?
TheDyrt.com has all 38 tent camping locations near Au Sable Forks, NY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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