B
Brittnay B.
Scout
ScoutLuzerne Campground
Defenitly in the woods!
The only campground in all of New York that acquires to house back riders. There are campsites that also come with stalls for your horse!
Best Equestrian Camping near Ballston Lake, NY
Luzerne Campground stands out as the only facility in New York State specifically designed to accommodate horseback riders and their horses. The campground features campsites that come with stalls for horses, allowing equestrians to camp alongside their animals. These sites are particularly valuable for trail riders wanting extended access to the surrounding woodland areas. The campground maintains clean, private shower facilities and offers a lake with a private beach area where no motorboats are allowed, creating a peaceful setting for both campers and horses after trail rides. Campsites include standard amenities like fire pits and picnic tables, with both tent and RV sites available.
Located minutes from Lake George village and the towns of Hadley and Luzerne, the campground provides excellent access to local riding trails and nearby attractions. The lakefront location allows for fishing opportunities directly from the campground, and boat rentals are available for campers interested in exploring the water. Some campers have returned to this location for 15+ years, securing the same site annually due to its consistent quality and horse-friendly facilities. The surrounding area offers numerous biking options and kayaking opportunities on the lake. For equestrians needing last-minute supplies, a small store across from the campground stocks essentials. The primitive equestrian camping experience here balances basic horse facilities with natural surroundings, making it popular among riders seeking multiple days of trail access without having to trailer horses daily.
Best Equestrian Sites Near Ballston Lake, New York (7)
1. Moreau Lake State Park Campground
18 ReviewsGansevoort, NY23 milesWebsite+1 (518) 793-0511$20 - $75 / night
"This campground is close to the highway between Albany and the Adirondacks. There’s a nice big lake and the Hudson RIver. Many campsites are near the lake."
"Great thing about this park is the hiking trails and lake so you don’t even have to leave to the park to enjoy great outdoor recreation."
2. Luzerne Campground
13 ReviewsLake Luzerne, NY31 milesWebsite+1 (518) 696-2031$22 / night
"The only campground in all of New York that acquires to house back riders. There are campsites that also come with stalls for your horse!"
"We get our site close to the lake so we can walk down and swim and my husband fishes. The showers are so nice and private and clean. Love that we can rent boats too."
3. North-South Lake Campground
44 ReviewsPalenville, NY50 milesWebsite+1 (518) 589-5058$22 - $44 / night
"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."
"This is a truly beautiful and scenic campground, easily one of the best places we have visited in New York State."
4. Murphy Lake Leanto
1 ReviewWells, NY34 milesWebsite"The Murphy Bennett Trails is a technical challenge to hike, or bike in on. And be prepared to go over downfalls. The area is maintained, but windhappens in the old growth forest."
5. Arcadian Pastures Equine
Be the first to review!Sloansville, NY27 milesWebsite+1 (518) 603-2964$25 - $150 / night
6. Betty Brook Camp
2 ReviewsWest Fulton, NY42 miles"I live near this campground. I'm about a mile away and I pass it every day. It is rather remote, but it is right along West kill road."
7. Country Campsites
Be the first to review!Cairo, NY41 milesWebsite+1 (518) 634-7005$55 - $195 / night
Recent Equestrian Camping Photos near Ballston Lake, NY
1 Photos of 7 Ballston Lake Campgrounds
Equestrian Camping Reviews near Ballston Lake, NY
79 Reviews of 7 Ballston Lake Campgrounds
Cynthia K.
LegendNorth-South Lake Campground
New York
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!
- Tara L.
TravelerNorth-South Lake Campground
NYS camping.
North South lake is one of the larger public camp grounds in New York. The sites are well spaced out. Great for families. The lake is huge.
Avoid holidays to avoid the crowds.
- MMaybe I.
GuideNorth-South Lake Campground
scenic campground
This is a truly beautiful and scenic campground, easily one of the best places we have visited in New York State. The campsites are well laid out, the surroundings are stunning, and the entire campground is very clean and well maintained. We visited in October, and it was pleasantly uncrowded, which made the experience even more enjoyable. The peaceful atmosphere and beautiful fall scenery made for a perfect camping trip. I'm not sure how busy it gets during the peak summer season, but our autumn visit was fantastic. We had a wonderful time and will definitely be coming back.
- n
nina M.ScoutNorth-South Lake Campground
Beautiful grounds but…
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!
- Lena L.Guide
North-South Lake Campground
Family friendly
Had a great time at this campground- surrounded by many returning campers which gave the whole experience a good community vibe. Ice cream truck comes around each evening in the summer. Sites are tucked away in the trees for privacy. We set up our 6 person tent and two hammocks comfortably. Long walk to the beach from our site but enjoyable anyway. Nice little hiking trails nearby.
- RRosie R.
RangerNorth-South Lake Campground
Love this place
The sites are spacious and private and there are lake side sites available too. Perfect for groups!! We were able to maximize our lake experience by bringing an inflatable kayak. I was able to explore many different parts of the lake and do a decent amount of fishing. There were a few hiking trails walking distance of the campground that were fun to explore. We will def come back!!
- HHarry H.Ranger
Moreau Lake State Park Campground
South of the ADKs
This campground is close to the highway between Albany and the Adirondacks. There’s a nice big lake and the Hudson RIver. Many campsites are near the lake. The sites are shady and close together, but still feel fairly private. We enjoyed the hiking trails and beach while camping, then went further north for the full ADK experience.
C O.RangerMt. Kenyon Campground - CLOSED
Good central location to visit the ADK
Although the campground was right off the road, it's still in a forest with big pine trees and mossy boulders. It was easy to access from 87. Given the proximity to the road, there is road noise, so that doesn't allow for that super outdoorsy experience you might desire. At night though it would get very dark and quiet - there weren't a lot of campers there during our stay. The camphost lives in a home onsite and was mostly helpful. Be sure to mention the 5 nights for 4 deal on their website upfront, otherwise she won't reimburse. Upon working with her to extend our stay, she said people were scheduled to come into our spot. We moved and no one arrived, so that was a bit annoying.
To get to the sites, we had to take it a bit slow because there are some low hanging trees and a turn, but made it fine. Our first site, 22, was a back-in, 30 amp, full hook-up. It was a long site with plenty of room for our RV and SUV. We had to back it up to the very end to find the flattest option to level. With the way they have their sites set up, you need a 50 ft hose for water. This site was close to the showerhouse but next to a longterm trailer with crap everywhere and we weren't super thrilled that was our view from our windows in our living area. Our second site, 50, was also a back-in, 30 amp, full hookup. It was very pretty but hard to level. The site slopes up, so the backend was high. We tried about every way to sit our rig in there to level, but we ended up driving our front tires up on some leveling blocks and went up with the jacks as much as we safely could. We didn't get a perfect level, but we decided it was ok since we only had 2 days left. We had to wiggle our SUV in kind of sideways, but it worked.
There were some "residents" there in tents, which was interesting and a couple longterm trailers (with the typical cluttered lots you see at campgrounds that offer longterm stays). The campground is clean and the shower houses were faithfully cleaned everyday around 11a. Showerhouses were dated, but had super hot water for showers.
A few miles further down the road is the town of Lake Luzerne. We visited their small grocery which had the basics and we ate at one of the restaurants which had a view of the water (Upriver Cafe). The campground was in a perfect location to visit Lake George and surrounding area (Six Flags, outlet shops, putt-putt, restaurants etc). If you're wanting to explore even more you're only 1.5 hrs to Lake Placid and the Green Mountain National Forest.
Work was difficult with my husband dependent on AT&T. The Weboost got Verizon working fine, but AT&T was spotty. We had some issues with our RV that we were trying to get fixed locally which extended our stay, otherwise we would have left earlier due to this. The camphost told us that they had invested in some sort of mini Verizon tower for their personal use, so that was what was helping the Verizon signal. The campground offers wifi at the office/pool/rec room area, but when the "residents" come down, it brings it to a snails pace. My husband would go down there in the morning to work and had to go to Starbucks in Lake George at times when all the kids at camp decided to be on their devices at the same time.
Pool is not heated, so not many people were using it. They charge $2 per garbage bag to be put in their dumpster. They sell a few necessities in their office and firewood. They have laundry with 1 working residential washer $1 and 1 residential dryer $.75 and 1 industrial sized dryer $1. We did a couple loads with no issue. They are outside in a patio area.
Bring the bug spray. The mosquitos were as big as birds and tenacious!
Guide to Ballston Lake
Ballston Lake camping offers access to the southeastern edge of the Adirondack region, with elevations ranging from 430 to 2,000 feet in nearby camping areas. Located approximately 20 miles north of Albany, the region features mixed hardwood forests with seasonal temperatures ranging from summer highs around 80°F to nighttime lows near 50°F during peak camping season.
What to do
Hiking trails: North-South Lake Campground features multiple trail options including the hike to Alligator Rock. As Jessica W. explains, "A lot of the hiking nearby is also relatively easy and includes the newly opened (as of 2016) viewing platform for Kaasterskill falls, which is minutes down the road from the campground."
Kayaking opportunities: Lake Luzerne Campground offers excellent paddling on its motorboat-free lake. "Small lake but perfect for kayaking. There's a small beach on the other side of lake that you can kayak to and relax," reports Dinah V., who found the area "not overcrowded at all and in a great location."
Equestrian camping near Ballston Lake: Horseback riders can find specialized accommodations at select sites. According to Brittnay B., Luzerne Campground is "The only campground in all of New York that acquires to house back riders. There are campsites that also come with stalls for your horse!"
Wildlife observation: Moreau Lake State Park provides year-round wildlife viewing. David B. notes it's a "Cute little state park that has a nice swimming area and enough room to kayak around. The wildlife is fun to look and and it's a great destination year round."
What campers like
Private sites: Many campgrounds offer secluded options for privacy-seeking campers. Sarah H. from Moreau Lake State Park notes, "Lots of sites to choose from allowed for privacy. Firewood system was one of the best I've seen. You can fill a large burlap bag with your choice of logs for about $7."
Fishing access: Betty Brook Camp sits alongside a stream with fishing opportunities. Robert B. reports, "Love to camp here all year long have been coming to the area for a couple of decades now. Remote. Sometimes you never see anyone. Sometimes you see some people. You camp on the stream."
Wilderness camping: For those seeking horseback riding near Ballston Lake and remote camping experiences, Murphy Lake Leanto requires effort but rewards with solitude. Tony F. describes it as "worth the effort it takes to get there. And you have to earn it on foot, bike or other. A two hour bike ride with a couple of breaks."
Swimming areas: Several campgrounds feature designated swimming areas. Meike W. says about Moreau Lake State Park, "The swimming is amazing, lake is beautiful."
What you should know
Campground size variations: North-South Lake is one of the largest public campgrounds in the region. Tara L. advises, "Avoid holidays to avoid the crowds."
Shower facilities: Quality varies by location. At Moreau Lake, Sarah H. notes, "Bathrooms were well maintained, but showers used push in knobs (like the kind in older school bathrooms) that last about 30 seconds per push causing the water temperature to fluctuate."
Site access considerations: Some locations require advanced planning. For Murphy Lake Leanto, Tony F. cautions, "The Murphy Bennett Trails is a technical challenge to hike, or bike in on. And be prepared to go over downfalls."
Seasonal timing: Most campgrounds operate from May through October. Moreau Lake State Park is open "May 6 to October 13" while Luzerne Campground operates "May 19 to September 10."
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian
campsite near Ballston Lake, NY?
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Ballston Lake, NY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Ballston Lake, NY is Moreau Lake State Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 18 reviews.
What is the best site to find
equestrian camping near
Ballston Lake, NY?
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Ballston Lake, NY?
TheDyrt.com has all 7 equestrian camping locations near Ballston Lake, NY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring