Best RV Parks & Resorts near Ballston Spa, NY

This campground sits on the Schroon River just a few miles north of downtown Lake George and is very easy to access from I-87. They can accommodate any size camper from the 45’ motorhome with 50 amp service to a tent just wanting electric and water. All sites have cable TV hookup and free WiFi at their site along with a picnic table and fire rings. The park is not huge and it was pretty full so it felt a little cramped for us. There were quite a few seasonal people. Some sites back up to the river so you have a nice view. When the park if full, it can be a little cramped for big-rigs to back into some sites, especially the river ones. There are trees to navigate and some of the spots are tight. 

Apparently, it is under new management and there are lots of changes that the new owners are proud of. But that also means there is a lot of on-going construction happening in the campground which was pretty annoying. Lots of dust and loud equipment certainly interrupted the thought of a peaceful afternoon outside. Many of the sites in the older section have sand/dirt patios and sandy roads which makes it very dusty. The new area has crushed gravel and lots more room and some pull-thru sites. They have the typical campground amenities like horseshoe pit, pavilion, playground, pool, and camp store. We typically don’t use any of those and they were closed anyway due to Covid-19 safety precautions. Had we stayed longer, we would have taken advantage of the river access and paddled. There is a little beach area and launching paddleboards, canoes, or kayaks would be very easy.  (They also have watercraft available to rent.)  We were more focused on hiking and enjoying the woods.(Recommend the short hike to the“Bear Slide.”) 

Some of the things we didn’t like was the sandy/dirt which was a mess when it rained. You are supposed to leave your trash at the front of your site but sometimes it was not picked up until late in the day.  We found the bugs to be very pesky in the evening and didn't want to sit outside. Things we liked it the surrounding location and access to hiking trails and the river. Once the construction is complete and grass takes hold in some areas it will be really nice. Downtown Lake George is only about 4-5 miles away.

We thought this park was o.k.– nothing special but nothing bad but we really wanted to see the area since we were told the town of Dorset was so pretty. When we checked in, there was a sign that personnel were working in the park and there was a phone number for us to call. They responded right away and met us at the office and showed us where our site was. 

The campground was clean and tidy with nice tall trees. The roads and campsites are gravel and a little tight to get around because of all the trees but we were able to manage in our 45’ motorhome. There were a scattering of amenities like a rec room with games, shuffleboard, playground, volleyball, horseshoes, laundry, and showers. There are community activities like bonfires, bingo, pot luck dinners, and complementary donuts& coffee every Sunday morning. 

Our site was level but some definitely were not. We got twenty or so television channels with the cable hookup. The hookups were all well-placed and we didn’t have any issues with the electric and the wifi at our site worked well. We had a picnic table and fire pit. The sites next to us were not occupied which was nice because otherwise it would have felt a little tight. We did notice a bit of road noise when sitting outside. There are some really nice tent sites set away from the RV sites that sit under large trees and have nice space. The only drawback is they are farther away from the bathrooms. 

Loved the area, the Green Mountains are beautiful so there is plenty of sightseeing to do. Dorset is a cute tiny town that is beautiful in the fall. The nearby town of Manchester is home to Orvis and there is an interesting fly fishing museum next door. Overall, the park was fine for us and we would stay again if we were in the area. We paid ($47/night) for our full hookup, 50-amp site.

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!