I love smiths point it is so much fun and very save but please lock up your bikes cause high schoolers will go over the bridge and steal you bikes or alcohol if they aren’t locked up at night. It’s happened to me.
I have camped Beaver Pond for the last 45 years and have found something new and better each every year I've gone to the campgrounds. I have gone from tent platform, tent camping, tarp, and now hammock camping. The sites can be a bit tight, at times and you may find a few visitors, not necessarily on two legs, but always a delight. It's great to be among the trees away from the hustle and bustle of the city in what I consider a majestic chapel that will always welcome and embrace your presence. Something for all, swimming, camping, access to bear mountain pool, or the appalachian trails, and lean tos, (not on the camp sites). Prices all can afford to come. Great for all types of levels of campers.
Easy to navigate our 38 ft. RV. Easy to dump and fill. Peaceful. Close to train to N. Y. City.
Nice, quiet place. Our site was up front and we didn’t venture into the park. We did use the laundry room, which needed some updates, especially some lighting. It has a pretty large staircase and at night with a handful of laundry, it was a little scary navigating without lights. Other than that, it was a good stop over for a couple of nights.
A quick 40 minutes north of NYC, Harriman State Park has an eclectic little campground called Beaver Pond. The grounds are just steps away from Welch Lake, offering a lifeguard monitored sandy beach which is open during the summer season for swimming, fishing, and small boat craft further out.
“Welcome to Bear Mountain” grumbles the park ranger as he sits in complete darkness! He is in his ranger hut, checking in the late evening arrivals to the campground. It’s totally dark inside, lit only by the glow of the outside lamps. The atmosphere is complete with spider webs covering the walk up window, and I swear I saw a black widow doppelgänger . He’s nice, but you can tell he’s given this welcome speech too many times to get overly excited about it. He offers us a highlighted map to our site, wishes us a good stay, and gives us the run down on bear activity in the area. I mean, we are in Bear Mountain, what do you expect?!?
The campground offers several different sties, from platform tent spaces to those for 25’ trailers. All sites have a standard picnic table and fire ring. Our site is a trailer site, it’s perfect for the trusty old pop-up, and feels nice and roomy. Although no site offers electric or water hook up, camp amenities include: a moderately stocked store, public bath houses, a laundry facility, playground for the kids and camp-sinks with access to water.
Offering the peaceful tranquility of sitting under the changing oak, sumacs, maples, and poplars, I wouldn’t recommend this site for the quiet hearted. There is a constant buzz in the air of conversation, music, laughter and shrieking toddlers. Quiet time at night is laughable as the enjoyment of being in nature rages on into the early morning. I myself could go either way; I’m not overly bothered by the late nights and chorus of noise, but living in the megalopolis that I call home, it would be nice to not have the ruckus constantly follow you to the great outdoors.
We didn’t visit Welch Lake beach but for a quick walk to the area for a few pictures; it’s past season at this point, and I still have to do some fishing pole shopping. A quick 15 minute drive from Beaver Pond, is Bear Mountain State Park. Here you can find some of the Appalachian Trail, with various smaller trail heads for this historic (Revolutionary Times 1770s) part of the region including the one to Doodle Town. Long since the last resident left, the area is a ruins with markers showing where a house was, but most of the area has been taken back by nature leaving only a stone stair case here or a partial foundation wall there. It terminates at Iona Island Bird Sanctuary, a lovely long grassed marshland. The trails in the area are friendly to hikers, bikers, and the non arthritic kneers, as most are rated moderate to challenging. Don’t fret, trails that are rated easy and accessible to disabled are equally enjoyable and beautiful. They offer stunning views of the changing foliage, quick glances at the Hudson River and the rolling hills of the area. We didn’t take the Perkins Memorial Tower trail, but heard it was amazing. Next Time!!!
This is more of a drive-in picnicking park than anything else. They have some activities and areas for games, but I wouldn't really consider it somewhere to camp.
They have a small playground, activities, tennis court, basketball. Not to mention its next to the amusement park.
However the tent spots are small and close together. Also there is only one set of facilities for the whole place. It's quite a walk to the bathrooms.
Great park with large enough campsites. Bathrooms were clean, showers were ok, could use a little bleach. We were at site 52 and had to drive to the bath house because it was so far, but we didn’t mind. Mosquitos were terrible. Water taps scattered around campground. We were drinking the water right out the tap but by our 4th day there were new signs to boil the water before drinking. We figured since we had been drinking it so long and felt fine we were ok so we didn’t boil our last day.
Was our first Thousand trails site. Friendly staff and knowledgeable. Plenty of space in sites. Can accommodate many different size RV and trailers, plus tents. All sorts of activities, pool, playground and more. Close to local shops as well as bigger shops like Walmarts. Beautiful senic roads. One of the pics I posted is on hyway 44-55 coming back from New Paltz.
Nice campsites with little traffic. The brook was great for the kids to explore
This is a Thousand trails campground so it was free. I think the regular price is $64. Full hookups, tents and cabins to rent. Pleanty to do in and around campground. Grounds has a pool, concession stand,game room, playgrounds, sports feild and more. Sites are well groomed. We had one and a babbling brook was 30 feet behind us. Great spot for morning coffee. Clean restrooms,showers and laundry. Dump stations if need and a service to come to your rig to collect waste if you don't want to move it. Local shops just minutes from campgrounds. Walmart and other bigger shops just a short drive away! Scenic Willride on 44-55 to Mohonk House and trails. We be going back.
State is really trying with this park, putting in new beach front cottages. Other then that the RV and tent camping is horrible, as the previous review stated sites aren't marked and the tables and BBQs are trashed.
This campground is old and there isn't much there, but it depends on why you're camping whether that matters to you. We wanted to be by the beach and we were.
The playground is new and centrally located. They also have a horseshoe pit.
There are lots of RVs but not close to tent sites. There were lots of showers but only 1 was unlocked (free and with hot water). The bathroom was very clean and well stocked.
There are 5-7 tent sites. Ours was #59, well shaded and spacious.
The water spigot and the gray-water dump are not right by the tent sites. Seems silly since the tents are the ones using them.
Our site was not clean when we arrived. There was garbage in the woods and cigarette butts on the ground. We cleaned up everything ourselves (except in the woods due to poison ivy), but I think they can do better.
There are NO fire pits, you must bring your own. Fires are allowed but you must have a fire container or bucket for your fire off of the ground.
The sites all have a table and raised BBQ "pit" for cooking only.
They are extremely nice there.
I still give this campground 4 stars because it was quiet, the campground itself was clean, the bathrooms were clean and it was centrally located to what I wanted to do plus the sites are very big.
Spent the weekend camping with friends and we really enjoyed our time at Clarence Fahnestock. We were lucky our site was secluded from everyone else and we were surrounded by lots of trees. They also have community sites if that’s your thing. The bathrooms were fairly clean but only 2 stalls so sometimes got a bit crowded. The beach across the way was great and had its own bathrooms and a small concession stand. Overall very pleased and would definitely go back.
The camp is set up in a “blank slate, parking lot” type style, with a big field, center for tent camping or to be used for sports or other activities. There’s a “lazy river” at one side and a small RV village on the other, and tent sites with water or dry tent camping. Restrooms are available with hot and cold running water, showers and toilets.
Great place that does after school programs and summer camp for children. As far as I know there is no public camping here.
Super lindo todo!! $15 dolares la noche para los que viven en el Estado de New York o New York city .. si es fuera del estado son $5 dolares mas!! Lo mejor es reservar online y escojer el espacio pero no es obligatorio.. si quieres acampar en un area lejos y solo pues escojan la seccion W… no todas las secciones tienen una plataforma de madera para poner tu caseta de campaña.. algunas secciones son las casetas ensima de la grama.. lo mejor es buscar una seccion que esten los bańos y las duchas cerca en caso también de que se te antoje ir de madrugada … para el mes de Agosto no habia nada de mosquitos ni moscas .. El personal muy amable .. no habia mucha vigilancia.. lo que si es llevar mucho gas y carbon y palos de madera para la fogata y estar preparado si llueve.. hay una tienda que venden palos para la fogata $12.. venden Cafe $1 . Hielo $5 ..$10 .. venden frisas .. leche y muchas cosas mas!!! Hay un lago estilo playa..bueno lo unico que los que no están acostumbrados a ver o escuchar animales salvajes es un poco miedoso en la noche!! Nunca tener comida ni nada de olor dentro de las casetas por que los osos viene por la comida .. dejar todo dentro del carro .. y en fin todo muy lindo.. los bańos y bańera muy limpios y ademas puedes cargar en el bańo el celular
This is a small beach campground.Its all but impossible to get an RV spot there from Memorial day to Labor day. Still, it is a clean and well run campground.Easy beach access.
On the expensive side but great activities for the kids. Nice pools, water park and clean campgrounds.
I love blydenburgh it’s my favorite park of all time for sure
Short distance from the NYC, very organized, clean pond, has a playground, showers, bathroom. Your phone will have signal.
My husband and and I camped one night at this newly reopened park over the weekend in Long Island just to check it out and were pretty disappointed by the tent camping area. There are 69 tent/trailer sites(no hook ups). There is no distinguishing separation between each site nor a designated driveway for your car- you merely pull up on the grass. It's basically like camping in your local city park. People park wildly all over the place, which also makes it more difficult to determine which site is which by the number painted on the roadway. Each"site" has a picnic table and an barbecue grate on a post. There is one bath/shower house in the center of all of these sites with no path provided for folks to walk to and fro, so naturally people will walk right through your site randomly rather than around the road. While the bathroom building itself is in decent shape and has a large amount of toilet stalls and about five showers, the condition of women's room was absolutely ghastly inside.
At some point during the evening, a maintenance worker on a golf cart showed up with a mop and some cleaning supplies and cleaned the men's side of the building. I was so relieved when I saw him, but he seemed to neglect the women's side completely, so I resorted to using the men's facilities all night.
There are no fire pits on any of the sites, although I learned afterwards that they do allow you to bring your own metal fire pit as long as it is elevated off the ground. There are large dumpsters located throughout the camping area and a large trash bag is provided (if needed) at the camp office when you check in.
The highlight of Heckscher State Park is the newly constructed heated cottages located on the shore of Nichol's& Great South Bays.. There are currently 11 cottages--- with more under construction. There are cottages suited for two, four, and six people and range in price from$225-$285 per night during off peak seasons and$250- 320 per night during the peak seasons.
The cottages are fully furnished, with a full kitchen and large bathroom with a walk in shower. The cottages are a short walk from the beach and also include a fire pit with Adirondack chairs and an outdoor shower on the exterior each property. I do not have photos of the inside, but they do have them on the Reserve America website if you are interested.
While the cottages are lovely and their location is fabulous they are quite pricey and no TLC was spent in the$22 tent/rv camping area, other than a new registration office which is not yet completed as of this weekend. I do hope they invest some funding in the primitive area to add fire pits,more water spigots, clearer site markings and for the continued maintenance& upkeep of the bath/shower house.
* I emailed the parks departement about the issues mentioned above about the camping area and received this reply:
I am sorry that you are upset with the conditions in our recently opened campgrounds. We have replaced all of the picnic tables. Although, they may look old because they are weathered since these picnic tables were put together during the Winter, however, they are brand new. All of the barbeques are also new and were installed during the Winter. We have changed and modernized the light fixtures and we will be replacing the rusted doors that you mentioned. There are also plans to install a playground within the campground beginning this Fall and we are looking for other improvements and additions to the campgrounds. As you probably noticed there is a new building under construction, at the entrance to the campgrounds, and it will serve as a check-in area, as well as, additional comfort stations, including family restrooms. Your suggestion of fire pits is a good one and the Park Managers will evaluate the feasibility of installing these. Lastly, I have spoken to the Park Manager who will review the cleaning operation to ensure the restrooms are appropriately maintained. I apologize for our employee not cleaning the women's room. Again, I am sorry for your negative experience but we are continuing to make improvements to the campgrounds.
Sincerely, George Gorman Regional Director New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
I will check back later this year to see if anything was changed and report back.
Beautiful State Park, Nice clean Beach and Lake, Bathroom and showers were clean.
We had a family camping trip with lots of kids of all ages, the walk in sites are not too far off the road so it was easily manageable.
Love this place. We have stayed here multiple times since it’s so close to home. Reservations are needed only for major holidays during camping season; Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. Must book the entire holiday weekend 3 days (90$ for non electric sites add $5 each day for electric). I believe it’s 51 camp sites which vary in size and majority has electric hookups. When not going on a holiday it is first come first serve spots which is good if you just need to spend one night here. Pull into whichever site you want and at some point the groundskeepers will come to collect your money.
It’s deep in the woods of the park so there is good shade which is nice on the hotter days. The campgrounds have two bathroom facilities which have showers. No complaints with the bathrooms from me but I didn’t use the shower part. The bathrooms are cleaned daily or every other day it seemed. Some spots are more secluded than others..and there is a bit of a hill to the bathroom if you pick spots 1-7 and 48/9 I think it was. Something to consider if you have mobility issues. There are water spigots around the grounds and attached to the bathroom facilities. But no actual sites with water hookups for RVs.
The workers drive around the campsite every few hours and each time we have been there (maybe 4 or 5 times) the local police have made their presence known. Our recent trip around 11pm some drunk (alcohol isn’t allowed on campgrounds) was drunk screaming, 3 cop cars drove through. The screaming stopped. One thing to also consider is we had horrible cell service (we have sprint). Could not make calls or use internet at campgrounds or the park but did see others who were using cellphones…so if you have sprint don’t plan on making calls.
Each site has a picnic table & fire ring. The sites are gravel/dirt & grass. Quiet hours are from 10pm-7am. We found the sites closer to the Playground side/closer to the bathrooms to be more noisy. Also those sites are closer together which would be good for larger groups. Have never had a problem with noise though we have only stayed further away from those areas. The playground has a volleyball net and other Normal playground equipment that I saw driving past it.
Each time we have been there there was an ice cream truck that goes through each day..some days it’s multiple times.
There is no longer Boat Rentals at this park.. but there is a large lake to kayak and fish in. NO SWIMMING. The lake is a nice size and has a trail so you walk the entire length with benches around a good portion to sit and/or fish. There is a nice sized pond at the park to fish which also has benches around it. By the pond there is a nice picnic area with many picnic tables and grills. Another playground and a large pavilion. This picnic area also has a bathroom.
There is a pond when you first turn into the park. The pond also has benches around it but not all the way around.
Fishing license is require to fish here and they do come around to check licenses.
This place is great if you want to just get away into the woods. Check the parks website to see site sizes before going or stop and take your pick of what’s available.
Loved camping here last year. Close to home for my family to be able to do multiple trips. We especially enjoyed being able to leave our trailer on the site for the week and return the following weekend and having everything set up and ready to go. You can no longer do that. We also enjoyed the breakfast(pancakes or French toast)on Saturday mornings. It was a great way to start the day and meet other campers. They no longer do that either. The store closes to early for a weekend and they no longer have the yummy variety of soft serve ice cream(my children think this is the worse thing they did). Hopefully they will bring some of these things back.
This is a great spot with views of Manhattan, Statue of Liberty, etc. Expect to pay pretty good to be gear, but from here you can pretty much easily get anywhere in NYC. Service is great and friendly. Checking in was easy, and they accommodated our needs. Expect to pay between $35-50 for a Lyft to get to Brooklynn.
