Best Glamping near Castile, NY

Not technically in the Finger Lakes but still one of the most beautiful parts of Western New York State. Splurge and eat at the Glen Iris Inn! Great for cycling and hiking but no swimming. I love taking visitors here in all seasons but in autumn it is exceptional. I’ve stayed in a few tent sites and all are wooded and pretty private with your standard basic amenities. This is a popular park so make reservations.

Letchworth State Park is known as the Grand Canyon of the East and is located in Mt. Morris New York. My husband and I visited regularly when we lived near Rochester, NY. The park is stunning and is fit for camping whether you’re in a tent, RV or choosing to rent a gorgeous cabin. There are many walking and hiking trails for adventurers of all types. Make sure you bring your camera as the views are all photo worthy. The camping price is right due to the fact that the park is run by the state. A great place to stay especially in the Summer!!

I went to college right near Letchworth State Park so I spent many wonderful weekends there! There is a reason why they call it the Grand Canyon of the East. Not only can you check out the beautiful waterfalls, but there are also many awesome trails, rivers, and caves to check out. When I would camp, we would rent a camp site with our tent but, you could camp with your RV or even rent a cabin. Ive gone every month of the year, but these pictures were from my birthday in January. Letchworth is one of the best parks in New York state and a definite must see!

In most states, those without falls like Niagara, this state park would be the pride of the land. With three serious drops in as many miles, the Genesse River winds it’s way through what locals call the “Grand Canyon of the East.” Many states try to make such claims, but this might be the closest any come to actually living up to such. It is stunning! 

Along the river this park gives the motorist the distinct feel that she is on a parkway, not unlike Shenendoah, or Blue Ridge. Every few miles the winding pavement breaks out onto a few of the ridges and valley below, before ducking back into the forest of Western New York.

The campground, which is about 15 miles from the major falls area, offers what many come to expect from state parks. There are a wide variety of campsites, all reservable online, which can accommodate lots of different types of camping, large RV’s, small tents, and everything in between. Most, if not all, campsites offer electrical and water is available close by.

The bathrooms are practically luxurious by most camping standards, with single-use restroom/ showers available at all hours. The camp store offered a few grocery items, along with cold drinks, firewood and ice in addition to laundry facilities. Within a short walk were many hiking trails, an old-school fitness path, and a stellar playground where anyone under 9 years of age should get a great workout. 

But let’s be honest, we’re not coming here for the campground, it’s the rest of the park that makes the drive worth it. So, check it out and get to know this stunning place first hand and be sure to bring a picnic basket.

**Ranger Review: Men’s Rebel Stretch Shell Jacket at Letchworth State Park **

CampgroundReview: 

I’ve visited Letchworth State Park, known as the Grand Canyon of the East, in the winter and the summer, but this is the first time in autumn and the first time camping. Although this very large state park is starkly beautiful, the campground is not as nice as other New York state parks we have recently been to. We were in the 600 loop, the farthest from the camp office and closest to the Genesee River (although we could not see it from our site). The sites on the outside of the 600 loop were larger and more private; most of them were pie-shaped and had many trees that provided ample separation. The sites on the inside of the loop were much smaller and less private. The bathrooms were reasonable but dated. The showers did not look very inviting and although I did not use them, I overheard someone comment they were the worst showers they had ever experienced! 

I highly recommend the free tour of the Mt. Morris Dam on the other side of the river from the campground. The tour is interesting and lasts approximately one hour. Offered at 2 pm in the offseason and twice per day during the summer.

It rained almost the entire time we were there, so we didn’t take any long hikes. We did a short hike to the Lower Falls. The footbridge was closed for repairs when we were there. The Middle Falls and Upper Falls can be seen with very short walks. There is also a restaurant in the park which was ok but not fantastic

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Product Review: 

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, we tested the Men’s Rebel Stretch Shell Jacket by Red Ledge. The price of this jacket is much less than many other available brands, so we were interested in checking it out and ordered one for my husband. 

Positives: 

• Affordable price 

• Workmanship appears to be solid and of good quality. 

• Seams are all sealed. Feels comfortable, although the material has a slightly rubbery feel 

• Water beads up very well 

• The waist is adjustable. 

Negatives: 

• The hood adjustment is a bit awkward 
• There are no zippered air vents at the armpits 
• The front Rapid entry zip pockets are designed to protect your cell phone from rain, but it makes it slightly awkward for slipping your hands in. 
• Ordered size large because the sleeve length on the XL would have been too long, but this did not leave a lot of room for layering. 

Bottom line: 

Although it is well made and a good value for the price, it is not as functional as my husband would have liked.

We had a great time here we stayed for a whole week to get the extra savings and we loved every day of it. There was something new every day. The waterfalls were amazing. The rec center had tons of activities and sports for the kids to do. They had a really cool playground, which was like a rope course.

My camping partner lost 3 hats here, the wild’ll blow ‘em right over the edge. Worth it. Went in mid-June and the weather was delightful. FRIENDLY and active wildlife near camp sites, store food properly. Went rafting, great scenery at lower part of canyon.

The waterfalls and gorge had several overlooks to enjoy if you are not able to hike. The campground is on the opposite end of the park from the falls, so it is a long and pretty drive. We enjoyed hiking along the falls trails. The museum had some interesting history, although we were left wondering how Letchwork made his original money. There were lots of lovely places for picnics.

Suzeas Gluten Free bakery is advertised on the map and located in Mount Morris. The owner is a character, and we loved all the baked goods we purchased there. It was another bonus for us.

Letchworth Park has plenty of hiking trails opportunities. You will not leave without seeing a herd of deer. Careful driving after dark! The sites are set in deep woody areas. The showers have recently been updated and are private and clean.

I had a great time camping here! Enjoyed the peace and quiet! Great state park!

This place puts you in the middle of the "grand canyon of the east," and amazing state park with historical sites, miles of scenic hiking, and three waterfalls! The campground was quiet even in the middle of the summer and some sites have great views. Water and showers available. Definitely worth the detour. I would have stayed a second night if I could have to explore more of the trails.

Love coming here Memorial weekend for the balloon rally

Fun activities to do while there unfortunately I went during a "drought" so we couldn't do the white water rafting. Although there are plenty of trails to walk and take in nature. You may also see deer and other animals on the trail. Beautiful views especially in the fall when the leaves have turned. There is a pool for swimming not to far away.

Letchworth State Park is considered the "Grand Canyon of the East".

Letchworth is considered the Grand Canyon of the East east. This Campground is centrally located in the State Park. There is a camp store, laundry room, recreation building, and playground. All of the sites have electric-either 30 or 50 amp. There are many water faucets located throughout the park and dump stations are available. There are campsite loops that are specifically for pets. There are many hiking trails to enjoy. You can enjoy the many site around Letchworth State Park. There is High Falls, Middle Falls, and lower Falls. You can also enjoy the pool, rafting and hot air balloon rides.

this place is one of the top in ny state as its a wooden wonderland for all to see

This park is massive and beautiful! Great for fall hikes as well as camping

The park itself is beautiful but the campground gets so many visitors of all different experience levels that certain animals such as raccoons and skunks are all too comfortable scavenging the sites. When camping be sure to put all food items in a place such as your car so it does not attract these animals. Definitely DO NOT feed the raccoons like some nearby campers did unless you are willing to share your site.

So Letchworth State Park is beautiful. It's also tremendous, 18 miles long covering the east and west side of the Geneseo River. There is over 100 miles of trails intersecting the park. The campground itself is made up of loops with only electrical hookups , no water or sewer connections , just water spiquets positioned throughout the loop and 1common bathroom in each loop. There is no wifi in any of the camping areas so if you are dependant on it for any reason this is not the place for you. Only at certain points in the park will you get a signal

Wandering around the gorge is so beautiful and relaxing the views and sights inside the park are amazing, it's almost like another world at times. Sites were nice, the area we were in was a little too open for our liking, but in a park with this kind of scenery it was fine because we didn't spend a lot of time at the camper. We can't wait to get back and wander done more!

Letchworth is a huge park with many beautiful views of the river gorge. There’s plenty of hiking trails. We even managed to find a trail with a tiny waterfall and an area for the kids to splash around in the water. We were hoping that the huge pool would be open that is outside the far end of the park but it was closed due to Covid. So, we were pretty bummed over that. Instead we visited an overlook of the dam near by.

The site we were at #402 was kinda uneven and sort of exposed as it was almost at a fork. Even the most balanced piece of land was a sloped a little bit. The site was just 1 spot away from the restroom and about 5m walk to the camp store. Camp store had everything a camper would need although a bit expensive ($9 for firewood). Other than that everything was perfect. Many RVs and trailers so restrooms were mostly empty.

Beautiful state park, very lush green from all the rain unfortunately the smoke from the Canadian fires near have made it unhealthy here. especially strenuous outdoor activities  Bathrooms are clean and great showers in the wooden size of nicely spaced and level

We loved our stay at the "Grand Canyon of the East!" This is a gorgeous forested campground with many things to occupy your time! They unfortunately had trail #7 and the upper falls closed for repairs, but we did trail #1 to see the gorge and lower and middle falls. One night we treated ourselves to a dinner at the Glen Iris Inn - food was ok, but we just enjoyed being out on the porch, listening to the falls and drinking some good wine. They have flights of local Finger Lakes wineries too. There are no water hookups. We didn't bother to fill up our tank, just used the shower house and water faucets located throughout each loop. Shower houses were ok - not the best, but worked just fine. We were happy with our decision as the dumping station had 3 stalls and there was a long line backed up to dump early Sunday. The town of Perry was maybe a 5 min drive away and there was a small grocery there with just about everything you would need. We didn't get one, but you can order pizzas there and they cook in about 10 min if you would need a quick dinner. There is no wood for sale at the campground, but there are several farmers with stands on the way in or in Perry the grocery and gas station sold bundles too. We were able to work just fine with our weboost set up, otherwise we had spotty coverage with about 1 bar on AT&T and Verizon and no real ability to create hotspots. We also want to give a huge shoutout to the staff, as we really needed to stay one more day to be able to make it to our next reservation and the entire campground was booked. They were so kind to open up an "administrative site" for us to stay at. Each loop has different types of sites, so tents are mixed in with rigs. 800 was pretty flat, but when we switched to 500 we saw some pretty gnarly leveling setups that made us cringe. Luckily we were able to safely level out at our site.

This is a JEWEL. Book early. Bring your hiking shoes & camera. The gorge is spectacular. Try to get to the balloon fest on Memorial Day - and book a flight if you can. Voted Best State Park in the USA. 'Nuf said.

We stayed in Loop 700.  New bathhouse which was immaculate.  You have your own shower, own bathroom facility.  Spacious and clean.  Each loop has their own bathhouse.  We had electric with a water spigot right at the end of our site. 

Sites were a bit tight to get into, and some not very level.  I could see where if it rains, this campground would be a mudhole.  Lots (and I mean lots) of gnats/mosquitos, but somehow we weren't bitten.  

Those "negatives" are FAR outweighed by what you get at this park.  It's just simply stunning.  The woman who works in the camp store (one of the best ones we've seen at any campground) told us to head to Middle Falls at night because they light it up.  It's just gorgeous. 

We spent the next day traveling to pull overs, checking out the park from top to bottom, eating lunch at Glen Iris Inn, and just sitting in awe of Upper Falls.  It truly is an amazing state park.  

Clean, workers are friendly and helpful.  Again…just be aware of the bugs.

I spent 2 nights here with my teen daughter and 2 little dogs in July. Everyone should visit here at some point it really is the Grand Canyon of the East. It is a well run camp site, no cell service but well-stocked camp store. We booked a last min site in front of a bathroom/shower but it was still very sizeable and quiet. Camp staff cleaned facilities regularly, we not in an updated loop but still found the showers hot clean pleasant. lf you want to check your messages you have to drive to one of the entrances or by the pool, the staff will tell you where you can get service.