Best Glamping near Darien Center, 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!

The best part of Golden Hill is being right on the shore of Lake Ontario. The Lakeside sites are the best bet as you get an unobstructed view of the incredible sunrise and sunset over the lake. The shade and privacy is nothing to speak of, but the views make up for that. The lighthouse is also worth checking out. There are also Yurts here that can be rented.

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.

Good for the purpose it serves as the campground to an amisement park but not good as a stand alone campground.

This campground is great if youre into the theme park. I used to go to kingdom bound and we always stayed at this campground. The bathrooms were always easy to find and clean. The staff is always very nice and helpful. It was such a fun campground.

This is nice place to stay if you’re just looking for a site in a field. It’s loud and you’re on top of your neighbor but it is literally right next to the park. Good for late night concerts.

It was good if you’re planning to go to a concert or the park. It was loud and not very relaxing. Don’t know if I would stay there again.

It’s about a 50/50 of wooded to open sites. Decent amount of room in the sites. They advertise 30 amp but most are actually 20 amp and run on dangerously low voltage. Our site the electric was 75 feet away from the water hookup. Terrible setup.

Site is very unleve water and electric far away bring long cord and hose

We rented a trailer with slide outs for a few days in the middle of the week for a birthday party for our friend’s daughter and it was perfect! The trailer was close to the entrance to the park and was clean and hooked up when we got there. The screen door was broken and the little plastic slider was missing so it let in bugs, but everything else’s worked.

Not all rides are open every day so it was nice to spend multiple days going to the park multiple times a day, plus it’s really great to be able to head back to the trailer to change or eat. The camp store was really expensive so I’m glad we remembered to bring everything, there’s was a huge mark up on everything.

All in all, everything was totally worth it and birthday girl had an awesome time going on her first roller coasters.

Cean well spaced sites, Special deals for the park if you stay in the campground. Campers and cabins to rent.

This is a large campground. Walking distance to the theme park. Campground fees include admission to the theme park. The sites are very nice and well maintained. There are campers for rent, cabins for rent, tent sites, RV sites and premium RV sites. It is a great family campground.

Large campground, with almost every kind of camping available through the park. Cabins,trailers, tents, and every type of space for whatever your mode of camping is. Since it is attached to 6 flags you have every amenity available to you . Campstore, cafe, gift shop, showers and laundry. The only negative and for me it's a big negative is that there are no posted speed limits on the grounds, and I found that the majority of people were driving way to fast with so many kids around

This campground is only worth staying at if you’re going to the park. The bathrooms are small dirty and there’s not enough of them. The hookups are pathetic most sites I saw that were listed as 30 amp were not and the power box was well in front of your camper and water was on the wrong side of the camper. We had a shaded and wooded site which was ok but the mowing and maintenance was terrible.

Great place clean camp ground. Lots of fun we had breakfast there and lunch was pretty expensive near the pools. Would not camp there if we weren’t going to Darien lake. We went on that new swing ride that was really high it was a lot of fun!

Was clean and we'll maintained. There was a train track close to camping.

Good if you’re going to the theme park

The campground itself is pretty and well kept. Some sites are a little tight, but most people aren't there to camp, they're going to the park or a concert, or both. Unless you're a season ticket holder at Darien Lake, you will be forced to purchase tickets to the Darien Lake amusement park when camping here.

The camp store is well stocked and the staff are nice. Access to the park is very easy. The walk to the concert venue is long, but flat and easy.

I haven’t been here in a while but people mostly stay here for one of two reason. Because they don’t want to drive home drunk from a concert, or they have 14 loud kids that want to be at the amusement park. Both options come with about 2 hours of sleep 🙂