Best Campgrounds near Hartwick, NY

We had high hopes for this campground initially but it ended up being a real disappointment. Since it’s a very family oriented campground having rules like quiet hours makes total sense, but this place takes things to the extreme. It seems like the woman in charge is on a TOTAL power trip. Upon check in you’re met with an extremely long list of rules, including having to keep your coolers in your car or RV at all times, which was extremely inconvenient and we didn’t have the room for. Putting away coolers at night and not leaving them left unattended is all you should have to do, but AT ALL TIMES is ridiculous. This woman is also constantly riding around on her golf cart and nitpicking every little thing on people’s sites. When we first got there and were setting up, she drove her cart up and told me to move my car off the grass. I cannot express how much my car was NOT parked on the grass especially since the lots are 99% dirt. I actually took a picture because I was in such disbelief. It was almost comical. If you are a tent camper, you’re not allowed to pitch a tent on any small patches of grass that do exist so be sure to accommodate for that if you still decide to go here. In addition to this, the camp site was on the smaller side and there wasn’t much room for it along side my in-law’s RV. Not sure why they’d even allow an RV of that length, 2 cars, and a tent to be in that spot anyway. You have to list everything you’re bringing so they know exactly what’s showing up and let us be overcrowded anyway. We ended up having to cram in the RV and not pitch our tent because there was no room for it.

The most upsetting part was probably the bathroom and shower situations. This campground has no hookups for RVs, the only facilities they do offer are bathrooms and showers. So you’d think those would at least be maintained. Our first two days there 3/4 of the bathroom stalls were completely clogged and disgusting. After we told the ranger, 2 were fixed, but the handicapped stall was still left clogged. The next night there 3/4 stalls were completely out of toilet paper! Luckily I brought my own so I could use that. Instead of being concerned about people parking on 10 blades of grass, why don’t you take care of the ONLY facilities you provide? I felt very bad for my in-laws having to use those bathrooms, the only reason we chose to camp at a place with facilities to begin with was so they could be comfortable. There were many people with young children there and I’d feel bad for them having to use these facilities too.

The showers also had issues draining, ended up standing in a puddle of water the whole time.

Also, the name of this campground is accurate. Little Pond. Don’t come expecting a lake. It’s very small. There’s also a man made waterfall at the edge with zero signage or stoppage which could be dangerous for young children.

The whole experience ended up being much more stressful than relaxing. Any time we took a cooler out to cook or grab a drink we were looking over our shoulders out of fear of getting yelled at. I know we aren’t the only people to have the experience of feeling like you’re being watched and scrutinized the entire time. This was a family trip and we’re all adults. We weren’t loud, up late, blasting music, or inconsiderate. We gave them no reason to be unfriendly towards us but still felt very unwelcome and almost targeted like they were looking for any reason to yell at us. My advice would be to camp ANYWHERE else.

Well, I’m back, it’s June, and there are 3 other groups here. 1 boat, and 2 tent camping. The parking lot is still empty. The water was significantly lower last time I was here. They have dropped the gates, and the lock is in operation. The resident peacock has been keeping me company. Tried fishing, without any luck, it had been raining a lot lately, so maybe that was the reason. It still has the highway noise and of course the train noise going by, but I love that. I anticipate another lovely sleep. It’s quite breezy, so the windows will be open. I’m in my happy place!!!