Best Tent Camping near Fort Plain, NY

Tent Camping Reviews near Fort Plain, NY

285 Reviews of 17 Fort Plain Campgrounds

• 

  Rachel P.

  Ranger

  Sep. 8, 2018

  North Lake Resevoir

  North Lake Reservoir

  Not that they would do this place any justice, but I sincerely wish I had pictures. Unfortunately my last visit here was before smart phones were so commonplace. North Lake Reservoir is one of the Adirondack Park’s best kept secrets. Extremely primitive, you must get off Rte 28, heading toward the old Buffalo Head restaurant and passed there, keep going another 30-40 minutes along a dirt/gravel road until you reach N Lake Rd.

  The DEC-run facility offers about 25 primitive sites along North Lake. There is a campers log where you can sign in at the entrance and the sites are dispersed along a long dirt road. A few are drive-in, while many you must park and walk-in. These sites are primitive-no tables, no facilities or running water. Best of all, no generators or electrical hookups for those of us in it to truly be in nature.

  I don’t recall the site number, but we had about a 1/2-3/4 mile hike along a narrow path to the site. It was completely worth it- the site was large and right on the water, completely surrounded by trees and shade. The only sounds came from the occasional boat across the lake and loon calls in the morning.

  Coming here has absolutely been one of my favorite experiences. If you’re adventurous and up for the challenge and seclusion, I highly recommend checking out North Lake Reservoir!

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• 

  Meghan B.

  Legend

  Oct. 10, 2023

  Ace of Diamonds Mine & Campground

  Nice enough spot when traveling through

  I called and booked ahead of time knowing I'd arrive late and leave early, which was absolutely no problem, so I'm very thankful for that. I paid over the phone, was given clear instructions on where to park, and was told to enjoy my stay. This location is great if you're in a van or RV and need a quick place to stay for the night in this area of NY in mid- / late-October (because it seems NY closes its state parks quite early) or if you're here for the rock-hunting. From what I could see late at night (which honestly wasn't much) I wouldn't recommend for tent-camping as the sites were quite close to each other and not much soft ground for sleeping.

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• 

  Nancy W.

  Legend

  May. 24, 2020

  Cooperstown KOA

  Nice Park

  This park is located approximately 12.5 miles from downtown Cooperstown and is set in the quiet rural countryside of New York. The mature trees make for beautiful scenery in the fall. There is a mix of sites varying from tent, RV, rental trailers, and camping cabins/cottages/lodges bringing the total number of sites to 120. Back-in and pull-thru sites are available. Site types include full hookup, water and electric, and no hookup with prices varying depending upon site. You can choose between 30/20 or 50 amp electric service. Interior roads are gravel and some site pads are gravel while others are grass. 

  The park is nicely terraced and all the sites are level. Patios were a grassy/dirt area with a picnic table and fire pit. Our site (#41) was a pull-thru but there was no way we could drive our 45’ motorhome forward out of the site because of a large tree and narrow roads. So we ended up having to back out. The free wifi worked well as did our Verizon 4G phone and hotspot. We picked up a dozen or so television channels with our antenna. The park does have a fair amount of trees that would interfere with roof-mounted satellite dishes so you would have to pick your site carefully. But, there are some 30 amp and no hook-up sites that are clear. This is a typical KOA with lots of amenities including a swimming pool(which was closed for the season when we were there), a playground, volleyball court, basketball court, jump house, pavilion, recreation room, bicycle rental, and horseshoes. Showers, restrooms and laundry are also present and clean. There is a propane filling station. While there is no fenced-in dog park there is a pet walking area. The surrounding area is pretty rural and the closest town (Richfield Springs– which is very small) is five miles away and where you will find restaurants, gas station, grocery store, and more. A few miles from the park is a creamery that has a café. 

  Approximately five miles away is Glimmerglass State Park which was great for hiking and kayaking Otsego Lake. There is a also a historic house at the park that you can tour and the country’s oldest covered bridge. Cooperstown is a little over twelve miles away from the park but well worth a trip. Not only is Cooperstown home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame but it is a charming downtown well worth exploring. Other nearby attractions include The Farmers Museum, Fenimore Art Museum, Hero’s of Baseball Wax Museum, Glimmerglass Opera, and Cooperstown Brewing Company.

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• 

  Janet R.

  Legend

  Jun. 11, 2024

  Glimmerglass State Park Campground

  It glimmers like glass! The lake and more

  Both the Glimmerglass State Park and the Glimmerglass Festival Opera House list their location as Cooperstown, but in actuality the Park is 8 miles outside of Cooperstown on the northeast side of Otsego Lake, with the Opera House nearby on the northwest corner of the lake nearby. If you are going to visit one, you should also visit the other! In fact the park is an ideal spot to stay if you are wanting to take in any of the Glimmerglass music or theater productions which have quite a professional lineup in the summer season. If staying at the park you will also enjoy the amazing beach and waterfront on Otsego Lake, and great kayaking on the lake as well as the stream flowing into it. You can also hike, ot take a day trip into Cooperstown, especially for museums and all things baseball.

  The camping opportunities give you three options: the main campground by the park office, which is wooded and shady and has electric hookups as needed, and is close to the beach, but you will have a lot of neighbors. If you want a quiet tenting experience, choose the Beaver Pond primitive tenting campground! This offers a small number of large, well spaced and private tent only sites set back in the woods by a beautiful pond and by the Beaver Hiking trail. Very peaceful with more solitude than the main campground, but a longer walk to the beach. The third and newest option, the Travis Field campsites, reminds me of an overflow parking area at an outdoor festival, unfortunately just a bunch of basic tent campsites plunked in an open grassy field located in between the beach and the Beaver Pond sites. I am guessing the park has greater demand for campsites than the original campground offers, so they put these spots up in an open field, and maybe folks would rather have these sites than nothing if they want a week at the lake, but they would not be a first choice unless perhaps you have a group that wants to gather together and take a block of these sites. I didnt check out the cabins, but there are some, which might be especially good if you want to come in the winter as the park is open year round

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• 

  Cameron

  Guide

  Oct. 2, 2020

  Charles E. Baker State Forest

  Free Primitive Campsite

  Camped here on a Thursday night in late September. Only found one designated campsite, which was available, but there’s a lot of good space for dispersed camping right nearby. Access at the end of a long, but well maintained, dirt road. Campsite consists of a fire pit and picnic table. Some litter, not too bad. No toilets. Bugs aren’t an issue. Water access at a lovely nearby pond. Highly recommended. Only giving 4 stars because the best free sites have water pumps and vault toilets, but this is a great camping experience

• 

  Tate T.

  Guide

  Aug. 10, 2024

  Delta Lake State Park Campground

  Nice but BUSY

  This was our first time here, and we were looking forward to a relaxing visit. The sites were very large and well spaced out, with a beautiful fire ring. The bathrooms were clean. This campground got a 3/5 mainly because quiet hours are not enforced. Unfortunately, people were up blaring radios until approximately 3 am, being roudy. At approximately 2 am, someone decided it would be a good idea to do burnouts with their diesel truck, and went around the camp loop twice, doing just that. Vehicles were driving by the campsites all night long. This is naturally not entirely the campgrounds fault, but it was unfortunate to be misled by the campground rules. On a positive note, the campground is dog friendly, in certain areas, with proof of rabies vaccination, of course. Overall, I would say that this campground is geared more toward the RV and trailer crowd.

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• 

  George P.

  Scout

  Jun. 3, 2021

  Delta Lake State Park Campground

  Delta Lake State Park

  A very nice, tidy campground located on a peninsula jutting into Delta Lake in Central NY. Our site was level and large enough for our 22ft Airstream, a 4-person tent, pop-up canopy, and 2 vehicles. A picnic table and fire ring were on the site. Our site had 30A electrical service. The surface of the site was dirt with some small stones…no grass. Trees surrounded the site on 3 sides, providing some privacy and a place to hang a hammock. We were able to carry our paddle boards to the lake, walking less than 200ft through some woods.

• 

  Danielle S.

  Ranger

  Oct. 15, 2020

  Caroga Lake Campground

  Overall, nice.

  We spent a relatively quiet long weekend here on loop F 97, which is a bit removed from the main campground. It was a bit noisy on Saturday night but nothing disturbing.  This site also is bordered by a small stream so expect mosquitoes and the occasional visit from wildlife (we had raccoons at our site each night, so kept food in the car). Each site has a fire pit and a picnic table.

  There is a store just outside the entrance that sells ice, wood, groceries.  There are quite a few roadside firewood sellers that are reasonably priced.  The fire pit does not have a narrow grilling grate so bringing something to ensure your food won't fall through the widely spaced bars is helpful.  

  As I said, our site was out of the main population, but it was a bit of a hike to the restroom which is something to keep in mind if you've really got to get to a bathroom first thing in the morning.  

  There is a Walmart about 10 miles away in Gloverville, so keep this in mind if you are planning on picking up essentials when you arrive.  

  There are no sites with electric.

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• 

  Daniel B.

  Legend

  Jul. 25, 2016

  Lee's Park Campground

  Great location but needs work

  So in full disclosure I'm an avid camper, but this experience/review is best read for anyone who wants to know what it's like to camp there during a music festival.

  This campground is massive. Probably the largest I've been a part of. They said that there were approximately 20,000 campers there per night to see Phish as part of their 2016 tour, where they were playing July 4th long weekend (3 shows total). Besides the space for that many campers, there's also area for merchants and artisans to set up and cater to all the people's hunger, art, and drink needs. It's pretty convenient to wake up in a campground and be able to get hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches and wraps. With that many people, there should be a lot of security, and I'll say that there were a respectable amount of park security on patrol and to assist with questions on the campground areas, points of interest, and facilities. I also personally appreciated their willingness to allow us to build a slip and slide in a safe, roped off area. We also had a fellow camper who needed medical attention on his hand. They had some basic first aid on hand to help the situation, which we really appreciated. There are not surprisingly a lot of cars in the area that have driven in and set up to do car camping. I was one. The security did a pretty good job of diverting traffic to areas to help settle the grounds and campers mostly arriving the Friday in anticipation of the show that night. There was a shuttle service set up to allow campers to get from the campgrounds to the Music Festival grounds. A great option to allow people like me who drove there to avoid the traffic and enjoy the show atmosphere. There were many locations for portable toilets for people. There weren't many options for actual toilet facilities. Nor showers. They were available, but the permanent shower and toilet facilities become overwhelmed with 20,000 guests all at once.

  So it's $25/night/person. Then if you want the shuttle, which by the way at the time of booking was advertised on the site as a 'free service' turns out to be $15/day/person. Most people are only there for 2 of the 3 shows, but they are at capacity every night. They also host Dave Matthews Band fans/campers once a year, among some other sold out music festivals and the like. With those attendance numbers coming in and with the admission fees, Lee's Park should definitely have more showers and toilets for guests. I also think there should just be general improvements to the park, as most said the lake wasn't worth swimming in and quite dirty.

  Overall, I could have seen it go a lot worse with 20,000 people and the park management did a good job. I think the park facilities need upgrading or expanding and then I believe in turn you'll see more respect from the campers back towards the park.

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