Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Howes Cave? Finding a place to camp in New York with your tent has never been easier. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
As the name suggests, we are located on 40 acres of beauty! Your off-the-grid 20 ft. diameter glamping tent is set up near a small beaver pond at about the midpoint of our property. There is another large and deep pond that you may use our fishing boat or paddle boat on. Or fish from shore! There is an abundance of birds, frogs (they will serenade you), deer, heron, ducks, bald eagles and fireflies!
Battery or solar lights are provided. A rechargeable light/outlet combo is also provided. This can be used for cell phone charging, the lamp, the fan, etc. It can be recharged in your vehicle if needed. The toilet and shower are rustic - compostable toilet and solar shower. Should you feel the need for a "real" shower there is a wonderful facility in Cooperstown called the Clark SportCenter. Not only is it a state-of-the-art gymnasium, but you may also get a day pass and enjoy a nice sauna and shower.
Should you wish to have electricity we do have a generator that you may use, you will just have to purchase the gas for it. Be aware it will change the peacefulness of the spot. We have a portable Air Condition unit should you need it.
We do have cell phone service, but Wifi is not available. We provide you with 5 gallons of water to be used for cooking and cleaning dishes. It is ok to drink too, but you may want to bring bottled water or containers. We have great well water and there is an outside spigot next to the well house where you have access to as much water as you need.
Real dishes, pots and pans, utensils, some seasonings, a cooler, camp coffee maker, wine glasses, corkscrew, matches, firestarter, soap, dish soap, and probably a few things I missed, are all provided for you. You basically need yourself, your clothing and your food to cook.
The yurt (bell) tent is located near the old train tracks. The Rail Explorers have pedal cart excursions that go out several times a day. Check out thier site. If you choose to take this excursion you will get 10% off when you use a code I will give you. On Saturday evening there is a Blues/Music Train that leaves from Milford at about 7 pm and goes all the way to Cooperstown for a 3 hour evening of music and fun. You get to hear and see it go by unless you decide to take the ride. It is fun!
The fall is the best time to visit! Crisp mornings, beautiful nights for campfires, changing of the leaves, less traffic in the area.
In the 1800's it was a celery farm, later a sheep farm. It has been in our family since the 1950's. We have enjoyed the serenity and beauty for years and are happy to share it with others. Your site is currently the only one of two on the property, so if you want privacy, this is it! The two sites are not next to each other
$125 - $145 / night
There are five lean-tos as well as five primitive campsites marked with round, yellow, DEC markers. In addition, primitive camping is allowed. Campsites must be at least 150 feet away from the nearest road, trail, or body of water. Camping for more than three nights or in groups of ten or more requires a permit from the regional office.
Camping is prohibited above 3,500 feet in elevation from March 22 until December 20 each year to protect the fragile summit environment. Campfires are permitted below 3,500 feet in elevation, but only dead and down fuel may be used. In an established campsite, use the existing fire ring. Before you leave, completely extinguish the fire. Never leave a fire unattended. The use of camp stoves is encouraged.
Property was an Airport called Red Wing back in the 60's and 70's. Purchased and many improvements. Pond, hiking trails, grass and paved runway. A must see property.
For both sites there are numerous trails in forest for camping, hiking . Fire wood is available for purchase at the camp site.
You can set up your camp site almost anywhere you choose.
Crystal clear pond has fountains, swing, dock, canoes, paddle boat & fire pit.
Two (2)
runways for those that want to fly in. (
NY05)
Fantastic Views !!!!! Site seeing flights thru the valley
available.
At both sites we ask when leaving, they must remain as you arrived and what was carried in must be carried out. At present there are no dumpsters available.
Final note : If you prefer to use the whole property exclusively, please contact us for an addition rates and
we will block the other site.
$130 / night
Getaway Campgrounds offers a modern, immersive outdoor experience for today’s camper. Each campsite is built for comfort, with clean and modern amenities designed to help you soak in your surroundings.
Our campsites are about 200 square feet with approximately 10’ by 10’ of space for a tent. Each campsite is surrounded by nature and offers a secluded, covered structure complete with a picnic table, hammock, fire pit, and Adirondack chairs.
You’ll also have a kitchenette fit for cooking with a propane burner (plus propane canister), and essentials including oil, salt + pepper, dishware, cutlery, and non-perishable provisions for purchase.
Plus, private bathroom suites (hot shower, toilet, and sink) are nearby.
$79 - $119 / night
$25 / night
Camp on the Esopus Creek in the Big Indian-Oliverea Valley surrounded by seven 3500' Catskill High Peaks including Slide Mountain, the tallest in the Catskills.
Our PRIVATE camp (no other campers) is situated on 100 acres of land in the middle of the Catskill State Park. We are the closest private Dyrt site to Slide Mountain, the Catskills tallest peak at 4180 feet. A perfect base camp for some of the best hiking in the Catskills, the site is bordered by Forever Wild Forest and is minutes from the trailheads to Balsam, Giant Ledge, Panther, Big Indian, Slide Mountain and dozens more peaks within 30 minutes or so away.
You can walk to a swimming hole on a winding path through a wildflower meadow blazed with rock cairns along a half mile of private waterfront. Try your luck at catching some wild Brook Trout on the world famous Esopus Creek!
Our drive up camp has a 4-6 person prospector type tent, a 10X12 covered tent platform, several individual tent sites with private fire rings, as well as a bunkhouse and a leanto for day use. The camp table and cook pit are covered from the elements. The main tent includes a wood burning stove, folding card table and seating for 4 and bunk bed with 4" thick self-inflating Therm-a-rest MondoKing 3D XXL Queen sized insulated mats for luxurious comfort.
Open Network WiFi (no UN/PW needed) is available at the Campkeeper home a short woods walk away. Seasoned bundled 16" firewood is available by honor box cash payment on Brown rd across the camp entry road.
Rules:
'Almost' anything goes. Learn about 'pack-in pack-out/leave no trace camping' and the 'leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures' motto. Due to local laws, no music or noise louder than 60 decibels is allowed which is about as loud as conversation with 20 people in a restaurant, an office of 20 people speaking or being on the phone, background music typically heard in restaurants and public spaces, an air conditioning unit at 100 feet. Our site is to be best enjoyed for the sounds that do exist naturally, the many birds singing their song, the babbling Esopus Creek, the rustling leaves on the trees. Ask questions, I will always answer anything about camping and am thrilled to share my knowledge.
Extras:
-Arrive to a dry campfire stack mini bonfire for your evening's entertainment. Full of dry kindle and fire starter, just light it and enjoy! The stack will be made of about 20 pieces built up teepee style and will be covered from the elements. If you will be camping for more than one night, please specify how many or which night(s) you would like the fire setup for . Dry campfire stack is $25.00
-I have several tents available including a large 5 person Eureka! Copper Canyon tent for $15.00, and 4 two person backpacking tents (Eureka! Timberline, Eureka! Prism, 2 Gazelle tents, and Moss Starlet tent) for $10.00 each.
-I have 4 comfortable 2" thick Therm-a-rest Camprest foam and air mattresses for $8.00 each.
Inquire about the extras when you book the site. Extras can be paid for in cash after you arrive.
$130 / night
Come spend the night(s) under a crystal-clear sky, nestled between a babbling creek and mirror-still pond at a working farm. Your Coggins-negative horses are welcome with current certificate, as we are located along the Catskill Scenic Trail and look forward to hosting others with a passion for trail riding. Ducks, geese and chickens free-range on the property, and a sweet donkey will likely bray to greet you. Enjoy our mixed-dozen eggs for breakfast and take some with you. The water source at the farm is from the same natural spring since 1890, and we encourage our guests to fill bottles with delicious mountain water, UV-filtered to guarantee purity.
$20 - $40 / night
Scout
The staff was friendly. The sites are spaced out enough and have greenery in between so it feels a little more private than some places. Bathrooms and showers were very clean.
Guide
Love this place will definitely be back, not sure why it didn’t show up for free camping when I had it filtered, found it on another app. Was not the easiest for my RV van to get up the hill with the ruts, but I have a small lift so it helps, lower clearance vans might not make it. It’s a single camper site at the top of the hill left before the trailhead parking.
Guide
One night stay. Great sight. Friendly helpful staff. Only drawback is steady stream of trains going by around the clock. I didn’t mind by my wife didn’t sleep well.
Traveler
Absolutely loved this campground, sites are well spaced and the surrounding area is gorgeous! We had a tent site right on the river and couldn’t have been happier with our stay. Each site has a fire pit and a picnic table. Facilities were exceptionally clean and the camp store was stunning!
Guide
Call the telephone number got a recording left a message. Did not get a call back. Send email. Got no response.
RangerBeautiful state park campground with all the amenities you expect, located on the Hudson River.
The state did an excellent job designing sites with dense foliage as sound and site barriers creating good privacy for campers.
Sites are all within 200 feet of the bathrooms. The bathrooms have good showers and were very clean during our stay. There is also a dishwasher sink and even bookshelves with books available to borrow.
Our favorite feature was the day use and boat ramp on the Hudson River. We saw many larger boats (maybe smaĺl yachts?) during the day. The view from the boat ramp area was amazing. However, stay away if you see boat going by. The boat ramp dock turns into a death trap when a big wake from a boat hits the river bank!
Scout
I came up here with my dog for a solo camping trip for a couple of days to get away! Rich the host is super nice and answered any questions I had about staying/getting there. I had the whole camp ground to myself so that was even better. It is definitely off the beaten path but we'll worth it if your just trying to escape a little bit. But Verizon does get service. There are some nearby trails that are within 15 minutes of the camp ground which is also a plus. No need to bring Fire wood as there is a ton all around you. You can also buy from the host as well. There was a decent portapotty on the camp ground which is very nice to have. This was just what we needed. We really loved our stay and cant wait to go back! Thank you Rich!
RangerWide spaces near the Hudson River are beautiful. Campgrounds are under renovation to clear some trees and improve facilities in what might be the best state park we’ve camped at. Lots of well marked trails with great views of the river (cannot be seen from campsites).
Electric only on site but lots of spots to fill fresh water in campgrounds. Bathrooms are big and very clean.
At&t one bar. Site was open enough that Starlink was great.
ScoutClean, modern bathrooms. Campsites were raked and ready for us when we arrived. Super friendly staff! Just a well laid out campground that was perfect for us. Peaceful, a mix of wooded sites for RV's and open sites with their cabins. 2 swimming pools, really nice playground for the younger kids, 2 baseball fields. Just a top notch place.
Guide
Park on side of road, campfire located down slope. Very little traffic. Felt safe.
ScoutThis is a small campground but very quiet and nice. The people that run it are very nice and accommodating. Would highly recommend it.
Legend
We were on a 5 state East Coast camping trip. Our first campground was in New York Aug 8th. Unfortunately, Debbie was socking New York hard. North South Lake Campground in the Catskills was our camping home. Thursday & Friday it was Neverending rain & wind. Saturday was the nice day.
North South Lake has no electricity. The sites are almost all beautiful, tucked in under shady trees. Not a good way to try out our solar panel! Some are by a stream. A few are by the lake. This is a tent campers paradise. New York tent campers are hard core camping during Tropical Storm Debbie!
There are 7 loops. We were in loop 2. Site 85. There are some sites with an incline down to the site. That might give some rvs trouble. It did for us & I had to be driven out of the campground to call 911. Thank you Mary!! It all ended well & we got a different site.
There are bears that visit the campground & one came one of the nights & visited our camping neighbor's site. They showed us a picture- it was a large black bear.
Generators are allowed for 5 hours & they tell you when you can use them.
The bathrooms/showers are state park clean- which means not very.
There is NO cell service & just forget about WiFi. You are unplugged.
This is a hiking park & for this middle aged overweight flatlander they are pretty strenuous. Kaaterskill Falls is an exception - short, easy trail, but the parking fills up quickly. Then they close it! You'll have to take a shuttle to get in.
The trail to the Mountain House Site is also pretty easy, with more of an incline.
There's 2 nice lakes with beaches.
The Catskills are very scenic& we enjoyed our time there!
GuideA great free spot for dispersed camping tucked right off the road. Had a fire pit and picnic table
ScoutGorgeous. There was a brook not far from our campsite, and it was only a short stroll to the lake. It was really peaceful when we visited in the middle of the week. Most websites are secretive and dark can play penalty shooters 2.
Scout
Despite only having 3 stars on dyrt, lees park is pretty cool to come to. Close to SPAC, lots of area to set up tents, dog friendly, campfire friendly, and there’s a lake minutes away. Some of the crowd seemed a little rowdy but overall nothing that was obnoxious. DONT GO IN THE WOODLINE you’ll get mobbed by mosquitoes.
GuideI really love this campground each of the campsites in our loop which was in the lower 100s, has a lot of foliage around it, creating privacy between you and the site next to you. There is a lake with swimming, clean bathrooms, clean, clean showers. Picnic table and fire pit with grill top. There’s a lot of bear activity here, so constantly cleaning up your food is very important. Definitely love it here for woodsy feel.
Traveler
Blackbear is such a fun spot. Always a good time, clean, and the perfect weekend away. This spot is only 40 minutes from my regular 9-5 and it feels like it’s in another world. When you wake up, look up at the black bears in the trees and enjoy the water!!
Scout
We ended up having to spend the night at a different campsite that were familiar with this place. This place is a scam.
Guide
Family oriented. The kids loved love water attractions. Our site was large and shaded. The draw back is where you need to park the camper is about 7 inches out of level. If we stay in the same site again we would come better prepared.
Scout
Nice area. Lots of room. Laundry room ok with 2 washers and 2 dryers. Lots of open fields.
TravelerBeen there couple of times. Love it. Two lakes. Highly recommended.
Guide
Nice quiet campgrounds close to the Beaver kill and great service staff was supper friendly and helpful
Scout
This place means a lot to me and I’m reluctant to review because it’s such a well kept secret. Nothing fancy but great secluded spot with lots of great spots.
ScoutThis place is great! $10 for a tent site right on the canal and the staff is super friendly
Legend
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
Legend
This is a small hidden gem of a state park where the only camping available is in camper cabins—and pretty amazing glamping for camper cabins! Although there may be times when there may be people and groups around for day use, the small number of cabins and they way they are spread out will make you feel like you are at your own private retreat. The cabins are beautifully built with lovely settings, and well appointed though you need to bring your own linens. There are a couple of ponds for fishing, but if you want to swim you need to go over to nearby Otsego Lake. The trails wind through mature forest, and you can cross country ski here in winter—in fact, reserve one of the winterized cabins and come for a long weekend of cozy cabin time and quiet time outdoors on the winter trails. There is a beautiful picnic pavilion and playground, so kid friendly. Unfortunately, pets can come for day use but cant stay in the cabins. Reservations must be made in advance for the cabins, and you can be sure they will be filled on special event weekends in nearby Cooperstown, especially for events at the Baseball Hall of Fame or the Farmers Living History Museum. . The park is far enough on the outskirts of town to be away from crowds and noise, but close enough to run to town for activities, get supplies or check out unique cafes and bakeries
Traveler
I went last year with my kids they loved the arcade small but it's a camp ground the playground area was nice. We use tents and got a bad storm the owner called and let up bunk in the arcade for the night since she was worried. They have animals the kids can go check out. The pool is nice and they offer fun activists for the kids as well honestly try it out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Howes Cave, NY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Howes Cave, NY is Betty and Wilbur Davis State Park — Betty & Wilbur Davis State Park with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Howes Cave, NY?
TheDyrt.com has all 23 tent camping locations near Howes Cave, NY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
