Best Glamping near North Salem, NY

Upon arrival, I liked the atmosphere and friendly service but our site was filthy. A bag of dog poop by a tree, trash under the picnic table, cigarette butts littering the rocks around the fire pit, and the pit was so full of ash, there was no more room for firewood. And as other reviewers stated, these sites aren’t the cheapest. I don’t normally complain but this was unacceptable in my opinion. I called the front desk and spoke with a very lovely person. She was mortified and said she’d send maintenance. No. One. Ever. Showed. Up. We waited an hour and then we just started cleaning it up ourselves so we could move on and get started on dinner.

Our site was T3 and it was spacious and spread out from other tent sites. There was a tiny creek meandering behind the site and the woods just went on for miles. We felt grateful to be separated from the RVers and have so much space to ourselves.

Night fell and the place turned into Margaritaville. The seasonal RVers have really taken over the place and while some have tasteful decor and lights, others not so much. Even 50 yards away from the RV section and I felt like I was in a dance club parking lot. The music was so loud. No one seemed to care. Nothing was enforced.

Lastly, there was a lonely port-a-potty across the road from us along with a water spigot. There was trash all around the spigot that remained there throughout our stay (an entire roll of sopping wet toilet paper and an eyelash curler, guys), but the camp sanitation truck came once a day to empty that outhouse, which I never used based on the smell. If you have young kids that nap during the day, this truck would wake them. I walked the extra .2 miles to the bathhouse, which started out immaculate but quickly turned south with the sheer number of people using it. A cleaning log claimed it was tended to but it couldn’t have been true. Trash was endlessly overflowing and soap was running low.

The loud music I could get over for the view but the uncleanliness was just annoying. What a simple thing to fix for your customers.

Also beware of bears. We and several other neighboring campers spied a pretty big black bear not far enough away in the late morning hours. I’m sure they are fed well.

This campground changed in the last few years, but not for the better. It is apparent that the manager does not like campers. If you have a tent, you are treated ok, until you violate one of their endless rules. Then they have the police escort you out.. If you have a pop-up or anything above the ground on wheels they make your life miserable and prevent you from camping in the front row where the sites are larger, level, and have a lake view. Bathrooms are dirty and uncared for, toilet paper is non-existent in the afternoon. Alcohol is not allowed but is poorly enforced. Quiet hours are not enforced. Two cars per site is not enforced. Loud Boomboxes are the norm. People using the lakeside state park walk through your campsite to go use the campground bathroom and showers - hence the toilet paper issue in the bathroom. Unfortunately, some of those day picnickers think your stuff is free for the taking. NEVER LEAVE YOUR STUFF UNGUARDED. The numerous skunks are an unwelcomed camp amenity. Watch your children, cars go racing through the campground! If you are looking for stress free and peaceful, this is not the place. It is party central on the weekends.The staff leaves at random times, either 3 pm, 5 pm or 9 pm and then you are on your own. But don't worry, there is a sometimes functioning emergency phone outside the camp office. Oh yes, and there is no cell service in that area. Have fun. But I'm not going back. Are you sure you want to camp here?

Yes, this is a military-only campground but, that doesn't take away from how incredible it is and that is properly advertised. 

This place is incredible.  Being military-only keeps standards high, the campground clean and well maintained.  We've spent years here, with Dan & Janet but, are looking forward to returning this year under new management, as they enjoy retirement after many years of hard work. Boy, does their hard work show! They have poured so much love and attention into the building and maintaining of Lake Frederick! 

Between rustic power-only campsites that give you a true camping experience and upgraded but, still simple cabins which allow campers of all ages and abilities to enjoy the outdoor experience, there is something for everyone.  The new docks around the swimming area create a safer swimming experience for even the most inexperienced swimmers, allowing them safe and obvious perimeters.  The bath house is always well stocked and clean, ready for end of the day cleanup and the laundry facilities are a great bonus for those of us who like to stay longer than a couple days.  

You won't want for anything at Lake Frederick and it will be a great way to unplug, kick back and enjoy God's Creation!

The location is convenient for the Farmington River and nearby state park but we didn’t have a great camping experience. The staff were all friendly but the campground was very noisy (loud music blasting until 9pm) and the sites were all very close. We tried plugging into the power at the site and the electrical box popped and smoked. We told staff but nothing had been done about it. There was also a very bright campground light near our site in the woods that was less than ideal.

If your looking to party with a group and could care less about being outside, this might be your spot by this was not for me.

Let’s start with what we loved. The Gaga ball pit was great. The pool was nice, although, no seating due to covid. The camp store was convenient and well stocked. the WiFi was really great too. Best we’ve had at a campground!

Now to what wasn’t so great.

We had been Boondocking for a week prior to arriving and needed to dump our tank before pulling into our site. While we were dumping our gray tank, the dump clogged. The staff member told us to just empty what was in our hose on the grass and maintenance would fix it later. Since our tanks were still full, we asked if they’d provide us with the mobile tank service free of charge, but they declined. They did offer 50% off, though.

When we got to our spot, it was covered in hundreds and hundreds of nails and broken glass. Maintenance ended up having to get a shovel to get most of the nails up but we still spent the first few days of our stay picking up nails and glass from every corner of our site.

About three days into our stay, the power line caught on fire and we lost power to our RV for a few hours. Not a huge deal, just one more thing.

Those were the main things that make it hard to give more than three stars, but there was also the small laundry facility (one washer. one drier) , the noise level at night (yelling, loud music at several camp sites around us, a few fights, etc.) and the belligerent drinking on the weekend that made it a not so kid friendly place to be.

Honestly, I wouldn’t even complain about any of that if it wasn’t such a pricey campground. We’ve had much better experiences for a lot less. Just disappointing, but hey. Maybe we just had the perfect storm and none of those things would happen again? No idea. Just seems like the kind of place that’s great as long as nothing goes wrong. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Pic isn’t the best, but it’s the only one I took of site!