Best Tent Camping near Pattersonville, NY

Tent camping options near Pattersonville, New York include both dispersed and established sites within driving distance of town. Ushers Road State Forest offers primitive tent camping with access via bicycle-friendly nature trails, while Duck Pond Campsite provides more secluded tent camping opportunities in a forest setting. E16 Canal Lock offers free tent camping along the canal with a 48-hour maximum stay limit. These areas provide alternatives to the more developed campgrounds in the broader region.

Access to tent sites varies significantly across locations. Ushers Road State Forest features potential camping spots at least 150 feet off main trails, with one site approximately 200 feet down a smaller path that includes a stone fire ring. Duck Pond Campsite requires navigating unpaved dirt roads that can be challenging for larger vehicles. A review mentioned, "The road in on old cemetery rd was pretty rough, so we decided to go out the other way, which was way worse." Most dispersed tent camping areas lack amenities like drinking water, toilets, or trash service, requiring campers to pack in all supplies and pack out all waste.

Tent campers at these locations experience varying levels of privacy and natural settings. Sites at Duck Pond offer a quiet experience with minimal traffic, though the small pond can attract some mosquitoes during warmer months. According to one visitor, "We arrived at surprisingly well maintained beautiful campsites. The pond is small so the mosquitoes were not too bad. So few people passed by and very unknown quite and we just loved the experience." At Ushers Road State Forest, the terrain eventually transitions into low-lying, swampy areas after rainfall. E16 Canal Lock provides a unique tent camping experience along the canal with good Verizon signal coverage. Most tent-only sites in the region allow fires in established rings, and pets are generally permitted at these primitive camping areas.

Best Tent Sites Near Pattersonville, New York (23)

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Tent Camping Reviews near Pattersonville, NY

549 Reviews of 23 Pattersonville Campgrounds


  • Christina W.
    May. 28, 2019

    Sperry Road Campground — Mount Greylock State Reservation

    I go every year!

    Me and my friends get a group site at least once a year. It's an amazing place with really great staff that care about the safety of everyone and keeping the areas clean. We always have an amazing time here. The views are great and we have never had any issues. 

    First time I went it was intimidating because I had never camped in an all tent camping site with no running water or public restroom areas. However, as soon as I got acclimated, I loved it. There are outhouses stationed at different areas all around, and bear boxes for every group. There are bears around so use the boxes seriously. 

    There are a number of rivers and little waterfalls that are always nice to visit. I plan to go there again very soon!

  • Meghan B.The Dyrt PRO User
    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.

  • Heidi R.
    Jun. 1, 2018

    Sperry Road Campground — Mount Greylock State Reservation

    Awesome backpacking with amenities!

    The hike in was a fairly easy 1.3 to the csmpground. The sites were huge and spread out. Although we could kind of see our neighbors if we tried, we were far enough away that we weren't looking at them all weekend. SO PEACEFUL! Uou will hear the bard owls call at night and not much else. Sites 11, 8, and 9 are pretty set back and private.

    Amenities include:

    1. The rangers deliver wood to your site
    2. The bear lockers are roomy and clean and could double as storage to keep items out of the rain (highly recommend reviewing being "bear aware" as we had a sighting in our neighboring site and not all other campers are bear smart and left food/trash out even though rangers gave reminders).
    3. The composting toilets were so spacious and clean you could sleep on the floor in an emergency!
    4. Each site has a fire ring and a picnic table.

    There are plenty of options for hiking including two nearby falls, a section of the AT, and of course the summit. The summit lodge offers breakfast & lunch. Although abut pricey, the large fire place, friendly hiker conversations, and a warm cup of coffee brightened our rainy day. They also do dinner by reservation. The summit is accessible by hiking or car. They have educational and entertainment programs scheduled throughout the weekend.

  • Cynthia K.
    Aug. 29, 2024

    North-South Lake Campground

    New York

    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!

  • Nancy W.The Dyrt PRO User
    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.

  • Janet R.The Dyrt PRO User
    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

  • Molly G.
    Jul. 21, 2019

    Brookside Campground

    Ranger Review of GCI at Brookside Campground

    Ranger review: GCI at Brookside Campground

    CAMPGROUND REVIEW We ended up at this campground because the family we were traveling with needed to accommodate their 50 foot camper. As a rule of thumb- I try to visit as little RV parks as I can, but we were trying to find somewhere that would accommodate both of our needs.

    While it is true that this campground does specialize in large groups and is one of the only places in the area that will host a rig as big as my uncles, that was about the only thing it had going for it.

    Grounds were dilapidated. It was like they had too much to handle. The lawn was overgrown at our site, the bathrooms were always in need of something... it was just a glorified trailer park.

    I will say that the spots were spacious, particularly pertaining to tent sites. However- the brook that the campground is named after is mostly stagnant. So prepare for an abundance of mosquitos!

    Another perk is the location. It was really nice to be right near The Catskills. However, I will most definitely be taking advantage of the smaller and quieter campgrounds around.

    Would recommend for: people with big rigs. Large groups with children. The sports “complex” and pool actually looked very nice and well maintained. There were kids everywhere.

    RANGER REVIEW ON... GCI OUTDOOR CHAIRS

    So if you’ve been keeping up with my ranger reviews, you know I am always very pleasantly surprised by the things I’ve gotten the opportunity to test out that I never knew I needed. Camping Chairs were actually on my list of things to acquire this year for our trips, so I was psyched (as usual) when I found out GCI Outdoors would be what I got to check out.

    I purchased the “Eazy” chair and the Roadtrip Rocker.

    So first, the Eazy chair. It’s a good looking chair that comes packed away in a pouch that slings over your shoulder. It’s pretty heavy, but we happened to be car camping this time around so that wasn’t a big deal. The arm rests are sturdy, the chair is comfortable to sit in.

    The Roadtrip rocker I was really excited about. And the thing is pretty awesome. The patented hydrolics is pretty nifty and it’s really neat how it works. I was surprised to find that it packed so easily into its sack, and has a sling so that you can carry it where you need to go.

    Grab your own here:

    https://www.gcioutdoor.com/camping-chairs/roadtrip-rocker/

  • j
    May. 22, 2018

    Sperry Road Campground — Mount Greylock State Reservation

    amazing views

    Went and did some hiking in early October for a birthday trip. The staff at the visitors center were very informative and were able to point us in the right direction for overnight parking and somewhat shorter hikes to shelters. The views along the drive and the hikes were amazing. The shelter was in great condition and had bear box/shelters to store your items. Once we reached the summit the next day, we were able to watch hang gliders take off which was awesome. The whole area is great.

  • Joseph C.
    Aug. 5, 2020

    Schodack Island State Park Campground

    Very pleasant, easy going and many rabbits

    Stayed 3 nights with 2 buddies.  We had 2 tents set up on the ground (2 man and 6 man capacity tents) and a third specialty tent in the bed my buddy's pick-up truck.  Plenty of room for a pop-up canopy over the picnic table and my car with its own attached awning.  We had a third car parked just off the roadway and we were never asked to move it to the parking area since there is usually a 2 car limit (my friend is lazy like that).

    Weather was warm, so we were mostly trying our best to stay cool.  Unfortunately, I did not take full advantage of the park's amenities.  I did some light biking, walking around and mostly relaxing at the campsite.  The electricity and running water work 100%, the campsite was cleared and clean.  The picnic table was very new and stable.  Ice and firewood were delivered at our request at a decent price.  best of all, this campsite had the cleanest bathrooms and shower facilities of any place I have ever been.  Only one of my friends had trouble with his shower as the water stopped running and he could not completely rinse off.  There must have been some momentary problem with the plumbing.  I know it was fixed quickly and everything was running once again.

    Not a lot of tents, mostly RV's.  All my neighbors were quiet and in bed around 9p.  Unfortunately, my group of three like to stay up late so I hope our talking didn't interfere with our neighbor's ability to sleep.  No one complained, so I am assuming we kept it down low enough. Pet friendly, though we didn't bring ours.

    I recommend this place for families, though the age group observed there were mostly late 30's, 40's and 50's.  Not too many kids.  Many "exotic" birds (for a Brooklyn boy, anything that is not a pigeon or sparrow is exotic).  We had frequent visits from Gray Catbirds, and I saw a glimpse of a Bald Eagle through the treeline.  Didn't spot any turtles, though I hear they are there if you go looking.

    I plan to return to this campsite, and likely very soon. I had a great time and it was nice not having a park ranger sniffing around every 2-3 hours like I have experienced in other parks and campsites.


Guide to Pattersonville

Tent camping near Pattersonville, New York, offers a variety of scenic spots where nature lovers can enjoy the great outdoors. With options ranging from secluded leantos to family-friendly campgrounds, there's something for everyone.

Tent campers appreciate these amenities

  • At Murphy Lake Leanto, campers can enjoy a secluded experience with a fire pit and access to a nearby lake, perfect for a peaceful retreat.
  • Cherry Plain State Park Campground features well-maintained facilities, including drinking water, showers, and picnic tables, making it a comfortable choice for families.
  • HOGAN'S LANDING allows pets and offers amenities like drinking water and showers, ensuring a convenient stay for all campers.

Some prices for tent camping range from $0 to $30

  • Camping at Murphy Lake Leanto is free, making it an excellent option for budget-conscious adventurers.
  • Cherry Plain State Park Campground has a seasonal fee structure, typically around $30 per night, providing great value for its amenities.
  • Creek Hill Camping offers a reservable site for a nominal fee, ensuring a spot for those looking to enjoy the outdoors without breaking the bank.

Tips for tent camping near Pattersonville

  • When visiting Murphy Lake Leanto, be prepared for a hike-in experience, which rewards you with stunning views and tranquility.
  • For a family-friendly atmosphere, consider Cherry Plain State Park Campground, where you can enjoy hiking trails and a nearby beach.
  • If you're looking for a private camping experience, Carrie W's Land offers a cozy setting with essential amenities like drinking water and toilets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Pattersonville, NY?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Pattersonville, NY is Ushers Road State Forest with a 5-star rating from 2 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Pattersonville, NY?

TheDyrt.com has all 23 tent camping locations near Pattersonville, NY, with real photos and reviews from campers.