Best RV Parks & Resorts near Rainbow Lake, NY

50 sites, full hookup ($40), water& electric ($35) and tent ($??). Has the feel of an RV park with three rows of sites plus some more (I think the tent sites) closer to the road. Not much separation between sites. The lucky ones get beachfront sites with unobstructed views; we were in the second row. The beach was closed for the season when we were there; the campground is open May- September and an on-site caretaker is there the entire five months. Gorgeous sunsets. Coin-operated showers($1 for approximately 15 minutes)– did not use so cannot say how they were. Playground. Clean restroom but the women's only had one operable stall. Although there was a hot water spigot, I was not able to coax any hot(or even warm) water out of it. No defined quiet hours but it was very quiet by 8:30 pm.

This is a Class A 5⭐️KOA Campsite! We arrived late and Jox & his sweet wife helped us manuever our RV into our pull through site B05. We were super close to the office, store, snacks, laundry & activities. Our site was a “ dirt” site that had a picnic table and fire pit with full hook ups. This campsite has concierge service that will help you out with any of your wants/needs. Great site in nature’s finest.

Close to Lakes to Paddle, Store and Gas not far. Camp is quite more for Adults, no playgrounds or things for kids to do. Full hook ups and pull thru sites. Not very private you are close to your neighbors. Great for Day trips around the area.

We reserved a full hook up 50a pull through for 3 nights as we toured the northeast. Check in was a little tricky, as we missed the “REGISTRATION” sign at the Lodge and had to drive around again. We were directed to our site across the street in the 100 Acre Wood and set up rather easily. Water pressure was good, road noise was minimal, sites are spaced apart well, enough mature tree growth for shade and hammock! Used the pool at the resort once (a little chilly), and purchased some beer in the camp store. Service was always polite and helpful. Would definitely stay here again!!!

Great place. Divided into two places by the road. One side is tenty, more busy. Other side is spread out, more tucked into the woods. Nice hiking trails that connect to Whiteface Mountain trail. Theres a pool and lake. Very nice. General store that has everything you could need...groceries, camp supplues, rv supplies, toys, pharmacy, beer and wine. Laundry and recycling services. For RV, water and electric hookups. I think avail for tents too. Lots of activities around. Tons of hiking, lakes, biking, Olympic ski jump hill, bobsled rides, kayakjng, shopping in Lake Placid and nuce restaurants a short drive away.

To start off, we are avid KOA campers. So when we looked at this campground, we expected the typical layout which had a swimming pool and other stuff for the kids, however, this campground lacked all of the above. When we arrived here, check-in was easy we did drive along ways to get to our campsite which was nice to be wooded, but I did miss the typical activities and KOA usually has which when I booked the site, I usually expect them since the prices usually, fairly high compared to state parks. Our main reason for seeing KA versus state parks for these extra activities. With that said the bathrooms were clean, which we barely use since we have a full hook up camper. The dog park was very small and it looked like they did the very minimum to check the block. If you’re looking for a place to run your little guy around, he might be disappointed at this place. However, there are plenty hikes nearby to wear them out if you desire. As far as location, there is a lot of stuff to do in the area as we went and hike, the mountain, which was amazing.

We have a “big rig” 40’ 5th wheel with 4 slide outs. Called them same day from Capital Region Welcome Ctr in NY, about 3 hrs away (below Albany). They had a full hook up, pull-thru corner space for us. Offered parking for our truck right across lane on separate site. Super nice owners! Went over COVID questions and after hour check-in instructions. We came in just after it got dark. Loved town of Shelburne. Awesome little shops and great, well stocked little local grocery store. Authentic Italian restaurant in grocery store parking lot...picked up delicious strombolis. Due to COVID, mostly call ahead/pick-up or drive thru for many things...incl. delicious coffee in town at Village Wine & Coffee and AWESOME cider donuts at Shelburne Orchards! Only a 20 min drive into downtown Burlington. Took narrated tour on Ethan Allen ferry on Lake Champlain. Shopped in artsy town. Extended our stay for TWO extra nights. Will def come back. Didn’t need to use, but noted that bathrooms were immaculately clean.

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I am one of the lucky ones who gets gear to review from time to time. We recently tested out the Aftershokz Titanium Bone Conduction Headphones at this gorgeous campground in the Adirondacks! Pretty cool…

Gear Review

What we liked most about this product:

• Versatile: Can be used just about anywhere you want to be able to listen to music or a podcast (without disturbing others), but also want to be able to hear people coming down the trail, birds singing, the ocean crashing along the shore, etc. They are just as great in a library as they are outside.
• Compact: While they don’t fold down as small as a pair of traditional headphones, they are pocket-sized and can easily be stored in a jacket or a pocket of a backpack.
• Lightweight: You barely feel them on your head and are very comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
• Better for Ear Health: Because the headphones use bone conduction technology rather than sit inside your ear, they are much better for the long term health of your hearing.
• Blue Tooth Technology: Cordless is wonderful…enough said!

What could be improved:

• Adjustability: If they were made to adjust to each person’s head size, they would be even more comfortable. If you have a smaller head, they drape down a bit at the nape of your neck and bounce a bit while walking/cycling. They fit my husband’s head perfectly, but are a bit large on me.

Product Video Review: https://youtu.be/uj20w4_Yu14

Campground Review

Wow, what a gorgeous campground! This one came recommended from a friend and we fell in love at first sight. The campground reminded us of summer camp on the lake, as it seemed frozen in time. Each site has a picnic table and open grill and all sites are non-electric. We stayed in site #45, right on the edge of the lake, with great kayak access.

We spent one day kayaking on the lake and another day hiking. While the mosquitoes weren’t bad at the campground itself, they are terrible on the trails this time of year, so bring your bug spray, or better yet, bug shirts! We’ll need to come back in the winter and do some snowshoeing on these trails, so we can enjoy them mosquito free.

The bathrooms are kept tidy, the shower house is classic and clean, and there is an extensive recycling facility (yay for NY and ADK!). There is also a sand volleyball court and basketball hoop. Bonus: There was a huge stack of free wood piled near the shower house!

The Village of Cranberry Lake has some supplies, but not much except the very basics at the general store. You’ll need to head to Star Lake or Tupper Lake for anything of significance.

We did our usual reservation-less “pull up and see what they have open” style of camping, but during the main season, this place is busy! You’ll definitely need to plan ahead and make reservations if you plan to be here during the crazy season.

Stayed for two nights, great campsite, awesome sites. We got, unexpectedly, a nice pull through, full hookups all close together so easy setup. Our site wasn't level but only required a small adjustment. Good cell coverage and excellent Wi-Fi. There were plenty of open spots while we were there. Definitely reccomended.

There are two distinct sections of this campground– the “Resort” section and the “100-Acre Woods” section. We stayed in site #73 of the 100-Acre section and would highly recommend staying in this area as opposed to the other. This section has tall shad trees and much more space between sites than the resort area. In the resort are most of the amenities like the store, playground, volleyball, swimming pool, horseshoes, etc. Each section has their own bathhouses, laundry, and game rooms. 

We stayed in a full hook-up site that was plenty long enough for our 45’ RV and tow car. The water spigot at our site broke when I was hooking up the water which was then gushing everywhere. Staff were really prompt at coming out and shutting off the water and getting it fixed. Other than that, we didn’t have any trouble with the hook-ups. There is cable and we received 32 channels; albeit, they were not HG so the picture quality was not great. Roads in the park are gravel and were very dusty. There is a liquor store on property and the general store sells lots of different kinds of beer and has a few on tap. 

One bad thing about this park is that you have to pay high fees for visitors. Day passes for adults are $12 and $6/kid. Overnight fees are crazy high at $15/adult, $8/kid and $7/car. We were camped with friends and glad they had a campsite and didn’t have to pay $24 for the two of them to come to dinner. Another ding for us was that there were lots of tree limbs that needed to be trimmed. Maneuvering through the park was pretty tight for us and we had to take it really slow. We stayed over Memorial Day weekend and were surprised that the campground was not full. One thing we noticed was that all the campers were clustered together while they could have been spaced out so there was an empty site between us and our neighbors. 

Behind the 100-Acre section are trails that lead to Whiteface Mountain so you don’t have to get in the car to start a hike. My dog loved running through the woods and there were a couple of small streams where she could get a drink of water. You are about 12 miles north of Lake Placid so we didn’t go there as much as we thought we would. One great find is the Adirondack Chocolate store about one mile up the road from the campground. There is also an A&W, dairy bar, and a restaurant.

If you like history this is a great spot to camp, when exploring.  Just don't expect privacy. That said the views are wonderful.  The sites all have fire rings, tent sites don't have anything else.  RV sites do offer full hookups.  The access into the site is paved.  There is a trash house and bathhouse on the grounds.

Although we live only about 25 miles from this VT State Park, and have biked by here many times, we've never camped here. We selected it because it was nearby for our second outing with our new (used) R-Pod camper. Turns out it's a wonderful park. Perfect Lake Champlain views from a few prime sites, nice cool breezes off the lake even though the temperatures we reaching into the 90's! Lots of lean-tos in the first loop and some cabins in the second. Foot trails connect the loops and a day-use area that has playgrounds, a swimming pool, and a large picnic shelter. (Pool closed in 2020 and 2021 - Covid) No beach, but you can walk a half mile trail to a rocky ledge where you can swim. Boat launch is about 7/10 mile drive (or foot path). Huge spaces for RVs and very private lean-tos. All mostly empty during our weekday stay in June. As in all VT State Parks, no electric or water hookups.

We had a full hookup, pull through site surrounded by trees. There was some road noise during the day but it was nice and quiet at night. The bathhouses looked very "rustic" but we didn't use them. Nice field, swings and small palyground for kids. Close to hiking and Lake Placid!

This has been one of our favorite campsites so far. We loved being able to walk down to the beach, as well as having full hookups. We also met the nicest people here. You can purchase firewood at the office, and there are also propane options. It was peaceful here yet also a fun place.

This is an amazing campground!

The North Pole Resort is a top tiered campground that knows exactly how a campground should be operated, from customer service to site arrangement and up keep! We had the privilege of staying in the 100 Acres section of the campground for a few nights in July and loved everything about our stay. The campground consists of two sections; the Resort section and the 100 Acre woods section (just 50 yards down the road). The resort section is located near the office and is a nice, more open, but spacious RV camping area. The 100-acre section is a wooded campground beautifully arranged and maintained.

We stayed in the 100 Acres area and were very impressed with the layout of the sites, which were staggered/angled to put the most space between each site. We felt very secluded even though there were other sites around us. Our site was level, spotlessly clean and manicured, and had good water pressure and hookups. The combination restrooms/bathrooms were clean and conveyed a sense of regular maintenance being provided to them.

Customer service is top notch and the staff prides themselves on welcoming guests as family. We overheard a current employee talking to a new employee stating that even if the campsite wasn’t used prior to a new guest arriving, they always do a thorough check of the site to ensure everything is perfect! This impressed us and aligned with the overall sense of pride shown at NP campground.  The camp store is probably one of the best stocked stores we have visited. Additionally, they had growler fills from 3 craft beers of tap right in the camp store!!

We loved our stay at North Pole Resorts, which raised the bar pretty high for other campgrounds to live up to!

The grounds: This place looks like the place to be, great facilities (with real flush toilets near the beach), and great grassy sites which met of are in the shade! Very close to many different things (Montreal, Burlington, Lake Placid) and the beach is very clean and beautiful. There is a pump station for RVs but a lot of tent camping as well.

The Belt: This belt is great, I love croaky belts in general, they are colorful and very sturdy. The design is great and they keep the pants up or give a splash of color to my outfits (when I wear them a little higher up. The colors are so pretty with the blues and are interesting to look at. Love that there are no holes, so it will not rip overtime. 5 out of 5 for sure!

We were trying to get out of state for a week or so but with so many restrictions in so many states we decided to stay within our own. We have never stayed for any time in the high peaks area of the Adirondaks. This campground has 2 parts to it , the resort side and the 100 acre side. I wanted to stay by the Ausable River and that on the resort side. Check-in was smooth and there campground store has everything you could need for either dry or rv camping . And all the chachskis to boot. This area still is in phase 2 so the pool, and playground and anywhere else people can congregate were off limits. The resort side had views of the mountains looking in 1 direction and the river in the other , the sites were well maintained and the staff were helpful. The only downside thing I can say is there were no bathrooms with showers open. I was told it was because of covid they weren't allowed to be open , However there is no restrictions on bathrooms. They could have only had 1 opened and closed the others they had. I am camping with 5 people in my party that toilet could have come in handy in the morning. Like I said this was my only gripe, and we are in strange times. I would camp here again.