Best Glamping near Silver Bay, NY

I took a solo trip through upstate New York a couple years back and spent a lot of time in the Adirondacks. I stopped at Lake Durant camp ground for a night and had a great experience. I was here in early September and the trees were already showing signs of color change. The early morning was pretty chilly, but watching the fog lift from the lake was worth the chill. The site I had was pretty secluded and the park was kept in great shape. I highly recommend this site for anyone who is touring through the Adirondacks.

We stayed in the Venus yurt from Saturday August 3rd thru Thursday August 8th 2024. We were going to stay until the 10th, but we had an incoming hurricane and decided to leave before the exit flooded. 

Overall, their website pictures are NOT current and I believe the reviews on their website to either be inaccurate or very old. 

Day 1: the yurt smelled heavily of febreeze and was smaller than the pictures showed. The mattress, which had no cover on it, had been turned over(the bottom had nubs on it so it wouldn’t slide- this was face up). When we flipped it over, there were obvious fresh red fluid stains and other stains on the top of the mattress. For the price we paid, we would have expected either a waterproof cover enclosing the mattress or that the owners would have swapped out this mattress. The fact that the cleaning staff felt it was ok to turn it over expecting nobody to check was a bit revolting. We went to the office to get it removed, but the best they could do was provide 2 comforters to place between the mattress and our sheets. 

When we left to meet up with friends, we found the door lock was broken. We could only lock it from the inside. Our friends were in RVs and apparently the site was digging for new sewer lines, so when the wind shifted, we got a fresh scent of raw sewage. 

When we went to take showers at the facility nearest the yurts, we found there was no hot water, the showers had to be pumped to run(no continuous water flow in either the showers or the sinks), and only 1 of the 4 stalls had lockable doors. Both of these were reported to the office the following morning. 

Day 2: found that by the store were 6 showers with hot, continuously running water. 3 were out of service and only 1 locked. This was reported to the store/office multiple times. 

The lifeguard on duty at the smaller pool across from the store was sitting down in a regular chair with a table with an umbrella between her and the pool, face down in her phone with one hand, holding her sunglasses up with her other hand, while 3 small children(~8 years old) were sliding and playing unsupervised. As a former life guard/ wave pool certified lifeguard, I would have fired her on the spot. That is an unacceptably dangerous situation. 

The mini golf course was in disrepair, the arcade was empty of machines, and the activities touted on their website were nonexistent. 

The charcoal grill, which we would have used, had a large rusted hole in the bottom right side taking out~25% of the usable bottom, making it basically useless. Thank goodness for butane camp stoves.

 Day 3: shower lock situation had not improved(did not improve during our stay despite the office being made aware) Our neighbors left the yurt to our left and the person cleaning the yurt did a cursory cleaning at best. No sign of COVID cleaning discipline whatsoever. We spent the majority of the day offsite  

Day 4: lawn mowing started at 8:15 am. The grass absolutely did not need to be mowed. Very loud stand behind rider mower that kicked up dust more than anything as it had been very dry. Took them~3 hours. As a person on vacation, this clearly woke me up early. Very disappointing.

 Day 5: got a bit cold in the early morning, so we turned on the heat. It blew dust, filled the entire yurt with a burning smell and caused my partner to use her rescue inhaler. We turned it off quickly, opened the door and 2 windows to clear the air, and found the heater had not been cleaned. 

Day 6: decided to leave due to the pending hurricane. As I was checking out, a gentleman checking in was told he had been moved further into the campsite in case the river flooded and was told that, if the river did flood, they had a plan and to not be surprised to see RVs in the road. That was their plan?!?!? 

Overall, we will not be returning and will not be recommending this to anyone. If anything, we will encourage anyone looking to camp in the Adirondacks to avoid this campground.

Solid 10/10 would camp again! We stayed at the Heart Lake Campground for a week and a half utilizing it as our home base for adventures into the High Peaks Wilderness and the greater Adirondack region. We had a very pleasant stay here and personally found the weekdays to be best for “camp days” given there were few people—weekends are PACKED and there were more than a couple of party sites. It did appear that you would be able to drive in without reservation on a weekday and find yourself a site! Specifically, our site was fairly flat and most were like this but there were some that appeared to have a slope if you happened to be car camping. There are two wash houses with showering and bathroom amenities that are cleaned weekly (from what we observed). Multiple water fill stations sprinkled throughout the campground area. This campground is primarily tent centric, however, there are yurts, lean-to’s, and a handful of cabins available (and of course the ADK Loj has rooms). There is Wi-Fi at the Loj and meals are served but we believe these are for Loj guests only.

Lake George RV Park may be the greatest campground we’ve stayed at yet! 

Located about 2-miles from the New York State Thruway(I-87), this park is ideally situated for a Lake George area vacation. We spent 6-days in early-August and it really wasn’t enough. 

The staff treated us so nicely and the array of resort-level amenities are beautifully-maintained and clean. They run a free trolley within the campground and to the local retail outlets. The park is so large, you’ll be happy to see that red trolley coming around to take you to and from your campsite and the swimming pools(plural), game room, theater which offers nightly entertainment, paddle boats, cafe, dog park, and much more. In addition, a local trolley service operates an hourly ride to and from Lake George Village. The cost is just$1 per person per trip(free for young kids) and discounted tickets are available for sale at the campground. The many opportunities for activities and entertainment are top-notch. Not just“campground-nice,” but really nice! And everything they offer is included at no extra cost(except food, of course). Check out their mobile app for updates to activities, a trolley tracker(fun+ helpful!), and more. 

The camp store was well-stocked with food and drinks, souvenirs, and RV/camping supplies. 

Our pull-thru site(#109) was level and the full hookups all worked fine. Like most of the park, our site was nicely wooded for shade, but none of the trees were in the way of our motor home. Each site had its own trash can and they collected garbage daily. That’s nice and convenient. 

Lake George RV Park is such a great place to stay that I hate to point out anything negative, but it’s why we rely on reviews. Two negatives to report. The site was a nice size and beautiful in so many ways except for the sandy dirt. With how charming everything is, I was surprised they didn’t at least put down gravel let alone concrete or asphalt in the sites. It was impossible to keep the dirt and sand out of our RV— and we tried. It also rained a few times during our stay which made it even worse. The other negative is their nonexistent wi-fi. It’s 2022, and we rely on wi-fi for connectivity to the office along with the ability to watch tv using streaming services(especially on a rainy night). The size of this place probably makes it difficult to provide good coverage, but it would be a huge improvement if they could figure it out. 

It’s obvious that this is a family-operated campground because they offer so many niceties that corporate owners have done away with elsewhere. I positively can not say enough about how great this campground is. It’s a tremendous place and we can’t wait to go back! 

THINGS I LIKED: 

• Clean and meticulously maintained property and facilities. 

• So many activities and entertainment options(at no extra cost!). 

• Proximity to Lake George Village. 

THINGS I’D CHANGE: 

• Cover the sites with gravel, concrete, or asphalt. The sandy dirt is too messy. 
• Install reasonable wi-fi service.

Cute little state park. Pretty tight along the left side of the pond. The right hand side is very quiet and more wooded. The pond itself is pretty shallow and has some weeds, but there is a deeper swimming area. Great for a little kayaking. Bath houses were very clean and updated. Not many rv, mostly tents and pop ups.

We really liked this campground. Sites are a good size and we were able to snag a water front site which was really beautiful. There are also lean-to sites and some cabins. We fished and kayaked right from our site. Oddly, our fire pit faced the neighboring site rather than the pond. There are some hiking trails right from the campground and we saw lots of efts!

Gr8 park, car camped there with Friends and family and was just a awesome get away spot.

We camped here for two nights for a mid-week getaway. The park is small, quiet and very well cared for. Restrooms are modern and clean. Everyone seems to adhere to quiet hours so it was easy to get a good night's sleep. There's no difficulty with fires here, because the firewood sold on site is kiln dried and kept in a shed, and the fire pits are 3 - sided concrete block. We had a waterfront site so we could launch our kayaks right from our site. The pond is very weedy, so fishing was not so great, but the hiking trails around the park were fun. Half Moon is a hidden gem!

Unfortunately, we stayed here on a pretty rainy weekend in June, but I have nothing but good things to say about our visit to Half Moon Pond. We stayed in site T06, which is right on the water. We were easily able to go straight from the tent to our kayak, which was so awesome. 

The bathhouse was very clean, the swimming beach is small but perfect, and there are even cabins for rent on the other side of the pond. Bomoseen State Park is right down the road, but I recommend staying at Half Moon and taking advantage of the large swimming area at Bomoseen, as well as all the cool ponds, lakes, and hiking trails nearby. 

Of all the Vermont State Parks we've camped at, Half Moon Pond is high at the top of the list for its privacy, quiet paddling, and proximity to other cool attractions. I wish I had more photos to share, but rain...

The campground is small and quiet. The pond is clean and swim-able and great for kayaks/canoes (near Glen Lake and Lake Bomoseen for boating and more kayaking/canoeing). There are a couple of small hikes in the park and more hiking nearby. The beach is small, but it is never busy. No hookups but the bathrooms are clean and the showers ($) are hot.

This park was a very pleasant surprise to us. The staff was very kind and accommodating. The park was clean and typical of all Vt. State Parks. The real surprise was the things to do at the park and close bye. Though Half Moon Pond is very small it offered a calm relaxing time on the water. We found several trails to hike at and near the park as well. Each site is separated with trees, offering some privacy and a greater sense of nature

I've only visited this campground once during the height of summer on the way to the Adirondacks for some backcountry camping. I had site #22, and I'm assuming that it's one of the best sites at the campground because someone tried to buy my reservation off of me for twice it's value. That said, site 22 was located up on a hill and did seem to be one of the best sites.

Personally, I'm not a fan of crowded campgrounds and tend to prefer dispersed camping. We were surrounded by families with small children who were noisy throughout the day (I don't mind), but also throughout the night. If you're trying to get to bed early and get an early start, you might want to have some ear plugs. The noise is primarily the reason for my three star rating, but this is still a very good campground for the right crowd looking for plush amenities and recreational opportunities. 

You can boat, fish (make sure you have a license), and swim (no lifeguard) in the lake right next to the campground. The site has hot showers and toilets that flush, and each site appears to have a fire ring and picnic table. Site 22 was on some soft flat ground (up on a hill) and afforded me space to put up a 2 person REI tent and for my buddy to hang is hammock from some nearby trees. There was also a path behind our site (a bit steep, but manageable) down to the lake. I don't recall firewood being offered at the site, but we had brought our own from a store nearby.