Best RV Parks & Resorts near Thendara, NY

Total Shi!-Hole.

First let me start by saying that we are not new to rv parks or camping. We average about 10,000 miles a year in our coach.

This particular trip is 5,000 miles over 23 days and 18 campgrounds.

We are a “big rig”. 45 ft Class A with a 16ft tow.

This is NOT a place for big rigs.

We had booked a water front lot, full hookup and their most expensive lot. About $75 for the night.

The roads and lot signs are scarce and other than handing us a very inaccurate map of the property, we were on our own.

We damaged our rig getting to our lot. The roads and turns are not wide enough for a 45’ rig even with the tow disconnected to make turns.

Wide enough for travel trailers and 5th wheels but not a large class a.

The lots are also not gravel and not level. Ours was dirt and mostly mud and even with our leveling jacks down, we could not level due to the mud and lack of a gravel base.

Ours (lot 134) was filthy. Food, cigarette butts, trash and dog shit. Not to mention a pile of mulch. Maintenance seems non existent.

ZERO prep or cleanup was done on the site.

Water pressure good but water reaks of chlorine. DO NOT drink the water. Made the mistake of using it for morning coffee. So much chlorine its like pool water.

Internet very good. Only positive thing that I can say.

Power sucks. 30amp only but not truly providing that. We kept blowing the breaker and noted our lights flickering. We can easily run on 30amp. This is typical of an overbuilt park with not enough power for the campers onsite.

Once we were in and set, we first noted that other campers were cutting through our lot to get to the river. A constant flow of kids, adults and inner tubs all walking through our site.

We then went to walk our dogs and had numerous encounters by dogs not on leashes. We could not leave our dogs outside on their tether's due to worrying about unattended dogs.

The other thing is that cars and trucks were flying on the roads with no safe speed limit. It seems that they drop off tubers on the river near our lot and then the drivers fly out of here to go meet them downriver.

This is a low class dump made up of travel trailers, tent campers and fifth wheels. No maintenance, no enforced rules. No pride in the property or operation.

Not a place for large coach owners or seasoned RVrs who know how the rest of the country is.

We will not be back and strongly advise any Class A big rig owners to avoid.

Beautiful, peaceful large pond/small lake. Loons. Ducks and ducklings. Beaver. Canoes($20/day) and kayak rentals. Firewood for sale ($9?) or gather downed wood. Fishing. Large sandy Adirondack beach and day use area. Pet friendly. Very friendly staff. Clean, stocked bathrooms/toilet with sink and soap. Well located water spigots. Nearby trails. Dump station. Boat launch (no motorboats allowed).

No hookups. No onsite showers (can use another Golden Beach Campground showers a few miles away.) No cell or internet. Maybe wifi near entrance?

Easiest access is from Raquette Lake. From the west you will drive over 5 miles on a dirt road (slow going if towing).

Soft Maple is a truly gorgeous small campground. Only about a dozen sites or so, first come first serve. Level sites for RVs or tent or hammock camping. Each site has a nice space with fire ring and picnic table. The beach is lovely and clean. There’s boat access for canoes and kayaks as this is part of the Beaver River route. 

The entire campground is accessible, with gravel pack paths, and level sites.  

Charlie is the caretaker here and everyone says he is the nicest person you’ll meet.  You can’t beat site number 11 for the perfect mix of treelined and water view!

There is space for RVs and a dump station but the sites do not have power or hookups. 

If you come in to the campground from “number 4 road” (aka state rt. 26) it’s exactly five miles from the Left turn on to Soft Maple rd. If you have time, stop halfway- the 2.5 mile mark will bring you to the entrance for Eagle falls, a short hike with a fantastic reveal.

We stayed her for the first time and compared to most KOAs we have stayed at this one was far better. I have a full review on my blog openboxreviews

Cons: low water pressure at our site

Firewood is expensive and you don't get much

Sites are close together and little to no privacy

Pros:

Pet friendly- has K-9 area for dogs to run off leash and do agility course

Lots of activities

Themed cabins

Almost all camping sites are on the water

You can go tubing from one end of the creek to the other- bring your own tube

Playground

Pool

Basketball court

Shuffle board

Level Sites

Full hook-ups

Across the street from Herkimer Diamond Mine

We had lots of fun, we spent one day at the mines and the next day we tried to do as many activities as we could- wiffle ball, made pinwheels, volleyball with a giant volleyball, bingo, family relay, ice cream social and dance party. Great time, clean campground, great staff.

For my full review visit: openboxreviews.com

This is my first time at the campground. I was greeted by the new manager. I selected 30 amp interior full up interior full hook up back in site but they gave me an upgrade to a waterfront site. (For an interior price) . They even helped us on backing up our camper. The view took my breath away. The campground has all amenities necessary to a great camping experience, from electricity to water and sewer hookups. It also has Wi-Fi. There’s a playground and a beach area . The place is very clean and was decorated for the 4th of July festivity. They even had fireworks. I’ll recommend this place.

We've visited this campground 6 times since we found it 4 years ago, and keep coming back for more. Easy access, great staff, well kept facilities and a beautiful setting. What more can you ask for?

The sites themselves are a good size. They aren't huge, but you'll have enough room to get creative with your parking. Plenty of trees to hang your hammocks on. All sites have a picnic table and fire pit, and for the most part are fairly level. Not all sites have full hookups, some are just power, some are only grey water, and some are full. There are a lot of full timers here, so the grounds can look fuller than they really are as most often the majority of the full time sites are not occupied. But on big weekends, when everyone shows up, its still not too crowded.

The facilities are modern and well kept. The only issue I had was the shower heads are at about 5'2" above the floor. I'm 6' tall. So that kinda sucked. But the pressure and temp were great, so its still a win. Plus, camping isn't really about taking showers anyways, right? Other than that the bath houses are well maintained and stocked. And they are never more than a quick walk from your camper.

Did I mention there is a pool? There is. And its HEATED. Which is nice, as we often get up there early or late in the season, and a heated pool is a necessity. There's also a good sized playground, an arcade, and lots of games for kids (and adults) to play like basketball, shuffle board, corn hole or horse shoes.

They have a great little shop there too, with just about everything you'd need to make a great weekend. And the staff is fantastic as well. The river is a little weird to get to, but totally worth it for kayaking, sailing or whatever kind of boating you want to do.

So that's a lotta Pro's. I should list some Cons too, to keep it fair.

• The sites are kinda close, so you don't get a ton of privacy, and you can really hear what's going on next door.
• The roadways can get a little tight between the trees, and can make for some interesting backing in.
• Also, the roadways are mostly one-way, which can make getting creative with your trailer landing position tough.
• They offer free wifi.
• Not all sites have full hookups
• Personally I'm not a fan of such an abundance of full-time units. But at least they're well kept (for the most part) and it is a few degrees shy of looking like a trailer park. You know what I mean.

Check them out, and they'll become one of your favorites too!

It is a cool place, Richard and Rick are great guys. The land they share has a pond that is very secluded. We used his power source so we were near his home and site was level for the travel trailer. Slept great each night!! Lots of trails near by for biking or hiking. Highly recommend. Property has an abundance of free firewood you can collect.

Pros; great guys to get to know, level site, dark and private, available and free firewood, lots to hike and bike in the area.

Cons; only con was that they were limited on water so could not dump tanks during our stay, had to travel to anothwr place, a little hassle.