Little Pond - DEC

Nice quiet campgrounds close to the Beaver kill and great service staff was supper friendly and helpful

Very nice

Nice quiet campground. Close to the Beaverkill and lots of great fly fishing. Staff was super friendly and helpful. No Verizon service and starlink was spotty.

I thought we’d gotten a water front site but unfortunately not. Only a few actually are. But our site was still nice and there was a little trail leading down to the water. Most sites looks pretty level with lots of room for a tent. Each site has one of those little outdoor fireplaces instead of a fire ring which was interesting. Very nice little loop trail around the lake. Friendly staff at checkin and quiet atmosphere. No cell service.

Had a great summer camping weekend at Little Pond.

Pros:

- Near wonderful, little-used hiking trails - challenging ones, too!

- Close to Catskill town options to explore, e.g. Livingston Manor

- picnic table and room to park at your site

- there is a dump station and recycling center.

- Clean bathrooms and shower facilities

- Nice tent sites with well-maintained fire pits (have rack for grilling over coals, very large fire pits, sturdy)

- payphone near entrance/park ranger's office

- firewood for sale at ranger's office

-wildlife: hummingbirds on the path around Little Pond, frogs, deer, birds

- foraging: plaintain, raspberries near camp, blueberries and huckleberries on hike

- views on hike

- ruins on hike

Cons

- no cell service, however, if you hike to a mountain top can have fun joking with those you call about that's what it took to be able to get a signal and be in touch with them :-)

- weekend around the lake is more like a park with day-trippers, as opposed to serene wilderness/lakeside camping. 

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There was a high school group (on Satuday?) there that made it feel more like a family/public place than a wilderness getaway. The hiking, however, more than made up for it. The trail we took to get to the top and, at last, have cell phone service and AWESOME views more than made up for that.

The Park Rangers were helpful and unobtrusive. They drove their carts around periodically but not like they were hovering in any one spot or making trouble for anyone. 

We like visiting the nearby towns and breweries. It was a wondrful weekend. They have some tent sites right on the lake for hike-ins. If you drive, you have to carry all your stuff for awhile before you get to yourcamp site. However, these are right on the lake in supreme spots, even with "old school" outhouses a stone's throw away.

I recommend Little Pond for a weekend. If you stay longer, be sure to check  out the surrounding area. We stayed at campsite 2, which was ok, but not on the lake. Go for a site on the lake, even if you have to carry your stuff to set up, it was breathtaking in the morning to see the mist rising off the lake.

From the park: 

Campground Phone:(845) 439-5480 Regional Office Phone:(607) 652-2032 Make Your Camping Reservation: ReserveAmerica

Little Pond is a quiet picturesque campground located in the Catskill Forest Preserve which offers a leisurely hiking trail around a 13-acre pond, and the opportunity to venture along trails leading to the ruins of an old farm or enjoy breathtaking views atop the Touchmenot Mountains.

The campgrounds, beach, boat rental, and Junior Naturalist Program offers fun for all ages; and for the primitive camper, we offer remote sites on the back side of the pond. Little Pond is located minutes from Beaverkill, a world renowned fly fishing stream. Amenities = 67 tent and trailer sites; 8"remote" tent sites; picnic area with tables, grills, or fireplaces; pavilion rental; playground; volleyball; horseshoes; soccer; basketball; ice sales; firewood sales; flush toilets; hot showers; trailer dump station; recycling center; sand beach; boat launch; rowboat, paddle boat, kayak and canoe rentals.

The campground offers accessible campsites with a mile long trail around the pond. A newly constructed ADA fishing platform is at the end of the trail near the day use area. There is also a new ADA path to the beach. Full listing of DEC's Accessible Recreation Destinations. Campsite Restoration Project This campground has sites that have been selected for restoration. While undergoing restoration the chosen sites will be closed. For the list of sites and more information on the project visit the Campsite Restoration Project page. People using the accessible trail at Little Pond Featured Activities boating Boating No motor boats allowed. Rowboats and canoes allowed. Rowboat, paddle boat, kayak and canoe rentals available. fishing Fishing A variety of pan fish.

The Beaverkill, renowned fly fishing stream, is with minutes from the campground. The Pepacton Reservoir is also close by. A special permit is needed to fish in this reservoir and can be obtained from the city of New York Board of Water Supply. Record sized brown trout and smallmouth bass have been caught in the reservoir. Fishing licenses are no longer being sold at any of our campground facilities, but can be conveniently purchased on-line or by phone.

Hiking Trailheads for both the campground trail and Little Pond trail are located within the campground. These trails connect the campground to the 33 miles of foot trails located on the 27,000+ acre Delaware Wild Forest, which boarders the campground to the north. swimming

Wildlife to Watch: White-tailed deer Wild turkeys Bald eagles Bears Coyotes Foxes

Historic Interest: The campground was constructed between 1965 and 1968. It opened for camping in 1968 with 67 sites; the picnic area and the beach in 1968. The 8 remote sites were added at a later date. The shower house was constructed in 1984. In celebration of the 100th year anniversary of the Forest Preserve in July 1985, a time capsule was buried in the campground. This capsule, containing the names of the persons camping in the campground at that time, was entombed in the base of a stone monument located in front of the facility supervisor's office. The capsule is scheduled to be opened on the 200th anniversary of the Forest Preserve.

We had a walk in site and it was fantastic! Right on the water and pretty private. Each walk in site has its own bear box and outhouse. Do recommend bringing something with wheels. It’s not too far from the parking lot, but it’s far enough to be annoying to carry everything. Nice even path. Most of the sites are off the water and can’t speak to those. Got a kayak for the day and it was a great rate. Saw beavers and eagles.

I was a bit worried about how the rangers....some reviews were negative mainly due to the rangers. But we had a great time and rangers/ campers were nice and respectful. Wish we could have more tents/car on site.

We had a wonderful weekend of peace and quiet. Definitely returning!

This is a beautiful campground! We go there every year and it was the first campground we took our first daughter at 5 months. We are bringing our second daughter this year! The sites and big enough foe the little ones to run around and has a cute little playground area. The bathrooms could use an upgrade but overall, they are great and clean.

There are 75 campsites here. About 20 are around the actual pond waterfront. The others are clustered closer to the ranger’s office. The north campsites are more private but walk up only. That’s where we stayed. Equipped with very large bear boxes to store your equipment and we had no problem fitting our 55L cooler in there. Also the north campsites have their own outhouses. But we walked to the public area anyway. (5min walk max) the paths are smooth and well maintained. Public Facilites were clean and warm showers were available. Nice beach area with rentable watercraft. Dog friendly except in public use space. Few trail heads in the area. Loved the staff.

I had a great time on a one night stay here at site 36. Very private and right on the pond. You can see a picture here of the water just a 10 foot trail away from our campsite. All in all a great trip. If you’re bringing a dog be sure to have your rabies vaccine info available as they will check. The listing here advertises cell service, however there is no cell service as soon as you turn into the park. I didn’t even find an area where I could temporarily send and receive messages, which would be fine except that I left a pregnant wife at home. Any of the sites along the water would be really nice and all sites are fairly private. The site next to mine (37) is possibly the most private of the pond side sites. The only people who would go past your site are the folks walking to the walk-in only sites. Definitely recommend the area if you’re looking for some privacy but not worried about not seeing another soul during your stay.

We stayed at this campground one weekend and it was very nice. Warning: you will loose service about a half hour before you get there so plan accordingly. Some sites can be small but we lucked out and got one of the bigger ones. The staff was nice and friendly. There were signs to wear masks in public spaces, such as the showers and bathrooms and everyone seemed to be respecting the rules which we appreciated. The pond area was nice, it has a small section blocked off for swimming and can get a bit crowded. Overall good weekend and would go back again.

Myself and my family and friends camped here Sept 2019. It was the most serene and relaxing camping trip. the kids could just ride there bikes all around and play on the play ground with each other, you could hear the laughs and good times all around. Woke up early Saturday morning and casted a line, didn't catch a thing but to just be up with a cup of coffee with the sun rising over the mountains, it dosen't get much better than that my friends. You can buy fire wood from the store which is fairly priced. Each site is laid out so you can really feel like you are getting away and the site we had on the lake was amazing (24). I can not wait to take my family back this year, I promise this place is a gem and an amazing place!

Little Pond is a beautiful campground in Andes NY. It was an 1.5 from our home. We usually reserve a spot near the bathroom because we are if the age we need it more than less.

The directions are not very clear how to get there but by hook or crook we made it. There is no service along the route and GPS can’t figure it out. But people do get there so that is all that matters.

The sites are small but not on top of each other. Some flat some with inclines. All seem doable. Some on the pond and some by the stream. Water is available but no electric. We managed to do fine without it. You can use a generator for 2 hours morning and 3 hours afternoon.

The pond is absolutely beautiful with a walking trail around it. Lots of other Trails to take too. Nice swimming area. Clean toilets and only shower is by the swimming area by the pond.

We enjoyed our short stay and once we do other campsites this one is on the list to return to.

What could be a great campground only gets three stars due to the amount of day use people and condition they left the main bathroom and showers. They were not too clean, especially the women’s bathroom and showers. The sites are clean and decent size. Very peaceful at night.

It's quiet, well maintained, picturesque, nestled in the mountains on a small lake.

Wooded private sites, some right along water. Basic state park setup, modern bathrooms, tent camped, nice and strict about bear policies. Borrowed a kayak from a friendly neighbor and really enjoyed exploring the small pond. Easy trail around pond too. Good place to stay and spend a weekend taking it easy or while you do other things around this area. Ranger was especially nice & helpful.

It was a haul out to the Little Pond Campground, but a lovely drive! We didn't get to see the resident family of bears that live at the head of the road, but we did get to see a beautiful bald eagle on Big Pond.

The bath houses are brand new and gorgeous. They are strict to their 10PM quite hour, and we appreciate that. However, the 6am child screaming was not pleasant.

Spent the weekend camping on the pond, at one of the "hike in sites". The campground is a beautiful place arranged around a little pond which is controlled by a spillover dam. The pond has fish and plenty of hiking trails. There is a nice beach area to go swimming and the campsites are well maintained. The site we chose is around the back of the pond and you have to hike in to get to it. As such each site has a pit toilet which was interesting. The regular sites are very nice with gravel for campers and the bathrooms are clean and well maintained. Great place to bring the family.