Samuel F. Pryor III Shawangunk Gateway Campground

Shawangunk was SUCH a nice place to stay. So many good things - though a few things to keep in mind when you're booking, too. 

I definitely recommend trying to get the walk-in (meaning you can't drive to them) sites (8-15) because they're just a little bit more set back and kind of wonderfully wooded all around. 8 & 9 seemed like the star sites, because they're up and away a little bit more than 10-15.

Here goes:

The Good:

• The nicest, most level tent site you'll ever find. So easy to set up, and no worries whatsoever about roots or rocks.
• Bathrooms and wash area, water access, etc. are all very easily accessible from any campsite
• Nice new picnic benches
• Gorgeous area - especially in the walk-in sites (i.e., not car accessible), where you're a little separated from the pavement
• Holy crap is this the perfect location for exploring the Gunks, Mohonk Preserve, etc. You couldn't be more central to everything that's going on around it.
• Phenomenal access to a trash can. It's very central and made throwing out dog poop really, really simple.

The just okay:

• Campsites are pretty close to a road. It's not particularly busy, but the speed limit is 55 so you do get some pretty decent whooshing sounds while you're trying to sleep.
• The tent site is literally the only flat part of most campsites. Even our picnic table at site 13 was slightly tilted. Not an issue, really, but it was noticeable.
• With all the heavy bear traffic signs that were up, I was surprised to see how close bear boxes were to our tents. They seemed to be 1-10 feet away from tents in each campsite. 
• Take with a slight grain of salt my recommendation of sites 8-15 - 8 & 9 are up a little higher and might be better, but 11-15 are within 50 feet of a wet area, and the bugs in late May were pretty annoying. I'm guessing other sites would have been better, and our hikes were almost bug-less.
• Campsites are CLOSE together. I was relieved to be in a site we had to walk to, because having the car right there combined with other tents would have been a little claustrophobic. 

Overall we really did love staying here. It was pretty empty and we were able to have two cars in the parking spots (usually you can only have one in the assigned spot) without putting anyone out. It was full of friendly people and my dog had an awesome time romping through the leaves and people watching. Definitely recommend this site if you're hiking or climbing in the area!

Campground Review:

The campgrounds are pretty basic, but have everything you need. It is mainly a rock climber campground, so this may not be the best choice if you want a campsite to drink and party at. All of this happens, its just a little earlier in the night! Most go to sleep relatively early with a full day of climbing ahead of them. That being said, the climbing community is pretty friendly and the campgrounds have eliminated fire rings at each site and opted for one, communal fire pit to encourage more social interaction. There is a pavilion near the fire ring with sinks and bathrooms with pay showers. They are kept relatively nice. There is also another "comfort station" with sinks and vault toilets near the other side of the campground. Most of the campsites are drive-up sites, but there are a few hike-in sites(like we stayed in the first night) where the Matador Beast28 Technical, Packable backpack was great for hiking in some clothes and campsite necessities. The second night, we stayed at site 31(drive up) and I recommend that as it is near the comfort station and back enough from the road and other sites that you have some space to yourself.The view of "the trapps" 300 ft cliffs from the campsite is amazing. Please be aware that, although the website says they are open in March, they will not open if there is snow on the ground. We found out the hard way on a previous trip.

This is the closest campground to world renowned rock climbing in "the gunks" and also offers many other outdoor activities including some great hikes and rock scrambles, swimming holes and waterfalls. People travel from all over the world to rock climb here. Most are experienced climbers and go on their own, but there are guide services in town if you're looking to get into the sport. There is also a ton of great hiking. Bonticou crag has a pretty intense rock scramble to a great overlook and hosts some great cross-country skiing trails in the winter. The Mountain House Resort Property(you have to pay) has some great hiking including "the lemon squeeze." The town of New Paltz is only a ten minute drive away and offers some great options for food. Mexicali Blues, Mcgillicuddys, and huckleberry are all very different places to eat in town, but they're all great in their own way.

Pros :

• Near world class hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, swimming holes and waterfalls
• clean, well maintained
• near New Paltz, NY (food, antiquing, outdoor stores)

Cons :

• No fire pits at campsites
• not open all year

Product Review :

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - for this trip I tested the Matador Beast28 Technical, Packable backpack. I used this pack for getting gear to and from our hike-in campsite, as a day pack for a short hike, and as a climbing pack for getting my gear to the cliff.

My first impressions were that the pack was well made with solid materials. It also looks great and, although not waterproof, seems like it would hold up to some pretty solid rain before letting any water in. The main compartment zips most of the way down, making it easy to get to gear, even if it was packed in the bottom of the pack and the small, zipped lid compartment is great for a few small items you need quick access to(headlamp, phone, snacks). There was also a front stash pocket that I kept a small towel and my belay gloves in, It was nice to have but wont hold much. The gear loops on the outside of that pocket were nice for a few extra carabiners and hand sanitizer. The water bladder compartment and securing straps worked great and the hose routed relatively well through the pack and down the loops in the shoulder strap. If you have a large mouthpiece on your hydration pack, you may have some trouble feeding it through the pack.

As for the fit, I loved the way this felt and the straps adjusted to fit me very well. Im 6'4" and many packs of this size end up being too small for me. that was not the case with this pack and there was almost no load shifting while climbing or hiking. The compression straps were a nice touch.

I was a little confused about the size of the side mesh pockets when I first got the pack, as they are not even close to big enough for a water bottle. Im guessing that, since it already has the hydration compartment, they viewed this as an opportunity to keep this pack's profile a little smaller/tighter and I really appreciated this. I kept a few cliff bars, headphones, and a buff in there and it was nice that the pocket was tight enough that the items felt secure.

There are only three things I didn't love about this pack:

1. It doesn't feel like it holds 28L. Maybe I need to do a better job packing it, but for reference, my Outdoor Research drycomp summit sack(27L) clearly held more gear than this pack.
2. On a hot day the pack does nothing to get air between your back and the pack and this leads to some uncomfortable sweatiness that just wont dry until you take the pack off. I frequently use the Black Diamond Bullet11 pack and it does a much better job of getting back ventilation in a small technical pack.
3. It doesn't seem that there is a simple way to attach trekking poles to this pack. I thought the gear clips on the compression straps would work for the pole tips, but that wasn't the case with the BD, REI, or Komperdell poles I tried.

Overall, this is a great pack that I will use for cold weather day hikes, climbing, and travel. Big thanks to Matador for putting so many features into such a packable pack!