Athens is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Athens is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Athens. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.
Watkins Glen State Park is the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks, with a reputation for leaving visitors spellbound. Within two miles, the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. The gorge path winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade. Rim trails overlook the gorge. Camping near Watkins Glen allows you to enjoy the Olympic-size pool, scheduled summer tours through the gorge, tent and trailer campsites, picnic facilities and excellent fishing in nearby Seneca Lake or Catherine Creek, which is renowned for its annual spring run of rainbow trout.
Boasting 22 named waterfalls amid old-growth forest and deeply-incised canyons, Rickett’s Glen State Park encompasses more than 13,000 acres around a high bluff known as the Allegheny Front. On top of the bluff, several lakes—Lake Jean being the largest—are the source of the many creeks that tumble down the canyons and create the spectacular falls. The area was mostly logged out in the early 1900s by the landowner, R. Bruce Ricketts, before he decided to preserve the woodlands in the falls’ three glens. Following efforts to turn the area into a national park in the 1930s failed, he began selling the land to the state of Pennsylvania, who turned the area into a state park in 1944. The park is now a year-round destination for camping, hiking, fishing, bird-watching, paddling, skiing and ice climbing.
Just an hour’s drive west of Scranton, the campground at Rickett’s Glen offers 120 drive-in campsites in two areas near the shore of Lake Jean. Sites can accommodate trailers and RVs up to 40 feet; some sites are ADA accessible, and a few group camps are available. Hookups are not available, but there is a dump station outside the camping area. Facilities in the campgrounds include restrooms with showers, drinking water, an amphitheater, a trail to the lake’s beach, and a designated dog area. The Big Loop campground also has five deluxe cottages available to rent. In a separate area, there are 10 cabins available, as well as a boat ramp (rentals available) and snack bar. Campsite rates range from $15–$20/night; cabins and cottages range from $60–$115/night.
The most popular activity at Rickett’s Glen is to hike through the three waterfall glens. This can be done via several looping trails ranging from 3.4 miles to 7.2 miles. Two trailheads are located above the falls, from the lakes area, and one is located below the falls, from PA Route 118. Other summer activities in the park include paddling and fishing on Lake Jean, or just soaking up the sun at the beach. An onsite naturalist offers guided walks, nature activities and interpretive programs. There are also limited hunting opportunities. If visiting during the winter season, many of the trails are open for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Ice fishing is popular, as is ice climbing on the waterfalls. Check the park’s website for off-season services, accessibility, and ice climbing requirements.
$15 - $150 / night
Warm showers and flush toilets
This activity or structure is ADA accessible.
A 70-site tent and trailer campground is located along PA 154, one mile east of the park office. Half of the campsites have electric hookups.
Water and shower houses are within a short distance of all sites.
A sanitary dumping station is available for emptying travel trailer holding tanks.
Pets are permitted at designated sites.
The campground is closed in the winter.
The 19 rustic cabins are available for rent year round. Rentals are for one week periods during the summer, and two-night minimum stays in the off-season.
Organized Group Tenting
Qualified, non-profit, organized groups can camp in the rustic group tenting area year-round.
**Cash or Check payments only
Just a few miles southwest of downtown Ithaca, NY, Buttermilk Falls State Park is 811 acres of shady woods, wetland meadows, and no less than 10 waterfalls cascading down a narrow gorge toward Cayuga Lake. It also makes a great place for camping near New York. The park was designated in 1924, yet its namesake cascade, Buttermilk Falls, was named as early as 1866, as it was likened to “a mass of thick, frothy foam” as it tumbles down a 165-foot slab of layered stone. This makes Buttermilk Falls the park’s main attraction, and the wide pool beneath the falls is a popular swimming hole for cooling off in the summer months. The park’s many other falls, ranging in height from 5 to 35 feet, are viewable from some of the 5.5 miles of hiking trails along the Buttermilk Creek gorge. The park offers free guided gorge tours and interpretive programs.
The campground at Buttermilk Falls is small, offering only 25 tent and RV sites and 18 rental cabins. Campsites are mostly back-in, and can accommodate vehicles/trailers only to a maximum of 20 feet. Sites are equipped with picnic tables and fire pits; hookups are not available. Of the cabins available, visitors can choose from historic cabins with electricity and modern cabins sans electricity. There is one ADA accessible campsite and cabin available. Campground amenities include a bathhouse with showers, a picnic shelter, and a trash/recycling station. A trailhead in the campground provides walking access to the park’s trail network, viewpoints, playground and ball fields. Dogs are permitted, but must remain leashed, and only in pet-friendly areas. Campsite rates are $15–$24/night; cabins are $52–$60/night with two-night minimum. The park also charges an entry fee.
Ives Run Campground sits on the eastern shore of Hammond Lake in north-central Pennsylvania. Surrounded by lush forested ridges, the lake offers recreation for the entire family, including picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, hunting and wildlife watching. Ives Run, with its beach and grassy sunning area, is a great place for kids of any age. The facility has campsites as well as group picnic shelters that can be reserved for family reunions, company picnics, neighborhood gatherings and other group events.
Tioga-Hammond Lakes offer a variety of outdoor activities. With a boat ramp and overnight mooring, campers can easily spend time on the water. Anglers seek out record crappie, giant musky, striped, largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye and channel catfish. The fields and forests around the lakes are popular destinations for both local and out-of-state hunters looking for large and small game species native to the eastern hardwood forests. Four hiking trails, each offering something different, can be accessed from this facility. Near the visitor center, archers use the mile-long Archery Trail, which has targets and tree stands.
Ives Run is a large facility, with nearly 200 reservable campsites, as well as five reservable group picnic shelters available for day use. Other amenities include hot showers, playgrounds, boat ramp, rental mooring slips and a dump station. A swimming area with a grass beach and concrete bottom is also provided. Various sport fields and a volleyball court are close by. Additional fees may be charged for some amenities.
The partially forested campground sits in the pristine setting of the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania, along the Allegheny Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains. The Tioga-Hammond Lakes Project consists of two separate dams and reservoirs. The surrounding land paints a scenic picture of rolling mountains and open fields.
Reservations to include any reservation changes, such as cancel, refund requests, site transfer, or date changes cannot be made at facility location.
$40 - $100 / night
Watkins Glen State Park is the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks, with a reputation for leaving visitors spellbound. Within two miles, the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. The gorge path winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade. Rim trails overlook the gorge. Camping near Watkins Glen allows you to enjoy the Olympic-size pool, scheduled summer tours through the gorge, tent and trailer campsites, picnic facilities and excellent fishing in nearby Seneca Lake or Catherine Creek, which is renowned for its annual spring run of rainbow trout.
Boasting 22 named waterfalls amid old-growth forest and deeply-incised canyons, Rickett’s Glen State Park encompasses more than 13,000 acres around a high bluff known as the Allegheny Front. On top of the bluff, several lakes—Lake Jean being the largest—are the source of the many creeks that tumble down the canyons and create the spectacular falls. The area was mostly logged out in the early 1900s by the landowner, R. Bruce Ricketts, before he decided to preserve the woodlands in the falls’ three glens. Following efforts to turn the area into a national park in the 1930s failed, he began selling the land to the state of Pennsylvania, who turned the area into a state park in 1944. The park is now a year-round destination for camping, hiking, fishing, bird-watching, paddling, skiing and ice climbing.
Just an hour’s drive west of Scranton, the campground at Rickett’s Glen offers 120 drive-in campsites in two areas near the shore of Lake Jean. Sites can accommodate trailers and RVs up to 40 feet; some sites are ADA accessible, and a few group camps are available. Hookups are not available, but there is a dump station outside the camping area. Facilities in the campgrounds include restrooms with showers, drinking water, an amphitheater, a trail to the lake’s beach, and a designated dog area. The Big Loop campground also has five deluxe cottages available to rent. In a separate area, there are 10 cabins available, as well as a boat ramp (rentals available) and snack bar. Campsite rates range from $15–$20/night; cabins and cottages range from $60–$115/night.
The most popular activity at Rickett’s Glen is to hike through the three waterfall glens. This can be done via several looping trails ranging from 3.4 miles to 7.2 miles. Two trailheads are located above the falls, from the lakes area, and one is located below the falls, from PA Route 118. Other summer activities in the park include paddling and fishing on Lake Jean, or just soaking up the sun at the beach. An onsite naturalist offers guided walks, nature activities and interpretive programs. There are also limited hunting opportunities. If visiting during the winter season, many of the trails are open for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Ice fishing is popular, as is ice climbing on the waterfalls. Check the park’s website for off-season services, accessibility, and ice climbing requirements.
$15 - $150 / night
Warm showers and flush toilets
This activity or structure is ADA accessible.
A 70-site tent and trailer campground is located along PA 154, one mile east of the park office. Half of the campsites have electric hookups.
Water and shower houses are within a short distance of all sites.
A sanitary dumping station is available for emptying travel trailer holding tanks.
Pets are permitted at designated sites.
The campground is closed in the winter.
The 19 rustic cabins are available for rent year round. Rentals are for one week periods during the summer, and two-night minimum stays in the off-season.
Organized Group Tenting
Qualified, non-profit, organized groups can camp in the rustic group tenting area year-round.
**Cash or Check payments only
