For those who want to experience Cowanesque Lake, but still want the creature comforts of home, consider glamping for your trip. The Dyrt can help find the best glamping in and around Cowanesque Lake, PA. These scenic and easy to access Pennsylvania glamping locations are perfect for any adventurer.
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.
Tompkins Campground is on the north shore of Cowanesque Lake in the northern tier of Pennsylvania, less than one mile from the New York state border. Surrounded by lush forested ridges, the lake offers recreation for the entire family, including picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, hunting and wildlife watching. The campground is a great place for kids of any age.
Cowanesque Lake offers a variety of outdoor activities. With a boat ramp and overnight mooring, campers can easily spend time on the water. There are a variety of indigenous fish that inhabit the area's streams and lakes, and fishing tournaments are held frequently. The North and South Tailrace areas provide access for fishing downstream of Cowanesque Dam. 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. The 4 mile Moccasin Trail within the facility leads hikers on a trek through reclaimed farm fields and wood lots inhabited by a variety of watchable wildlife.
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 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 / night
Five miles north of Corning, NY. Located between Corning and Watkins Glen. 319 acres. Swimming pool, fishing, hiking trails, mini golf, game room, planned weekend activities.
Located in the heart of the PA Wilds, Yogi Bear’s Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ RV Resort is situated on 100 beautiful scenic acres. With so many fun family activities and comfortable and diverse sites for every kind of camper, We provide you with everything you’ll need to complete your family camping vacation.
With 125 generous sites, six cabins, two pavilions, a large event tent, playgrounds, and a swimming area we aim to please and there's still plenty of room to run around. We offer some primitive sites but all others offer 30 and 50 amp hook-up. A portion of our sites also offer sewer. Feel free to find a site that fits your needs and we'll do our best to make that happen for you. Wi-Fi is found throughout the campground for those that need
$18 - $116 / night
Scout
So myself, my Girlfriend and our dog went up to hike the Grand Canyon and decided to spend the night. We were met with extremely friendly personnel. The site was easy to get to. And the bathrooms and showers were extremely clean. Honestly it was a huge plus picking this place to stay the night.
Guide
Pulled back and punted bc of Storm Debbie. Lucked out with a find in the Finger Lakes. Nice campground. Has everything you need. Small sites but fine for our hybrid. Ours was shady. Check out which side the hookups are on. Some not situated on the right side so you’ll need extra long cords. Just beautiful area. Hiked here. Drove to Watkins Glen-hiked-absolutely breathtaking. That campground is much larger. Went to Buttermilk Falls too.
Traveler
I love that despite there being so many sites, you don’t feel on top of each other in Seneca Village. It’s a state campground so don’t expect it to be anything close to dispersed camping. Trees separated me from my neighbors on either side, woods behind my tent, lots of quiet, no one blasted music or anything like that. I woke up to seeing trees above me and hearing birds. The bathroom was clean, with multiple ways to enter it without going near someone else’s site. The campground felt safe, and you are able to buy firewood (I didn’t due to quite a bit of rain). To get to the gorge trail, you have to walk over to the next site (Oswego I think) but it’s not too far. I would most likely stay at that loop next time though because it seemed to have even more space on each site. I didn’t see any bears and asked a few workers but only one had seen a bear the entire time they’ve been there. Definitely recommend this location. Lots of beautiful trails, red cat wine slushies were delicious, grounds were fun to explore and people were either friendly or kept to themselves which was great. Super dog friendly and I met many of them! Just a note, dogs are NOT allowed on the gorge trail.
TravelerNice campground, sites are borderline close, and some are laid out funky. Bath houses get the job done, but nothing exciting.
Scout
Big open campground with lots of sites both electric and non electric. Many rigs in non electric sites running generators 24 hours. Very noisy. Would not recommend
Traveler
This is a nice clean quiet campground. It's a great stop if you're doing rails to trails or swimming at the beach up the road. (Note to get to both places you'll need to drive). We went on a weekday and it wasn't crowded but I've heard on the weekends it gets packed. There are two sets of swings and one slide. The bathrooms have showers and were clean. Some of the spots are smaller and right next to each other (down by the creek and up around top). But spots 68,69,70 are prime. We were in spot 75 right next to the bridge and not ideal
Guide
I stayed here and it was very peaceful, but it was also pretty empty. Some of the sides are very close together, but if you look around, you can get one that has a little bit more privacy. Clean bathrooms, clean showers. Hikes from the site. Swimming as well!!
ScoutThe campground is beautifully kept. Bathrooms and sites were nice. Some sites are alittle closer personally esp in the dog area. It was extremely buggy when we went. Our dogs wouldn't come out of the camper because there was no relief. It was the height of rattle snake season. A site near ours and very close to the playground had a rattler under their camper. Alittle too close for comfort. Otherwise, campers, rangers and hosts were nice to deal!
GuideSite is sloped, shaded and right next to the bathrooms and water spigot. ATT coverage is decent. Other side of the bathrooms is access to the gorge trails. Pets are not allowed on the gorge trail itself but the rim and other trails are fine.
ScoutAs for RV camping, this place is outdated. Sites are on top of one another, but some have good shade. Ours, site 6 didn't. Really can't walk to beach area or store. Cheap enough at $25. T-storms knocked out power overnight.
ScoutAn ideal place to try difficult challenges geometry dash meltdown that I have never tried before.
Guide
This is one of the best campgrounds we've ever stayed at. Beautifully maintained and landscaped, and the sites are level. Our site was literally on the river, we even saw an eagle. Their bathrooms are so clean I almost swept from joy. Keep in mind you need quarters for a hot shower but I only needed 2 quarters for 6 minutes, plenty of time. What I love most is how accessible the biking trail and river are. The staff will even shuttle you to the kayak drop off site for a fee, and then you just pull in right to the campground. We have been coming to this area for years and this is the first time we were lucky to snag a site for a Holiday weekend. We won't stay anywhere else from now on.
Ranger
This was our families first SoLo trip with our camper. It had alot of things to do indoor/ outdoor pool, pirate ship, slide, big pillow, waterside, golf and rock wall. The campground and showers were clean. There were some things that didn't work like the army truck ride, zipline, and playground. The biggest downfall was being near the dump station and something going on with this makeshift site next to us where around our area smelled of sewer fumes all the time we went out for dinner one night because my 3 yr old was gaging. However the area was absolutely gorgeous we hiked so many waterfalls, went and rented a boat for the day to check out the lake, and drive to the next lake to check out the park.
Scout
A great place to visit, I really like this place. I often lie here admiring the scenery and playing suika game. I like everything that is peaceful and slow
TravelerOwners on site, very friendly, and accommodating. Water and 30a, dump station. Some larger sites to accommodate up to 40’ rigs. Reasonable width sites.
ScoutThe park itself is located in a great region, close to many other top attractions of the Finger Lakes region. There are few nice hiking trails right from the park, which our whole family enjoyed.
We camped as a small group in two sites across from each other. Where we were, the sites were close to the road, and the road noise was distracting. The sites were also very close to each other and rather shallow, thereby limiting privacy. Upper sites, closer to the falls looked a lot nicer, deeper, and quieter, but we had no choice since it was booked with short notice. Not much to say about park facilities. Basic restroom and shower facilities, but the ability to do dishes in the designated sink in the bathroom was a plus. Bathroom facilities were old and not well maintained. We barely saw any real cleaning either. So, that was a bummer.
All in all, if you are eager to get out and camp, and have no better choice, I would say you will be OK. Otherwise, there are nicer options around.
GuideVery convenient to Watkins Glenn State Park and the Speedway. Restrooms are modern clean and adequate. WiFi was good on a fall weekend with park pretty full. Some sites are concrete, ours was gravel and not particularly level. Good cable TV.
Ranger——REASONS I STAYED HERE——
The see Watkins Glen, of course! And go paddleboarding nearby.
—————BASIC FAQ—————
[Tent camping with a Subie]
Dump station? - Yes
Water fill or hookup? - Water fill at dump station but no water hookups. Water spigots are scattered throughout each loop.
Electricity? - Yes, some loops have it but not mine
Clean site? - Yes
Clean bathroom? - Yes
Flush toilet? - Yes
Showers? - Yes
Laundry? - No
Dish washing sink? - Yes, in the bathroom
—————PROS—————
→ The access to Watkins Glen! My site was in Loop D (Onondaga Village) which has a direct hiking trail to the trail along Watkins Glen! I highly recommend going early to beat the crowds. It’s peaceful and easier to enjoy and take photos.
→ Proximity to Seneca Lake! We went paddleboarding. We put in at a boat launch at the very southeastern corner of the lake near Seneca Lake Kayak. You can paddle down to Hector Falls and see it from the water.
→ You can drive to the many waterfalls nearby. I recommend Havana Glen Park for a short hike to the waterfall. Also, drive to Chequaga Falls.
—————TIP—————
→ There’s a power outlet in the bathroom. It was very common for people to charge phones while showering. Or leaving a battery in there to charge.
—————OVERALL—————
5-stars - Speaking for Loop D, of course. Clean site, clean bathroom with hot water, access to Watkins Glen, no issues while staying there.
—————INTERNET—————
Verizon via iPhone 12: 20 mbps down and 0.03 mbps up with 74 ms ping.
RangerWe stayed at site 184 which was great. The trail to get down to the Gorge Trail was just a few sites away. Bath house was clean but out dated. No camp store, but fire wood & ice were available at check in station. Pick a site on the outside of a loop and you’ll be good.
TravelerThis campground was so great to stay at! The hosts were lovely and very sweet, and created a wonderful place to stay off-grid. Our tent site was spacious and secluded nestled in a ton of trees. I was able to hang my hammock up and set up my 6 person tent no problem! We rarely heard anyone, and felt like we had the place to ourselves. Their outhouse has a camper toilet- it was super nice, not at all what I was expecting! They installed a gorgeous shower facility, which was so well appointed. They even had hotel shampoo/conditioner/soap sets in baggies for you! I went out and bought a towel just to shower (I usually never shower when camping). They have chickens which were so cute to look at, and a couple of sweet dogs. The place is very dark at night- a treat when there's a lot of light pollution. The only thing is, know that you will be woken up by a rooster! We have a 5 year old that wakes up at the same time, so it was no big deal for us! I can't say enough good things about these hosts and their spot- it was relaxing, low key, and we felt incredibly safe, and welcome.
RangerWe spent three nights in Watkins Glen SP and will definitely be back. The sites aren't private, but are well kept, as are the bathrooms/showers. We enjoyed our hikes and if it had been a bit warmer, we would have checked out the pool.
Scout
Very clean,family friendly ,relaxing
GuideWe originally booked for three nights at an electric site(52) and we enjoyed everything from the bath house to the overall privacy of the site. After the first night we decided to extend by two more nights which involved us moving to another site(215) which didn't have electric but still was a wonderful site. Both sites were large and mostly private. We spent every day hiking and biking. The Gorge trail is especially great after 5pm when the tourists have left for the day. There is also the Finger Lakes North Country trail which is dog-friendly. Towards the end of the loop there is a private stream with clean water that our dog loved. We can't wait to return many times. Verizon cell service was excellent in the Mohawk Village loop and decent in the Onondaga Loop. It was fine to work from the RV all week using our Pepwave BR1 Max with a Verizon data plan.
LegendJake here from the Dyrt! Harpy hollow not only has a great location in northern New York but is veteran owned and operated and ready to host more campers. Check them out and leave a review on the Dyrt when you stay!
Scout
Would like to stay at this campground, but these folks do not respond to reservation requests or vmail requests per their website instruction. Have lost all interest - horrible
RangerPros= Beautiful, wooded campground. Sites are big enough for a bit of privacy. Bathrooms were clean and updated. Cons= primitive sites only(no hook-ups). No real camp store, fire wood was available at check-in desk
GuideThe fall itself is amazing and the location is unbeatable since you’re camping in the State Park. But in my opinion that’s the only good part of this campground, which wasn’t bad for my quick one night stay.
The bathrooms were messy, with a couple of toilets not flushed/clogged. Thank God shower stall in a decent condition and it was free! Nice hot waters as well.
I stayed on a Saturday night so the crowd was definitely loud and nosy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Cowanesque Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Cowanesque Lake is Watkins Glen State Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 86 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Cowanesque Lake?
TheDyrt.com has all 29 glamping camping locations near Cowanesque Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.
