Hi everyone, I live in western MA, and am starting to ck out NY campgrounds and would love some opinions. We do venture out, but we are looking for that all encompassing CG. Lake/river, kids activities, etc. Not the quiet, stay the night type. North to Lake George, south to Yonkers and west to Oneonta. (trying to stay 3 hours from home). Also, in those areas, any suggestions of things not to miss out on, bring it on!!! Thanks!!! Theresa
Well, Lake George has a bunch of campgrounds. We've only stayed at one, Lake George Escape Evergreen Family Campground (I don't think the name is long enough, lol!). It is a big campground, with tons of stuff to do (both pay and free). It is expensive, but it offers a lot. When at Lake George, I always suggest checking out Fort Ticonderoga at the north end. Take rte 9A to get to it -- the local road along the lake, not the highway. I would think twice about taking a camper up 9A, it is a local, winding, hilly road. It is a fantastic and beautiful drive though!
1000 Islands area of NY, the St Lawrence River, Clayton, Alexandria Bay. Tour Boats leave from both locations and weave in and out of the islands, with a stop at a renovated castle on Hart Is. Clayton has an antique boat museum. If you like to fish, there are guides available. There are locks, in the river, to watch the freighters change evevation as they go up and down the St Lawrence River to and from the Great Lakes. There is a light house, at Cape Vincent, where the river goes into Lake Ontario. Wellesly Island State Park is a great campground. One loop with full hookups, about 50. Total number of sites about 500, with cabin rentals available. It has it's own marina with boat rentals.
1,000 Island area of New York. Just a word to the wise,do not use the cg named, "Seaway Island Resort". The place is a dump. Electric is poor, sewer---bad, amenities non-existant and oh yes, two dollars a day per pet, for what, the place is nasty, oh yes they have poison ivy too...... Read all the reviews for this cg under the location "Fineview"....not good..........
QUOTE(Butch @ Mar 4 2011, 09:26 PM) [snapback]25567[/snapback] 1,000 Island area of New York. Just a word to the wise,do not use the cg named, "Seaway Island Resort". The place is a dump. Electric is poor, sewer---bad, amenities non-existant and oh yes, two dollars a day per pet, for what, the place is nasty, oh yes they have poison ivy too...... Read all the reviews for this cg under the location "Fineview"....not good.......... You are right there Butch. Have you visited the town of Fineview? It reminds me a bit of Cape May, NJ.They have a nice restaurant in the town.
Bob, Yes we drove into Fineview, but did not stay long as the place gave us the impression that non-residents were not welcome, so we looked around briefly and left. The whole area struck us that they catered to our northern neighbors and did not give two hoots about any U.S. citizens let alone another N.Y.er. Their loss, Boldt Castle was the only good thing there worth looking at....
1,000 Islands is a nice area but, as you probably know, way beyond your 3 hour drive limit. There is a nice KOA near Lake Placid (I believe it is listed under Wilmington here) beyond your driving time limit. I agree that the Lake George area has some good parks. Another option would be the Villages at Turning Stone near Verona (just east of Oneonta). Check the reviews here.
QUOTE(Jerry S. @ Mar 8 2011, 12:01 AM) [snapback]25589[/snapback] 1,000 Islands is a nice area but, as you probably know, way beyond your 3 hour drive limit. There is a nice KOA near Lake Placid (I believe it is listed under Wilmington here) beyond your driving time limit. I agree that the Lake George area has some good parks. Another option would be the Villages at Turning Stone near Verona (just east of Oneonta). Check the reviews here. Yes there is a KOA close to Lake Placid in Wilmington N.Y. but be on guard as the owners, at times have a nasty attitude, they are residents of California and bring that mentality with them. Nice Cg but...........The Villages of Turning Stone, at Verona are west of Syracuse off the NY Thruway and not close to nor east of Oneonta, I think Jerry was referring to Oneida, which would have the Cg east from that location. Nice Cg but; expensive, and if you do not gamble, the area has little to offer close by. When we use the Cg, we go to the Casino to have dinner and spend a few bucks, supporting our native indian population, at the slots........ and then relax at the site. Have personally been to both; 1000 Islands and Lake George and during the "season", are very busy and touristy.
Thanks for all the posts. Yes, a few were outside my limit... sound wonderful, but not traveling with 3 kids! I will ck the Villages at Turning Stone and the KOA out. Any other opinions would be wonderful! We've since added some family members to our trip... if we were to sigh see in this area... what should we not miss?
Butch: Thanks for correcting my NY geography. I did mistake OP's reference to Oneonta as being Oneida. Although Verona (and the Villages park) are east of Syracuse, not west. So, we are even. As for the Lake Placid KOA owners - I haven't been there in 6 or 7 years, so I can't comment. Since the OP seems to be looking for a park to spend time with 3 kids, I think the KOA or Villages have enough amenities (pool, playground, etc.) to keep the kids busy.
Thought of another campground. Alpine Lake. It's about 15 miles south of Lake George. It's been a few years since we were there, But we liked it. Pool and a couple of lakes for fishing. The lake sites are nice, farther back the sites got a bit small. There are mixed reviews here.
