I gathered up camping recommendations from friends and readers at some point, and then I did it again. So I’m putting them all together on a single page:
- Cherry Plain State Park (close)
- Thompson’s Lake (close–near Thacher)
- Moreau Lake (less than 1 hour) It’s ok, but crowded
- Hearthstone Point near Lake George (1 hour)
- Moose Hillock camping resort near Lake George (1 hour) Do the Shelving Rock Falls hike that is 12 miles from the campground.
- Herkimer Diamond Mines and KOA Kampground (1 hour)
- Northampton Beach on Lake Sacandaga (1 hour)
- North-South Lake in the Catskills (little over an hour) Great and not far and Swimming on North Lake (where the water is freakin’ COLD!!!!), camping nearby, lots of hiking, and a big waterfall (Kaaterskill Falls). You can take a 5-mile hike to the top of the falls or take the ridiculously short path there. You can also drive around to the bottom of the falls and hike about a mile.
- Gilbert Lake State Park (1 hour, 15 minutes)-Baseball Hall of Fame isn’t too far away. Their beach is great too.
- Eagle Point on Schroon Lake (1 1/2 hours) It was great. Awesome sites right on the lake, can rent canoes / kayaks from $20/ day
- Little Sand Point in the Adirondack State Park (1 1/2 hours)
- Woodford State Park in Vermont (1 1/2 hours)
- Halfmoon State Park in Vermont (1 hour, 50 minutes)-We camped at Halfmoon State Park in VT and it was great, even in the rain.
- Moffitt Beach on Lake Pleasant (1 hour, 40 minutes)-We loved Moffitt Beach and Fabulous, Nice hike to Augur falls nearby
- Halfmoon Pond State Park in Vermont (2 hours) Will definitely be going back. It was fantastic – and ALL the sites we walked by were good. Not too over crowded, despite being full (we camped over a long weekend).
- Indian Lake (2 hours)-Most campsites are boat access only and A great place! We have stayed there and do not have a boat. There are many hikes close by including a fire tower hike. The close by town is quaint.
- Fair Haven Beach State Park near Lake Ontario (2 1/2 hours)
- Forked Lake (2 1/2 hours)-campsites are only accessible via hiking or boat, really quite, every site is waterfront.
- Fish Creek (2 hours, 45 minutes) very nice, wonderful area; beautiful with lake views on every site, we loved sites 153, 154 and 155. They have a store there as well!
- Watkins Glen State Park and Taughannock Falls State Park in the Fingerlakes (bit over 3 hours) A little further but worth the drive
- Letchworth State Park (3 hours, 40 minutes)
- Stony Brook (4 hours)-Kids had loads of fun in waterfalls.
I’ve done blog posts on several destinations, too.
- Little Sand Point on Lake Piseco
- Glimmerglass near Cooperstown
- Max V. Shaul
- Hidden Lake