Looking for a campground not a parking area

[agmccall]

Hello All

My wife and i am looking for a campground, either public or private that is not a huge congested bundle of sites. We have a Pop-up trailer. Usually we have great success canoe camping or hike in camping but we would like to stay somewhere for about two weeks and need some of the creature comforts, i.e. hot shower.

We have been to Maine camping many times and have found some spectauclar small campgrounds where your site is secluded and peaceful. We have searched all through the Adirondack area but have found nothing like it here.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly apprecialted

Al

[Wildernessphoto]

Hello All

My wife and i am looking for a campground, either public or private that is not a huge congested bundle of sites. We have a Pop-up trailer. Usually we have great success canoe camping or hike in camping but we would like to stay somewhere for about two weeks and need some of the creature comforts, i.e. hot shower.

We have been to Maine camping many times and have found some spectauclar small campgrounds where your site is secluded and peaceful. We have searched all through the Adirondack area but have found nothing like it here.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly apprecialted

Al

Hi Al,
I don't know how secluded is secluded to you, but one place comes to mind, Rollins Pond. There are about 300 sites both on and off the water, and many of the sites are close, but there are trees between the sites. The State campground is on the eastern shore, and the western shore is a few private camps and a lot of wilderness. Check it out:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Rollins+Pond&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

[poconoron]

Hello All

My wife and i am looking for a campground, either public or private that is not a huge congested bundle of sites. We have a Pop-up trailer. Usually we have great success canoe camping or hike in camping but we would like to stay somewhere for about two weeks and need some of the creature comforts, i.e. hot shower.

We have been to Maine camping many times and have found some spectauclar small campgrounds where your site is secluded and peaceful. We have searched all through the Adirondack area but have found nothing like it here.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly apprecialted

Al

Try out the Moose River Plains in the Central ADKs- one of my favorite spots. The link below gives you the info on this great area:

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/statepark/ny/moose.htm

[steve40]

I second Rollins Pond.If you do not find complete seclusion at the campground you can canoe to seclusion from there.There is also an excellent primitive campsite about 20 minutes out the Otter hollow trail at the far end of the campground on the edge of Floodwood pond.I have stayed at many campgrounds in the ADKS and once I found this one I knew this was where I wanted to vacation every year.Not far from great hiking trails including the ones from the campgrounds and excellent canoeing and kayaking.

[Wildernessphoto]

Another State campground in the southern ADK's that is like Rollins is Moffitt Beach in Speculator. It's not deep in like Rollins Pond, but the sites have woods between them, and you still have showers and bathrooms...Here's a picture from site 189. the sites in the upper numbers have their own beach, but the shore is rocky

http://www.google.com/search?q=Moffitt+beach&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

[Wildernessphoto]

a shot from the beach at Moffitt Beach campground.

[Boreal Chickadee]

Lake Harris State Campground is along 28N near Tahawus and Elk Lake. Small and quiet, many sites on the lake. Hot showers. I very much like staying at this one.

Don't go to Golden Beach. Large, overcrowded and no privacy for most sites. We drove in, looked about, and left.

Brown's Tract is very nice with some sites separated by over a hundred feet or more from the next site if you're on the side but....no hot showers. These very private sites have water access down an embankment, private outhouses and a long walk or short drive for drinking water. You'll have to drive over to Golden Beach or Eighth Lake (or any other state campground) to shower.

Moose River Plains (mentioned above) is very primitive, outhouses were terrible, if they existed at all, the last time I stayed there (maybe they've been updated?) and you would have to drive to Inlet for showers. Just mentioning bacause you said you needed creature comforts.

I've never stayed at Cranberry Lake but I've driven through the camground and talked to the ranger. This one seems very family friendly but motorboats are allowed on Caranberry Lake.

Used Putnam Pond campground as access for hiking but haven't stayed there. Again there appeared to be some nice sites.

I wouldn't stay at Roger's Rock if you're looking for quiet. It's way too popular and on holiday weekends there are enough problems that they issue wristbands to registered hikers to control parties.

There is a published spiral bound book detailing the amenities and site maps of all the state campgorunds. Check Borders.

[NicksMaint]

A couple of suggestions

Hi Al,

We do all types of camping that includes the use of our pop-up each year.

We just went to Rollins Pond this past summer and there are a number of great sites there as well as access to all the water in the area.

Two places we have been that are fairly well laid out are Buck Pond - just north of Saranac Lake and Nicks Lake - just south of Old Forge. The two campgrounds were designed around the same time by the same person (I believe) so they are somewhat similar. As far as location - Buck is in the Northeast side of the park and Nicks is in the southwest. Both are on bodies of water that do not allow motors, so that is a plus. Both have showers and are pretty quiet after dark.

Good luck.

~NicksMaint

[kurtteej]

Whenever I head up to the Dax with my wife she always wants to stay in a hotel, but I convince her that a nice campground is a good compromise. I've gotten her up to the High Peaks area 3 times. Each time we stayed in the Whiteface KOA. I've been camping since 1962 when I was 9 months old -- as campgrounds go, it's got trees between the sites and in some areas you have a tough time seeing your neighbors.

I haven't stayed there in about 8 years, but the place changed very little in the previous few times other than the addition of some KampingKabins along the creek that goes thru the campground.

[redhawk]

If you're looking for a place in the Southern dacks, the State Sacandaga Campground on Route 30 just South of Wells on route 30 is nice.

Especially if you get a spot on the west branch of the Sac, or the one that is located at the confluence of the main and West branches of the Sacandaga.

There are lots of day hikes in the area, swimming/kayaking in the river depending on depth), there is Lake Algonquin in Wells and many places to dine within a fifteen mile perimeter.

[danceswithflies]

I've stayed at a lot of the NYS campgrounds, and my pet peeve is that so many of them are built close enough to major roads that you can spend the night listening to traffic instead of owls, loons or coyotes. Buck Pond, Nick's Lake, Cranberry Lake, Brown Tract Ponds, Putnam Pond and Rollins Pond do not suffer this fate. Bucks Pond seems to have the most consistently private sites, but each campground offers some relatively secluded sites. Unfortunately, its impossible to determine which these are from the cartoon maps on the Reserveamerica website.

[AdRegion]

Unfortunately, its impossible to determine which these are from the cartoon maps on the Reserveamerica website.

That's so true. I don't get to the campgrounds that often, but if site selection is possible during reservation, I'll call the site for a recommendation. Like much in life, location is everything. Ausable Point is a good one if you want the Lake Champlain experience. Also, Macomb Reservation is pretty cool - kinda 'locals only' but relatively unknown.