Wife and I are looking at going to the Finger Lakes area in NY this summer and are looking for some suggestions on nice campgrounds in the area. We will have our newborn with us, so boondocking is out of the question. I am looking at staying at a more primitive style campground, but with nice Bath Houses, and possibly on the water. We may bring a small 14' boat behind the TC.
Thanks in advance for the suggestions
2006 Dodge CC, LB 610 Cummins 6 Speed, Hellwig rear sway bar, rear air bags, 4" Superlift lift, 315X75X17 Mikey Tompson Baja ATS's on factory rims.
My absolute favorite campground in that area is Watkins Glenn State Park. Just be specific in telling them what type of site you are looking for and they will set you right up!!! The Gorge Trail is beautiful with all the waterfalls, and you are minutes from Seneca Lake. There is a nice swimming pool at the CG. Corning Glass Museum is only 45 minutes away. Best of all, it is only a few bucks a night. I am sure you will enjoy it!
Oh, I forgot to mention, the first time we went to Watkins Glen, my daughter was 3 months old. I told them she like to scream alot at night, and that we didn't want to disturb anyone. What a great, private site they gave us!!! Take that into account with your little one.
What are you interests for visiting - Wineries, general scenery, etc? There are many parks, some near water and others a short distance away. (In the Fingerlakes, you're always only a short distance away from a lake...) There are some larger parks and many small parks. Good luck in your search, Mike
Wife, 3 navigators/social instructors - 22, 18, 10
2006 2500HD LT CC - Oh yeah - Max and Allie
2005 Jayco Eagle 323RKS
I can't get lost with so many telling me where to go.
Not many private CGs in the Finger Lakes Region.
Also, what part?
The Finger Lakes are goes from Rochester all the way to east of Syracuse in the North and Bath, NY to Binghamton in the South.
As to CGs....the best Finger Lakes CG is Hickory Hills CG in Bath....it's is the best in all the Finger Lakes.
We like Watkins Glen as well, but Sampson State Park on Seneca lake is our favorite. All sites are electric (except the overflow where it's also a hike to the restrooms) and it's a "newer" park so the sites are good sized. There is a swim area at the beach where you could take even the baby swimming. (Watkins Glen has a pool with a kiddie pool, by the way.) We might have some other suggestions if you canbe more specific about what you want to do and what you're looking for in a site. Feel free to PM me.
Some more specifics.
What am I looking to do --- RELAX! Wife and I aren't into wine, so that's out of the question. I may do some fishing if not in a boat, possibly into one ot the creeks leading into the lakes.
The only thing I need in a CG site would be electric, shade, and a decent view would be nice.
We will probably enjoy a state park style setting, doing some walking on trails, and just check out the scenery.
I was looking at teh Taughannock Falls SP, it looked like a nice area.
I'm not locked into any specific area in the Finger Lakes, pretty free where we can go, just looking for a reason, or suggestion to go to one area or another. The entire Lake area is within 6 hours for me, so no big deal to drive another hour.
Last year we stayed at Filmore Glen State Park which is on the south end of Cayuga Lake. The park does not look like much when you pull into it but I was pleasantly surprised. We stayed in one of the cabins and the showers on that end are older, but the shower houses on the other side are brand new. The park blocks off a section of the river to create a swimming are during the summer months.
I have not stayed at Taughannock..that was our second choice.
1984 Sportscoach Pathfinder 33'
Me (Pam)
John (husband)
Ian (almost 16....hide the keys!!)
Ben (almost 14)
Quincy (spoiled rotten Jack Russell)
Chloe (very lucky rescue furkid)
Spike (Iguana)
Taughannock is OK - the electric sites tend to be small and not very private because the few they have are in the older loop, and it's across the highway and up the hill from the lake. You cannot see the lake from the campground and you will want to drive to the lake, anyway. There is some good fishing, there, however, and you don't need a boat.
Watkins Glen has no fishing, but you can drive through town to the lake (10 mminutes) for some decent shore fishing at the inlet, and there are good trout streams nearby (but the trout are probably gone/dead by mid summer).
All of Sampson's sites are electric except loop 6 and there is an old pier (left from when it was a navy training base during WWII) that you can fish from. Loop 6 (also known as the overflow) has no electric and no restroom - you have to hike to another loop. The reason I say this is because the park is very popular and many times only loop 6 has sites - now you know why.
Cayuga Lake SP is at the north end of Cayuga and has some electric sites that fill up fast. The electric sites are on the same side of the highway as the lake, all other sites are across the highway. All fishing is from shore.
Some consider Letchworth to be a Finger lakes park - we don't. But it is a very nice park with many electric sites where you can just relax. There is a stream, but I've never seen any fish in there.
Again, any specific questions, feel free to PM me.
Offline
