My family and I are planning a trip to New York City, and are looking for a recommended campground that has access to New York City. I have heard of one called Liberty Harbor Marina & RV Park, but know nothing about it. I have checked into a KOA site, but the nearest is Newburgh, NY, and I understand it's expensive and a long trip (2hrs) to the city.
Anyone have a recommendation?
Thanks,
Brad Ambuel
25ft Laredo fiver and Chevy 1500HD
Liberty Harbor is nothing but an RV parking lot in NJ. But if you just want a place to park your RV for sleeping in while you see the sights for a few days, and you really don't need a "campground" (in the traditional sense), it's a great location, close to mass transit and all of the NYC are activities.
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brada325 wrote: My family and I are planning a trip to New York City, and are looking for a recommended campground that has access to New York City. I have heard of one called Liberty Harbor Marina & RV Park, but know nothing about it. I have checked into a KOA site, but the nearest is Newburgh, NY, and I understand it's expensive and a long trip (2hrs) to the city.
Anyone have a recommendation?
Thanks,
Brad Ambuel
25ft Laredo fiver and Chevy 1500HD
I have heard that Liberty Harbor is closed so make sure you check first.
Nothing else around except Newburgh KOA. They do have a tour bus that goes to NYC.
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We just spent the 4th of July weekend a Liberty Harbor. It is very much open and busy.
Yes, it is a parking lot that sits next to a boat storage yard and a its in an old warehouse section of Jersey City. Gravel pads, paved roads and no grass. They basically fenced off a section of the commuter parking lot and put in 50 amp power and water. No pool, no game room, no store. The sites are small and it you have multiple slides you are practically touching the next coach. It is not a "destination" CG.
That being said, it is the best CG to go to when you visit NYC. You can see the Statue of Liberty from your windshield. We sat in front of our motorhome and watched the fireworks over the Statue. You are four blocks from the PATH train into NY. It drops you at either World Trade Center or 33 street/Harold Square. The water taxi dock is at the end of the parking lot. It runs during the week and it is a two minute ride to the tip of Manhattan. You can make arrangements to have a tour bus that goes from Jersey City into Manhattan swing by the CG and pick you up.
It is a 5 minute ride to Liberty Park. This is where you pick up the ferry to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. Yo cna ride the LghtRail to the park and walk, but I recommend you bring the toad. There is parking at the Rail station ($5 for the day)
We walked to the station and rode the PATH ($2 bucks one way) and the NYC subway ($1.75 one way) and never felt we were in harm's way.
There is a bar/nightclub that is located on the property. Some will say that it gets noisy on Friday and Saturday night, but we had no problem with any noise. Secuirty is excellent. There is a guard that sits at the front gate and makes occasional tours during his shift.
We asked the old curmudgen at the front desk if they were closing but he said he hears the same rumor every year for the last several years but the employees don't know for sure.
We will return later in the season so that we can see more on NYC.
PM me for more details.
* This post was
edited 07/09/08 06:51am by D & M *
Dave & Mary
Isabel (a cuddly little Boston)
Buddy (The Beast) another Boston
2005 Itasca Suncruiser 35A
2003 Jeep Liberty
If it's listed in the Yellow Pages, the government shouldn't be messing around with it.
There have been rumors about Liberty Harbor but they are open for business and taking reservations into September (at least).
Sites have water and electric, there's a dump station, the bathhouse and laundry are clean and open all year (the water to the sites has to be turned off in winter, so rates are much lower). Yes, it's very close parking on gravel (the roadways are paved). But this closeness, combined with being at a marina on a dead-end road, makes this one of the quietest "campgrounds" I've ever stayed at, since nobody is doing any outdoor activities. Security is excellent, they actually have a security guy in a tower all night though I suppose he's actually there for the boats.
It's a few minutes' walk to the New Jersey PATH subway station that takes you right into Manhattan, so the convenience (and time and cost) factor cannot be beat.
Here are some photos I took a couple of years ago. The sketchy-looking electrical service was entirely replaced with new in 2007; this is one reason that I doubt they're closing soon.
Actually, even though Liberty Harbor sounds somewhat minimalist, at least they are offering the opportunity to take the RV into an urban area and see the sights without too much difficulty. Most urban areas don't even come close to what this place seems to offer.
There are some campgrounds in the parks on Long Island. We have stayed there before and these are truly camping areas, not parking lots. On the other hand, you will be further from the city and probably will need to drive to public transit into the city for touring. We have relatives out there so it worked for us but for just seeing the in-city sites, I'll try Liberty Harbor next time.
Thanks for everyone's replies, but I just found out that Liberty Harbor has no available spots in July at all. So, I'm still looking for somethign that allows access to the city fairly easy. I don't really need a tour as I have a relative in NY city as my tour guide. Just looking for some please to camp/sleep.
Thanks for all of your wonderful advise so far.
You could try this. http://www.pica.army.mil/mwr/MWR/MorrisCountyParkCommission/2003%20CAMPING%20BROCHURE.htm it is located in New Jersey it is close to the Dover train station you could take a midtown direct and get in to NYC in about 90 minutes
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& Mary 
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