Finger Lakes NY Campgrounds

[Buddelje]

Wife and I are contemplating going to the Finger Lakes region of NY next week. Any recommendations on where we should go and campgrounds to stay at. Do you recommend the State parks, if we can get in there. Would appreciate any advice you can provide as we are newbies.
Thanks
Jim B in Ohio

 

[Homebrew]

We stayed at Sampson state park on the lake , beautiful campground/ military base and museum.

 

[5picker]

Watkins Glen KOA
Not far from the lower end of the finger lakes. We've stayed there several times and like it.
Stay in the newer back section.

The hike through Watkins Glen State Park is worth the trip!

 

[Homebrew]

Yes great hike a must do when in that area.
I had a hard time getting my 38’ 5th wheel into the state park campground.

 

[GPs37FLH]

Letchworth State Park

When I lived up north years ago, we made several trips to Letchworth State Park, which is just south of Rochester and in the Finger Lakes region. The Genesee River runs right through the park and is an absolutely beautiful place to camp, hike and picnic. The river cut up to a 600-foot gorge that have hiking trails that encircles it. There's a Lower, Middle and Upper waterfall in the gorge and make for an incredibly picturesque hike from both sides of the gorge. The Middle falls has the historic Glenn Iris Inn right next to it where couples frequently tie the knot. It's a great destination for a week long stay, which we've done several times.

The campground there is very clean and well maintained and is located towards the North end of the park. The wooded or non-wooded sites are spacious, with full hookups, bathhouses nearby, camp store, playgrounds, plenty of fields with large open spaces, and reasonable site fees.

 

[vansteenburg]

Finger Lakes RV Resort. New campground in Hector.

 

[sherman12]

I go to the Finger Lakes region several times a year. Our favorite state park is Keuka Lake SP on Keuka Lake (Penn Yann). As with many SPs nationally, it can be almost impossible to get a reservation over a weekend. However, try Cayuga Lake state park on Rt. 89 near Seneca Falls, NY. You might get in. Other SPs we've stayed at are Buttermilk Falls SP in Ithaca, limited to small RV's, and Robert Tremain SP also in Ithaca where they only have 10-12 campsites with electric and water.

There is a pretty nice KOA in Bath, NY near Keuka Lake that we used to go to every Fall before KOA took over and upped their prices to the $80-$100 + range. They can fit any size rig with FHUs.

Next week we are heading to Camp Elmbrois in Hammondsport, NY, our first time staying here because we couldn't get into Keuka Lake SP, again Keuka Lake region (notice a pattern here LOL). They do have pretty good reviews. We'll see. You can easily traverse Seneca Lake, Keuka Lake, and Cayuga Lake, and the various towns and wine trails easily between the three regions

Also, there is a county-run campground right in Watkins Glenn that gets decent reviews, check out RV Life Campground Reviews, type in the region and you'll get a good suggestion of places within the Finger Lakes.

Staying at Letchworth SP is too far away to take in the Finger Lakes area, although it is a very nice SP, but not really near much to do but camp.

 

[free83118]

Fingerlakes

Watkins Glen State Park is nice but sites can be tight to get in. We have a 33 ft fifth wheel trailer and could just barely make the turn to back into our site. There was plenty of room in the site once we were able to back into it

 

[MevetS]

When I lived up north years ago, we made several trips to Letchworth State Park, which is just south of Rochester and in the Finger Lakes region. The Genesee River runs right through the park and is an absolutely beautiful place to camp, hike and picnic. The river cut up to a 600-foot gorge that have hiking trails that encircles it. There's a Lower, Middle and Upper waterfall in the gorge and make for an incredibly picturesque hike from both sides of the gorge. The Middle falls has the historic Glenn Iris Inn right next to it where couples frequently tie the knot. It's a great destination for a week long stay, which we've done several times.

The campground there is very clean and well maintained and is located towards the North end of the park. The wooded or non-wooded sites are spacious, with full hookups, bathhouses nearby, camp store, playgrounds, plenty of fields with large open spaces, and reasonable site fees.

X2 on Letchworth ! Great campground, most sites are surprisingly large.

 

[Reverse_snowbird]

Staying at Letchworth SP is too far away to take in the Finger Lakes area, although it is a very nice SP, but not really near much to do but camp.

I agree. Letchworth might be a nice stop on the way to the Finger Lakes and does contain 'the Grand Canyon of the east', but it's not the Finger Lakes. It's one of my favorite parks but doesn't have the 'flavor' of the Finger Lakes.
With the OPs rig, they should be able to fit into any state park. They can have short spots and length limits. However, there are plenty of private campgrounds that are nice.

 

[Alcoman50]

There's also Fair Haven Beach SP which is a little N but is on Lake Ontario. Others have mentioned the ones on the lakes. Sampson is AMAZING and it is usually not busy and you can find available sites. We avoid KOA and private CG as NYS parks are nice. Well maintained and are less than $30 a night. It is hit or miss on hookups. Almost none have sewer or water hookups but most of the ones in FL region have electric sites avail.

 

[sherman12]

Watkins Glen State SP is very nice if you can get a site, but that's why I suggested the county or city-run park right in town as an alternative. Sampson is our 2nd favorite SP after Keuka Lake and they do have around 200 sites with electric. There is also a private operation leasing land from Sampson SP right within the park offering FHUs, but there is a minimum amount of days to stay, and you'll pay $$$$.

Fair Haven SP on Lake Ontario is an awesome SP, however once again you are not in the Finger Lakes, even for day trips. For whatever reason that I don't understand Rochester, NY gets listed as part of the FL region when in fact they are a 50-75 mile drive just to get close like perhaps Geneva, NY or Canandaigua, NY, both fun charming towns.

There is a private campground on Rts. 5&20 between Geneva, NY, and Seneca Falls that is right on the canal that joins Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake. I forget the name but it should be easy to look up. Very conveniently located to tour around Seneca and Cayuga Lakes areas.

 

[t.simpson]

I agree with Sherman's advice all the way. Our favorite is also Keuka SP and we have stayed at Camp Elmbrois several times and really like it as well. My add to this thread is to check out Allstays.com https://www.allstays.com/Campgrounds/New-York-campground-map.htm I found it this week and found several new to me campgrounds in the FL region, including a national forest and state forest that offer dry camping and a county fairgrounds that offers hook ups. This expanded our options to help over come the constantly packed state parks. Please, please, don't share this info! (I am not related to Allstays.com, not sponsored, they don't send me money or free stuff, they don't pay for my youtube channel that I don't have etc etc etc)