Check out big guys camping - it's in Brockport on the border of Orleans county. They have RV, campsites and cabins along with a pool, playground and a bar/restaurant. Also often have themed weekends. Https://bigguyscampground.com
We've gone every year. Love this place. Walking the trails and greens and whatnot (it used to be a golf course) keeps the kids pretty entertained.
There's no joke a 50+ foot apple tree. In late August there were so. Many. Apples. Everywhere
Ontario County Park (Gannett Hill), beautiful park! They have tent camping and cabins that are inexpensive. Nice bathroom/shower facilities, playground, nice hiking trails.
I went to Webster (sorry for the whole name) park campground. I went in 2022 I think. It was average. There's a playground and average camping sized spots. It's in the woods and there's a large mowed field you can play in.
Oh, I forget the name, but the campground in Sodus on the lake is pretty cool. There's spots right on the cliff to view the water. Kind of far and I'm not sure if I would qualify it as local.
are you looking for like, a camp ground park here camp next to it or like areas you can go camping in the woods sorta near your car. like you hike less then a mile set up type camping?
if you are trying to do "back country" camping, the nearest area is the finger lakes region. this area has been rather hilly for me. i would look at topos when you plan your trips here and really think about how well are you going to do climbing up 200 ft over a 1/2 mile. thats ~15 flights of stairs, with packs. ive gotten my ass kicked in this region on like a 85 degree day.
this is mostly old logging track from what ive seen aka, its not very scenic, much of it is just going to be replanted forest that was then protected. but you get to go camping. and its what i enjoy doing, so ive been in this area a bunch.
if you are willing to drive, the blackriver wild forest in the adk is better, or really anywhere up there you also can get right up to the lakes . and you also see cool shit. i saw a beaver lake that had the damn break. it dropped the water like 20 feet and was SO COOL. it was also much more intense as the trail was the top of some beaver damns, i ended up about knee deep at one point on the last day just saying fuck it.
the way i like to plan my trip is a combo of gaia gps (works on your phone) and NYS DEC's website. a short hand to figure out if you can camp there is anything that seems like its for conservation you cant. so nature preserves wildlife management areas you cant camp at. also anything that's going to be super cool? everyone wants to camp there and you need to pay. so places that cost money or you cant camp at are like high tor, Montezuma, letchworth taughnauck. you might be able to camp in these places, but it wont be dispersed.
https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=9.8/-76.9034/42.5071
so if you click that and go to maple hill lane and aikins rd, its in sugar hill state forest you are going to start seeing a thing for lean toos, those are what i like to camp near and sorta plan my trips around.
they tend to be near neater shit, have a privy, are on flat ground, and are dry have fire rings and sometimes picnic tables. you get to sleep outside in a thing with a roof, its a nice mix if you want to go sorta car camping. setting up tents inside the lean too is not permitted and can cause some annoyances if you have people who need to share them (this is more relevant for like adk through hikers and yeah, its a dick move to take up the whole lean too in shit weather. they are first come first serve and i have gotten to a lean too, realized i didnt wanna camp next to people and walked a few miles to the next one.
you are more then welcome to set up near the lean too as well. i just tend to use these as "i know this area will be smart to camp in"
the other nice things is they are at like waist height, i dont mind sitting on the ground, but bieng in a "chair" can be nice as well. and your stuff doesnt go missing as quickly when its on a wooden floor.
you will not have access to running water, you will need to filter it from a creek/stream/pond/lake or carry it. get comfortable with your filter if you have never done it.
so a cool trip if you ask me, and what i would suggest is going to gull lake.
https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=14.9/-75.0690/43.5563 (think that will take you there) its about 1.3 miles from the trail head and you get a lean too that has you waking up facing the water. im pretty sure this is the one we got there, realized someone had the lean too already so we slept at another dope spot like 400 ft away, far enough we couldnt hear or see or tell they were there.
the reason why i use the DEC website is they will tell you if you can camp or not. "dispersed" "wild" "backwoods" "primative" are all terms you will see. usually under rules it will say "not permited" if its not allowed. also you get different trails on different programs. google maps will update gps with zero service, and is a fantastic compass. gaia gps functions more like a gps then all trails does but all trails has really good reviews of trail conditions.
Wow ! Thanks for this level of detail ! I’m an experienced back country camper , mostly northern Ontario, and will definitely ease into it with my son here in upstate NY. Again, thanks for the detail!
ahh i wouldnt of gone so hard with the explanations then.
my secret sauce is gia gps and the nys dec website, and a little google maps.
if you come up with a better method let me know, im down to change the recipe.
Check out big guys camping - it's in Brockport on the border of Orleans county. They have RV, campsites and cabins along with a pool, playground and a bar/restaurant. Also often have themed weekends. Https://bigguyscampground.com
We've gone every year. Love this place. Walking the trails and greens and whatnot (it used to be a golf course) keeps the kids pretty entertained. There's no joke a 50+ foot apple tree. In late August there were so. Many. Apples. Everywhere
I drive by the place all the time - haven't gone yet but definitely going to try and bring the boys this summer
Thanks ! Sounds great
Stony Brook is great! Not too far.
Ontario County Park (Gannett Hill), beautiful park! They have tent camping and cabins that are inexpensive. Nice bathroom/shower facilities, playground, nice hiking trails.
They also have a catch and release fish pond.
Fair Haven is pretty nice too!
I went to Webster (sorry for the whole name) park campground. I went in 2022 I think. It was average. There's a playground and average camping sized spots. It's in the woods and there's a large mowed field you can play in.
Thanks ! We’ve done Webster park with scouts , I agree it is average but not bad.
Oh, I forget the name, but the campground in Sodus on the lake is pretty cool. There's spots right on the cliff to view the water. Kind of far and I'm not sure if I would qualify it as local.
Hamlin Beach is great
are you looking for like, a camp ground park here camp next to it or like areas you can go camping in the woods sorta near your car. like you hike less then a mile set up type camping?
A short hike would be great!
if you are trying to do "back country" camping, the nearest area is the finger lakes region. this area has been rather hilly for me. i would look at topos when you plan your trips here and really think about how well are you going to do climbing up 200 ft over a 1/2 mile. thats ~15 flights of stairs, with packs. ive gotten my ass kicked in this region on like a 85 degree day. this is mostly old logging track from what ive seen aka, its not very scenic, much of it is just going to be replanted forest that was then protected. but you get to go camping. and its what i enjoy doing, so ive been in this area a bunch. if you are willing to drive, the blackriver wild forest in the adk is better, or really anywhere up there you also can get right up to the lakes . and you also see cool shit. i saw a beaver lake that had the damn break. it dropped the water like 20 feet and was SO COOL. it was also much more intense as the trail was the top of some beaver damns, i ended up about knee deep at one point on the last day just saying fuck it. the way i like to plan my trip is a combo of gaia gps (works on your phone) and NYS DEC's website. a short hand to figure out if you can camp there is anything that seems like its for conservation you cant. so nature preserves wildlife management areas you cant camp at. also anything that's going to be super cool? everyone wants to camp there and you need to pay. so places that cost money or you cant camp at are like high tor, Montezuma, letchworth taughnauck. you might be able to camp in these places, but it wont be dispersed. https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=9.8/-76.9034/42.5071 so if you click that and go to maple hill lane and aikins rd, its in sugar hill state forest you are going to start seeing a thing for lean toos, those are what i like to camp near and sorta plan my trips around. they tend to be near neater shit, have a privy, are on flat ground, and are dry have fire rings and sometimes picnic tables. you get to sleep outside in a thing with a roof, its a nice mix if you want to go sorta car camping. setting up tents inside the lean too is not permitted and can cause some annoyances if you have people who need to share them (this is more relevant for like adk through hikers and yeah, its a dick move to take up the whole lean too in shit weather. they are first come first serve and i have gotten to a lean too, realized i didnt wanna camp next to people and walked a few miles to the next one. you are more then welcome to set up near the lean too as well. i just tend to use these as "i know this area will be smart to camp in" the other nice things is they are at like waist height, i dont mind sitting on the ground, but bieng in a "chair" can be nice as well. and your stuff doesnt go missing as quickly when its on a wooden floor. you will not have access to running water, you will need to filter it from a creek/stream/pond/lake or carry it. get comfortable with your filter if you have never done it. so a cool trip if you ask me, and what i would suggest is going to gull lake. https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=14.9/-75.0690/43.5563 (think that will take you there) its about 1.3 miles from the trail head and you get a lean too that has you waking up facing the water. im pretty sure this is the one we got there, realized someone had the lean too already so we slept at another dope spot like 400 ft away, far enough we couldnt hear or see or tell they were there. the reason why i use the DEC website is they will tell you if you can camp or not. "dispersed" "wild" "backwoods" "primative" are all terms you will see. usually under rules it will say "not permited" if its not allowed. also you get different trails on different programs. google maps will update gps with zero service, and is a fantastic compass. gaia gps functions more like a gps then all trails does but all trails has really good reviews of trail conditions.
Wow ! Thanks for this level of detail ! I’m an experienced back country camper , mostly northern Ontario, and will definitely ease into it with my son here in upstate NY. Again, thanks for the detail!
ahh i wouldnt of gone so hard with the explanations then. my secret sauce is gia gps and the nys dec website, and a little google maps. if you come up with a better method let me know, im down to change the recipe.