It has been decades since I was last here. Used to go backpacking with a friend. We'd bushwhack through the woods until we found a suitable spot, set up the tent and wander around. Nowadays, all of us would rather rough it at a Hilton ;) The forest is still there, but some of the trails are blocked off. There must be a reason. It brought back happy memories, cooking on a tiny Coleman stove, using an actual compass to navigate, sometimes waking up with snow outside, always some little adventure. It's a lot more civilized now. read more

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What an incredible park !!! We love the hiking and hunting opportunities here Gorgeous terrain read more

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Food was delicious, the waitress was absolutely fantastic and the owner was very pleasant to speak with. JTL read more

With the area being so big, there are many places to start. The hike started on the eastern side of the Taconic just off of Pudding St. on the NB side on a smaller road called Waywayanda Ct. From the Taconic, on Pudding, you'll see a sign for California Hill State Park. Continue past until reaching that road. On Waywayanda is a dirt road, which will eventually lead to a dead end for about a mile. There's enough room for parking. There is no marker at all which does make it confusion, and we ended up going off the trail. We did manage to find our way back with no problem, but adding one would definitely help. The highlight of the trip contains some cool rocks and caves made back in the ancient times, and most of it is unknown. Pretty neat that there is history to it but the real answer is to who made these. There's no decent view in this section, but there's enough to enjoy the scenic all around. I'm hoping to check the other sections some point. read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

We couldn't have painted a better picture than this. With the beautiful Sunday weather, we had a preplanned destination set and then aimlessly drive around to enjoy Putnam County's dense roads. Turns out, our preplanned outdoor visit to a Buddhist Monastery was a bust due to the Coronavirus so hubs Google Mapped nearby lakes, parks, etc and.....landed here. I can't even put a number on how big Fahnestock is- because it almost seems it never ends. One review mentions renting boats and canoes- but I didn't see any....again- that's how huge this park is! We've been here several times before with our Beagle- but I forgot the entrance we used back then. But it doesn't matter, Fahnestock has so many loops and turns you're bound to enter somewhere. Coming here? Hop on the Taconic State Park, get lost and see where back roads take you. I was on a "waterfront spot" lookout and Fahnestock has several lakes, reservoir and creeks- but many of the areas I saw, folks had already claimed their spots. When weather gets super hot, I can see these spots filling up for swimming or row row row your boat if that's what you like- just check park rules. Maybe more dirt than sand but it was either this or have a picnic on the side of the road. This spot was cozy and made for two people which was just fine- because during this pandemic, I don't want anybody I don't know close to me. But listen, wherever you land, Fahnestock is the perfect place to go on a warm day. read more

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Unsure why this park has so many negative reviews complaining about other visitors. This place is like a hidden gem on my way upstate. Stopped by here to eat bagels with my friends and enjoyed a great water side view. There are a good amount of picnic tables in scenic locations. I saw a few people camping around but no one really bothered us. Took a nice stroll around the park and loved every minute of it. The timeframe I went was early fall and the leaves were just changing colors. I can only imagine what it will be like when it's in full peak. The park also has a restroom and garbage cans as well. Will definitely visit again the next time I go upstate! read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

We camped in the park near Pelton Pond for one night here two weeks ago, and the autumn foliage was so beautiful. This campground included bathrooms with real toilets and showers, sinks for dishwashing, ample picnic and day use areas, fire rings and charcoal grills (and picnic tables) in each campsite, and parking spaces near (if not directly connected to) each site. We were located at site 19, located conveniently near both a bathroom and a garbage dump (but don't worry, it's not *too* close to the rubbish). This site is adjacent to two other sites, but on this night, we had no neighbors. I got to set up a hammock in between some trees as well as our tent. It was not raining that day, but water fell from the trees onto our tent and stuff throughout the night, so by morning, everything was quite damp, though we did not mind so much. Had a little hike around the pond and was quite tired by the end of it, but the leaves wore such beautiful colors. At many times, we felt as though we were in a painting. There's a large sheltered picnic area near the Pelton Pond as well with two big hearths that we passed and thought would be cool to reserve, though we haven't an occasion for that yet. Firewood is sold at the office used to check in. A number of campsites in the campground were closed at the time we made our reservation because of it being out of season. It was good to get out of NYC for a little and feel like we were in another world although Fahnestock is only an hour-and-a-half-long drive away! **The only downside we experienced was the constant whooshing sound of traffic from the neighboring Taconic State Parkway, but if you are accustomed to background sound (I live in Brooklyn; I'm used to noise), it is not terribly bothersome. read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Pelton Pond - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

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Nice state park with swimming, boating, fishing and walking the Appalation Trail State park parking $9 or Empire pass Small concession stand read more

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I think one star is appropriate because of how nice the man was at the check in booth. Unfortunately, that experience was a tease. At 8:40 I finally arrived at my campground. My drive was 4 hours and I came after work. When I got here I used my headlights on my car to set up my tent.. already I hear my neighbors whispering about my lights. 9pm rolls around : first complaint.. as the ranger walked up I asked "is it 10pm already?" Bc THATS when quiet time starts. He says "no but there can't be music before 10pm either." At this point it was just me and my galfriend. Music was low. That was just the break thru... finally the rest of my group arrived, park rangers came back 2 more times , music was off, we were grilling burgers and they threatened to call the troopers. By 11:20 the manager came and screamed at us, we werent even speaking at ALL at this point. So much so, as we can hear people screaming across the way and I made sure to point that out. Only because if we can hear those people, it's because we were being QUIET. It's now 11:55 and I'm writing this review. We've been whispering. Idk if it's the neighbors or what but 0/10 experience and I'm pissed. They also said the dogs from other sites are also causing complaints, .. Soo ... why allow pets ?? They said in no WAY ARE WE ALLOWED TO RUIN ANYONE ELSES TIME. But OUR time is being ruined. Whispering ?? Outside?? We could've just stayed at my parents house. This is our 5th year here and ABSOLUTELY OUR LAST. This place is not dog friendly, nor is it people friendly, this place is strictly old people friendly. YOU DONT MATTER and the Irish manager makes sure you know that. read more

Beautiful park with great trails, lots of parking, and even a beach on one end! This park has everything, including boating and fishing! They recently added a new parking lot on one end, and there are so many beautiful and quiet trails. We went there on a Saturday afternoon and never saw another person. So quiet and peaceful. I'm sure it will be more crowded as the weather gets warmer, but this park is so big, it's easy to find a quiet spot! read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Trail markers along a lovely quiet path. - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

Ah-mazing! We went on day trip here - 9 adults and five kids (under 6yrs old). We had wonderful time, kids love love love loved it!! Due to Covid, limited people were allowed in which was perfect. Swimming hours are from 10am to 6pm, gates closed around 7 pm. Place was so clean too. Perfect day trip with kids! Can't wait to go back again :) YouTube https://youtu.be/rPOJnN_dF8Y read more

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Great stay in the campgrounds. We loved our time here and how close we were to a bathroom. The only complaint I have are the showers. I don't get all girly and squirmy with bugs but entering the shower area made me cringe. There were so many bugs and you could tell it hadn't been cleaned in forever!!!!! There were 2 centipedes upon entering. I was about to squish all 100 legs outta that thing but my husband is a lover not a fighter. I'm the cold hearted one. No shame. He kindly took a stick to throw them out. I suggest taking flip flops (do people still call them this?) to go in. Besides that, it was great! We stayed from Saturday to Monday and it was sooo quiet on Sunday. Everyone checked out Sunday morning and it felt calm and serene on Sunday night. I definitely recommend checking out on a Monday. We're not in any way pros or experienced. We're 2 city kids that have camped before but never had to plan it ourselves. We were a little nervous taking initiative but this is a GREAT place for first timers. After this trip, we can say we're officially adults now :) Here is my take on campsites to not reserve if there are other options. 35 36 42-This is 5 steps away to all the bathroom stalls and showers. You get ZERO privacy and constant noise 79-looks decent but is next to a garbage dump. One word: BEARS. read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

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It's a beautiful lake to bring the family. There's bathrooms a minni store to purchase food or just some souvenirs. You can grill while looking at a Great Lake view. Kayaking and fishing or just going on a boat is a nice experience. There is no shade if it gets sunny I highly recommend bringing a canopy tent for some shade. read more

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Spotless bathrooms and a decent snack bar. The rules are posted clearly all over the Canopus Beach entrance... primarily the NO MUSIC sign but it is flagrantly ignored. Also ignored was a plea to the main office to come and enforce the rules. We were told, "Be right over"- and 2 hours later we were still being treated to blasting tunes from a group of miscreants. Would NOT return, which is a shame because it's well kept. read more

I was invited by some friends to check this place out this summer & I was pleasantly surprised by the park. Once u make your way inside the park the closer u get to the lake area u really don't feel like you are in "New York" the obvious just being surrounded by the lake & trees really feel's like u are else where. we happen to visit early in the week & the park was not very crowded, which was nice considering u have to keep social distance these days. I heard from my friend it can get very crowded on "regular" days. we settled by one of the picnic tables since they also have the grills available, once settled we got to grilling & enjoying the day. The lake itself is lovely , water was nice & warn which caught us all by surprised but it was great .. nice & calm , sun out it ended up being a very nice day. Nice clean bathrooms, area is well kept this was a nice visit, we all enjoyed a nice relaxing day with nature even more so since because of COVID getting back to nature is the best way to keep busy during quarantine times. read more

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During this past spring when many other hiking areas were closed, I decided to hike all of the trails in Fahnestock. It was very rewarding, and I found some great spots. I'm a local and this is one of my favorite places to hike. I'm not going to list my favorite spots because I don't want them to become overrun, but I highly recommend grabbing a map and checking out the trails (not just the Canopus Lake beach or Pelton Pond). Lots of peaceful ridges, babbling streams, and evidence of the people who used to live here in the form of ruins of old buildings. This is also a great place to hike with kids, as many of the trails are mostly flat or having rolling ups and downs. read more

Visited this park during memorial weekend with family and friends and we had a great time. The weather was perfect, restrooms were surprisingly clean, and staff were friendly/helpful. We parked at the beach parking area- $7 fee. The lake and sand beach are both man made. It's a fairly small area and we were lucky to have an empty beach mostly to ourselves. The also have a small pier where you can fish, rent boats and canoes for $10 an hour, and live bait (worms) available for sale. There is a small area where kids can swim with a lifeguard on watch. Overall, small, clean and safe beach. read more

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Been camping here with friends for over 10 years now. We've camped as early as April and as late as October and it's always a great time. We love it because it's one of the closest places to the NY metro area with a true camping feel. The park itself is beautiful and has some great trails, ponds, and scenic views. The gentleman at the park office is friendly and helpful. The campground is a cool little spot for both families and groups of young adults. For those like myself who don't like to completely "rough it", there is a fire pit and grill on each site that you can park on. The facilities are a short walk from most of the campsites and have showers to use. On our most recent camping trip, we stayed on sites 55n and 58n. When viewing the campsite map we were a bit skeptical of these sites as they seemed a bit close to the surrounding ones. They are, but it wasn't as tight as we thought. The best way I can describe blocks 54-60 and 61-68 is two cul de sacs with the sites lining the perimeter with grassy areas and a good amount of tree cover, the middle is full of gravel and rocks. If you can get a big group together and snatch up a bunch of these sites together, it's a great time. Sites 54-60 are much closer to the bathrooms than they seem. There is a hill/path behind site 56 that leads straight up to the bathroom/showers. The facilities are different than what I remember from the past, and I think they renovated the bathrooms near site 42. Showers are individualized rooms with a door that locks (or at least it's supposed to), a bench, and a sink. I was really impressed. There is a women's and a men's shower room. Then there is also a family one with a shower, toilet, sink, bench, and changing table. On this particular trip, the door lock on the men's shower at this building was broken so I used the family one. Luckily no one who really needed the family room came while I was using it, so I don't feel as bad. If you're a small group 4-5 people max, I would even suggest site 42 (if you don't mind consistent traffic near your site) because it's right next to the building. In my opinion two of the best sites on this campground are 24 and 25 (if you get them both). One of them overlooks the other, and both are set back a bit off the road and from other sites. At Fahnestock there is always a park ranger or park staff patrolling the campground but they hardly ever give campers a hard time. I've been to campgrounds where they've given us a hard time for merely being awake past quiet hours, this is not one of them. Don't be a jerk and they will basically leave you alone. Be respectful of your neighbors and have fun. Happy camping! read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Block of camp sites: 54n-60n from left to right. - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

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The first time I went camping (9 year old), I peed in my sleeping bag (rather than go outside & meet Hatchet Harry) and a ravenous raccoon tried to get into my bag of Violet's candy. Fast forward to the late 90's and early 2000's and I had the bug to try my hand at camping again. My friends and I would book a campsite at least once a year on reserveamerica.com and the rain and other forces of nature always followed. Those were the good old days - despite having a "Things to Pack" Excel spreadsheet (people always forget critical things) and we were never turned off by our limited menus (burgers and hot dogs all day) as long as there was enough alcohol. We would go up with cases of duralogs and lighter fluid until we learned how to build a proper fire (stacked tee pee style to allow air pockets to get in). Fahnestock camp sites are bare bones: picnic table, fire pit, and enough space to allow for 2 tents. The campsites are close to each other, but you can usually position your cars to get the illusion of privacy. I believe they have a nearby beach and a decent hiking area, however we were hypnotized by the fire and the need to keep it alive. Good memories are bound to happen when you burn a friend's carcinogentic blanket, toilet paper wars in the bathroom, and accidently flooding nearby campsites. read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Fire - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

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If you wish to "rough it" once in your life, this is a nice state park to try out. It's very cheap to reserve a campsite at http://reserveamerica.com/ for a weekend. You are allowed 2 cars, 2 tents and 6 bodies per campsite. If you want a bigger group, you can reserve multiple campsites that are adjacent to each other. I think you can also pay a little extra if you need to add another car to the reservation. Each campsite has a fire pit and flat grounds for pitching tents. There are a few restrooms in the camp grounds; accessibility depends on how far you are from them. For example, my campsite #47 was in a five minute walking distance. If I had to drop a deuce, I would probably drive there. Otherwise I'll find the next tree to pee on. I would suggest the following: a tent, flashlights, a propane grill, warm clothing, toilet paper, fire starter/duralogs and food and cooking supplies. Last weekend was a bad f--king time to go. I got there late (9 PM, but anytime after sundown is "late" since darkness prevails)and had to build my tent in the rain. Between five people we had 2 tents and 1 gazebo canopy structure to hang out under the rain. The next morning, the gazebo crashed due to heavy winds and precipitation. Our tents also were leaking. We managed to move the gazebo in between a few trees and create our makeshift shelter. By 4 PM the rain stopped and it was sunny and beautiful for the rest of the weekend. Too late. My boxers and everything in the tent were wet. We drowned our sorrows with a few cases of Yuengling and Sam Adams Octoberfest. The best part of camping is building a fire. Although you have to do significant "fire wood" gathering (branches, twigs, etc) you will be rewarded with a large burning fire... I'm telling you, it's mesmerizing. We woke up the next morning and noticed our gazebo was still standing. Too bad we had to take it down, pack up and return it to Target anyway. Since I've gone to this campsite five times in the last 5 years, I can say that I've had a good time (except for the rain). Make sure to steer clear if the weather man calls for heavy precipitation. IFHTP 3+ read more

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Lovely trails and relaxing lake view year round. You need your own map or a hood hiking app to really take advantage of offerings not immediately visible. read more

First let me say that, this campground does enforce social distancing for campgrounds, we did not have people to the side of us but had people across from us. Let me also say that THIS IS NOT A CAMPGROUND FOR THE QUIET. I was with a group of friends and we were up till about 2 am, playing cards, laughing and drinking and no one complained. If you are looking for a quiet campground where people go to bed at 8pm this is NOT IT! There are many campgrounds you can find that have strict quiet hours. The fact that this one does not strictly enforce quiet hours makes it an absolute gem. The staff was very friendly and helpful, they have bundles of woods available to buy i think it was 4$ a bundle. One thing i didnt like is the beach area they let anyone in, when we went to go swim it was over crowded. I think for covid season they should restrict it to only people who are staying on campground. Campgrounds were very clean! Overall i'd definitely come back here, but again if you want to go to bed early this isnt the place, do your research, dont complain and to ruin it for others who want to stay up. I think the fact that they allow you to stay up late is great! read more

10's across the board my girlfriend intro'd me to this spot and I am forever grateful and blessed if I can get someone to do the drive. Just fun and necessary. read more

Great local place to cross country ski. A lot of land. Great way to stay active in the winter. You can rent from them, too. There's a tiny lodge-type area where you can get hot chocolate. Nothing special though. I give it 4 stars for being a safe, beautiful and local park. read more

Decided to go camping with my wife and 1 year old son here... big mistake. Neighboring campers were up until 3am cracking jokes and chugging beer which kept my wife and I up. Good thing little guy slept through it. Woke up at 7 went hiking came back around 11am found our tent door opened but nothing was missing. Also, they were smoking up. We left right away even though we paid for two nights.. never coming back. read more

I came to Fahnestock State Park for a night of camping and got site 41. It was my first time visiting this campgrounds and I have to say... I have definitely experienced better. The great thing about this site is the location. It took about an hour and a half to get to Fahnestock from Brooklyn. Obviously, time dependent on traffic as well. When my friend and I finally got to the park, we saw the difference between a camp location that was well taken cared of, compared to one that was neglected. The driving path to the campgrounds are so crappy it makes driving on NYC roads smooth; the pot holes were horrible. Our site, site 41, would have been nice if it hadn't been the fact that the water faucet was right on the site, so the whole community will come over, wash their stuff and leave the residue in a puddle to stink up. Now across from my site, were a site filled with sorority girls and they were loud, they didn't seem to care or even realize it was 12AM+, until some other group from another campsite told them the time. According to the park rules "Quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. are strictly enforced." BS! I give this situation as an example of the neglect of the park as, the rangers are nonexistent, nobody cares about this park, nobody enforces the rules. Heck, we were the only group that I noticed that bought firewood. Other groups just knocked down trees and scavenged for leaves, branches and whatever else plants they can find, pull out and lit up. Yes, we went to scout other potential campsites that would be good to reserve if we come back the next time and all we saw were trees, branches and leaves in the fire pits; no firewood visible nearby. When we finally got to the pond area, we saw this guy knocking down a tree just so he can save $5 on the firewood. WTF? Seriously? The work he did to knock the tree over was probably worth more than $5. I can understand if its dead branches and stuff it is okay to use those materials for a campfire, but this guy took a tree down that wasn't dead... sigh... Here are the sites we thought were good from our scouting... *sites updated see below* ...41 is also a maybe, because if the site across from you is noisy and rowdy, you will hear it, there are no trees separating the noise (probably because they were chopped down by campers lol). The site is also rather small. The bathrooms and showers were close to 41 though, which was a plus. Now as for the bathrooms... the bathrooms are dirty, is it usable? Sure. Its not dirty as in people dropped deuces all over the place, but it is dirty from use, age and once again, neglect. The showers are dirty from age too; the walls are dark, and the lighting was dim as well. You may want to bring additional lighting if you are showering. People do what they want at this camp location it seems. I saw the sorority girls just leave the fire going and checked out, the park crew went to pick up the recyclables, drove by the empty campsite with a smoking fire pit and just kept on driving by. Will I do it again? Sure, but only if I am able to get the sites that I deem doable. On another note, some grounds are hard gravel. Cheap tent takes would be an issue. Update 4/21/14: After a weekend at Fahnestock, I was surprised at what has been going on. New sites have been introduced since last year, while some old sites have been removed to either create over crowd parking or a better overall experience for campers. So far it is looking good, we'll see as time goes on. I still remember last summer when I was at site 45 (this year's 78) when dusk hit, several cars and minivans drove and pulled over to the side of the road, like something was about to go down. People got out with axes and proceeded to chop trees down like the trees did something to their mommas. Funny scene, but that side of the road has been opened up as a campsite so that incident probably wouldn't be reenacted again. Anyways. The updated site list goes like this. Last year's 25 is now site 24. A great site, large and you feel separated from others. This year's site 25, I accidentally stayed in this weekend, is good for 1 tent, 2 max. Sites 22 & 23 good for groups. 23 is deeper in from the road and more secluded. But... When you walk in and out you will walk through 22. 29 & 30 good for groups. 31 is a new site, big and secluded, however, your car will be parked on the side of the road as normal vehicles will be unable to get to it. 78 is great, secluded and large. The site that was next to 78 last year has been removed, probably because that site was way too small. Site 75 is okay. Site 41 of last year is now 44. The site is the same as last year EXCEPT the site across it has been removed. So that will definitely be good for 44. There are other sites that have their own charms, the sites that I listed are sites that I prefer. It is not the be all end all, as my preferences might not be the same as yours. Last update. Yelp text limit reached. GL HF! read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - My Marmot Limelight 3P and friend's Slumberjack Trail Tent 3 at site 45. - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

Oh Clarence Fahnestock, how the mighty have fallen! Growing up in Yorktown, Clarence Fahnestock was once a weekly summer destination for my family. I loved swimming here, hiking and just wasting away the lazy days of endless childhood summers. Returning here to see what it has become was almost heartbreaking. My husband and I decided to take my two young cousins for a day of nature, and Clarence Fahnestock is near their home. To be fair, the swimming area is still ok. The lake is still very clean, and the beach is reasonably well maintained. The park has become carry in-carry out (no in-park garbage cans) but I am familiar with parks like that, and it's ok with me. The changing rooms and the showers though, not so much. Cleanliness of the changing area is ok, considering how busy it was that day, but zero maintenance. Half the showers did not work, half the changing rooms had no curtains, and several of the sinks were plugged. The bathrooms ran out of toilet paper shortly afternoon and were not replenished all day. (This was a Saturday). Carry-in, carry-out is fine to a point, but there needs to be a place to dispose of feminine products. Fortunately, I didn't need such a disposal location, but clearly some other women had--and they had chosen to use the floor. We also used one of the day-use areas for picnicking and hiking. The trail looped around a small lake at the base of the hill the campsites were located on. Sadly, it seems as though the campers, and possibly the locals, and certainly the teenagers chose to use this trail as a public dumpsite. The lake was full of garbage, including several broken picnic tables. Bellow the camping area, it was clear that some campers just dumped their garbage down the hill and onto the trail. At another point, slightly off the trial, there was a glen utterly filled with toilet paper and human waste. I don't even understand how that happens! Did people take a hike, with toilet paper, expressly for the purpose of crapping in the woods? I was afraid for the health of the kids! Finally, the rest area at the head of the trail had exactly 1 stall with toilet paper (and it was out by 11am). The toilets had clearly NEVER been cleaned--they were black as pitch on the inside. 3 of the 4 sinks were glommed up with sand, and filled with nasty, grey water. There was no soap. The park rangers came by and went into the bathrooms twice while we were picnicking, but I am not sure why since they never even filled the TP. I guess they were just checking to make sure people weren't shooting up there, since it seemed so much like a crack-house. I am very disappointed with the NY parks system over this place. It should be shut down as a health hazard. If you are desperate for a swim, and not a hike, its ok, but bring your own TP. read more

I just started camping and this was the first spot I have been to. It's awesome! There are a lot of sites that are private or can be blocked off by your car. All the sites have a fire ring. I use ReserveAmerica.com to book my sites, especially since I tend to go very last minute. On that website I am able o view a map and see what sites are taken and available. It's also helpful to see if anyone will be around you! I tend to come during the week and it's very peaceful. read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

The park is quite beautiful with lush greenery and ponds. We chose this camp as our as our spot due to the family friendly reviews and found it to be up to par. Canopus Lake has a clean and beautiful beach with picnic tables and showers. The camp grounds are cozy with lots of shaded camping. We had campsite 41, which was the best spot on the lot in terms of beauty and close location to the bath house. The biggest draw back for us was the quality and cleanliness of the bath house, which was sort of run down and not stocked very well. The water was not safe to drink either and there were signs posted that the water levels were not up to DOH standards, which we found to be inconvenient. The scenery and the beach made up for what the bath house lacked. We would definitely stay here again. read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - View of the pond from our campsite. - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

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We just went up to the park yesterday to play in the snow and enjoy the snowstorm. It was lovely and there was tons of snow. It took us about 1hr15min from lower Manhattan, and we got there near the end of the day (3pm), which left us a bit under 2hrs as the park closes at 5. So, we poked around the facilities. Here's what we found: -Super clean bathrooms with changing rooms and showers. - Small cafe, stocked with hot food, drinks, trail snacks and some gear - small but organized rentals shop with good prices. Everything looked to be in good condition - nice, groomed trails. Because we only had a short time we elected to go sledding, and enjoyed inner-tubing and sledding down their sledding hill. It was small but steep so you got a good ride. They had a smaller hill but it appeared to not be plowed out. Afterwards we took a walk around the lake, and there I wish we had another hour or two to really take it all in. To top it off, we had dinner nearby in downtown Cold Spring. Definitely a place I'd come back to. read more

DO NOT CAMP HERE!! This place is a dump!! Absolutely disgusting camp ground! The place is dirty, the bathrooms haven't been cleaned in years it seems! The dirt on the floors is so thick and smells horrible! Mold everywhere! We had to park 50 ft away and walk through another campsite to get to ours! The site had busted bottles, the tent area isn't flat! Horrible! We left after 1 day read more

We had high hopes for this park, but most of our expectations fell short. The amount of trash around the campground was terribly disappointing. We found two areas near our site where other campers decided they were too lazy to walk to the bathroom and just made their own makeshift toilets in the woods. Disgusting to see piles of toilet paper and buckets in the woods. Have some respect for your fellow campers and nature. There was also quite a bit of trash throughout the campground (cans, bottles, plastic bags). Our site was nice with a firepit, grill, and plenty of space. We were one of the only trailers in our loop. Seems that many folks just came up from the city for the weekend and weren't experienced campers. It wasn't as family friendly as most campground we have been to with very few children or families. The scariest part was how many vehicles sped through the campground easily going 25+ mph. Having a young son, this was very worrisome to me. We plan to be back to explore the Winter Park, and I hope it meets our expectations better than the campground. read more

Cross country skiing here is a treasure. The only groomed trails in at least at 50mile radius, an outdoor wood burning stove, friendly staff, cozy lodge, and a ton of trails and terrain to ski through the woods. The best part is just the quaint nature of the lodge area - no commercialism, just simple food - meat or veg chili is their specialty - and the people you'll meet. Your fellow cross country skiers come from all geographies and are a cordial bunch. This is a winter wonderland to be treasured. read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - The lodge area during ski season - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

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The best ski/snowshoe domain you can probably find so close from the city. You can spend a great day exploring the beautiful park. The toughest snowshoe track takes you above the little valley and you finish with a breathtaking view of the scenic Canopus Lake (which was totally frozen when we went there early March). Good place for beginners and intermediate nordic skiers and snowshoers or family with young kids. Nice outdoor resting area with tables and benches, and a wood fire stove next to a small coffee shop (food selection is quite pathetic though - so better bring some home made sandwiches I guess). We will definitely go back. read more

My husband and I have been coming here for a few years now since we started dating back in 2002 and it's so close to NYC! We even went last month, realized we forgot our sleeping bags in the city and were able to pitch the tent, drive home to get our bags and return all within 3 hours! We LOVE that it's a dog friendly spot and there's nothing our dogs love more than getting outside. The trails are well marked so we hike after breakfast and before dinner. I recently brought my nephew up here with his new digital SLR to try his hand at taking nature photos. Some of the fire pits need to be cleaned out and a few of the charcoal grills are in need of repair but overall it's a great getaway from the city. We just dug out our fire pit ourselves and since our charcoal grill was so far from the pit we gathered some rocks and made our own near the fire pit. All of the fire pits are equipped with a removable grill top as well so you don't always need the charcoal grill anyway. Yes, I've been to better campsites but honestly, this one is convenient, clean and well maintained so on a weekend where we need to run away from NYC we will go over and over again! read more

I am a lover of the outdoors. I love camping, hiking, and everything associated with that. But... this place was really disappointing. I don't want my review to sound like I'm some girl from the city who can't handle the country... but that's not true. Let me start by saying that my boyfriend and I wanted a day trip that was abouto ne hour from NYC, that had hiking trails and a lake to swim in afterwards. We stopped off at the park office to get a map, and then started out on our trip. We didn't have bug spray (our fault, I know), and as a result were literally being eaten alive in there by the mosquitos and flies. We went about 15 minutes into the trail and had to turn around it was so bad. Alright, we said, maybe it was our fault. It was very wooded and no mountain views that I was hoping for... so we decided to change into our bathing suits and go for a swim in the lake. The lake was roped off, because only a small section of it was swimmable. The rest of it looked stagnant, with some sort of leafy growth all over it. I don't suppose there's anything that can be done to it. It's just not that clean of a lake to begin with. Basically, it wasn't the super day we'd hoped we'd have. We decided to leave at that point and go to FDR pool at the nearby park. It was $2 pp to get into the pool and we went for a dip and then drove home. All in all I am less than thrilled by the day. Once in the woods the trail was blazed well, with clear markings, but it was very difficult to find the start of it from the road. That combined with the less than wonderful lake and the trail that left us bitten up, I think it's fair to say I won't be coming back here. We have a trip planned to Lake Tagkhanic park in two weeks, and I'm hopeful that it will be better than this was! read more

The park is pretty enough, but the campgrounds are not. There was no one to keep order in the park after dark--despite a wild, loud party going on at one of the campsites (#45) until well after midnight. Only a handful of sites offer any privacy whatsoever, and most are right on top of one another. The urinal in one of the bathrooms was overflowing. A very disappointing experience and one that I will not be repeating. Regarding that party: it was so loud that my five year old was unable to fall asleep until after 10 p.m., despite going to bed at 8:30. I was shocked at the noise--music, yelling, etc.--and no ranger or manager to stop it. The campsite has a six-person limit for each site, and there were at least 10 people who stayed at this one--including four people sleeping in their cars. The beach is nice, and the location is terrific--close to a water park, the Hudson River, hiking trails, Beacon and Cold Spring, and only about an hour north of NYC. read more

Went camping here last week with my boyfriend and had a wonderful time. Although our campsite was close to the highway and we could hear some cars throughout the night, we had a ton of space, a grill, made a fire every night and felt secure - we were walking distance from the beach (the sectioned off portion for swimming was too small IMO and we wished the beach closed at sunset instead of 7) and it was a short drive to a lot of the hiking locations. The bathrooms were gross, but I didn't expect anything else (it's camping!) It's such a beautiful park with great trials -so many , though, and we didn't have enough time to explore even half of them - and it's not too far of a drive from NYC which was great. I would absolutely camp here again. read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

Great place to keep visiting for all kinds of activities! Summer - hiking, swimming, winter - cross country skiing. (and photography) read more

Clarence Fahnestock State Park - lake in a winter - Parks Near Me - Carmel, New York

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This is such a great state park. It's close by yet it feels as though you've travelled much further. Great "real" camping sans the comforts of home. Those of you that think camping is about cabins and indoor showers need not apply... read more