Open field with no indicators of what's your site and what's the public walk way. Constantly had people crossing right through our site to get to the bathrooms. It was pretty but it's more or less just a place to park. No activities to do around the park unless you hang at the beach. There weren't any trails or anything to do for fun. Kind of boring. read more

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Darien Lakes State Park is not the amusement park. It's the state park and campground less than 15 minutes from the amusement park. If you like the amusement park, and like to camp, and need accommodations, staying here will save you a huge change chunk. We camped here for the first time last summer, mid-August. It was our only kid-free camping trip of the season. The hub'ster and I had concert tickets at Darien Lake Amphitheater (basically in the theme park), and made a getaway out of it by staying here. The proximity to the concert was great. We didn't get sloshed, so drove back and forth to the show, but the desk told us that Ubers are a safe, easy option for transport that campers who are concertgoers use often. Speaking of the front desk, the staff was excellent. Very friendly, offered up useful suggestions without us asking, happily replaced our parking tag when I accidentally ripped the first one. It's nice when customer service staff goes above and beyond to make sure you know what you need to know. We stayed on electric site #22. The site was grassy and pretty level, with good shade. It was a larger site that we could actually wrap around, instead of having to back in. That's always winning in my husband's book. The bathrooms here were kept very clean, probably the cleanest state park bathrooms of all our camp travels so far. The facilities weren't new, but they were well cared for and tidy. Great job facilities crew! The park's amenities include a small lake with fishing and swimming, some sports courts/fields, great nature trails, and pavilion/picnic areas. I believe there is disc golf too. The hubs and I relaxed at the beach, and explored the trails. There was definitely more trail to trek than we had time for, so we're looking forward to getting out there again someday. Both my husband and I enjoyed our camping stay at Darien Lakes State Park very much. We ventured into nearby cute lil' Alden to poke around a bit, relaxed on the site, had a great time at the concert, and didn't miss our kids for a second! In our defense, it was only 3 nights away. Give it 4, and good-mom-miss-my-kids vibes would have probably kicked in. Probably. read more

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Truly felt out of place here. Staff was hostile about marijuana use in the faculty, and I was asked to move to the parking lot to put my "drugs" in the car. had no problem with being asked not to smoke but it was the fact that I walked in thinking i was to going to be able to keep an eye on my possentions,considering I am a single traveling woman. They searched all of my cigarettes and every pocket in my purse. They acted with passive aggressive attitudes and truly uncomfortable behavior. I would have left my weed at home if I'd thought I would be harassed by security guards. I'd just have gone to the beach. read more

The best kept secret, this is not the amusement park! It has a lake for kayaks, canoeing and swimming from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There is a $7 fee during those months. Because it's a state park. If you want to frequent it I believe the Empire pass will get you in if you have it. But it's a pleasant place to cool off. They also have frisbee golf, small camping area and a pavilion with music. read more

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This year, I've decided to buy the season pass simply because the perks were so worth it. If you buy in advance (before the season starts), you'll get a free drink cup (normally $13), and a free parking pass ($15/day). In addition, you'll get these discounted days ($20 per person during wild week, and $10 per person Sunday fundays). We went there this past Sunday, and it was pretty busy. Depending on the ride, we were averaging about 40 minutes per ride after standing in line and walking to the next ride. As for food, I think the best deal is the pizza stand/restaurant near the motocross and twister ride section. We ordered a large pizza, which serves 8, and the slices were of decent size. I'm not a huge fan of pizza normally but compared to other foods in the park, this was probably the most decent. The pizza only took 5 minutes, and it was hot and edible (so in my opinion, not bad at all). As for drinks, first of all, those prices are just ridiculous. Secondly, everything that comes out of their faucet (water or soda) tastes like pond water. I don't know why, but it has a weird taste and a weird smell. So the free cup they gave me for drink refills, is not something I've used yet this season, all because I don't like the tastes/smell of their drinks. Thank God there are vending machines for drinks because those drinks do not have a smell to it. Overall, my experiences have been good. I would recommend buying the season pass because the perks are worth it. Only thing I would change is the source of their water, but I have a workaround in the meantime. read more

Darien Lakes State Park - Parks Near Me - Darien Center, New York

This place is absolutely beautiful with a ton of hiking trails! I would recommend it to anyone. When parking, tell them that you are their for the trails only and they will tell you where to park without paying! read more

Darien Lakes State Park - Parks Near Me - Darien Center, New York

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Spent two nights in the campground. Beautiful park with well maintained grounds. Staff was friendly and helpful. Would have given it five stars, but the bathrooms/showers are neglected. Showers need serious cleaning and there was a bad leak in the shower pipe in the one stall I used. read more

Darien Lakes State Park - Parks Near Me - Darien Center, New York

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The campground is inexpensive, however, as all state parks, there is a minimum stay of 2 nights. Good news? That's only ~$50, which is less than a hotel stay. Campsites are pretty close-quarters. Water spigots are plentiful, and bathrooms are as clean as can be expected. Campsites all have a fire ring with a built-in grill, but I brought my own which sits a bit higher, and worked better. But, you can get by without one if you're smart. Electrified sites have standard household outlets on them, so no need for a camper adapter unless you're using a camper :) Each site also has a picnic bench, which you can move around on the site. There's a pretty tightly enforced quiet hours (10PM-7AM), however, you'll generally get headlights at all hours of the night, so keep that in mind when arranging your site. Trains go by somewhere about 3 times per night, and are well-heard, but not inordinately loud. You do get away from a good portion of light pollution, I even got to see the Milky Way during my stay. I'd recommend it for a camp site. It's not as well stocked with amenities as a KOA would be, but it's far from a bad camp ground. Bath rooms/shower rooms are clean, but bring your own toilet paper. TP runs out it seems at around 8PM or so. read more

Darien Lakes State Park - Fire ring at Darien Lake State Park, with built-in grill. - Parks Near Me - Darien Center, New York

Very clean park with a lot of camping room and areas for walking. After 6, the park has free entry which is nice in the summer because it is light until later. There is a lake in the middle for fishing and there is also an area where you can swim, though it is a bit dirty.. Overall, a great local park! read more

This is a great state park. The campground is very nice. They have modern bathrooms with showers located throughout the park. The campground is laid out in a logical yet roomy manner. There is a nice lake with a swimming area/beach and a great picnic area. Highly recommend. read more

I could not disagree more with the other comment. What an awful stay I had there. Literally, within 5 minutes of being there, park ranger biked up and demanded to see alcohol in vehicle. A very unknown rule in that region of the state is that "no more than 3 alcoholic beverages per person, per day." Park ranger then proceeded to harass for about an hour on this rule after making us pour out what we had brought (even though all of age). While eating breakfast the next morning, he rode over on his bike again and proceeded to harass more and demanded to look through our belongings. Wasted money staying there while trying to save money vs. the Darien Lake theme park campgrounds. Attention all, if going for a concert at the Theme Park... stay there because camp grounds here were very tightly together, few trees of privacy... very disrespected. read more

I've lived out here my whole life and today was a reminder why a local like me doesn't go here. Normal people work 9 to 5 it's 90 out and figured my husband and I would go take a dip at darien lake. We get to the place at 630 pm walk to the beach the lifeguard smiling ear to ear as we take our sandals off and he says to us you only have 2 minutes! 2 minutes! Are you frickin kidding me! It's light and bright out till 9pm it's one of the hottest days of the damn year and they are closing! On the site it says open till 10 so you'd figure the damn beach would be open till at least dusk.Go figure why its going down hill from the past,You guys seem to cater to the people from out of town on vacation what about bringing in more money from locals?And or maybe work on putting up info on your site and at the entrace stating you guys close the beach at an odd time not even on the hour!You suck read more

The only reason I gave this place a 3 star is because of the bathhouses. The park itself was a very nice park but the bathhouses were gross. I have never felt so gross after taking a shower. read more

Perfect camping spot at affordable rates near Finger Lakes, Rochester, Buffalo/Niagra. Quiet, lots of locals, pleasant small lake, easy trails, unique frisbee golf course, tiny beach with lifeguard, flush toilets and showers. Contrary to prior post from another, 2 nights NOT required unless you reserve ahead--no need, not crowded. And contrary to another poster, the showers are perfectly adequate, it's a campground not a spa. Small town with grocery, liquor and excellent ice cream 3 miles away. For $22 a night in NY state near major tourist areas, I was more than pleased! read more

Second visit - for the price this is a nice park. We have a large RV and the spaces are large. Online reservation system is top notch and so easy to use. Quiet and peaceful park! read more

nice beach area but only allow swimming in a very, very small area - and very shallow, can't really swim, way too many people for the area, all you can do is stand in the water. Seems like they are on a mission to cut down all the trees in the camping area. wouldn't let us play horseshoes by our camp site, even got after the kids for throwing the football around. Stay away . read more

Very disappointed in my experience yesterday, I'm 6'5", and have been riding man of steel for years, probably been on the ride over 100 times in my lifetime. They make me stand next to a measuring stick, which the limit is 6'4". They tell me I can't ride the ride, which ok I get rules are rules, but there is no reason the cutoff on that ride is 6'4", I'm not Yao Ming, like I said I've literally been on the ride over a hundred times. It was more the manner I was told. The girl wasn't like "I'm really sorry sir, I'm just doing my job, etc. etc." just very blunt and rude. After I crossed the track, another attendant said I couldn't wait where I was standing and had to go to the other side of the gate, which I did to wait for my wife to ride the ride. After this, she proceeded to tell me I couldn't wait where I was standing and to move down another 20 feet....why?!?! I didnt see any disclaimer on my ticket that a bossy kid who lives with her parents had authority to tell me where I could or couldn't stand in the park to wait for my wife to finish the ride, especially for reasons not related to safety. Moral of the story: ridiculous policy that even the park employees who stamped our hands when we exited thought made absolutely no sense, the employees I dealt with were not the least bit nice, and I spent $50 for my wife and I to be told I couldn't go on the only really fun ride in the entire park because I'm 6'5"....will definitely never be back read more