As many have mentioned, the rules are the rules and they are enforced. A mid-week camp out, and the place was very quiet. People were kayaking, the beach was open, and it was genuinely a pleasant experience. The camp does NOT sell firewood anymore, but just down the road is Davidson's. (that place sells everything you may have forgotten, even some local beers) read more

Mongaup Pond Campground - Hiking Near Me - Livingston Manor, New York

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Love this place! Beautiful pond and amazing campsites. We really appreciate that the sites are spaced out and you have privacy in your site. The bathrooms and shower facilities are always clean. Great beach and nice biking around the campground. There is an eagle that visits daily and is fun to watch. read more

Mongaup Pond Campground - Monguap Pond - Hiking Near Me - Livingston Manor, New York

I have been camping here for over 30 years. It looks just as good as it did back then only thing that has changed is the daily price. The staff is super helpful and wants to make your stay a good one so you keep coming back. I live in California now, but still find my way back every couple of years to go camping up in the Catskills. Thank you for maintaining the state park so well. read more

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Great campsite. Somewhat remote from main road and from Livingston Manor. Staff at booth are accommodating for late check in. Campsites are clean and spacious and most have water views. The sites are perfectly spaced and there is enough trees and shrubs between sites to give ample privacy. Livingston Manor has good restaurants and a nice "Main Street" area to visit. read more

Really cool camp ground with a beautiful pond but make sure to follow the rules. Especially arriving at 9PM. We drove in from the city and called in advance to let the staff know we would be arriving 10 min past 9. Luckily we got there with a few min to spare and we weren't the only ones to arrive late. In fact, there were about 20 people on line waiting to check in, that's prob what saved us. The sites surrounding the pond are beautiful, the bathrooms are in decent shape and were clean. Even if you don't get a pond site you won't be disappointed. We stood in a wooded site across from the pond and had plenty of privacy and the feeling of camping in the woods. The staff were helpful with letting us know how to get to different shops and towns. Get there before 9! Tip: Kenneth L Wilson and Woodland Valley both allow people after 9pm just make sure to pre-register Incase the security guard shows up to your site. read more

Mongaup Pond Campgrounds is a New York DEC campground that is beautifully maintained and is a must-visit for those looking to go camping. Rates are currently $21/night + $9.00 reservation. Be sure to reserve early as lake-side campsites will book out quickly during the summer months. You can also purchase day passes if you wish to use their grounds, which includes BBQing, kayaking/canoeing, sand beach, volleyball court, hiking, and more. What really makes Mongaup Pond stand out is the beautiful pond, which many consider a lake. It is also known to be the largest body of water in the Catskills. The campsites are very large and decently private so it doesn't feel like your living on your neighbor's campsite. Most easily accommodates 2 tents, a cement-walled firepit, picnic table, and plenty of additional space. Bathrooms are easily laid out so it is no more than a 2-3 minute walk, but hot showers (3 for men, 3 for women) are located near the front gate. Since Mongaup Pond is very remote, there are no stores/shops within proximity. To accommodate their guests, two trucks drive by, a blue bus that sells firewood (generally around 6pm), and a white truck serving as a mobile General Store selling a variety of camping accessories and food. During our stay, the blue bus ran out of firewood, so we had to drive to a neighboring campsite that had a very small General Store selling firewood for $8.75 per bushel, pretty pricey, but well worth enduring a bitter cold night. A ranger in a blue pickup truck drives around the campgrounds very frequently to make sure things are in order and safe. They are pretty friendly, so if you have any questions, just stand by the side of the road and wave them down. I will definitely revisit Mongaup Pond campgrounds because the campsites were very roomy, and the facilities were decently clean. Do remember to bring all your supplies (food and gear) as it can be quite cumbersome to find a substitute. read more

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Best place to be with family and friends. Time for just relaxation and enjoy nature. https://youtu.be/RcxozjO8CLc read more

Once again an amazing time at Mongaup. We went for an entire week and as per usual did not disappoint. Was surprised there were so many available spots (waterside) - although it's possible it was because it was during the week. Julie the groundskeeper was awesome. My husband passed away about 9 months ago and she was a gem helping us get our pop up into the site. My girls and their friend had another incredible experience. A special five-star shout out to Gary for helping us close up and depart on our last day!!! read more

You would wonder if they were even human... First and foremost; DO NOT SHOW UP ANYTIME AFTER 9:00pm. They stop checking people in at 9:00pm. If you arrive after, they will take the pleasure in denying you and turning you away.. even if you have a reserved site! They get off on this! We arrived Friday night at 9:20pm on motorcycles, the girl inside the booth told us since we hadn't checked in yet that we weren't allowed in.. Okay so the supervisor comes over. We explain to her that we experienced traffic, weather, and other circumstances that were out of our control, which was the reason for our late arrival. We rode 400 miles and had just arrived at the campground as it was getting dark. She doesn't care one bit, we explain to her about how tomorrow (Saturday) is expecting torrential thunderstorms within the Catskills and that we'd like to put our gear inside our tents at the site we reserved to keep our gear dry. She was well aware of the forecast and did not care one bit. Was smiling the entire time she was telling us that we can't come in. Sooo next comes the Park Ranger; possibly one of the most inhuman people I have ever met. Down-right despicable the way he treated us. They weren't allowing us in because quiet hours start at 10pm, we arrived at 9:20pm and could have set up in a mere 10 minutes. Instead, the ranger and supervisor tell us that we have to camp in the state lands 3 miles up the road (ended up being 12 miles, with 4 miles being a rocky off-road path). The New York Department of Environmental Conservation cannot possibly think turning guests away at night and sending them into the middle of the woods, away from all civilization and cellular service, is a good idea? What would have happened if a deer had run out in front of us while trying to find the state lands? What if someone handicap arrives at the campground after 9:00pm? There are many what-if scenario's that could play out just because DEC has a policy to turn away campers after 9:00pm. You are turning away guests that are in a new environment, with no cell service for quite a ways, while in the middle of the woods in the pitch black! It's 100% UNETHICAL!!! Absolutely disgusting how we've lost humanity. By the time we found the state land and figured out what our options were (it was 10pm Friday night during 4th of July weekend, all campgrounds were full) it ended up being 11:30pm that we passed by Mongaup Pond Campground again to drive another 3 hours to Pittsfield, Ma to arrive at 3:00am. Instead of enjoying the Catskills for the rest of the weekend, we cut our trip short and headed home Saturday. All because a couple people couldn't stick their necks out for 2 motorcyclists! Shame on them! Be careful! read more

My favorite camping spot in NY State. I need to get back this summer! Book early to reserve the camp sites that sit lakeside. It's an awesome sight to behold when you unzip your tent in the morning! It's a lovely spot, really. I have built many happy memories here. Showers, bathrooms & water spigots onsite, so no need to rough it out. They've also got a little truck that comes ringing at night stocked with camping goods like mosquito repellent, candles, firewood & ice-cream. They've got boat, canoe & kayak rentals. Camp sites are well situated so that you feel as if they're completely private. Quaint trails onsite & located in a great spot to explore the Catskills. Don't forget to pack your food & garbage into the trunk of the car at night, or you WILL encounter a pack of raccoons who will laugh at you & steal your stuff. They've got bears in that part of NY, too, so you definitely want to play it safe! read more

come here almost every year for the last 15 years of my life. Great for kids, shower facilities get a 7/10, i get the heebie jeebies when my any part of my body touches the tiles. Should get to the showers early so that you can get your fair share of the hot water. Boat rental was cool, but this year during memorial day weekend, they had some toxic algae growing in the lake and did not set up the dock or swimming net on the beach. read more

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This campsite was organized and clean. We camped in the F loop and had a wonderful view of the pond. Showers and bathroom were adequate and clean. Will camp here again. read more

I am a huge fan of Mongaup Pond and plan to visit annually with friends and loved ones. I just came back from my first weekend stay at this campground and left feeling very bereft of nature and the woods. It is a very relaxing environment with plenty of friendly smiles to go around. Anyone seeking to get away from the grind or in search of leaving the concrete jungle for a few days like myself, look no further. Remember to bring plenty of food, gear, comfortable padding to sleep on within the base of your tent, and you'll be set for your time there. I could've spent a few more days here and this is coming from someone who is hardly near the woods or considers street parks nature. What sets this campground apart is the affordability of renting out sites, the variety of activities available (kayaking, canoeing, beach by the lake, fishing, hiking, grilling, etc), and the convenient locations of the restrooms and water spigots. WARNING: This place is conducive to forging indelible and unforgettable memories. My only real caveat is if you're looking for a campground to be boisterous, stay up late with camp buddies, and playing music, Mongaup Pond is not the place for it. The rangers who patrol the grounds enforce a 10pm quiet hour. We were chastised and warned to get evicted off the campgrounds for being too loud, when in actuality, our group was not being obnoxious and inconsiderate of our camping neighbors. One particular ranger was very surly and hellbent on ruining our camaraderie and fun. Although this rule may seem appealing for camping families and those looking for a quieter isolated experience, in our defense, we were not very rambunctious and the unfriendly eviction threats held no merit. I would've given this place 5 stars if it weren't for the number of times this ranger abused his authority with us. Hope this review helps! read more

We went to Mongaup Pond campground with our two kids and another family and their two kids. The land and scene is so beautiful. The only thing is it pretty much rained all day that we didn't get to go boating or hiking. We stayed in a loop which was pretty much away from the pond but just a short walk. The sites were all different sizes, some were bigger and more spacious but all-in-all everything was well-maintained. They are a little close together so everyone can hear eachother's gatherings. The bathroom was clean and the showers near the beach was also pretty clean for public use, (maybe because it was raining - the day people did not visit). The workers who all seems pretty young, were great, helpful and friendly. The only reason we do not give Mongaup Pond Campground 5-stars is because of our encounter with a female ranger (on the younger side). We had seen her and another ranger walking around, which I thought was great, they can keep things safe, especially with no phone reception at all. But later in the day, our experience with her was awful. Apparently, my husband and son gathered wood that was already on the ground but still had green leaves on them. (We had also already purchased wood from the main office, so we had no intention on ruining the trees.) She came over and saw the gathered twigs and reprimanded my husband, stating that that is not allowed and we would be fined for each and every piece. This is fine and we totally agree. We are earth-loving people, we recycle, reuse, and conserve whenever possible. My husband stated that those twigs were already on the ground, she pretty much dismissed it and would not even hear it. She wasn't just stern but was rude about it. Now, if we were unapproachable, not amicable, and argumentative, I can see why she would feel the need for that abrasiveness. However, we were there for a good time, we had smiles on our faces, it was totally uncalled for. She gave the wrong impression to the children!! We had to tell them she was just doing her job, which as older adults we understood. We do not want them to have the wrong idea about people who are here to help and enforce laws to protect us and the earth. She could use additional training in common courtesy and know that just because you're in a position to enforce the law, does not give you the right to treat people like crap. (I don't know if it's because we are city-folk and do not look like the rest of the campers, but I will not even entertain that notion.) read more

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Went once Labor Day weekend 2013 and the spots were great in the E loop. It rained a lot but whatever dry time we had was great! I had a chance months earlier to drive through the grounds (the guys at the gate let me do this as I told them I was hoping stay at some point soon). We did see the rangers drive by a few times each day and at night but they seemed to slow down just long enough to wave and be sure all was well. The spots by the water are the way to go. Bathrooms and water a short walk from any spot at the worst. The sites are flat and far enough from each other in the E for the most part. I am returning for two nights solo in July in the F loop and cannot wait! Those sites seem a bit closer to each other but as long as I am on the water I can deal with close neighbors ... I think! Firewood and ice were about a 10-15 minute drive away, the grounds are clean and staff is helpful. My favorite grounds by far! read more

I was only at Mongaup twice but both times were great! Tons of rain the first time but good friends and a few tarps always help that. Spot 113 was large enough for a large family tent and a screen tent for over the picnic table. The second trip I went by myself and stayed in the F loop. Small spot but pretty secluded, right on the water. I kept to myself and was pretty quiet. The rangers were friendly but never seemed to bother anyone. The grounds are very clean and firewood can be brought on site. Ice within 15 minutes and a small town with a grocery is within 25. I just booked my solo weekend in August, we already have a 4th of July weekend booked. This is our spot for good!!! read more

We arrives shortly after 9 and were turned away from our reserved site. The stern gatekeeper proudly told us that she had already refused three other cars this evening for arriving after check in time. Can you microwave smores in a best western? You can, but they don't taste the same. What a disappointment! read more

Unfortunately, I had a terrible experience with Mongaup Pond Campground. We arrived shortly after 9 on Friday evening only to be turned down by staff--we hit traffic coming from the city and understood we arrived past the check-in time. However, staff was downright rude. It was such a terrible customer service experience--they refused to assist us with getting settled in another location and the manager refused to speak with us. We returned on Saturday to stay the night and problems with the staff and their attitudes continued. When we relocated on Friday we ran into multiple other groups of people who had experienced the same thing--being turned down in a rude and aggressive manner. read more

Very poorly managed. We arrived shortly after 9 pm on a Friday, and were received by very unprofessional and unhelpful staff who would not let us into the campground because it was past 9pm. The staff wouldn't even give us time to figure out what to do next. They just stood next to our vehicle telling us we had to leave the premises right away. It was such an absurd experience. My advise is dont camp here! If for any reason you need to interact with the staff you will find yourself with the most unhelpful and rude park rangers. read more

This place is like luxury camping after years of camping at Clarence Fahnestock Park (Carmel, NY). Before here, camping was drinking, eating, and staring at a fire for three days. "Luxuries" include a beach, lake, lakeside camp sites, canoe rentals, clean bathrooms (by the beach) and warm showers. The ability to use the bathroom and not have to fear a spider (or Jason Voorhees) attack was worth it for me. read more

I've been going here since I had diapers on. Great place for new campers to get into to woods without being too far from a shower. Great easy hike to waterfall and nice sized pond for swimming and kayaking. Go to with big groups. read more

Great and beautiful space. If you're looking to party all night and make noise, look elsewhere. This is for those of us who like camping in its true form: make the most of the daylight, and shut the eff up at night. Thankfully the rangers will kick your @ss out if you disrupt the quiet. Wanna booze and party? Go elsewhere. read more

1st time camping and truly impressed. Will definately come back and bring more friends and family. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!! Thanks Mongaup!!! read more

Very disappointing campgrounds. There were no showers in any of the loops or any facilities to wash dishes. Also the only place to get ice, beer, or some resemblance of food to replenish supplies was a depressing Mobil station 15 miles away from the campgrounds. Very sad place. We will happily return to North South Lake which has so much more to offer as far as state campgrounds are concerned. read more

I used to enjoy visits to this campground with my family as a child, we always had a great, peaceful time in the past. I had a solo site booked for myself, nearby to a few family members who all also had separate sites within occupancy limits. We all were going to be staying for three nights, leaving on Friday this week. Arrival was 7/6, today is 7/7 and we are currently all back home unexpectedly early, and will never be returning to this campground ever again. Last night we were harassed repeatedly by a park ranger who chain-smoked his cigarettes directly in our faces for the majority of our stay while he eagle-eyed us in a discriminatory manner, seemingly for being a larger group. He drove around and slammed the doors on his minivan nonstop during quiet hours. This occurred at multiple sites which were fully honoring the occupancy limits. In addition, early this morning, I and multiple other sites were legally evicted for "noise violations". I woke up to DEC on-site with legal eviction notices for many sites. Upon our initial arrival, the ranger asked me if I had ever been to Mongaup prior, I told him that I had indeed visited "a long time ago" in my childhood and teen years - he then proceeded to nitpick my words and argue with me about whether-or-not my last visit was "a long time ago" or not, informing me of his son's age as justification for the argument he created. After that, he told me that the neighboring guest next to my site was "one of them" in his words, I assume this means he was a fellow ranger or coworker. His exact words were, "He's one of us, don't piss him off" - in those exact words. By this morning, all sites, ours and other guests, were all legally evicted with the exception of one/two site(s). The noise violation was supposedly called-in by "multiple guests" in our area, however that doesn't make logical sense considering that mostly all of the guests in that nearby area were evicted today along with us. One of the only sites that didn't get evicted was the "offduty park ranger", who clearly didn't want a single neighbor - him and his family wanted their own private campground road without any other sites in line-of-sight. Our arrival was very wet and most sites were flooded out entirely, and the storm did not let up until late, so we did our best to keep the night calm and early as possible but with the late setup and weather, it was tough getting everyone fed and asleep by quiet hours but we tried our best. We drove from a few hours away, so we were hungry and had a camp to set up. At one point, while we were unloading wood, we were asked to move the temporary vehicle that had the wood despite no intention of it being parked there permanently. Multiple times I was disrupted by the park ranger in the chevy minivan, who would shine his headlights and flashlights directly into my site after quiet hours, park his minivan there and slam the doors, and stand in the darkness watching all of our sites, as well as a few others. At one point, from the darkness, he drove by yelling "YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED" - far louder than any "noise violation" that we were supposedly guilty of. Before his visits became a night-long occurrence, at one point I left my solo site (which was a completely silent site) to approach and speak with him to ask if everything was okay or if there was a safety concern that I should be aware of - at first he completely disregarded my inquiry about the safety of the current situation, and simply replied with "wow, astounding" or "wow, astonishing" - one of those two phrases was his only response initially as his stood aside his minivan in the darkness staring at campground guests smoking cigarettes. There were several times where he would lurk around in the darkness just watching us. By quiet hours, he had already harassed us several times and would repeatedly drive past. The safety of the guests at this campground is questionable, I am concerned for other's safety as the ranger we dealt with did not seem in a stable mental condition. 0/5 stars if I could rate with negative stars I would. I can directly back the claims that these people are inhuman. read more

Although the campground is beautiful and expansive, the staff is unprofessional and rude. Do not show up one minute past 9 pm or you will not by allowed onto the grounds despite paid reservations. You will be met with a bureaucratic answer as to the system has been shut down for the day and can't process anyone. Don't try to buy firewood past nine either because that seems to be impossible, as well. Thanks, Gov. Cuomo! Besides significant failure NYC transit's capital plan, you have have failed the parks, too. Support a campground in a different state! read more

Just got back from Mongaup State Campground (MC) and wanted to post my review of our first time visit, two-night, four-family, (10 people) two separate site, Labor Day stay. The park rangers and staff were very friendly and helpful and the groundkeepers keep the grounds impeccably clean and well-manicured, even after a busy holiday weekend. There are M/F flush bathrooms conveniently located about 100 yards from most of the campsites along with access to clean outdoor water faucets. You are discouraged from washing your dishes at your individual campsites, instead there is a very large stainless steel industrial, two basin restaurant style sink with H/C water that you can haul all your dirty dishes to, just remember to bring your own scrub pad and soap. There is one location with H/C showers near the entrance that are also clean and well maintained. Our two families shared site #75 on this trip which was plenty big enough for our two tents, gear and two cars. The entire site measured approximately 60' feet deep by 40' wide. Normally MC sell campfire wood but stopped due to Covid. They also stopped boat rentals for the same reason which was disappointing. There isn't a lot for kids to do at MC except runaround in the woods, explore the other empty campsites and visit the lake beach area but for 6-7 year olds from the city, this is a welcomed change of pace especially after an isolating and claustrophobic pandemic summer. ADVICE: Try to book a campsite adjacent to the HUGE lake if you can, the views from these sites are incredibly picturesque and scenic and I can imagine how great it would be to row your rental up to the banks of your campsite to grab a cool beverage, in better times! On the downside, the campsites are all fairly close to one another, you will be able to see and hear everything that goes on at the next site, so pray you have courteous neighbors. WARNING: Beware of purchasing wood from local residents selling campfire wood on the side of the road to unsuspecting campers as you approach the campground. We purchased a few bundles after we arrived that were recently split and refused to burn due to not being properly "seasoned". For the uninitiated, "Seasoned" wood needs to sit outdoor and covered for one year to dry out to burn property. It would be almost impossible to know the difference if you didn't know how to spot fresh verse seasoned wood. Thank god we both brought our propane gas cooking grills which we did the majority of our cooking on for our two-night stay. Luckily we stayed after a major holiday so the campground was at 50% capacity yet strangely 100% reserved online, we were probably the noisiest campers with our groups combined 4 kids. ADVICE: Although we packed a lot of anti-mosquito products, we didn't expect that FLIES and WASPS would cause us a lot of grief instead. Remember to pack something to mitigate these pests as well. ADVICE: remember to clean up all food and cooking items soon after you finish and store anything that you can't clean that evening in your car. Although we didn't see any bears, there were a few raccoons we spotted scurrying around our campsite at night. Be advised: There is NO cell service inside of the park. You will need to drive about 20-30 mins away to receive a signal again although there are payphones, I didn't check if they actually work. Overall our group of friends had a wonderful time at MC and can't wait to book our next camping trip there. Pros: Affordable and clean, well-maintained "Primitive" campgrounds. Cons: No Cell service, Campsites are close to each other which might work if you book with other families. read more

Horrible time!! I feel like I was harassed by the park employees. They complained about loud talking at 2'oclock in the AFTERNOON. From the first time, the rest of the day the employees kept passing by, staring at us, and stopping to make more complaints when there really was nothing to complain about. At 10:30pm there was one person sitting silently by the fire and the park employees came, put the fire out with buckets of water making a huge muddy puddle in from of the camp site, and insisted that, that person go in the tent and go to sleep at that moment. The employees are very rude and appear to having nothing better to do with their time then look for things to complain about. read more

My family and I have camped up the east coast. We were so disappointed with this campground. Its was loud until Midnight and the rangers could not handled the campers. the sites were so close and loud. We normally camp in new jersey and wanted to try a new place we were so wrong. Never again will we be back. If you want a noise and rude campers then camp here. Annie read more

This place is amazing but the rangers are very kuku strict. It was our first time going there and it will be the last time we put our foot there. If you fall from the boats a few times they will take it from you. Even though the boats where so cheap and light that if you went on a side you went over board. We asked a few times to bring garbage bags it never happen. So from our bad experience here I advise people to please never ever go there!!!! read more

Didn't have the best experience at Mongaup Pond. Although the campgrounds themselves were beautiful, the staff is very rude. We drove up 3 hours from NYC with our dog for the weekend, who has rabies tags. Even though the reservation confirmation I received via email AND the campground info brochure they gave us at the grounds BOTH said a rabies tag OR a certificate would be accepted as proof of vaccination, staff insisted I get a certificate before they would let us onto the grounds. This meant (since there is no wifi) we had to drive back to the nearest town (Livingston Manor) get get cell reception and obtain the certificate from my email, which took an additional hour of driving time. When we did get reception and read the confirmation email again - LOW AND BEHOLD - it said tags OR certificate. When I brought this up to them they continued to argue with me, told me they had their own policies (???) and made it out like I was the one with the problem. Pretty annoying. Won't be coming back here again. read more

I camped there several times but after this last trip I am never going back. Although quiet time is supposed to start at 10 pm, the campers across the lake from us were obnoxiously loud all night. It got worse when I was woken up by loud yelling and screaming at 3 am which continued for hours. Several of the campers with me complained. When I complained at the front office the young girl I spoke to told me she asked them to be quiet several times but she didn't have any back up so she couldn't do anything about it. Doesn't seem like a good idea to leave an inexperienced girl alone at a campsite with hundreds of campsites. Never going back. read more

This was our second year camping at Mongaup Pond and it was really great. We were in site B which does not have any waterfront spots (book early if you want go get one) but the people around us were all well behaved and the staff was fine. If you behave well, they don't bother you. They currently have a bear who has been hanging out by the recycling area so it's good to make some noise over there if you go to do dishes. He appeared just before we got there but saw some people and took off. If you are looking for a nice, peaceful campground off the beaten path, this is it. read more

Very nice stay here for a bachelor party. Beautiful location. I must mention -- and I do hope Mongaup staff reads this -- the rangers are aggressively annoying and constantly pestering you. Too many tents on a campground, where did your wood come from, etc. One ranger came up and started asking us about what time we arrived the night prior. He was looking for another group that snuck people in after hours or something. After he questioned us like he was some big bad ass (total micro-p). he realized he had the wrong group. When we arrived at 8:45 (we are from NYC) a pregnant lady holding a baby and a dog on a leash was devastated that she wouldn't be let in with her family because she didn't have vaccination papers for her dog. They left her standing outside the campground while the husband went in to tell the family they would have to find other accomodations. For GOD'S SAKE -- a lot of people come from NYC and traffic is terrible on a Friday. We left the city at 2:30 and took about an hour shopping in town, and didn't arrive until just before 9 p.m. We even called ahead to see if we could reserve some wood, and we not only got a very rude "Just get here by 9 or you're outta luck," Fortunately we did arrive with 15 minutes to spare. Give people a break. There is no reason to be such huge dicks! It's a nice spot, just respect the campers and I'm sure they will respect you back. read more