Backpacking and Camping in the NY-NJ Metro Region

Site Wide Info

Home

Site Map

Search

Search Site by FreeFind.

CAMPGROUNDS - New Jersey

PUBLIC CAMPGROUNDS in southern NJ include Allaire, Cheesequake and Parvin State Parks, Bass River, Belleplain, Brendon Byrne (formerly Lebanon) and Wharton State Forests and Spruce Run Recreation Area. In the northern part of the state there are Delaware and Raritan Canal, High Point, Allamuchy, Wawayanda, Swartswood, Stephens and Voorhees State Parks, as well as Jenny Jump, Stokes and Worthington State Forests and the Round Valley Recreation Area. More information available on their web site. Camping reservation procedures.

To make a reservation, please contact the appropriate park, forest or recreation area office during normal business hours. Reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance of the reservation date in person at the area office; by mail using an overnight application form; or by telephone using a credit card.

Further information about these campsites, cabins and leantos can be obtained from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, State Park Service, PO Box 404, Trenton NJ 08625. 609-984-0370.

PRIVATE CAMPGROUNDS tend to be more expensive than state-run operations, and sometimes offer more amenities, such as nightly entertainment and laundry. Information on private campgrounds in NJ can be obtained from NJ Private Campgrounds Association, 973/875-4715 (8am - 4pm).

CAMPGROUNDS - New York

ADIRONDACK & CATSKILL REGIONS: State Campgrounds in these areas are operated by the Dept. of Environmental Conservation, which maintains 52 public campgrounds and associated day-use facilities. The rates are reasonable and permits are issued for available sites for up to a two-week period from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Reservations may be made for 1 to 14 nights (depending on campground and time of year). To get detailed information or to make a reservation for any campground, please call Reserve America, at 1-800-456-CAMP (1-800-456-2267), or on line at reserveamerica.com. For more information about DEC operated campgrounds and day use areas, call (518) 457-2500.

PALISADES REGION: (Rockland, Orange and Ulster counties). Camps run by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission include those in Harriman/Bear Mountain, High Tor, Nyack Beach, Rockland Lake and Tallman Mountain State Parks. To get detailed information or to make a reservation for any campground, please call Reserve America, at 1-800-456-CAMP (1-800-456-2267), or on line at reserveamerica.com.. Information can also be obtained by contacting the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC), Bear Mountain NY 10911. 845/786-2701.

SHAWANGUNKS: (Ulster county). Currently no camping is allowed in the Shawangunk Mountains (Minnewaska & Mohonk). Minnewaska State Park, 845/255-0752, is administered by the PIPC (see above). There is a private campground, Lazy River in Gardiner, 845/255-5193 (open mid-April through late October).

LONG ISLAND REGION: Camping is permitted in Hecksher Hill, Hither Hills, and Wildwood State Parks. Reservations: 800/ 456-CAMP. For information, contact Office of Parks L.I. Regional Office @ 516/669-1000.

For Nassau County Parks, call 516/293-7120. Battle Row County Park is the only one with tent sites.

There are numerous Suffolk County parks with camping facilities including Blydenburgh, Cedar Point, Indian Island, Sears Bellows, Smith Point and Southaven. Call 631/854-4949 for information.

TACONIC REGION: (Putnam, Columbia and Dutchess counties). For information on cabins and camping (Copake Falls, Rudd Pond, Fahnestock, etc.) contact the NY State Office of Parks/Taconic Region. 845/889-4100. To get detailed information or to make a reservation for any campground, please call Reserve America, at 1-800-456-CAMP (1-800-456-2267), or on line at reserveamerica.com.

FISHKILL RIDGE: Malouf's Mountain Sunset Camp part way up the Overlook Trail from the Sunnyside parking lot.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY: The Ward Pound Ridge Reservation (Cross River) has available tent sites, leanto shelters, fireplaces, water and toilet facilities. Call 914/763-3493. Mountain Lakes Camp (North Salem) has similar facilities, 914-864-7310 9 (not open summer 2006).

Good information on camping in NY in both private and public campgrounds is contained in the I Love New York Outdoors guide obtainable from the New York State Department of Commerce, 1 Commerce Plaza, Albany NY 12245. 800/225-5697 or 518/474-4116.

BACKPACKING - New Jersey

The two main areas for back- packing in NJ are the Appalachian Trail (see below) and the Pine Barrens, more recently known as the Pinelands. For information about backpacking in the Pinelands, contact the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, State Park Service, CN404, Trenton NJ 08625. 609/292-2885.

BACKPACKING - New York

Backpacking is allowed along the Appalachian Trail (see above), in Harriman-Bear Mountain State Park, in the Catskill Forest Preserve, and in Adirondacks.

HARRIMAN-BEAR MOUNTAIN STATE PARK. Camping is allowed only at the designated leanto sites scattered throughout the park. See the Trail Conference Harriman-Bear Mountain Trails map set. Fires are allowed in the fireplaces at the leantos, but wood is short and a lightweight backpacking stove is strongly recommended. Beaver Pond Campground

CATSKILL FOREST PRESERVE. Unless otherwise designated, camping is permitted on state owned land below 3500 feet in elevation and more than 150 feet of any structure, water source, stream, lake, road or trail. Leantos are excepted from these rules. A complete list of regulations, as well as clear indication of state-owned land is to be found in the Trail Conference Catskill Trails map set. A permit is required for groups of 10 or more, and for stays of three or more days in one location. DEC Campground Map

ADIRONDACK FOREST PRESERVE. Restrictions are similar to those in the Catskills, but the restrictions are imposed above 4,000 feet instead of the Catskill's 3,500 feet. A permit is required for groups of 10 or more, and for stays of three or more days in one location. For maps and guides contact the Adirondack Mountain Club, 814 Goggins Road, Lake George NY 12845. 518/668-4447. DEC Campgrounds

For group permits and information in either of NY's Forest Preserves contact the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (address/phone listed under Campgrounds-NY).

APPALACHIAN TRAIL

The "AT" provides 2,100 miles of backpacking opportunities from Maine to Georgia. In the NY/NJ area, the AT enters NY at the Connecticut state line north of Pawling. It follows a generally southwestern course from the foothills of the Taconic Mountains, through Fahnestock State Park and the ridges along the southern end of the Hudson Highlands. The trail crosses the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge, then continues west through Bear Mountain State Park. It ascends the summit of the Ramapo Mountains then extends through the valley to NJ, to the Kittatinny Ridge at High Point, and thence south to the Delaware Water Gap. Open fires are prohibited at many areas along the AT so take a backpacking stove. Camping is permitted along the AT in areas more than one-half mile from a road access and 25 feet from any stream or other water source within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. In NY and NJ outside the Delaware Water Gap NRA, backpacking and camping isallowed only at designated shelters and campsites. Overnight group size is limited to 10 (day hike use is limited to 25). For more information about these sites, see the Appalachian Trail Guide for NY/NJ, which is available through the NY-NJ Trail Conference.