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NY STATE CAMPSITE PHOTOS 2.0
New York State Campgrounds Reopening

Before reading the following details on the reopening of NY State and DEC Campgrounds visit the official NY State Parks and DEC websites for their official statements. For reservations details see Reserve America.

This page attempts to fill in the missing details as much as possible to answer the many questions campers have. (See our Disclaimer).

Check Out

NY State Parks COVID-19 Updates (1)

NY State Parks COVID-19 Updates (2)

Department of Environment Conservations (DEC) COVID-19 Update

NYS DEC Campgrounds & Day Use Areas Facebook Page

Reserve America

New York State Campsite Photos Facebook Group Discussion

Reopening FAQ

Disclaimer

Effect on the 2020 Camping Season (NY State/DEC Campgrounds)

KEY TAKE AWAY: (Affects All New York State Campgrounds)

Last Updated: Jul 6, 2020 10:59am

State Parks run by OPRHP are NOW OPEN as of Monday June 1st for those with reservations only regardless of equipment type. At this time reservations only will be honoured. No walkups. See OPRHP Campground Guidelines below for rules in place for COVID-19. New York State Parks (OPHRP) have now reopened reservations for all dates starting on/after June 22, 2020.

State Parks run by DEC are NOW OPEN as of June 19th thru July 1st. See the list of DEC campground opening dates below. DEC campgrounds are open for those with reservations only. No walkups. See DEC Campground Guidelines below for rules in place for COVID-19. Reservations for the 2020 season at DEC campgrounds have now reopened reservations for all dates starting on/after July 10, 2020.

New York State Parks has temporarily lifted the 9-month reservation window restriction for camping and will allow for transfers of existing camping reservations into the 2021 season. If you choose to transfer, the change fee will be waived until June 11th for online transactions only. In addition, you may also make new reservations for the 2021 season at this time. Please note that there is no guarantee that you will get the same camping site or dates for 2021 whether you transfer or make a new reservation. They encourage online reservations as the Call Center is experiencing longer than average wait times.

 

DEC Campground Opening Announcements

Alger Island Friday June 19th

Ausable Point Wednesday July 1st

Bear Spring Mtn. Friday June 19th

Beaverkill Wednesday July 1st

Brown Tract Pond Wednesday July 1st

Buck Pond Friday June 19th

Caroga Lake Wednesday July 1st

Cranberry Lake Friday June 19th

Crown Point Wednesday July 1st

Devils Tombstone Wednesday July 1st

Eagle Point Friday June 19th

Eighth Lake Wednesday July 1st

Fish Creek Pond Wednesday July 1st

Forked Lake Wednesday July 1st

Frontier Town Wednesday July 1st

Glen Island Friday June 19th

Golden Beach Wednesday July 1st

Hearthstone Point Wednesday July 1st

Hinckley Reservoir Day Use Area Wednesday July 1st

Indian Lake Islands Wednesday July 1st

Kenneth L. Wilson Wednesday July 1st

Lake Durant Friday June 19th

Lake Eaton Wednesday July 1st

Lake George Battleground Friday June 19th

Lake Harris Friday June 19th

Lewey Lake Friday June 19th

Limekiln Friday June 26th

Lincoln Pond Wednesday July 1st

Little Pond Friday June 19th

Little Sand Point Wednesday July 1st

Long Island Friday June 19th

Luzerne Friday June 26th

Meacham Lake Wednesday July 1st

Meadowbrook Friday June 19th

Moffitt Beach Wednesday July 1st

Mongaup Pond Wednesday July 1st

Narrow Island Friday June 19th

Nicks Lake Friday June 26th

Northampton Beach Wednesday July 1st

North South Lake Friday June 19th

Paradox Lake Wednesday July 1st

Point Comfort Wednesday July 1st

Prospect Mountain Day Use Area Wednesday July 1st

Putnam Pond Friday June 19th

Rogers Rock Wednesday July 1st

Rollins Pond Wednesday July 1st

Sacandaga Wednesday July 1st

Saranac Lake Islands Wednesday July 1st

Scaroon Manor Friday June 19th

Sharp Bridge Wednesday July 1st

See reference HERE

 

Reopening Guidelines COVID-19 (OPRHP Campgrounds)

For the courtesy of other visitors and our staff, face masks must be worn when outside of your campsite area and all patrons shall practice social distancing.

Only registered campers will be allowed in the campground areas, no day visitors will be permitted.

In order to practice social distancing, we may need to move you to an alternate site in certain areas/loops.

Cabin, Cottage and Yurt stays that are between 7 - 14 days will be reduced by 2 days in order to sufficiently clean between reservations. You will receive a refund for unused days. Bring your own linens, cookware and silverware.

In order to assist us with enhanced cleaning of the accommodations, Check-in time is now 5 p.m. and Check-out time is 10 a.m.

There may be limited shower and/or restroom facilities and they may be closed periodically to allow for enhanced cleaning. We ask that all campers be patient while our staff makes your stay as pleasant and safe as possible.

Certain amenities may not be available. Playgrounds remain closed.

If you can, PLEASE pre-register to save time at check-in. Make sure your occupants are all listed!

See OPRHP COVID-19 Updates for complete COVID-19 guidelines.

See 2020 OPRHP Camping Guidelines for info on what to know regarding camping during COVID-19.

 

Reopening Guidelines COVID-19 (DEC Campgrrounds)

ONLY EXISTING RESERVATIONS WILL BE HONORED AT THIS TIME.

RESERVATIONS AND WALK-IN CAMPING ARE NOT BEING ACCEPTED AT THIS TIME.

As part of the COVID-19 guidelines, and for the courtesy of other visitors and our staff, face masks must be worn when outside your campsite area at any place where social distancing cannot be maintained. All patrons shall practice social distancing.

Only registered campers will be allowed in campground areas, no day visitors will be permitted.

In order to assist with enhanced cleaning, Check-in time is now 2pm and Check-out time is 10am.

There may be limited shower and/or restroom facilities and they may periodically be closed to allow for enhanced cleaning.

Use of facility amenities such as, but not limited to playgrounds, pavilions and day use areas may be restricted or prohibited at certain locations.

Retail sales such as firewood and ice as well as other services such as boat rentals may be restricted or prohibited at certain locations.

To achieve density reduction in our facilities, day use sales and bather capacity number will be reduced.

See DEC COVID-19 Updates for complete COVID-19 guidelines.

See 2020 DEC Camping Guidelines for info on what to know regarding camping during COVID-19.

 

Key Announcements

On July 6th reservations for DEC campgrounds reopened.

On July 3rd the DEC announced that new reservations for the 2020 season would be available as of 8am Monday July 6, 2020 for reservations starting on/after July 10, 2020.

On June 18th the DEC posted its COVID-19 Safety guidelines for campers.

On June 17th the DEC posted the reopening dates for the rest of the DEC campgrounds ranging from Fri June 19 to Wed July 1, 2020.

On June 16 Warren County and the DEC announced that some DEC campgrounds in Region 5 will be reopening Fri June 19, 2020. This includes Bear Spring Mountain, Buck Pond, Cranberry Lake, Eagle Point, Glen Island, Lake Durant, Lake George Battleground, Lake Harris, Lewey Lake, Little Pond, Long Island, Meadowbrook, Narrow Island, North South Lake, Putnam Pond, Scaroon Manor and Woodland Valley. Limekiln, Luzerne, and Nick's Lake would open on the Fri June 26, 2020.

On June 5 NY State Parks announced they would be reopening reservations for season 2020 as of 9am June 8th for all bookings starting on/after June 22, 2020. This will include all equipment types. OPRHP campgrounds only.

On June 4 late day, the DEC posted that DEC campgrounds would be closed to overnight camping through June 18. Therefore the earliest to expect DEC campgrounds to open is now June 19th or later.

On June 1st It was confirmed that all NY State Parks would be open to all existing reservations not just self-contained units.

On May 29th Reserve America on behalf of NY State Parks (OPRHP) sent out an email to campers with reservations in 2020 outlining safety guidelines for the reopening of State campgrounds (see below under the "Reopening Guidelines (OPRHP)" section).

On May 29 </a>OPRHP campgrounds are officially stated to open on June 1st to those with existing reservations on the NY Parks website.

On May 29 it was announced that NY Parks would be offering a limited number of full serve hookup RV sites for new 2020 reservations starting June 1, 2020.

By May 28 It became widely known that most OPRHP campgrounds would be only open to those with self-contained units. The exceptions so far seem to be Cayuga Lake SP and King Point SP. Only those with existing reservations are permitted. No walkups.

On May 26/27 NY Parks began indicating that state parks run by OPRHP would all open June 1st.

On May 26th the DEC announced that DEC Campgrounds would be closed to overnight visitations through June 7th. This suggests at least DEC campgrounds 'may' open June 8th although official opening dates have not been set at this time.

On May 24th Governor Cuomo announced that all State campgrounds may now reopen as of May 25 (Memorial Day) as campgrounds were moved to the essential services list.

On May 24th Bowman Lake Campground emailed campers that they would be offering a limited number of campsites on a walk-in basis beginning May 25th, but with guidelines. All campers must be self-contained with bathroom and shower facilities. By late day they reversed the decision to open May 25th. Gilbert Lake did essentially the same thing. The original mention of limited number of campsites being available as well as the self-contained units may be an indication of what is ahead.

On May 24th it was reported that the State Parks in the Finger Lakes Region will NOT be open tomorrow. Parks do not have opening guidelines and will not open until they have them.

On May 20th the DEC announced that all water access campsites remain closed until DEC campgrounds open. This includes Saranac Lake Islands Campground, Indian Lake Campground, Lake George Islands Campground, Tioga Point Campground, Forked Lake Campground, and Alger Island Campground.

On May 19th the Canadian Government announced that the US / Canada border closure has been extended until June 21st. This will effect any Canadians that have existing reservations or wish to camp this season in New York State.

On May 12 Reserve America announced that the 9 month reservation window restriction was temporarily lifted allowing campers to change 2020 reservation dates for 2021. Also campers are now able to make new reservations for the entire 2021 season!

On April 24th Reserve America announced that all State/DEC Parks would not be closed until May 31th but would open June 1st if they deem campgrounds safe to open. NY State Parks and the DEC do not yet should this latest change on their websites yet but would should see those updates shortly for the 2020 season.

On April 9th NY State Parks announced that all State/DEC Parks would not be closed until May 14th but would open May 15th if they deem campgrounds safe to open.

On March 31th Oneida County was the first region in NY to announce that the county's campgrounds will remain closed until July 1st. This would suggest campgrounds including Delta Lake State Park and Verona Beach State Park could be closed till summer although there is still some confusion regarding this matter. It is possible other regions will follow suit in the days ahead.

On March 20th New York State released orders that effectively closed campgrounds unless they were listed as an essential service due to the spread of COVID-19. They have since reversed this decision for RV Parks and campgrounds. You can read more about this HERE. This makes sense for permanent or semi-permanent campers who use their camper as their home. On the other hand state campgrounds are primarily used by those who are vacationing and therefore not likely to be classified as essential services.

 

For more questions and answers visit our Reopening FAQ.

Definitely join the New York State Campsite Photos Facebook Group Discussion for updates as they come in!

If you have any additional information to contribute please contact me at dave@campadk.com.

Thanks

Dave

 

Disclaimer

Please note the above information is sourced from offical agency websites of NY State Parks, the DEC and Reserve America, agency emails, park offices as well as input from individuals who have contact with campgrounds directly or the campgrounds themselves. These are NOT official comments from the park agencies. The purpose here is to provide as much detail as possible of the reopening as soon as information is available to assist campers who are trying to plan their 2020 camping season. All statements are to the best of our knowledge accurate. Links to all of the relevant agencies may be found at the top of the page as well as in the left column.