Camping and the towering skyscrapers of New York City may not seem to go hand in hand, but campgrounds near the metropolis provide an economical alternative to high-priced hotels and out-of-the-way motels. Public transportation into the city serves two of the campgrounds, so you can leave the car at home. Others require a drive or ferry ride.
Two of New York City’s boroughs claim National Park campgrounds. Gateway National Recreation Area, a collection of smaller parks and historic sites, spreads across Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York and Sandy Hook in New Jersey. Four units within the park -- Sandy Hook, Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and Jamaica Bay -- have campgrounds. Campsites are typically primitive, with a picnic table, a fire ring and a grill. Floyd Bennett Field provides a limited number of sites for RVs. Public transportation stops outside the campgrounds at Fort Wadsworth and Floyd Bennett Field, delivering riders to transfer points into New York City. Sandy Hook is served by two ferries in the summer.
At Cheesequake State Park in Matawan, New Jersey, hiking trails wind from coastal marsh to hardwood forest, and anglers try their luck for freshwater fish at the 6-acre Hooks Creek Lake or go crabbing at the Crabbing Bridge. Primitive sites at the park’s 53-site campground have picnic tables and fire rings for tents and RVs. Amenities include a modern bathhouse, shared water spigots and a dump station. At Mahlon Dickerson Reservation in Lake Hopatcong, tent and RV camping areas are separate, and an extensive trail system for hikers, bikers and equestrians winds through the reservation. Tent campers can choose from a traditional site or an Adirondack lean-to, and RV-ers enjoy paved pads, electric and water hookups.
New York State operates 32 parks on Long Island, but not all have campgrounds. Wildwood State Park on the sound side of the island has primitive sites for tents and improved sites for RVs. Amenities at the 600-acre park on a bluff overlooking Long Island Sound include a swimming beach, picnic areas and a playground. A half-mile-long Atlantic Ocean beach, basketball and tennis courts, a fun zone for kids with a skate park and two swimming pools are the highlights of Nickerson Beach Park on Lido Beach in Nassau County. At the park’s campground, 74 sites -- most with full hookups -- accommodate RVs while 13 sites welcome tent campers. A modern bathhouse is nearby.
Croton Point Park covers more than 500 acres on a peninsula in the Hudson River. The Croton-on-Hudson park is the site of a 7,000-year-old oyster shell midden and wine cellars that may be the oldest in New York State. Its swimming beach and pool are open seasonally, and a boat launch and fishing area serve watersports fans. Tent sites have no hookups, but RV enthusiasts can choose from full hookup sites with 30- or 50-amp electrical service. The 4,700-acre Ward Pound Ridge Reservation has lean-tos and tent sites. Harriman State Park, on the west side of the Hudson, has 200 miles of hiking trails, two beaches, numerous lakes and two primitive campgrounds. Lean-tos, available on a first-come, first-served basis, are scattered along the hiking trails.
