Cayuga Lake State Park

This summer we continue to explore the New York Finger Lakes area with a stop on Cayuga Lake. We camped for 4 days at Cayuga State Park, and we got to enjoy a little bit of the summer-lake life.

If you have ever spent a week's vacation on a lake, you will know that life moves a little bit slower at the lake. Mornings start out with walks along the lake, and saying "hello" to the neighbors you pass along your way. Afternoons are spent kayaking on the water or riding bikes and evenings enjoying the cool breeze off the lake.

Cayuga State Park is located on the north end of Cayuga Lake between Seneca Falls and Ithaca in the heart of the New York Finger Lakes Region. The park has 277 campsites, 34 with electric hookups. Park amenities include: a boat launch, camping cabins, 2 large playgrounds and a beach for swimming.

Our only complaint with the park is that the sites with electric hookups are located along the main road and traffic can be a little noisy during the day. We did not notice the noise too much at night. The non electric sites are located more remotely.

See You Down the Road
Zephyr Travels

The electric sites are on the east entrance closer to the lake and road, hence more noise, but that didn't bother us. The west entrance non-electric section is huge and basic but well treed. Few campers there in early June as the sites are very damp during the rainy season and many tend to hold water. We suggest driving around and finding your potential site ahead of time. Nice paved paths to walk lakeside. Showers clean and water warm. A shout out to the Girl Scouts who have a collection bin and gather the recyclable cans and bottles for fundraising while providing an important service.

We needed a place to tent camp for the night in October on our way through and stopped here. They were shutting the campground down for the season and only the electric loop was still open; we had to pay the additional fee even though we were in a tent. This loop is right on the highway and noisy on and off through the night. Bathroom/showers were clean and nice and we did enjoy a walk on the paved path along the lake. If you're from out-of-state, be aware of additional fees and hidden transaction fees beyond what was obvious on their website.

We camped here for 2 nights. We found this campground a convenient location a few miles from i90. The staff were very friendly and the grounds were well kept. While we were there, lawn mowing and grounds maintenance was being done. We had a 30 amp electric hookup. Good Verizon service and lots of OTA TV channels. The shower room had good showers but the exhaust fan didn't seem to be doing anything except make a lot of noise, mirrors and floors through out bathroom were wet with condensate and steamed up. There was an available dump station and potable water station.

The location of this campground is great; its close to several wineries and right across from the lake. You cannot see the lake from your campsite, but it is within walking distance. There is little privacy between sites. We had electric and had water but could only use it in 5 minute increments, which was fine.

The campground is located right alongside a busy road, so the sounds of the cars going by was noticeable but didn't bother us much. It is hard to find State Parks in NY that have electric hook-ups, so this was a good find. The sites were leveled, and for the most part well-maintained. The grass was a bit tall, which I think contributed to the amount of bugs.

We would camp here again, based on location.