Higley Flow State Park

Higley Flow State Park, just outside the Adirondack Park, provides you with a similar experience with camping in the woods with tall pines and leafy trees. There is good vegetation barrier between campsites and the campsites tend to be a good size. There are six loops of about 20 sites in a loop. Loops A, B and part of C have electric hook ups and the rest do not. Some sites have more sun than others, but even the shaded ones tend to have some sun during the day. Water spigots are scattered throughout the campground. Each loop has new bathrooms with four individual rooms. There are two bathhouses, one near Loop B and another near Loop D and E. There is a dump station and water fill up for trailers near the entrance, as well as a place for trash. Loop B has several sites that overlook the water and provide access to the water. Loop B is also across from the boat ramp and near the beach, while the other loops are further away. Loop E also has a few sites on the water.

If you have an RV bus or a really big trailer, you may find the roads rather narrow, twisty and sometimes hilly. Some campsites may be a challenge to back in to because of the narrow road. Some sites have pads that are uneven and some sites are just dirt. In Loop B there wasn’t a bad site and for the most part that is true throughout the campground. The loops further away tend to be hiller and some sites are small. Make sure to use http://www.campadk.com/campsitephotos/
to pick your site, since Reserve America doesn’t have detailed pictures on each site.

At site 40 we had two bars for Verizon with a cell booster and was still marginal. It appears other areas in the campground have better reception.

There are three sections to the reservoir here for paddling. The area around the campground has few camps, so it’s good for quiet paddling. Along the Raquette River there are camps on both sides, so you will have more motorboat traffic. We paddled in mid-summer during the week and didn’t have that much boat traffic. The area along the Raquette River is about three miles long from the dam to the end of the lake. You can also paddle below the dam on the river, as well as go to another remote reservoir above the Higley Flow.

Jakes on the Water is a lovely restaurant for lunch and dinner about 8 miles away towards Potsdam. We ate at Jakes, during Covid 19, on the lawn at picnic tables over looking the river. Potsdam, being a college town, also has restaurants. IF you are looking for things to do in the area, they are limited. If you want a quiet wooded setting on water then this is the place for you.

This is a beautifully run state park, very clean and with extra large sites. Site 43 is directly across the road from the boat launch. It's also very close to the beach, the playground, and a shower house. There are many nature trails here which are fun to hike , trail run or mountain bike. There's a small Nature Center as well. An ice cream truck comes by around noon most days. The beach is lovely but there are many small spots where you can swim off of a secluded private sandy beach. The fishing is supposed to be good as well but my husband didn't catch anything.