Watkins Glen State Park

Great State Park and campground. Campground is wooded with tall trees and big lots. However, our site was somewhat narrow, a bit hard to get into, and on a slant making leveling impossible with the amount of leveling blocks I brought. From what I saw, this was not an issue in most of the other site. Facilities were nice and clean. Gorge trail, which is accessible from the campground, is beautiful and worth the visit. Looking forward to a return visit and perhaps a longer stay.

Very nice, quiet, campground, with a trail to the gorge. Round trip hike through the gorge was just over 2 miles. Check in time on our confirmation was 5pm but other brochure said 3 pm. Since checkout is 11 am it is likely that rangers would be flexible on checkin. If you arrive early, there is a large parking lot near the entrance where you could park any size rig and hike the gorge trail prior to checkin. Loved the campground and the gorge is spectacular! Google maps directed us to the wrong location for the park entrance, so check your route in advance.

This park has an absolutely amazing location to the Gorge Trail (in the SP), Watkins Glen (the downtown), Watkins Glen race track, and the Seneca Lake Wine Trail. The campground has access to the famous Gorge Trail (via the South Rim Trail) in about a 3-4 mile loop (even during the pandemic). The campground sits at the top of the hill (and the trails are below). So you can opt for a steep walk down or drive to the bottom (there are two different parking lots to access the Gorge Trail).

The campground here has a wonderful "woodsy" feel (as per other reviewers). The sites are extremely varied in size and privacy. There are a LOT of trees, but some spaces are easier than others. For example, some have trees in the middle of the space, some are lined with trees tightly, and others are wide open.

We stayed 2 nights in site 65 and two nights in 85. Both were in the Mohawk (electric loop). Site 85 was much easier to get into than site 65, but both were doable with a 25' airstream (if you are comfortable parking it!). If you want electric, this is the only loop to stay in (30A only). No water at any sites, but if you park close enough to a spigot, you can hook it up for 5 mins at a time to fill up, so no big deal there. The dump site is by the park entrance, which is brand new. Cell phone connection cut in and out a lot, but it was VERY serviceable for simple email. We were not able to pick up any TV channels.

Bathrooms are old but well maintained. They are currently open (with # of people restrictions). The pool in the park is currently open. Despite the high volume of people, the campground was very quiet and peaceful.

So much to do in the area, it is worth a 3-4 night stay, but could easily extend a week if you want to explore the area. As far as trails go, if you can handle 800+ steps, do the Gorge trail. It is incredible. It is a worthwhile 1-2 hours of your time. It is currently a one way trail, and people are very good about wearing masks and keeping distance. I highly recommend a weekday.

Everything is a very short drive away: plenty of delicious restaurants (Babcha's Pierogis, Cannoli Connection, Nickel Pits BBQ) less than a 5 min drive, farm stands (hello corn and peaches!) less than a 20 min drive, wineries (we loved Hermann Weimer & Red Newt) about 20-30 min drive, Seneca Lake (about 10 min drive to launch access), Watkins Glen race track (10 mins or less further up the mountain).

We stayed here for one night after being at the free Sugar Hill Fire Tower site up the road in early Oct 2019. The rate was for an electric only site and included the $5 out of state fee and reserve america fee. We had a nice, level spot and a fairly quiet night stay. This is a great campground to stay at for proximity to town and the fact that it connects to the Watkins Glen State Park trails. There was also a nice double dump station right on the way out with fresh water fills for added convenience.

Large park situated adjacent to the magnificent Watkins Glen Gorge – the highlight of the camping experience at this park. Stayed in the electric only, reversible Mohawk Loop. Other loops afford more primitive sites. Some Mohawk Loop sites may accommodate larger rigs, however use caution and choose you site wisely - maneuverability is tight and most sites can only accommodate a max 30’. Observed a larger 40’ TT attempt a tight back-in only to hit a pine tree and knock over a site marker in the process. Overall thee park offers spacious wooded site with picnic tables, fire rings and lots of space. Most sites appear reasonably level dirt and pea-gravel pads and drive. Only one bathhouse in the loop, with two showers and two toilets, was clean and basically state park standard. Note; the sign to the campground off of Hwy 14 is hard to see, and the approach road is a very steep ascent to the main park office gate. There are several gorge access trails within the CG, and park offers good walking within the camp area. Modern and new dump station and good Verizon cell service.

If you love to hike the outdoors then this is your campground. You can walk to two separate entrances to the gorge which is a fantastic hike. The only thing that I would caution campers with; is a few of the sites here would be very challenging to back your rig into, due to trees narrowing the spot closest to the electrical access. The bath houses were clean , The toilet stalls were immaculate, there are only two shower stalls, But the water was warm. Make sure you bring a bag with your stuff in it because there’s nothing to sit your stuff down on but there are plenty of hooks.

What a beautiful place and great place to hike. Our site was a bit tricky to get into but it was well worth it. The only way to get into this one with our rig was to drive in the loop the opposite direction of the one-way arrows. We found out from fellow campers that this is the only way to get into some of the sites as the angle into them is opposite to the direction necessary to back safely into the sites without jackknifing your rig or hitting trees. Hector Falls, Eagle Cliff Falls, Aunt Sarah Falls, and She-Qua-Ga Falls are all within a 2 - 3 mile radius from the park and are well worth the drive to see them. Also, a Superwalmart is only a couple of miles away too.

Our back-in 30-amp only site was big enough for a 33’ Class C with plenty of space left. The short hike to the nice bath house made it easier to outlast the rain. Being only minutes from the gorge trail, or a drive into town, this is a great park to stay at to explore the area. On top of location is amazing cell signal from AT&T and Verizon.