We love a good day trip to the Cloisters or Fort Tilden as much as the next New Yorker, but there’s nothing quite like getting upstate for a camping trip to immerse yourself in nature and deeply reset. As soon as you enter the countryside the noise and chaos of New York City dissolves. You’ll trade glass towers for ancient mountains, hot dog carts for white-tailed deer and neon for a canopy of deciduous trees that make the Fall here famous. Whether you need an analogue weekend, some mountain air, or just a still place in the woods for you and your yoga mat, there’s a Hipcamp in New York that’s perfect for your next camping or glamping trip.
From New York City, the Hudson River Valley is the go-to nearby camping retreat (and its accessible on Metro North). The rolling farmland and adjacent Catskill Mountains make it easy to get off the grid, while eclectic towns like Woodstock, Kingston and Hudson means farmers markets, cafes and breweries are still nearby. The Hudson River Valley hosts food and art festivals throughout the year to weave in to your trip. Visitors to this region can break a sweat on the steep hiking trails of the Catskills, or hop on the Appalachian Trail as it traverses Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks.
Pro tip: for Hipcampers based in New York City, here are the best camping gear rental stores in the Big Apple.
The Hudson River continues north to its headwaters in the Adirondacks, a mountain range so relaxing they had to name the most comfortable lawn chair ever after it. And relax you will, as this range hosts 3,000 lakes perfect for swimming and boating, including the iconic Lake George and Lake Placid. The Adirondacks feature New York’s highest peak, Mount Marcy, at 5,344 feet. Visitors this far north will notice the deciduous trees of Central and Southern New York slowly give way to pine, spruce and eastern hemlock conifers. The Adirondacks are a perfect getaway away from nearby Syracuse and Albany.
For what are arguably New York’s most spectacular natural features, head to the Finger Lakes region, a series of long, thin, glacier-carved lakes near Ithaca. Here you will find a variety of canyons, gorges, and glens with waterfalls and mossy cliffs at sites like Letchworth and Watkins Glen State Parks. The Finger Lakes host 130 vineyards, and the banks of Seneca Lake are known to produce some of the world’s best riesling. Visitors to this region are also a short drive from Rochester and the shores of Lake Ontario.
New York’s largest state park lies to the West at Allegany State Park. Allegany features deep forest, calm lakes, caves, miles of trails and even a few resident black bear. Come winter it’s a cross-country skiing and snowshoeing destination. The North Country Trail crosses through Allegany Park with day-hike or overnight potential. Allegany is just south of Buffalo, making it a great home base to visit Niagara Falls State Park and take a culinary pilgrimage to the origin of the buffalo wing.
Ready to book? These New York Hipcamps are our go-to camping and glamping sites for nature retreats, creative inspiration and deep chills away from the big city.
Fun Facts:
‘Going Up The Country’ by Canned Heat became the unofficial theme song of Woodstock Festival when performed there in 1969. It remains a camping trip playlist essential today.
The Adirondacks form the southern border of the Eastern forest-boreal transition zone, an ecoregion that blends coniferous softwoods with deciduous broadleaves more common to the south.
Saratoga Springs, near Albany, has been home to naturally carbonated mineral water spas since the Victorian era, when New York’s high society would travel by horse-drawn carriage to bathe in these bubbly waters for weeks at a time.
NY – Unwind Upstate
We love a good day trip to the Cloisters or Fort Tilden as much as the next New Yorker, but there’s nothing quite like getting upstate for a camping trip to immerse yourself in nature and deeply reset. As soon as you enter the countryside the noise and chaos of New York City dissolves. You’ll trade glass towers for ancient mountains, hot dog carts for white-tailed deer and Read more...
We love a good day trip to the Cloisters or Fort Tilden as much as the next New Yorker, but there’s nothing quite like getting upstate for a camping trip to immerse yourself in nature and deeply reset. As soon as you enter the countryside the noise and chaos of New York City dissolves. You’ll trade glass towers for ancient mountains, hot dog carts for white-tailed deer and neon for a canopy of deciduous trees that make the Fall here famous. Whether you need an analogue weekend, some mountain air, or just a still place in the woods for you and your yoga mat, there’s a Hipcamp in New York that’s perfect for your next camping or glamping trip.
From New York City, the Hudson River Valley is the go-to nearby camping retreat (and its accessible on Metro North). The rolling farmland and adjacent Catskill Mountains make it easy to get off the grid, while eclectic towns like Woodstock, Kingston and Hudson means farmers markets, cafes and breweries are still nearby. The Hudson River Valley hosts food and art festivals throughout the year to weave in to your trip. Visitors to this region can break a sweat on the steep hiking trails of the Catskills, or hop on the Appalachian Trail as it traverses Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks.
Pro tip: for Hipcampers based in New York City, here are the best camping gear rental stores in the Big Apple.
The Hudson River continues north to its headwaters in the Adirondacks, a mountain range so relaxing they had to name the most comfortable lawn chair ever after it. And relax you will, as this range hosts 3,000 lakes perfect for swimming and boating, including the iconic Lake George and Lake Placid. The Adirondacks feature New York’s highest peak, Mount Marcy, at 5,344 feet. Visitors this far north will notice the deciduous trees of Central and Southern New York slowly give way to pine, spruce and eastern hemlock conifers. The Adirondacks are a perfect getaway away from nearby Syracuse and Albany.
For what are arguably New York’s most spectacular natural features, head to the Finger Lakes region, a series of long, thin, glacier-carved lakes near Ithaca. Here you will find a variety of canyons, gorges, and glens with waterfalls and mossy cliffs at sites like Letchworth and Watkins Glen State Parks. The Finger Lakes host 130 vineyards, and the banks of Seneca Lake are known to produce some of the world’s best riesling. Visitors to this region are also a short drive from Rochester and the shores of Lake Ontario.
New York’s largest state park lies to the West at Allegany State Park. Allegany features deep forest, calm lakes, caves, miles of trails and even a few resident black bear. Come winter it’s a cross-country skiing and snowshoeing destination. The North Country Trail crosses through Allegany Park with day-hike or overnight potential. Allegany is just south of Buffalo, making it a great home base to visit Niagara Falls State Park and take a culinary pilgrimage to the origin of the buffalo wing.
Ready to book? These New York Hipcamps are our go-to camping and glamping sites for nature retreats, creative inspiration and deep chills away from the big city.
Fun Facts:
‘Going Up The Country’ by Canned Heat became the unofficial theme song of Woodstock Festival when performed there in 1969. It remains a camping trip playlist essential today.
The Adirondacks form the southern border of the Eastern forest-boreal transition zone, an ecoregion that blends coniferous softwoods with deciduous broadleaves more common to the south.
Saratoga Springs, near Albany, has been home to naturally carbonated mineral water spas since the Victorian era, when New York’s high society would travel by horse-drawn carriage to bathe in these bubbly waters for weeks at a time.