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Kenneth L. Wilson State Park
Mount Tremper, NY
- Dates: October 9–12, 2014.
- Site Number: 064
- Vibe: Wonderful fall camping in large and wooded sites.
- Weather:
- Thursday Night: dark and chilly.
- Friday: Cool and crisp.
- Saturday: Light rain and later overcast.
- Sunday: Crisp and cool.
- Pros: Closest Catskill Park campground to NYC. Large wooded sites set in a pretty valley surrounded by mountains. Close to Woodstock & Phoenicia.
- Cons: Not much to complain about: no swimming, the showers (located by the former beach) are somewhat distant, and the weather was quite cool.
- Verdict: Glad to have finally camped here. Worth returning to.
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Steve's Review:
We had tried several times previously to camp here, but we were rained out twice and cancelled the last time once we realized that the creekside swimming area had been permanently closed. We had even toured the campground several times to check it out. The campground has really beautiful wooded sites— they are quite large! In Loop C, sites 46–72 are nicely separated and woodsy. Gord loves the fall colors. The large field for activities appealed to Ben. The lack of swimming precludes a summer stay here, but there is tubing on the Esopus River in nearby Phoenicia. That said, Kenneth L. Wilson is a fantastic fall camping site.
We arrived late, about 7:00 PM, on the last open weekend of the camping season. After quickily setting up the tent and sleeping bags & pads, we ate at Catskill Mountain Pizza in the charming nearby village of Woodstock. Back at the campsite, the local owls began hooting at 10:30 PM. Thursday night was CHILLY!! It was so cold, even putting your head inside the sleeping bag was not enough. I had a hat, but my fingers were freezing and sleep was fitful.
Friday: We checked out Woodstock after our showers. Then, we drove to Bread Alone in Boyceville, which was fantastic! The bread is great and the baked goods are to die for. Later, we drove to Margaretville, NY to shop at Freshtown. Maragretville was severely damaged during Hurricane Irene in 2011. The storm sat over the Catskills, dumped several inches of rain, and the East Branch of the Delaware inundated its floodplain. Freshtown was destroyed and the adjacent CVS completely collapsed. We've visited a couple of times since and try to support the town's recovery. In addition to the groceries, we bought knit gloves and that made all of the difference. I bought three excellent beers: Southern Tier's Robust Porter, Brewery Ommegang's Hennepin Saison, and Keegan Ales' Joe Mama's Milk Stout. Found a payphone at the campground. Back at camp, we ate burgers, dogs and sausages. We slept soundly.
Saturday: Gordon's friend Kelly arrived at 8 AM! After breakfast (eggs) in the sprinkling rain, we went to Kingston to watch a movie. We let Kelly give the directions—which meant we took a detour south via New Paltz amp; Esopus! Along the way, we had some nice views of the Hudson. We also saw nice views of the Ashokan Reservoir from the Glenford-Wittenberg Road. Back at camp, in the late afternoon, we snacked and waited for Joe, Kelly's dad, who arrived at 6:30. We ate leftovers and made twisted smores.
Sunday: After packing out, we visited Kelly's family at their home.
—SBW
