<<Previous: Friendly Beaver Campground • Reviews Home • Next: Sned Acres Campground>>
Send your own campground review to That's Camping
Clarence Fahnestock State Park
Posted on Monday, August 11, 2008 -- Related Regions: New-York • Hudson-Valley-Southern-NY
Carmel, NY -
Stargazer gave us this review on 08/11/08. Dates of Stay: 7/2/08 - 7/6/08. Will You Return? No. What did you camp in? Tent - Size of Camping Unit:
Overall Campground Rating: not good.
What stood out? Good: Very quiet. Bad: Dirtiest campground I've ever seen; some sites are very poorly laid out; lack of concern of park staff.
Owners and Staff: State park staff -- there seemed to be less professional "rangers" than I usually see, and more "summer kids." (note: we have visited many parks where the "summer kids" are fabulous -- just not here!) Whatever the reason, I was very disappointed by the lack of response to our concerns about the condition of the park.
Camp landscaping and surroundings: The surroundings are very pretty. Very wooded, and the lake is surrounded by trees. Very quiet and peaceful. Unfortunately, the condition of the grounds took away from what could be a beautiful campground.
Overall Site Quality: terrible
Good sites: I can't provide specific numbers, but the ones further into the campground seem to be more level and usable. Stay away from the first few as you drive into the cg. Bad sites: Our site (15)was the worst I have EVER had in all my years of camping. Several fallen trees and spiny brush ran across the flat portion of the site (which, I imagine, used to be the prime spot to place a tent.) In order to make the site safe for our five year old, I spent an hour picking up broken glass littered throughout the site. Because of the fallen trees, we had to physically move the fire pit to make a flat surface, and shovel out all the remaining ashes, since the pit was not cleaned by the last camper. I received nothing more than a shrug from the manager on duty when I commented on the condition of our site -- no apologies or offers to make it right.
Campsite hookups: primitive tent, Campsite Descriptions: wooded, private, somewhat small, close to the road, picnic table, fire ring, highway noise, Maybe we just had a bum site, but I noticed many people in our general area having a similar crisis when setting up their sites. This cg is in serious need of a good chainsaw!
Cell Phone Service: Our cell phone worked very well in the campground and at the beach. There were some nearby areas in town that were a little iffy. I had both my personal cell (AT&T) and my work cell (Verizon) and they seemed to work equally well.
Seasonal Campers and Campsites: n/a -- no seasonals.
Clean restrooms and showers? no. Restrooms and showers need updating? yes. free showers. Are restrooms accessible from all sites? don't remember. Additional comments on restrooms and showers: The restrooms were the filthiest I have ever encountered. They were so bad that halfway through our trip, I began to favor the woods over the restroom! There was rarely toilet paper, the showers were so filthy that I was afraid to bump into anything, and other campers regularly used the bathroom sinks as their personal kitchen -- leaving meat wrappers, corn husks, and other trash in the sinks and on the floor. We were directly across from a restroom, and began to monitor the cleaning activities of the staff. They took out the garbage, and (only sometimes) refilled the toilet paper. In our five-day stay, the floors, sinks, toilets, and showers were untouched. On the second day, we tried the bathhouse on the beach side, thinking maybe we'd find an improvement. It would not be fit for this site to write the things I found in my shower stall. Let's just say we never returned to the bathhouse!
Activities and Amenities
lake, swimming, fishing, boating, boat rentals, camp store, snack bar, The beach area was fine -- we enjoyed the private, wooded surroundings and white sand. The lifeguards are attentive and responsible, and the water and sand seemed clean. Some people complained that the public grills were too far from the beach area, but we didn't bbq there, so I can't really comment. We had a nice time at the beach.
My only complaint about the beach is a logistical one: you must cross a busy highway to get to it (it's a long walk from the campground -- and too dangerous to cross by foot.)This park is very large, and the boat rentals require a drive to a different area than the beach. So if you are traveling with a family, like we were, you'll need to work out transportation logistics. (For intance, my husband wanted to fish while my son and I went to the beach -- since we couldn't walk back to our site, we would have been stuck if the predicted t-storm started a little earlier!)
What is nearby? restaurants, grocery stores, retail stores, ocean or lake, Nothing is super-close. You must travel 20-30 minutes into Carmel or Fishkill to find anything retail. Even coffee and gasoline required a bit of a jaunt.
Last comments: This park is very near our home, so we REALLY wanted to like it. I have tried to be as objective as possible -- unfortunately, it ranks as our worst camping experience ever. It was a holiday weekend when we visited (7/4.) I suppose some slack could be given for that -- except that we arrived a full 24 hours before the holiday rush (on a Wednesday) and it was clear that no preparations had been made for the upcoming weekend. The facilities and sites were filthy when we arrived, and stayed this way throughout our five-day visit. Such a shame for a park that has the potential to be one of the most beautiful in New York state.
Related Regions: New-York • Hudson-Valley-Southern-NY
Send your own campground review to That's Camping
Comments
The comment area is open for approximately one year after the review date.
Send your own campground review to That's Camping
<<Previous Review • Reviews Home • Next Review>>