Guest Post:
I first heard first about this campground last year and I have been intrigued by it ever since. It is definitely New York style camping.
With two City Kids of her own, Amanda is a loyal City Kid Adventurer, so when she mentioned camping at Beacon with her family, it seemed to be a perfect opportunity for her to share her experiences with you.
Amanda lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and loves exploring the city with her two daughters. Thanks, Amanda!
Malouf’s Mountain Sunset
City-Kid Review:
There were caterpillars and ladybugs everywhere and we got to hold them in our hands! Oh, and we made s’mores in the firepit!
My youngest city kid wanted to spend her fourth birthday in the woods camping. We read about Malouf’s Mountain (don’t let the archaic website deter you) and it seemed like the perfect place for our first family camping trip.
We took the Metro North Hudson River Line to the Beacon station where we were picked up by the campground’s green bus and taken to our trail head. There are three different hikes to choose from ranging from a half hour to five hours and we choose the middle option which was about two and a half hours. While we were enjoying our hike in to the campground, they brought our gear and packs to our camp site. You can either choose a primitive site or a platform site. Since this was our first camping trip with the kids, we opted for the platform site just in case of rain, but I think we would have enjoyed either site. The platform site fit our six-person tent perfectly.
There was a cooking cabinet with two gas burners and all the essentials for cooking on the platform. Ahead of time, we could request the meals we wanted to cook and each day they gave us a cooler with the day’s food and S’MORES. Just outside the platform, there was a fire pit and fire wood. A short walk away was the bath house, where there were bathrooms, sinks, and even warm showers.
We spent two nights enjoying the campsite and hiking around. Our city kids loved every minute of our trip and can’t wait to go again. I loved the canopy of green above us, waking up to the sound of the birds each morning, and watching my kids enjoy nature. The last morning we hiked out on the shortest trail instead, which was perfect length and challenge for the kids to enjoy. The green bus took us back to the Beacon station where we headed back home to the city by train.
Need to Knows:
They are open for camping season from mid-April till the end of October and start taking reservations a few weeks before they open.
The campground is only hike in and hike out, with the shortest hike being a half hour.
My six year old hiked almost the whole way on her own on the two and a half hour hike in (Access Point 2), but my four year old enjoyed the hike from her Daddy’s shoulders most of the way! There are parts of this hike that are hard, especially for children under 6. On Access Point 2 there is a nice stream in the beginning of the hike and mid-hike there is an amazing view of Beacon and the Hudson River, which made the hike worth the challenge.
If you don’t already own a tent, you can rent one from them.
There is drinking water available on site and also a vending machine.
Location: Beacon, NY. For a map and link to their website, click here.
Top-Tip
Malouf’s Mountain’s Facebook page is active and a better source of pictures and information than their website.
Have you got a favorite NY camping place? Do share with us in the comments section.
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