Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Review of ARA Lake George/Schroon River Resort

I definitely didn't take enough pictures this time! As usual, when I plan an outdoor event, it rained.  I admit, when I first entered this campground, it was not what I expected from a fancy time share type, but then I stopped and thought, but this is exactly what I expect in an Adirondack resort! It's mostly wooded sites, which I love. It has a small in ground pool which was cold, but it's early in the year. It offers cabins, five of them, but it mostly caters to the big rigs. Most sites are pull though and size varies. There were very few tent or pop-up sites and they were TINY. I would not tent at this location.  The upper level is the area for the big rigs and it is full hook-ups. We were there the first weekend in June 2016 and that section was fairly full. Being more of a naturalist myself, I don't care about hook-ups. I chose a spot down by the river where there was access for our kayaks. It was near the beach. And it was almost empty!  Nobody comes here to use the river or the beach by the looks of it.  That suits me fine. I had nobody across form me, or next to me on either side and I had a waterfront site!  The waterfront sites only have 30 amp electric and water, no sewer, so everybody stays up on the hill. Silly them! I liked this little resort, it was old fashioned, the rest rooms were clean but not new. There were trees still! It was quiet, the workers were very friendly and helpful. The river was that golden brown color of the Adirondacks. I will definitely go back again.
restrooms in the back of the office
restrooms behind the office
showers behind the office, water is well water and very full of iron, the wall was not dirty, just some iron staining.
shower area, cute rustic doors on shower stalls.
playground
view of sites from back of office, these are the upper level big rig sites with full hook-ups
another view of full hook-up sites
lounge. they let you borrow DVD's for free. I don't take a DVD player camping, but then again, I have no young kids, but I still don't think I need DVD's. Nice touch for the full hook-up folks tho.
my friend and her son at the beach, we had the whole beach to ourselves.  a little steep, but very nice and sandy and clean. There were a few lounge chairs to use. The swimming area was small and parental supervision should definitely be required as it always should be when children are in the water. The pool was more poplar than the beach. Go Figure?
I was standing in my site looking through an empty site to the one beyond. The sites down by the water were quite large.
my water view. yes, it as raining as usual for me.
They had canoes you can rent located down my the beach.
The sites come with a picnic table and fire ring. My site had a fire ring of rocks. I like the old-fashioned rustic stuff. If you aren't a rustic type and can't cook without a grill on your fireplace, make sure to check out your site's fire pit before claiming it.
Here's the view of the top of the beach from inside my truck window because it was raining too hard to get out and take a real picture.  

site map, I'd stay in the 99 through 120 section if you are a naturalist. 



Are eggs served with the combos?

This picture was taken of a nest over the concessions stand at Gifford Pinchot State Park in Pennsylvania over Memorial Day weekend 2016

Gifford Pinchot State Park Camping Area Review

We stayed at Gifford Pinchot State Park Camping Area in Pennsylvania over Memorial Day weekend 2016. The weather was great, hot actually. The campground has a small swimming area and the water was a bit smelly. Conveniently you can use the day use beach for free instead.  This lake is quite large and offers many opportunities. Fishing is very popular here, as is kayaking.

campground beach

The bathrooms in the campground area were a bit old and in need of some repairs and updates. they were swept periodically but not exactly clean. However, it was probably one of the busiest weekends of the year and it wasn't bad, all things considered. Unlike the day use area, there was PLENTY of hot water. That's a big bonus to me.
view into ladies room toilets and showers in camping area
shower stall in camping area.
one boat launch for non-motorized water craft, note they provide racks to hold boats.
this shows proximity of parking to water at boat launch 
this is one of the yurts that is available to rent.
view of my friend leaving the boat launch in my kayak
my one complaint is the amount of plant material and material suspended in the water. On the other hand, if you like to fish, that is great for the fish, not so much for me.
This is my campsite. Both the tent and trailer are on my site, it's not that there are two sites very close together. Most of the sites seem to be fairly spacious, but they are varied in size. I saw a few sites for the big rigs that were huge, and a few that I can't imagine a 4 person tent could fit on. 
The dump station is easy to access and has a large turn area. It was very clean as dump stations go.

Gifford Pinchot State Park review of day use facilities


We stayed at Gifford Pinchot State Park over Memorial Day weekend ( 2016). Although we stayed at the campgrounds, the park has an amazing day use facility as well. Not being a native Pennsylvanian, I was shocked to find out that there was no admission fee to enter the park and no toll booth for day use. There are multiple entrances depending on what you would like to do. If you want to picnic and swim, you go to one location. They have a HUGE swimming area. They allow floats! There are no lifeguards so it is a "swim at your on risk" beach. The park staff does keep a general eye on the visitors, but it was not oppressive. I was there on a 90 degree Holiday weekend and there was still plenty of room. This is a huge park.  There are boat rentals, boat launches, picnic areas, a concession stand ( although $7 for a hot dog is obscene),  There are a few disc golf courses, a few pavilions, hiking trails, very clean and modern restrooms, showers ( ice cold showers that is!).  

see blog for reviews of camping areas



modern but ice cold showers
clean and modern bathrooms
pavilion
panorama from boat launch at day use park
picnic area at day use park without swimming area
340 acre lake
swimming area and picnic park

Sixspotted Tiger beetle mistaken for Emerald Ash Borer

So over Memorial Day weekend I was camping at Gifford Pinchot State Park in Pennsylvania and the staff mentioned that there were a number of trees being taken down around the park due to the invasive species " Emerald Ash Borer".   Well I'm an avid camper and I have never seen one up close, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw this emerald green bug land a few feet away from me!  I've been following rules about not moving firewood due to this little bug!  So I jumped up and snapped pictures. When I verified my species, I found out that it wasn't an Emerald Ash Borer at all. It's a Sixspotted Tiger Beetle. So now I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad that I was wrong. I'm glad the Emerald Ash Borer isn't that populated that it's visiting campsites and introducing itself, but I am a little disappointed that  haven't actually seen one yet.