Lake Superior State Park (NY) review
Environment & Nature: 5
Available Activities: 3
Staff & Park Officials: 5
Accessibility: 4.5 (if you can get through hippies and not run any of them over!)
This park is amazingly beautiful!
The lake, the forests, and the rest… I couldn’t ask for more. Keep in mind this is just a regular state park with no campgrounds (at least none that I know of). The park offers no official trails but people still tend to take a hike through the woods and so should you! The main entrance leads either onto the beach or the dock. On any given day I’m sure the beach is packed and loud. The park offers a few (about 4-5) picnic tables and about 3 charcoal grills next to the beach/lake area, so if that’s what you intend to do get there early, otherwise you’ll be stuck on top of the slope away from the beach and next to the road. Sadly the park offers only two choices when it comes renting a mode of water floating transportation: a paddleboat for two and row boat for five – not kayaks or canoes . Pets aren’t allowed in them either, which I found lame… but whatever.
The dock is a perfect place to fish from on a quiet day.
On the weekend however, the traffic of people loading and unloading fish boats and kayaks is intense and the noise from the beach reflects less of a serene get away, and more of a kindergarten atmosphere. So, this brings me to why you should go through the woods away from the noise and into more serene area… that’s what I did! Aside from escaping into a more calm area, I found the water to be warmer near the woods rather than on the beach. I would however suggest, if you are an experienced swimmer and plan to drift into deep waters, get away from the beach view as far as possible — otherwise the annoying teenage lifeguards will wake the dead with the megaphones and yell at you. Do keep that in mind for the rest of us! Thanks
So what about the hippies?
This park is located in Bethel Woods, NY – the original Woodstock Festival sight. During this trip to the Lake Superior I encountered many of the 60′s creatures camping out on Dr. Duggan Rd (off of 17B) in the old-fashioned tent & station wagon shantytown. Apparently Phish was in town for a 2-3 day outing, so I doubt it’s like that for the rest of the year. It was a very pleasant surprise and one of those life experiences that are a must.
Overall, great trip!
And a fine catch for two:
hi, my friend and i are going off camping next tuesday but we dont have a car, does anybody know how to get to Bethel Woods, NY from NYC??
Hey, it’s kind of tough. Check out Short Line Bus ( http://www.coachusa.com/shortline/ ). It’ll take you from NYC to Bethel/Bethel Woods. But that’s just one part of the journey. You’ll still need to travel from the bus stop to the camp sights which could be difficult. Your best bet would probably be to take a bike with you and just bike to it BUT you need to check if the bus would allow you to bring one on board.
or call a cab?
Let me know how it’ll go!