SP Campground Review – Letchworth State Park, Perry, NY

August 9, 2017 by libertatemamo 11 Comments

A large, forested campground with some great (and some not so great) sites at the amazing “Grand Canyon of the East” in Upstate NY.

Link to campground here: Letchworth State Park, Perry, NY
Link to map location here: Letchworth State Park, Perry, NY

1. Site Quality = 3/5
   This is a huge campground with 8 loops (numbered 100 through 800) and a large range of site quality so it’s a bit hard to generalize. All sites are mostly shaded/forested back-ins with gravel base (keeps the parking area firm) and either 30A or 50A hookup (no water, no sewer). Separation and privacy is decent throughout and each site has a good-sized grassy/dirt “sitting area” containing picnic table and fire-pit. You feel like you’re camping in a nice forest here. Biggest ding is the large variation in site quality. There are some sites which are wonderful (really private, really large, nicely flat and spacious) and some sites which are really poor (limited privacy, small, very unlevel indeed) and each loop seems to have a mix of each type. Also many of the sites become very muddy & soft (especially in the “sitting areas”) under heavy rain. We had a wonderfully private, quiet, spacious site (#105) but our “sitting area” was a muddy, unusable lake the entire time we were here. If we had to choose again we’d stay with loop 100, but just chose a different site. We liked that 100 was furthest from the entrance (it was quiet and right next to the hiking trails). Plus a select few of the sites around the back were especially nice, and some even had slice views of the canyon (115, 117, 119), the only sites we saw in the entire campground that did! CampADK.com has photos of each and every site in camp so I highly recommend using that to select your perfect site. Sites cost $29/night (30A, weekday) or $31/night (50A, weekday). Extra $4/night on week-ends and NY residents get $5/night discount.
   1. NOTE1 -> Pets: Pets are ONLY allowed in loop 100, 200 and 700!! So, if you are traveling with furry family make sure you book ONLY in these loops. Pets are NOT allowed in loops 300 – 600 and 800.
   2. NOTE2 -> Road Quality: The road coming into the camp loops is excellent (large, paved), but most of the loops are very bumpy, dirt (un-paved) roads so just be prepared for that. Only one loop is paved, so it does look like the campground is (slowly) upgrading loop by loop.
   3. NOTE3 -> Cabins: This campground has a large number of cabins (81!) which looked quite nice, although we were not able to examine them in detail.
   4. ALL sites are reservable and reservations are highly recommended in summer!
2.  Facilities = 2.5/5
   Oh such a mix of facilities here! Six of the loops (100, 300-600, 800) have older bathrooms which were frankly pretty bad. The facilities in our loop (100) were old, moldy, dirty (they didn’t look like they were cleaned the entire time we were here) and had those awful spray heads that make you feel like you’re taking a shower under a fire hydrant. On the other hand two of the loops (loop 200 and 700, specifically) had brand new facilities which were great! Large spacious showers, which were very clean with great water temp/pressure and nice, removable shower heads. I ended up biking to loop 200 for my showers for just this reason. Good on-site dump station (large, triple-wide dump by main road), and potable, threaded water spigots in each loop.
3. Location = 5/5
   You come here specifically to explore Letchworth Canyon, the “Grand Canyon of the East” and for that purpose you really can’t get any closer. The campground is at the North end of the park, ~14 miles from the waterfalls and overlooks on the South end. LOTS of hiking trails all around (over 50 miles worth) and plenty of places to enjoy overlooks, picnics and such. The campground also offers an on-site camp store, camp recreation building (ping pong, pool table), playgrounds (multiple), fitness trail and a large on-site laundromat ($2.75 per wash, only COLD water however). Lastly you are also right next to Perry (cute town, tasty brewery, great Sat Farmers Market) and only ~30 mins from Geneseo which has all the shopping/groceries you need.
4. Pet Friendliness = 4.5/5
   Good place for doggie. Lots of space in camp, plus miles & miles of trails to enjoy inside the State Park and along the canyon all of which are entirely dog-friendly. Only ding? Doggies are only allowed in 3 of the 8 loops in the campground. So you can ONLY camp in loops 100, 200 or 700. Make sure to reserve appropriately!
   • NOTE/ RABIES Certificate is REQUIRED for all pets and will be asked for upon check-in, so make sure you have that with you when you arrive. 

Overall Rating = 3.75
BONUS ALERT = Camp right inside the “Grand Canyon Of the East”!

Video Overview: Want to see it in living color? Check out our ~16 min overview here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LtYPxYLXGaU

Summary: Letchworth State Park is one of the “must see” places in Upstate NY and this campground gets you right in the middle of it all. It’s a large campground with 8 loops and over 260 sites and overall it’s pretty decent. Sites are mostly forested/shaded with decent separation, gravel base, and large grassy/dirt “sitting areas” with either 30 or 50A hookups (no water, no sewer). Main ding is the the rather huge variation in site quality. Some sites are fabulously large, flat, private and spacious whereas others are small, open and very unlevel indeed. Plus some of the “sitting areas” become very soft/muddy under heavy rain (our sitting area was a muddy lake the entire time we were here). Each loop seems to have a mix of each type of site, so chose your site carefully before you come*. Also, for those traveling with pets be aware that only 3 of the 8 loops in camp allow them (loops 100, 200 and 700) whereas the others do not (make sure to reserve appropriately!). Other than that it’s wonderfully peaceful  and quiet, and you’re as close as you can get to the “Grand Canyon of the East“. The campground is located at the North End of the Park, only a few miles from the Dam and Highbanks Recreation area, and only ~14 miles from the South End which has the majority of overlooks and all the waterfalls. Plus you have easy access to over 50 miles of dog-friendly hiking trails and you’re right next-door to Perry (cute town, good brewery and lovely Sat Farmers market) and only ~30 mins from Geneseo which has all the shopping/groceries you could need. Despite our muddy site, we truly enjoyed the quiet and relaxed campground and absolutely loved the Canyon and surrounding areas. A definite recommend!

Extra Info: VERY IFFY cell signal here, so definitely bring a good booster! Verizon was almost useless and varied between 1X-3G, whereas ATT was slightly better at around 1-2 bars 4G (sometimes we’d get flutterings of LTE, sometimes we’d loose the signal altogether, but with a booster it was workable!). Surprisingly T-Mobile worked pretty decent (Binge On worked). Total ~260 sites, 121 of which offer 50A whereas the rest only offer 30A. Sites cost $29/night (30A, weekday) or $31/night (50A, weekday). Extra $4/night on week-ends and NY residents get $5/night discount. All sites reservable online. On-site dump station, and potable water at each loop.

** CampADK.com has multiple pictures of EACH and EVERY site in this campground, so I highly recommend checking that resource before booking your site.