For RV lovers looking to stay inside the gigantic Adirondack Park, you must check out Cranberry Lake Campground. Offering a relaxing getaway for those living and visiting New York, Cranberry Lake Campground has various amenities and facilities that will make your RV camping trip incredibly fun and entertaining.
Cranberry Lake is one of the largest underdeveloped lakes in a remote area of the Adirondacks mountains, so it is an excellent place for a quiet and beautiful waterside camping experience. Thousands of acres of forest land lie just to the south while a concrete dam (constructed in 1916) overlooks the lake and helps control water flow to nearby areas. Many miles of marked trails and ponds are dotted around the park, which gives visitors the chance to participate in some rugged hiking experiences.
Cranberry Lake Campground offers a quiet, peaceful, and rustic setting that allows visitors to enjoy nature in a tranquil setting. The woody, picturesque mountain landscape offers ideal shaded and un-shaded areas to camp, with certain campsites providing a lot more privacy than others. You will have the choice of staying near the water, or you can back in a more wooded area — all of the 173 RV-friendly campsites are pet-friendly. The park offers much in terms of recreational activities for the old and the young, including boating, fishing, and hiking. There is also a children’s playground, volleyball and basketball courts, and much more. Cranberry Lake Campground is open all year round.
Located around six hours north of New York City, getting to and from Cranberry Lake Campground is relatively easy despite its rural location. The most common way to get to the campground is to drive to Cranberry Lake Village and follow Lone Pine Road. The campground roads are kept in excellent condition so you should have no trouble driving to your site. Once you reach the campground, there are numerous roads inside that will take you to the different amenities, such as the boat launch area, convenience store, recycling center, laundry facilities, dump station, and showers.
If you need any supplies before your trip to Cranberry Lake Campground, there are many places that you can visit, however, none of them are very close. For this reason, you will have to plan to get your supplies from Harrisville (around 36 miles away), Potsdam (approximately 44 miles away), or Canton (about 44.5 miles away). The closest major city to the campground is Watertown, which is located 70 miles west of the park.
You will have no problem parking at Cranberry Lake Campground as there are plenty of areas to leave your RV rig. If you are visiting the lake and not staying the night, you can also find parking in the small town of Cranberry lake.
Located in the Adirondacks mountains west of Tupper Lake, Cranberry Lake Campground offers RV, motorhome, and big rig enthusiasts the chance to reserve some truly beautiful campsites with scenic views of the mountains, woods, and lake. Cranberry Lake Campground has 173 campsites in total, with 34 of those sites located directly near the water. None of the sites offer electric, water, or sewage hookups, so expect a more rugged camping experience. The campgrounds are pet-friendly, and the use of generators is allowed for five hours a day between the hours of 9 AM to 11 AM and 4 PM to 7 PM. The campground provides flush toilets, hot showers, a recycling center, and a trailer dump station. Each campsite is limited to six individuals per site, and only two tents or one RV is permitted per campsite. You can stay at the campgrounds for up to 14 consecutive nights at a time, and reservations are available up to nine months in advance.
While 167 of the campsites at Cranberry Lake are available for reservations, the remaining sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Any of the campsites that are not reserved will be offered by choice once you arrive. Stop and talk to a member of the park staff upon entering the park to find out how to secure your desired site.
Viewing nature and admiring its beauty is one of the best ways for people to take a break from their busy lives and properly unwind. Cranberry Lake Campground allows visitors the opportunity to let loose and forget the stress of daily life by providing a vast expanse of nature to relax in. The trail system offers visitors a chance to observe wild animals from a safe distance, and hikers may see animals such as moose, beavers, black bears, little brown bats, and skunks. Apart from the fauna, the flora, too, is spectacular with its beautiful blooming wildflowers and trees that are native to the region.
Picnics are a simple pleasure of life that people of all ages enjoy, so grab a blanket and your favorite snacks and head out to Cranberry Lake Campground where you can have a serene picnic with your family and friends while making numerous cherished memories. There is a picnic area with tables along with fireplaces and BBQ grills for you to enjoy with your friends or family. The tables are set at a distance from each other and have trees surrounding them, which provides solitude from neighboring sites. The picnic areas also have water faucets and flush toilets located nearby. The forest canopy above the picnic tables gives picnickers shade from the sun and helps to keep everyone cool and relaxed even on the cooler days of the year.
Hikers can choose from over 80 miles of marked trails inside Cranberry Lake Campground and can do so with the company of their faithful companions. Cranberry Lake Campground provides an excellent base for hiking the different varieties of trails in the region. Many foot-trails, bike trails, and ATV trails lead from the campgrounds. The two-mile Bear Mountain Trail provides a challenging uphill hike that offers spectacular views of the mountains. The short distance means that even amateur hikers can make it up to enjoy the scenic views, as long as you are willing to break a sweat. The campground trail also offers accessibility to a 17-mile loop trail system that is well-maintained for a more relaxed hiking experience. The best time of year to hike is during the fall when the leaves are colorful and the trails are less congested.
Another great way to spend some time on your RV vacation is to head to the old State Theatre. Located in the Adirondack Mountains around 25 miles from the lake, here you will be able to enjoy a movie at a throwback theater. The theater is very affordable and is open all year round, so no matter what time you visit the Cranberry Lake Campground, you can come and enjoy this classic piece of Americana.
One of the main pastimes of people that visit Cranberry Lake Campground is swimming in the Oswegatchie River. The river water has a mild temperature during summer months that is simply perfect for a refreshing and relaxing swimming experience. A sandy beach in Cranberry Lake Campground is also open to the public for swimming. Towards the west of the lake is a secluded area on the beach that offers a lot more privacy when visiting with family or friends. The beach area is beautiful and well maintained, with plenty of designated swimming zones. A lifeguard does not supervise the lake waters, so swimming requires visitors to be confident in his or her swimming abilities.
Another major water-activity on Cranberry Lake is boating. Rowboats, canoes, kayaks, and powerboats are available for rent, or you can bring your own as well. Cruising the calm waters of Cranberry Lake is an activity that shouldn't be missed. The Oswegatchie River presents guests with an opportunity to canoe roughly 16 miles if you put your canoe in at the inlet. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous, put your canoe in the water at the boat launch area near the beach and paddle 15 miles of unhindered scenery on the waters of the Bog River Flow.
Cranberry Lake Campground offers a vast expanse of water for anglers to catch some mammoth-sized game fish. The areas surrounding the lake are dense woodlands that provide gorgeous views and lots of shade as you relax by the fishing pier. The store at the campground offers fishing supplies just in case you forget to bring your own. Anglers often catch largemouth bass and bluegill in the deep lake waters, while brook trouts, panfish, and smallmouth bass are popular catches for people fishing from the shores of the lake.
If you are looking for a different experience in the great outdoors, you should consider heading to the Treetop Trail that is around 27 miles from Cranberry Lake Campground. Here you will find a 30-foot high bridge that will take you above the Adirondack Forest. Here you can look for bald eagle nests and panoramic views as far as your eyes can see. You can even hang out in a huge, adult-friendly spider web that may make some squirm because you can see down to the bottom of the forest floor. The Treetop Trail trail is accessible for all and is open at varying hours throughout the year.
