Camp Gateway Brooklyn Tamarak and Goldenrod — Attraction in New York

Four stars because this is just not a five star kind of place, but it's perfect for what it is- a place to leave your RV while you visit the city.

Here's some info that took us hours of Googling and talking to random nearby strangers to figure out. If you're planning to RV to NYC, this is how you can do it cheaply and simply.

The "sites" are just a huge paved expanse surrounded by chain link with some picnic tables lines up around the enges. There's no hookups of any kind, no trees, and no shade. There is a constant, stiff, and cool ocean breeze though so that brings relief from the sun. You won't get too hot at all.

The restroom and shower facilities are permanent trailers, but very clean and well maintained. The water was hot with good pressure and nice modern fixtures. There is a dump station for your tanks and a Dumpster. The camp store is nice as well, with firewood, sundries, and National Park Service gifts.

The campground is a decommissioned military base. It's like if you pulled your RV up to an abandoned airport and set up camp. It's functional but not pretty. There's a lot of military history points of interest, and the Ryan Visitors Center is beautiful. It has a gift shop, aviation history information, and a friendly staff. It is open at 9 AM daily and closes at 4 or 5 depending on the day.

If you get there after dark, finding the campsite will give you heart palpitations. The place is an endless expanse of pavement and the roads are just marked bits of that. It's not lit, the signage is minimal, and the online map is not at all helpful. Know where you're going ahead of time, or plan to arrive when there's rangers around to help.

The RV sites are steps from Jamaica Bay. There's a boat launch and there were kayakers and jet skiers about. There was also a beach, which seems like it wouldn't be around if the water was high. It's not maintained and didn't look appropriate for swimming, but my kids had a blast finding shells and rocks and other treasures. Plenty of fishermen and beach walkers around. A bike path also runs by the park and there's lots of cyclists and joggers around.

There is a city bus that runs about every half hour, 24 hours a day, from the Ryan Visitors Center. That's about 1.5 miles of hot pavement from the campsites, so we drove the whole RV there. Plenty of parking. The bus is the Q35 and it's $2.75 per fare. Bring tons of quarters as that's the only way you'll board without a metro card. Kids under 44 inches are free. You have two options for the bus: take it to Flatbush subway station and access the city that way, or the opposite direction to Rockaway Beach and board the ferry to Wall St. It takes 15 to 30 minutes of bus and another 45 minutes on the subway. Plan for about 1.5 hours total from the door of your RV to Battery Park. The ferry is probably the more pleasant option and will also only cost you $2.75.

Overall we really had a good time. If you want to hang around at your camper all day it's not the place. But if you're wanting to visit the city cheaply and on your own terms, this is just what you're looking for.

PS if you're into Pokemon Go, there are 3 stops, 2 gyms, and a handful of wild spawns right behind...

I wish I could say that this is the weirdest place I have ever camped but it is certainly one of the more interesting.

"Camp store"/Registration closes at 1600 and there is no fee box or camp host to register with after hours like they have at other NPS facilities. "Camp store"/Registration is supposed to open at 0900 but NEVER did while I was there. It isn't really a camp store, it is a souvenir shop selling useless NPS junk that happens to also have firewood and ice. Make sure you have everything you need before arriving or you will be taking a ride into Brooklyn to get it.

The tent sites have all the usual things you expect at a NPS campground (fire ring, BBQ, picnic table) but you can't park near your site so if you have more than a tent and a sleeping bag, you will be making multiple long trips to your vehicle. The "RV sites" are really just a parking spot on a sectioned off piece of one of the old landing strips so don't expect to do any of the usual "camping" activities like having a campfire.

Hands down the most clueless NPS staff I have ever encountered. If you want unsolicited advice on the NYC transit system or where to get a slice of pizza they are a wealth of information... ask them anything even remotely camping related and they turn into a bunch of babbling buffoons. Asked one staffer where the potable water spigot was and she looked at me like I had 12 heads. The "water faucet"... blank stare... "the place the water comes out" (am I playing charades or talking to a federal government employee?)... "what do you need to use the water for?"... "washing my hands before handling food, rinsing dishes, ect."... "You can wash your hands in the bathroom over there"... (pointing to the water container in my hand) "where do I fill this up with H2O?"... "are you camping here" (?no I came here for the water?)... "Yes"... "go to w"... "what is w?" It should not take a two minute conversation to find out about a basic camping task!

There really is no other viable camping option anywhere even remotely close so you are stuck with this place. Just don't expect Yellowstone or Yosemite type NPS management. Never thought I would ever say that a place needs Xantera or Delaware North type concessioneers to run a...

WOULD NOT RECOMMEND FOR FAMILIES

We were looking for a cheap place to stay while visiting NYC. My wife found Camp Gateway, and since it was run by the National Park Service, it seemed perfect. We booked three nights in advance. The campground is at an old airport. You can't drive to your campsite, you have to carry everything in. It was about 100 yards to our site. The camp fee is $30, and the bathrooms and showers were adequate.

The first night was fine, there were a few other people, but they were quiet. It was really hot and the mosquitoes were ridiculous, but you can't blame that on the campground. We spent the next day in the city, and arrived back at the camp around 10 PM. Almost every campsite was now full when we arrived. For the next 4 hours until around 2 AM, several people were playing loud music, screaming, laughing, and being very obnoxious. I think the camp had a noise curfew of 10 or 11. There was no camp staff around, so there was really nothing you could do except wait for the people to go to bed. There were some sketchy looking people camping there, and it felt very unnerving knowing that there was no camp staff or security personnel around for miles. I have small kids, and I genuinely felt guilty bringing them there. I was amazed by the lack of respect the other campers had for people trying to sleep. Oh, and in addition to the people, you also get to hear loud aircraft overhead and speeding cars all night.

We decided we were not staying a 3rd night after that. I would have given this site one star, but the Recreation.gov customer service was very nice. They made a note of my complaint, and refunded the money we prepaid for the 3rd night.

If you like to party while camping, I guess this would be the place for you. If you have kids and want some place quiet,...