SoHi Campground — Attraction in Town of Marbletown

(From our camping trip in June 2014)

So-Hi Campgrounds hasn't had the best reputation in the last couple of years. I read some scary reviews from campers past, and was hesitant to check it out myself. My wife and I were getting a few friends together to go camping, and needed to find a good place. She had camped there about 15 years ago with her family, and remembered it being wonderful, so we went to take a look at it.

When we first arrived, it was obvious that there were some renovations in progress, which is always a good sign. The swimming pool looked clean and inviting, there were some pedal boats on the man-made lake, and the grounds were tidy.

We pulled up to the office, and a friendly gentleman named Ralph came out to greet us. He turned out to be the new owner of the campground, and asked us what we were looking for in terms of accommodations. He let us know that he had acquired So-Hi about a year ago, and that it wasn't much when he got it. He went on to inform us that all of the bathroom fixtures were replaced, new ones were even built, and that they were always doing upkeep on the grounds.

The whole trip was sunny and perfect, we couldn't have asked for better weather. The sun really made the campground shine! We took T16 & T17, at the very back of Pine Cone Alley. We fit 2 tents on each site with plenty of room to spare, especially considering each site had one cabin style tent on it. There are true fire rings, unlike the DEC campgrounds around here. There are even rims with grills to set camp cookware on over the fire, which was a nice touch!

The sites are covered in jutting tree roots, but as long as you have an air mattress, you will be fine. The tents all went up easily regardless, and it was as close to camping in the woods (with flush toilets and bathrooms at the entrance anyway) as you could get. There are strong trees close enough to suspend a hammock, which we did. These sites are probably the best in the entire campground, but they all look pretty good!

The firewood we got at a steal. We started a teepee fire with the sticks and kindling around us as we waited for the firewood to arrive. The manager of the campground pulled up in his truck, and sold us a whole lot of firewood for $5. $5! It may not always be this cheap, they have to turn a profit you know, but other campgrounds charge $10-15 for the load we got!

At night, a couple of groups came in and set up camp nearer to the entrance. They all seemed to have the same fun-loving spirit that we did, so I hope we didn't bother them. They didn't bother us, anyway.

The next day, we checked out the swimming pool and the arcade. The swimming pool was super clean, and great fun. The arcade was fully operational, and complete with a pinball machine, which I love. We went out on the pedal boats too, those were a good leg workout for sure. Between us all, I think all of the bathrooms got used, and a couple of the showers. Everything is new and kept sparkling clean. Let's be fair, camp facilities don't have the best reputation for a reason...but these are not your average camp facilities!

I know this is a long review, but I really believe in this campground. I want everyone to go check it out and enjoy it, because I'm sad I ever left! We all had the best time, even one of our friends who had never been camping before, and she got to start with such a fantastic experience. The staff is all friendly and not at all obtrusive, and the grounds are beautiful. I have wanted to go back every day since we left, but I know that we will be back next season...hopefully more than once! I would heartily recommend So-Hi Campgrounds to all campers, and wish Ralph the best of luck with his...

I don't usually write campground reviews (or any at that) but I ran into Sohi-camgrounds' website again while searching for campgrounds for spring break. I finally decided I will let others know what happened with our very brief (but seemed like forever) stay at So-hi Campgrounds.

We stayed here at a total of 3 hours, it was that bad. We have a class A 33ft MH (diesel pusher). First site they put us in looked rough. We were surrounded by seasonals and we requested to get moved to another location since we invited some friends, who were vacationing nearby to stop by our site for dinner. We were told to pull in anywhere we liked. Backing in at the new location, it was very difficult since it was such a tight spot and not much room to maneuver. We ended up scraping the front cap of our new coach while a staff was guiding us backing in the spot. Ok, I shrugged it off. Once we finally parked in the spot, I started to level the coach and the coach started to sink and bent one of our leveling jacks pads, now Im fuming, but decided to give it another shot and use wooden boards so the coach would not sink... OK that worked. Time to plug in shore power? Nope, shore power was not working, the staff came in to troubleshoot but couldn't get it to work.. I looked at the wires running overhead our coach and it had electrical tape all over the termination points and used trees to support the wires to other sites… Wow!

Ok, so back to the original spot where we first started (with the seasonals)... would you believe our coach sank in a sink hole!!! You can't make this stuff up. It was an old underground oil tank that got never filled in and the weight of our coach caved the oil tank in. I felt like I was in a mine field and just wanted to wake up from this nightmare! Luckily I used the front jacks to pull the coach up and the staff filled the tank in with rocks. We drove away from the hole fine... but that was the last straw. I was done.

At the end of the day... the staff wanted us to stay but never really apologized. I found out later (from the seasonals, who were very helpful and supported us looking for a new campground since we had no cell phone coverage) they had premium spots that they were not willing to give us at first... but now wanted to give us a free night stay... no thank you! Why couldn’t they just put us in that spot in the first place. Noone were staying in those spots, totally wide open. We would of happily stayed in those spots.. away from the locals, lots of room for our guests, easy spots to get in and out. While on the way out of the campground, I had a brief conversation with the owner and he apologized that the staff gave us poor service... whatever.

I have never in the years of RV'ing had this type of campground experience... surreal but in truth, and sadly really happened. Like I said, I dont really write reviews but this is one of those cases where I should warn ALL RV's, TT and 5th wheelers to stay away from this place. There is just no room for maneuverability for medium to big rigs. Shoddy electrical, unstable grounds and staffs who fails to deal with what has been handed to them… we were there for a total of 3 hours and never got to hook up. Im usually fully hooked in 5 minutes.. just sad. We never did get to another nearby campsite since it was already late. Nine hours from leaving home, we arrived back at our home and camped in our driveway that night. Bottom line... stay far away from...

The seasonal camper rate this year was $3200 (30 amp) & $3600 (50 amp). The owner talks up that this is a “good rate”— as it is less than other campgrounds in the area. And, overall, SoHi is nice: truly in the woods and a down-to-earth camping experience. We enjoy the beauty of the forest and the vintage, rustic vibe. It’s not for you if you’re classist, because this place welcomes everybody. (Unlike other campgrounds that only accept the rich with brand new campers.)

BUT honestly, due to the lack of proper amenities, charging more would be unfair until a thorough spruce up of the place.

THE ISSUES: — The Wifi is EXTREMELY spotty. You can’t rely on it. This is even more of a headache when you get no phone service (T-mobile), so to make a phone call or send a text you need to walk to someplace that MAYBE gets wifi, or drive down the road 7 minutes to get service. If you need Wifi to work from home (like me), expect to also incorporate Starlink into your monthly budget.

— The washer/dryer are run by quarters, but there’s no way to get quarters without contacting staff (which is really difficult with no phone service). Plus, the one washer doesn’t drain properly and makes clothes smell like mildew; one of the dryers takes forever. They need a quarter machine and to renew the washer & dryer.

— There is NO RECYCLING. There are a few bins around that say “please recycle”, but it was confirmed that they just go in the trash. This is really unfortunate since while camping, a lot of people are drinking. So much aluminum and glass (which actually gets recycled) is going to the landfill. Please, just pay for the recycling bin.

— The game room NEEDS an air purifier and/or a dehumidifier, especially with kids playing in there. There’s a pervasive mildew smell; I get a headache within 20 minutes. Maybe also a broom and dustpan around so we can help clean up?

— There is no mini golf. Advertising that is a joke. The course is in extreme disrepair, BUT with a load of mulch and a day’s work with a carpenter and a shop vac, it could totally be renewed.

— The Basketball court is equally questionable. They just poured concrete on the ground without leveling it, and I’ve seen many toddlers wipe out while running. You can still shoot hoops BUT literally every single one of the 10 basketballs around are deflated. They need to buy a pump and leave it in the game room.

— Cigarette butts. All in front of the main bathrooms and near the shed where the workers hang out. Hundreds. It’s just disrespectful since this is in the woods— over time harming the animals and the groundwater we're using. Please ask the workers to dispose of the butts properly.

Overall, We’d consider coming back next year at the same rate, knowing we’ll have to get Starlink (~$800 for the season) and that we’re getting what we pay for. If the rates increase too much more, I would seriously expect some major improvements before dishing out that cash. (And you...