Mongaup Pond Campground — Attraction in Town of Rockland

Just got back from Mongaup State Campground (MC) and wanted to post my review of our first time visit, two-night, four-family, (10 people) two separate site, Labor Day stay. The park rangers and staff were very friendly and helpful and the groundkeepers keep the grounds impeccably clean and well-manicured, even after a busy holiday weekend. There are M/F flush bathrooms conveniently located about 100 yards from most of the campsites along with access to clean outdoor water faucets. You are discouraged from washing your dishes at your individual campsites, instead there is a very large stainless steel industrial, two basin restaurant style sink with H/C water that you can haul all your dirty dishes to, just remember to bring your own scrub pad and soap. There is one location with H/C showers near the entrance that are also clean and well maintained. Our two families shared site #75 on this trip which was plenty big enough for our two tents, gear and two cars. The entire site measured approximately 60’ feet deep by 40’ wide. Normally MC sell campfire wood but stopped due to Covid. They also stopped boat rentals for the same reason which was disappointing. There isn’t a lot for kids to do at MC except runaround in the woods, explore the other empty campsites and visit the lake beach area but for 6-7 year olds from the city, this is a welcomed change of pace especially after an isolating and claustrophobic pandemic summer. ADVICE: Try to book a campsite adjacent to the HUGE lake if you can, the views from these sites are incredibly picturesque and scenic and I can imagine how great it would be to row your rental up to the banks of your campsite to grab a cool beverage, in better times! On the downside, the campsites are all fairly close to one another, you will be able to see and hear everything that goes on at the next site, so pray you have courteous neighbors. WARNING: Beware of purchasing wood from local residents selling campfire wood on the side of the road to unsuspecting campers as you approach the campground. We purchased a few bundles after we arrived that were recently split and refused to burn due to not being properly “seasoned”. For the uninitiated, “Seasoned” wood needs to sit outdoor and covered for one year to dry out to burn property. It would be almost impossible to know the difference if you didn’t know how to spot fresh verse seasoned wood. Thank god we both brought our propane gas cooking grills which we did the majority of our cooking on for our two-night stay. Luckily we stayed after a major holiday so the campground was at 50% capacity yet strangely 100% reserved online, we were probably the noisiest campers with our groups combined 4 kids. ADVICE: Although we packed a lot of anti-mosquito products, we didn’t expect that FLIES and WASPS would cause us a lot of grief instead. Remember to pack something to mitigate these pests as well. ADVICE: remember to clean up all food and cooking items soon after you finish and store anything that you can’t clean that evening in your car. Although we didn’t see any bears, there were a few raccoons we spotted scurrying around our campsite at night. Be advised: There is NO cell service inside of the park. You will need to drive about 20-30 mins away to receive a signal again although there are payphones, I didn’t check if they actually work. Overall our group of friends had a wonderful time at MC and can’t wait to book our next camping trip there. Pros: Affordable and clean, well-maintained “Primitive” campgrounds. Cons: No Cell service, Campsites are close to each other which might work if you book with...

This is a beautiful campsite. I was lucky enough to reserve a spot next to the water. We took our 2 yr old camping for the first time and I think he loved it. We had some flowers growing in the area that was dividing the campsite and sawing hummingbirds throughout the days flying around, dancing and playing. There were ducks in the water every day and did not disturb us one bit. There were eagles flying around and lucky us, we got to see one catch fish for breakfast. We heard owls at night and of course there are squirrels and raccoons. Thankfully no mosquitos but had plenty of other flying insects which didn’t really bother us. A lot of salamanders after the rain. Kid was super curious and kept him quiet for a good 20 minutes if not more. The view was gorgeous. Water echoes so we heard everything that was going on at the other ends. There wasn’t as much privacy as we’d liked from other campsites to the left and right of us. There’s about 15 - 20 ft between with trees and shrubs but you can still see and hear just about everything. One neighbor was smoking pot just about every night. Good thing the winds from the water was giving a steady flow and blew it the other way, most times. The beach area was nice. Not sure if it was sand or just the dirt from the ground, LOL. Kid loved it though. I didn’t realize there was only one shower facility and that’s near the beach and entrance of the campgrounds so we drove there every night to shower. I think there was about 3 or 4 shower stalls and 3 toilets but due to COVID they have signs advising 2 people at a time. No family showers available. ADVICE: 1: if you don’t like bugs in the bathrooms, reserve a campsite near the entrance/ beach restrooms and showers. The facilities there are far better maintained than the ones by the campsites. There were daddy long legs in the restroom facility but only a couple I like the campsite ones 2: Again, shower facilities are only at the front entrance/beach area. Because only two people are suggested at a time, you may have to wait. It seemed like morning showers had a lot less people 3: They don’t sell wood on site and tell you to look for signs along the road selling firewood. We drove to Livingston Manor and the gas station there has firewood. There were a couple of houses along the road with firewood for sale signs. Whether there’s anyone home to sell it to you is another story. 4:if you want quiet nights after sunset, reserve away from the water. Not sure if that really helps. Again we heard everything from the other side of the pond and anyone kayaking or boating 5: if going to Livingston Manor, check and see which food shops are open before venturing out. We were there around 3:30pm on Wednesday and only a few food places were open like the Chinatown Kitchen (good food but you must call to place order. They will not take it even if you are at their doorstep. ), Main Street Farm, Pecks Market. There is Robin Hood Diner on Old Route 17. I gave them a review too so read it before you decide. Overall great place for camping and connecting with nature. My photos are too...

This is a beautiful campsite. I was lucky enough to reserve a spot next to the water. We took our 2 yr old camping for the first time and I think he loved it. We had some flowers growing in the area that was dividing the campsite and sawing hummingbirds throughout the days flying around, dancing and playing. There were ducks in the water every day and did not disturb us one bit. There were eagles flying around and lucky us, we got to see one catch fish for breakfast. We heard owls at night and of course there are squirrels and raccoons. Thankfully no mosquitos but had plenty of other flying insects which didn’t really bother us. A lot of salamanders after the rain. Kid was super curious and kept him quiet for a good 20 minutes if not more. The view was gorgeous. Water echoes so we heard everything that was going on at the other ends. There wasn’t as much privacy as we’d liked from other campsites to the left and right of us. There’s about 15 - 20 ft between with trees and shrubs but you can still see and hear just about everything. One neighbor was smoking pot just about every night. Good thing the winds from the water was giving a steady flow and blew it the other way, most times. The beach area was nice. Not sure if it was sand or just the dirt from the ground, LOL. Kid loved it though. I didn’t realize there was only one shower facility and that’s near the beach and entrance of the campgrounds so we drove there every night to shower. I think there was about 3 or 4 shower stalls and 3 toilets but due to COVID they have signs advising 2 people at a time. No family showers available. ADVICE: 1: if you don’t like bugs in the bathrooms, reserve a campsite near the entrance/ beach restrooms and showers. The facilities there are far better maintained than the ones by the campsites. There were daddy long legs in the restroom facility but only a couple I like the campsite ones 2: Again, shower facilities are only at the front entrance/beach area. Because only two people are suggested at a time, you may have to wait. It seemed like morning showers had a lot less people 3: They don’t sell wood on site and tell you to look for signs along the road selling firewood. We drove to Livingston Manor and the gas station there has firewood. There were a couple of houses along the road with firewood for sale signs. Whether there’s anyone home to sell it to you is another story. 4:if you want quiet nights after sunset, reserve away from the water. Not sure if that really helps. Again we heard everything from the other side of the pond and anyone kayaking or boating 5: if going to Livingston Manor, check and see which food shops are open before venturing out. We were there around 3:30pm on Wednesday and only a few food places were open like the Chinatown Kitchen (good food but you must call to place order. They will not take it even if you are at their doorstep. ), Main Street Farm, Pecks Market. There is Robin Hood Diner on Old Route 17. I gave them a review too so read it before you decide. Overall great place for camping and connecting with nature. My photos are too...