Cayuga Lake State Park — Attraction in Town of Seneca Falls

Had a horrible first time experience.

SUGGESTIONS -Bring LOTS of bug spray. Deer ticks, tree and ground mosquitos, and saw a couple red ants. Spray the bottom of anything that touches the ground and yourself. -Humid, be prepared -Could rain or be sunny, be prepared

PROS -Staff is very nice -Sites are very flat -Facilities are ample and close -Lots of wineries, water access and road trip destinations

CONS/OTHER -You may hear/see golfers on loop 500. Might hear a ball drop into the bushes at your site. -Division between each camp site is average brush/trees. -People at the beach were kind of rude and not friendly. I know this could just be our experience only, but of all the places we have visited throughout the country, these were the most unhappy campers/beach goers I have seen.

THE HORRIBLE -Park Ranger effectiveness? -The campers in our loop were LOUD AT NIGHT. I understand people want to party and have a great time, but people come to camp sites for TRANQUILITY, and that's why they is a 10:00 QUIET HOURS policy. We were up PAST MIDNIGHT dealing with ADULTS being very loud partying, cars moving (short start/stops, doors slamming, generators running. WHERE ARE THE PARK RANGERS? I've never been to a park in NY or PA where there is no one patrolling at night, or at least checking for quiet hour compliance.

We addressed our concerns the next day with the office. They were very nice in the office. They told us we could have called the Park Police. We unfortunately did not see the sign on the unattended cabin at the second campsite entry that we could have called the park police. This is our fault I suppose, HOWEVER, we never saw a ranger come by, and if they did, they were completely UNEFFECTIVE.

I emailed the office at midnight during the campers continued loudness and this was the response:

"I am very sorry your experience at Cayuga Lake was not pleasurable for you, and you ended up leaving early.

I remember you stopped in to the Park Office and spoke with Office staff on Saturday, July 1 to discuss the situation regarding some of your camping neighbors.

We immediately spoke with the neighbors regarding the issues you mentioned.

We also talked with our Park Ranger who had done rounds that night and did write a report about making contact with those patrons regarding the need to abide to the quiet hours. Our Park Ranger ends their shift at Midnight, in which State and local police patrol take over. We have the police numbers posted in multiple areas throughout the park and campgrounds.

We did recommend, in our conversation with you, that you call the police numbers posted if you had any issues after Midnight and a patrol officer could respond, but you stated you would most likely would not be staying another night.

Unfortunately we can not issue you a refund. We had patrol active that evening and also had secondary accommodations for reporting complaints."

Never going back to this campground, EVER. I prefer to sleep at night...

Enjoyed my week here.

General notes: There is a steep hill going from the water up to the campsites/cabins. You cannot take a shortcut through the woods from the upper cabins to the parking lot/water - roads only. NY-89 can be loud and there are no sound barriers. Cabins with fans were good but I wouldn't recommend the campsites along 89 Firewood is sold at the front desk (Venmo or cash). Ice, bait, etc is not sold. Two (one for under 5) large playgrounds by the water Rentable pavilion with charcoal grills and volleyball net by the water There is a concrete pier that is good for fishing and has cleats for docking (the spots were numbered so I think they may be rentable for short term docking). We did pickups here. Separately (more north) there is a boat ramp/dock I'd recommend bringing a box fan or similar to move air through the cabin. The northern portion of the lake is all under 15-20' deep. There is a sandbar in the northern part of the lake (before going under the train tracks) that is good for anchoring and hanging out. People can get out and touch the bottom. Look for the circle of markers in the water. There is also a cove with a sandbar on the east side of the lake where it narrows. Look for the circle of markers. The closer you get to land, the more sandy it gets. The main shared bathroom was clean. The sites on the west side of 89 were somewhat far away but had an additional layer of privacy. Dog friendly but be sure to have your rabies vaccination paperwork along with a six foot leash

These are all pictures of cabin 10 and I enjoyed the layout. Flush toilet was clean and private. The cabin also had a small ceiling fan which was a surprise. Fullsize electric oven and apartment size fridge. This would be excellent for a couple and two younger kids.

Cabin 9 (across the road - friends) is very similar except the beds are all twins (no bunks) and has a somewhat inefficient layout. Still a good cabin maybe for a...

What a treasure for the area! We frequent lots of NYS Parks but for whatever reason had only visited this one quickly about ten years ago - we made reservations conveniently online and snagged a non-electric campsite a few days ago and spent the night last night.

Not one negative thing to say about the park in our experience! The non-electric campsites were really nice with tree coverage, etc - which at some parks the non-electric sites get all stuck in one big open field. Our site was a little wet in the very back, but it was just the two of us and no kids and it did rain a lot earlier in the day before we arrived, so it was no biggie.

All the staff we encountered were super nice and helpful. There's a really nice trail down to the lake from the campsites on the west side of Rt 89, through a tunnel. (One caveat I will add, although I'm not deducting any stars for it - is be CAREFUL on said trail down to the lake. After you go through the tunnel, between there and the lake, it's "sort of" paved, but the paving has broken down over time, and the sides of it are very uneven, and it would be really easy to twist an ankle if you're not paying careful attention, or if you come back up it when it's dusk or even dark. So beware! This trail needs some maintenance, in my opinion - a LOT of campers use it daily and I'd be really surprised if there's not regular injuries there)

Back to the park - people we talked to at the beach said they had enjoyed great fishing there, and there were a few people using the nearby boat launch, too. The beach looks decent and there's a nice playground right by the beach, too.

Overall, I consider it a great deal for $19 per night!! We'll be back, and will try to snag one of the electric sites maybe. There also are a handful of little cabins that look cute if someone is looking for a step up from "camping"....