Woodland Valley Campground — Attraction in Town of Shandaken

My best friend and I are avid hikers and always look for campgrounds that provide a rustic experience with a modern twist (like, you know, legitimate bathrooms). Desperate for a weekend away, we made a last minute decision to go camping and stumbled across Woodland Valley Campground on ReserveAmerica. Assuming we were getting the worst plot since it was one of three remaining locations available, we quickly reserved it and headed out a few days later to what truly felt like the middle of nowhere (and I mean that in the best of ways).

We were greeted by Darleen and Kristi who checked us in and gave us the run-down. Not only were they both incredibly kind, genuine, and down-to-earth, they were also clearly passionate about the jobs they do as caretakers. Honestly, I wouldn't even be writing this review if it weren't for them - they made our great stay even better than expected.

The campground itself was beautiful and even with a lot of the plots so close together, it still felt like you had your own space to relax at. At times things could get a little bit loud but that's to be expected at a shared campground. Nearly everyone respected the 10PM-7AM quiet hours however we were unfortunate enough to experience a rather rowdy crew who blared their music to the point that you could hear them from across the campground. During the day it was simply a nuisance but at 2AM it was downright maddening. That's where Darleen and Kristi really got to show how bada$$ they can be, and we are forever thankful to them for caring about the experience of their customers even when they were dealing with individuals who kept referring to them as "stup!d Americans" because they were from overseas (and kept bringing up how racist they were). C'mon, can't we all just get along?!

My best friend and I rock an alternative style, including dyed hair, tattoos, clothes referencing death metal bands, etc., and weren't treated any differently than anyone else. We usually expect to run into some assumptions due to our appearances but didn't experience an ounce of that here. It's about having respect and I think people tend to forget that.

I digress... Considering that there is nothing other than a payphone for well over half an hour's drive, this is an incredible place to get off the grid and relax. We're already searching the calendar for our next stay!!

P.S. Skip the Diner on your way out and hit Maeve's Place instead. Trust us on this one... it came recommended from Darleen and...

I have been here twice, and I like it. The host Darlene is very friendly, and there was another gentleman that was super friendly and helpful. This is a one star review because of one miserable awful person employed there. The Ranger that was on duty when were were there, his name was Dale. What a regrettable human being. We broke the rules, we were supposed to have only 2 tents and we had 3 at our site. That was our mistake, one we fixed without too much difficulty. (Unfortunately having the break social distancing with our friends). Dale reminded us of our error, but in the least professional and respectful way I have ever experienced. There are so many ways to inform someone of thier mistake, but not announcing yourself, even when it's dark and people are saying hello to you, is not the way. Walking up very close to us, still not saying who you are, or what you are doing in our camp site is not the way. Making us try to guess what we did wrong, as if we had intentionally done it to spite him personally, is not the way. Making us feel anxious and small under your "power" is not the way. Trying to "scare us" with the threats of bears, is not the way. Dismissing our questions or concerns with "you'll figure it out" as an answer multiple times, is not the way. Nothing about what he did was professional, or even had any decency about it, and we were at no point confrontational, it was wholey unwarranted. It is for these reasons I recommend finding a different place to camp, in the off chance you break a rule by mistake you'll be humiliated and made anxious for your mistake, which is we all know is the best part of vacation. The fact that Ranger Dale is a park ranger at all is a black mark on the integrity of all New York state staff. If you think I am overreacting I did not explain it well enough. Let alone I have left over 1500 contributions on google reviews, and MAYBE 10 are negative, this...

The campground is nicely located (no cell service!) and the nearest town, Phoenicia, has some good restaurants and stores. The bathrooms were pretty clean. The showers were ok.. lukewarm water, needed new showerheads, and need to be cleaned a bit better. Not outside of my experience at other state parks.

We had initially booked site #19, as I wanted to be near the creek and away from the road. We have a 23' camper. When we rolled in, the woman working told us that we would have a tough time backing it in and suggested site 69 (not on the map.. for "drive-up" campers). After looking at #19, we thought it was a bit tight, but my husband is very good at backing up. She then went on to say it "would be much quieter on #69." I questioned that since it was by the road. She assured me it would be. This was a Wed evening, and there was little traffic and no one around #69. I was hesitant but thought, ok, she should know, right? She works there. Well, wrong decision. It was not quiet right off the road and close to the trailhead parking. What was she thinking? We kept an eye on #19 the 4 days we were there and it was never noisy down there. Not sure why she recommended site 69 for us? If you want a nice site, stay close to the creek. Sites 6, 8, and 10 were very nice. We went down there and enjoyed the evenings... away from the road... because the sites were vacant. There is a very narrow #7 between #6 and #8, again, for the last-minute "drive-up" campers.

Overall, a nice campground. We did see the park ranger drive around quite a lot, but only Friday and Sat nights while there.

Get firewood from the house just before the campground. They don't have pre-bundled wood, but they have wood and its a better price than in town.

There is NO info about hiking trails or anything Catskill related at the campground. There is a visitor center down route 28 and they were...