Forked Lake Campground — Hotel in Town of Arietta

Beautiful location, with plenty of camping opportunities of different kinds. Want to pull your vehicle up to you site? They got it. Want to hike to a primitive site? They got it. Want to boat to an island and camp there, or to the other side of the lake? They've got that too.

Looks like all sites have a dedicated fire pit of metal, or stone, bear-box for food storage, and an outhouse. Be aware oversized coolers don't fit in the bear box. Basically anything taller than a traditional white styrofoam cooler is too big (about 16 inches). Most sites have the ability to beach your boat, or have a dock.

Boat ramp and dock is good for boats powered and not. Rental canoe, kayak, and row boats were available.

Ranger is on site 24/7 (at least in the summer months) and the town of Long Lake isn't to far away if you need supplies. The Northern Borne General Store has groceries & minor camping gear.

Be sure to bring trash bags as this place is pack-in, pack-out. There is no...

The area, in and of itself, is beautiful. Our site, not so much:

Crumbling fire pit heaped w/ ashes & several discarded grills, surrounded by a halo of smashed glass. No toilet paper in pit toilets. In woods beside us: bags of trash, a 1/2 burned camp mattress, panties, chicken bones.

Newly hired ranger couldn't find our reservation--an hour to check in (once we called Reserve America and handed him the phone, it went quickly). He had also not been trained--had no idea what trails surrounded the area when we asked. Another ranger (not the new one) made a snide comment about the names on two friends' reservations (Vietnamese & Latino). To be fair, I am not sure if we were dealing with racism or ignorance--felt like the former to me.

NY campgrounds, in general, are a delight to visit--you can see our tax dollars at work. This place, though, had a deep aura of...

Takes some effort & planning to paddle or hike in, but theres hardly a site here I wouldnt happily stay at. Beautiful and generally well spaced sites compared to most campgrounds. Staff very helpful and welcoming (including to my diverse group). Outhouses are clean (as outhouses go), firepits have all been cleared of ash when I arrived and sites clean. The few driveup sites are not what this place is about, and theres no showers, so its not for everyone- but if you want semi wilderness experience in a truly beautiful classic ADK setting, this is it. I also found the type of campers that stay here to be a cut above. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent, but be aware that winds can kick up in the afternoon, so if youre rowing your gear to your site across the lake get there before noon. Headed back to my 4th campsite here- for me...