Lander's River Trips — Local services in Town of Tusten

I've canoed and camped at Lander's since the early 1970's, first in the Boy Scouts at TMR, then on high school outings from NYC and since 1977, on almost 37 annual trips with high school friends to Landers, our preference. I don't camp in the rain so I've gone about 30 the 37 times and I'm the longest lived too, from the very first trip to June of 2014, but it was my last with that group, but I will be back.

The bottom line: Don't go anywhere on a holiday weekend and expect a cozy, intimate experience with nature! Going just north of NYC on Memorial Day weekend will never be recommended in any tour guide! However, if you want that party, you'll get a huge one, the entire area undoubtedly inundated with tens of thousands of people being just a few hours north of the major escape from the city. There's a time for all things and their parties are some of the best ever. The more crowded it gets, the more variety you'll experience! Landers is just down the road from Woodstock and the spirit lives on.

Don't bash a great venue on the misdeeds of a few that over run a facility and promote bad feelings. I have been on those trips and stopped after a dozen years to enjoy the weekend in a new way, even on a different weekend. What weekend did you go anyway, and what campsite was it, those facts matter, and it's a universal concept that applies to all places on holidays.

We go a few weeks after Memorial DWE and always have a great time, finding nice, friendly people at every campsite that is occupied, clean and inviting facilities and an attentive staff. I was not asked to write this. They may figure out who I am though, I'm there almost every year for the last four decades, but we don't know anything about each other apart from my appearing at the campground on the annual trip.

Lander's is great simple camping, with many campgrounds to choose from. It is not a plastic, programmed facility, it's closer to nature and we like that. Landers provides a clean site, hot showers, running cold water at the tent and lean-to's, a PX / general camping store, coffee, drinks and prepared food inside on their grill. They have canoes and tubes, perhaps rafts too but we’ve never taken one down the river.

Some campsites have more. Over the years I've seen a shelter in case of bad weather, electricity at some tent sites and perhaps other amenities in several of the campgrounds, but I do not go for that. Landers provides me with an experience pure and simple enough, with some modern comforts, but when night hits, I'm in the middle of nature with very little distraction,...

Landers had beautiful outdoor scenery but some work to do in the customer service department.

I made a tubing reservation earlier this week over the phone. I arrive at Skinner's Falls and am told that my reservation doesn't exist. These things happen, so I ask to make a new one and say I'll call later if i realize I am overcharged. I ask for a receipt at the end of the transaction, and the employee said "oh I hit no on the machine so you can't get one, sorry." I wish she asked me if I wanted one before doing that! Later on I realized that if I wasn't charged earlier this week I gave my credit card information to someone who probably wrote it down and left it somewhere to be forgotten...that does concern me a bit.

What really bothered me was the lack of direction given by employees once tubing/rafting. There is no safety instruction about how to put on a life vest, use the rafting devices...nothing! I was really shocked. I also overheard the staff complaining about another co-worker really loudly and using foul language. The staff @ Skinner's Falls really seemed like they didn't want to be there.

I may come back - the tubing was lovely! - but hope their staff start to respect each other and their...

This one is a hard one to rate. The facility is nice, I did a rafting trip with my son and we camped overnight. I requested a riverside site so my son could fish. Which I got, however they neglected to tell me that the river was down a cliff from the camp site. Ok, whatever. The rafting itself was good, no equipment issues other than a broken paddle but that what happens when you let your 14 year old grab the gear. My real issue is the lack of oversight at the campground. After doing the 5mile route we returned to find a very large group was having a celebration on the next few sites. Their tents starting about 40 yards from my camper. I had no problem with their music or revelry, I love a good time. What I don't love is when the music and extremely loud parting doesn't end. I put my family to bed around 11 with earplugs in. I was woken up at 1am and then again at 4am where I a solo woman went over and asked them to keep it down. They did not. And the staff which was on site did nothing to stop it. So maybe you will go and you won't have disrespectful neighbors and staff that doesn't care, but I will...