Before I tell you all about my Vermont trip, I have a tip for you if you live in the New York City area: the Croton Point Park Campground. If you have followed me for a while, you know that I do not think much of camping or hiking. Not much at all. But it turns out that I married a man who loves both activities. So every now and then I bite the bullet and compromise.

That is what happened last Friday when we packed our two big bagpacks and our new tent into the car and drove all the ca. 60 km to Croton Point Park Campground. That only took us two hours thanks to the terrible City traffic. If we did it again, we would definitely opt for the train that takes you right to the park. It is more relaxing and takes only 1.5 hours.

Because of our awfully long drive we arrived just in time for sunset. Check-in was quick, but then we drove around a bit before we found the tent sites. At last we found them, after following another couple who had also lost their way.

We then had to set up the tent in the dark. Luckily, Rich is an expert – I would have probably failed and slept in the car. This was also the first time we used this tent. And what can I say: it is so much better than expected. This particular tent from Geertop is actually for four people, which meant that we had plenty of space. It also allows you to sit inside while taking your shoes off and, because there is a fabric threshold, you don’t get any dirt inside. So far, so good. For comfort (mostly mine) we had brought ultra warm sleeping bags and my usual pillow.

With the tent set up, we could finally deal with the really important things: dinner. As soon as we had arrived, we had called a provided phone number to order fire wood. A man delivered it right to our tent site.

We then prepared our feast of grilled peppers and onions as well as vegan sausages. Well yes, hotdogs. For some reason I always feel that outside meals taste so much better. I guess it is the different atmosphere. In this case the dark night with a concert of cicadas, grasshoppers and frogs.

Then it was already bedtime. I slept much better than expected. Although I have to admit that I got warm overnight – the sleeping bags were maybe a little too good for a night with summery temperatures of 17 °C. Then again, for someone who is not a big fan of camping like me, this is not the worst.

We started the morning with a pleasant walk through Croton Point Park. You can also go there as a one-day visitor. We saw quite a few people with their dogs.

Croton Point Park itself is beautiful. It is right on the Hudson River and has plenty of little paths, fields, picnic tables and playgrounds.

There even is a nature reserve where one can watch birds. Apparently, the big eagles stay there in winter. So it might be worth it for us to visit again in a few months.

Our walk took us through the whole park including the campground within maybe an hour. The campground also has a site for RVs and huts to rent. Their outdoor pool was already closed for the season.

---

Shop the post

This blog post & shop widgets use affiliate links.

---

Back at our tent site we had a tasty breakfast consisting of hot chocolate, mini croissants and s’mores. The night before we had been too full from our hotdogs to make s’mores – but they make a delicious breakfast, too.

Unfortunately, we had to pack all our things after breakfast because check-out was by 11 a.m. The Croton Point Park Campground is so popular that we weren’t able to book a tent site for more than a night. Talking to an employee there, it seems that the best day to reserve nights is 2 January when they start to take reservations for the new season.

After all, I enjoyed our camping experience a lot. Croton Point Park Campground can be easily reached from the City and it is really cute. I even wished we could have stayed another night. Mostly that is, of course, because Rich knows so much about camping that I don’t need to deal with many things (I did pack the food though!). Surprise, I can even see us going camping again. Although maybe not next year because I am not sure if our baby would enjoy it at all.

Sharing is caring!