Rudd Pond Area — Taconic State Park

What a charming park! beautiful area, stars, sunset over the water! 2.5hr drive from brooklyn/ just under 2 hr from Manhattan. we stayed at the campground thru reserveamerica. the park itself has the common/ day use area and the area for campers only. so the beach, one bathroom building and picnic tables/ lawn by the water as well as the playground are for day visitors as well as for campers. there's definitely plenty of space for all - even during the busy 4th of July weekend. details: the campsites are in 2 clusters: number 1-5 on a hill and then the rest, 6-40 or something on the main "street". we stayed in the small cluster, which is just up the road from the showers, a minute walk. they get most shade, ours was nr 5 which was actually partial shade which was honestly perfect. we felt like 1-4 were actually too dark. 1-5 all spaces have good size platforms for the tent. we have a 6 person tent and there was plenty of space around for chairs etc. the main "street" (sites 6+...) felt a bit too crowded to our liking when we went to check it out, the sites are right next to one another. about half of them have platforms as well. sites 23-24 ish (in the end of the "dead end" street are right next to the dumpsters - don't look too appealing. shower station on the intersection, showers are what you can expect a camp quality shower, could use some upgrading but get good pressure and water gets hot and the facility not as stinky as some we've been to. only 2 stalls per each M/W side but it never felt crowded and i never saw a line there. have a changing table on each side. the sandy beach was perfect for children. not much swimming area for someone who wants to get exercise (good for dipping/ cooling off :) and no lifeguards either. water is warm, clean as can be for a pond. you can rent a kayak or a small boat as well. we saw a lot of people fishing off the shore and off the boat. staff are super friendly. there was no cell reception for us, T-mobile. down the road just 5 minutes away is Millerton. a nice village with everything you need, coffee shop (yesss) - with v e r y s l o o o o w service for us New Yorkers lol but coffee is great. CVS, gas station, market, liquor store, kids time play gym, pizza, chinese food, ice cream, ... , Harlem rail trail, lovely people, slow pace... back to the campground. a few things could get a facelift roads are a bit bumpy/ old pavement, changing station on the beach is boarded off, some tent platforms have splits in the railing and major nails sticking out, some picnic tables are old. otherwise the area is well groomed. we highly recommend!!! (PS don't forget fire wood)

We had booked the campsite for 1D/N

There were 2 type of camp site

- ground site

- deck site

Campsite has the below facilities

- a fire pit with grill

- water filling taps at walkable distances

- restrooms and showers with water facilities at walkable distances

Cons

- Only AT&T Cellular network was in range, rest all other networks won’t work in the 10mile radius so plan accordingly

- Since the campsites are around the pond, there are more than usual insects and mosquitoes so carry appropriate repellents

- Campsites were very close to each other

Absolutely love going here.. It has a sanded beach area and multiple tables/ grills. We brought charcoal and grilled up some burgers and dogs.

If you have a small boat/ kayak with a permit you can bring your own and the boat lauch is located just outside the entrance to the park, or there are boat/ kayak rentals for $10/hr (I also saw people enter with them and then walk them to the water from inside the park as well), beautiful playground and 9 hole disc golf. Camp sites also available

It cost $7 per car and well worth it in my opinion.. The water was great and so were the people.