North-South Lake Campground in Haines Falls offers 219 campsites across two lakes at 2,218 feet with a swimming beach and sunset overlook.
North-South Lake is the largest and most popular state campground in the Catskill Forest Preserve, sitting at 2,218 feet on the eastern edge of the Catskill Escarpment. Seven wooded loops hold 219 sites, each with its own stone fireplace and picnic table, ringing the northern half of an hourglass-shaped twin-lake system. Both lakes have swimming beaches when lifeguards are on duty, decent bass and panfish water, and cheap kayak and canoe rentals.
The campground is also a trailhead hub for Catskill hiking: Kaaterskill Falls (the state's tallest waterfall at 260 feet, reached from a trailhead on Route 23A nearby), the Catskill Mountain House ruins, Artist Rock, Sunset Rock, and a run of escarpment overlooks.
Keep reading North-South Lake Campground The rest of the write-up, our tier and the caveat — $16 for all 460 places.
Our take is in the guide
We went to North-South Lake Campground. Here's where it lands.
Everything above is free and stays free. The guide adds the part that took the driving: the tier we gave North-South Lake Campground, whether we'd go back, and the caveat we'd tell a friend — plus the same for 459 other places across the Hudson Valley, NY.
One-time purchase. Permanent access and every future revision included.