Taconic State Park - Rudd Pond Area

Great place to camp. Sites are clean and bathrooms are yoo. The showers are nice. They even have hot water for those looking. The beach area is nice for small kids, and the pond is full of fish. My family and i had a great weekend.

Wonderful for camping, bathrooms are in need of updating but the space makes up for anything. Some phone operators don't work there, so you'll have a lot of peace and quiet.

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)

Visited off-season, but clearly a lovely park. Crystalline lake (unsure whether swimming is permitted), picnic tables, stationary grills and hiking. A rivulet flows nearby underneath three small bridges. Bathrooms are available, though there were closed during this review. Parking lot sizable (around sixty vehicles). Grounds well-maintained.

This review caught the park off-season and vacant, but the landscapes alone are breathtaking. Sunset dances upon Rudd Pond, reflecting through the park, silhouetting the picnic tables and stationary grills for barbecuing. The park’s parking lot accommodates about fifty normal-sized vehicles. There is a gazebo and a log cabin (unsure if the cabin is open to the public, even when Rudd Park is in season).