adirondack campgrounds w/ hiking

I'm wanting to get my sister a reservation to a nice campground for Christmas. She lives in Poughkeepsie and was raised in the catskills so I'm trying to find someplace new. I'd like it to feel somewhat remote and wild while still having showers. Good hiking right out of the area is a must with moderate trails to a summit, overlook or at least a great scenery of some kind. Any ideas? Keene valley comes to mind but I know very little about the area.

Bump?

Not many places have showers. The Adirondack Loj has them, the one near Algonquin. I forget the hikes near there.

Here

adk.org/page.php?pname=adir…

adk.org/page.php?pname=wild…

The Adirondac Loj campground is real nice. The sites are well spaced out. You can even reserve a lean-to there. The are countless hikes that can be done from the Loj...from Mt Jo (1-2 miles) all the way up to Mt Marcy (~7.5 miles). It is a bit pricier than state campgrounds.

Some state campgrounds with nice hikes nearby (all have showers):

Lake Lewey campground near Indian Lake, the Snowy Mt trailhead is a short drive.

Lake Durant campgound, the Blue Mt. trailhead is a short drive and the Northville - Lake Placid trail runs right through the campground. The Adirondack Museum is close in case of a rainy day.

Putnam Pond campground has a nice loop one can hike right from the campground that passes several wilderness ponds; Treadway Mt can also be hiked from the campground.

www.adkforum.com would be an ideal place to ask about this.

+1 ADK Loj

Thanks for the replies... some good info here. LOJ looks nice but yeah its pricey!

+1 for Putnam Pond. A small (as state campgrounds go) facility with a nice quiet vibe.

ADK Loj is well situated at the gateway to the High Peaks, but you have hundreds (thousands?) of visitors passing through there each week and the trails are pretty beat up as a result. Still, if she wants to climb steep trails to dramatic summits, that's the place to camp.

The Loj is great because you then don't have to pay for parking or move your car if you want to hike anything accessible via the Van Hovenburg trail head. Both the Garden Parking Lot in Keene Valley and Loj parking lot are something like $10.00 a day. You can swim in Heart Lake, and as an added bonus you can get dinner at the Loj if you don't feel like cooking. The lean-tos are also the only ones in the High Peaks you can legally pitch your tent in.

If she likes to backpack, check out the Lean-tos at the Johns Brook Lodge (also ADK). You can reserve them, the only ones in the back country, and two of the lean-tos are just a stones throw from the Johns Brook. An added bonus is they come equipped with bear canisters.

As far as campgrounds, Sharps Bridge is a good DEC campground just off 87 on the eastern side of the High Peaks. Its about 20 minutes to most of the trail heads.

If I'm reading your post right, she wants to camp over Xmas? Two things to keep in mind for winter in the Dacks:

1 - This shouldn't be a surprise, but it can get seriously COLD (-20 at night, possibly colder). Double boots are just about mandatory for anyone spending multiple nights out without heated lodging to dry them out.

2 - Either snowshoes or skis are mandatory for backcountry travel and she risks a hefty fine from the rangers if caught without them. If you walk through the skin track, angry skiers (and/or rangers) have been known to hand you a shovel to rebuild the skin track by hand, and rightfully so.

Jon, no just getting her a reservation or a "voucher" for Christmas.

Adam Paashaus wrote:I'm wanting to get my sister a reservation to a nice campground for Christmas. She lives in Poughkeepsie and was raised in the catskills so I'm trying to find someplace new. I'd like it to feel somewhat remote and wild while still having showers. Good hiking right out of the area is a must with moderate trails to a summit, overlook or at least a great scenery of some kind. Any ideas? Keene valley comes to mind but I know very little about the area.

First, most of the Adk campgrounds are closed after Columbus Day, and don't open again until Spring. Adk Loj is an exception - it is not a State-run park, the ADK Club manages it. It is pricey, but then you have a lot of amenities either near your tent or, if you stay in the Loj itself, on premises.
Second "moderate trails" is a misnomer in the Adks, or at least potentially misleading. What many folks consider moderate is almost nonexistent up here. If your idea of moderate is walking up Table Rock from the parking lot, or around Stone Mountain's trails, suffice to say there isn't much up here that is that easy, at least not during the winter.
It isn't hard to find remote up here, tho the High Peaks will be stuffed to the gills with fellow hikers over Christmas break. If you want truly remote, try the W,NW, Central, or SW Adks - but be very, very prepared. Truly remote means you are on your own: "Rangers will recover your body in April if the need arises" kind of remote. I don't recommend these areas in the winter for your first visit.
You are allowed to camp on State Lands as long as you are 150' from roads, trails, and water, but then you won't get showers that way. If you really need amenities, you are going to end up at the Loj, in a hostel, hotel, or B&B.