For my 29th year of life (which I've been celebrating for 11 years now), I went way off the deep end and way outside of my comfort zone ... I CAMP NOW--can you believe it?? For this banner year of life, my family and I took to the road in our new-to-us rockin' '99 conversion van and sturdy '97 pop-up camper to get off the grid and into nature.
Cayuga Lake State Park was my campground pick for my actual birthday. I wanted to turn 29 years old (which mathematically equates to a quartet of decades) on a beautiful beach--and the beach here on Cayuga Lake more than fits that bill. It's a small, lovely beach with great views all hours of the day, especially sunset. On June 4th of this year, it was unseasonably cool, barely 50 degrees. But I still sat in that sand in a bathing suit to soak up some brisk rays and beautiful scenery.
The campground itself was very nice. I can only speak for the electric side of the park (this 29-year old has her off-grid limits, and still demands an outlet for her blowdryer). Our site (site #4) was small and dropped off in the back, but had enough level ground to still set up safely. We were right across from one of the bathhouses, which was clean with spacious showers. Not updated, but perfectly functional and well kept. Sites were fairly spacious and spread out, many with some shade. The electric sites are a short walk to the lake and playground, but it is a hill to get back up to the campsites. Your calves will thank you later.
Beyond being in the serene Finger Lakes countryside, the campground doesn't have a ton of amenities. There is a cute pirate-themed playground on the lake. There are pavilions with picnic areas, and some horseshoe pits. And that's about it. The lake is really the star of the show. The fishing was fantastic. I don't fish, but my hub'ster, dad, and kids do. They all pulled something out of the lake. There were lots of fishermen around hooking lots of bass, pickerel, perch and other goodies too. I watched all of this happening from my blanket on the beach. ;-)
The park check-in staff was very friendly, and knowledgeable about the area. We explored the village of Seneca Falls, did some wine tasting (when we ditched the kids for the latter half of my birthday trip--thanks grandparents!), and road tripped down to Taughannock Falls State Park to hike the waterfall trail (about a 40-minute drive down). Cayuga Lake State Park is in a convenient location to explore the Finger Lakes region in general.
Overall, I was very pleased with this camping experience. We're new to camping, and working our way through trying out all of the state parks in our region. But eventually we'll be back to Cayuga Lake State Park again. I'm definitely happy I chose this location to ring in a new year of life. For the 11th time. Trust me, the math is accurate. ;-) read more