With New York natives and camping experts Cate Wells, Aaron Starmer, and Timothy Starmer on your side, the very best tent camping in New York is only a quick read away. Hand selected for their appeal to tent campers who love seclusion, beauty, quiet, and security, the 50 campsites profiled in The Best in Tent Camping: New York represent the best of the best. Along with a detailed profile and useful at-a-glance information, campground maps show layout, individual sites, and key facilities. Driving directions supplemented with GPS-based coordinates for each campground entrance make getting there a snap.

(1) Heckscher State Park (2) Watch Hill (3) Wildwood State Park (4) Devil's Tombstone (5) Fahnestock State Park (6) Little Pond (7) Mongaup Pond (8) North South Lake (9) Taconic State Park Copake Falls (10) Woodland Valley (11) Bowman Lake State Park (12) Chenango Valley State Park (13) Fair Haven Beach State Park (14) Glimmerglass State Park (15) Oquaga Creek State Park (16) Thompson's Lake State Park (17) Whetstone Gulf State Park (18) Alger Island (19) Brown Tract Pond (20) Buck Pond (21) Cranberry Lake (22) Eighth Lake (23) Fish Creek Pond (24) Forked Lake (25) Indian Lake Islands (26) Lake Durant (27) Lake George Islands (28) Lincoln Pond (29) Moffitt Beach (30) Poke-O-Moonshine (31) Putnam Pond (32) Rollins Pond (33) Saranac Lake (34) Taylor Pond (35) Tioga Point (36) Burnham Point State Park (37) Cedar Island State Park (38) De Wolf State Park (39) Eel Weir State Park (40) Keewaydin State Park (41) Kring Point State Park (42) Taughannock Falls State Park (43) Robert H. Treman State Park (44) Stony Brook State Park (45) Watkins Glen State Park (46) Buttermilk Falls State Park (47) Filmore Glen State Park (48) Finger Lakes National Forest (49) Allegany State Park (50) Letchworth State Park

With Nicoll Bay on its eastern edge and the Great South Bay forming its southern boundary, Heckscher is largely surrounded by water. Less than 50 miles from New York City, it is a convenient getaway for many urban dwellers, who constitute a very high volume of day-users. The park, located at the end of the aptly named Heckscher State Parkway, has well-maintained, clean, and secure facilities. Park police are a common site; day visitors are shuffled out at sundown; and the main campground gate closes at 10 p.m. In addition, campers are not allowed in areas outside the campground after sundown. The campground is nestled in the woods, set off from Hecksher Parkway loop by an open field. As you enter, look for the campground office on your right. Arranged in a simple rectangle, and divided into four rows, the sites are closely spaced, but nicely shaded, well manicured and flat. One large comfort station serves the campground in the center. Use the grill for cooking. Other fires are permitted only in metal bottom containers that the camper must provide. Each basic site features a cement platform and RVs (limited to less than 11 feet high) are not an uncommon site. However, there are no electrical or water hookups and quiet hours (during which time generators must be off) are strictly enforced. At the back of the far loop, you will find the quietest sites, with 67 and 68 being the most spacious. Activities are organized in the summer for children, and families find it an ideal place to find respite from the more trafficked sections of the park.