Long Island Campground

Long Island Campground is a boat-access-only group of about 90 shoreline campsites on Long Island at the south end of Lake George. Most sites are wooded and private; each has its own dock for one boat, a fireplace, picnic table and toilet facility. I’d choose it if an island night beside the water is the point of your trip. Getting here takes a boat and some planning, so it’s a poor fit for a casual drive-up stop.

Plan around a private marina for parking and launch; fees are usually charged for both. Campers can check in at the island ranger-station dock in a cove before site 1 or at Norowal Marina in Bolton Landing. A Lake George Park Commission user permit is required for boats. Bring the supplies you need before crossing: the island-camping information identifies a convenience store on Glen Island, not Long Island.

Lake George can develop hard winds and fast storms, and its depths shift from shallow shoals to sudden drop-offs. Pets are prohibited on the islands, docks and vessels moored at the docks.

The sites aren’t interchangeable. Some are flat and open; others are rocky, hilly or steep at the water, and shade and views vary around the island. Campsite 49 has a view through the trees across the lake. Sites 60–63 sit by a shallow channel facing Speaker Heck picnic island. Check the individual site details if footing, shade or water access will shape your stay.

At the end of the last ice age, glacial deposits dammed two ancient rivers in the valley and formed Lake George. The long lake’s changing depths, from shoals to sudden drop-offs, still matter to anyone arriving by boat.

New York expanded Lake George’s island campgrounds in the late 1930s and through the 1940s, with much of the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps. That work included caretaker cabins and administrative offices for some of the island groups.