Camp Catskills RV Park

A 22-day experience regretfully included witnessing what I believe to be animal neglect in a nearby trailer. Tenants returned to the trailer every 10-13 hours to feed & water their 2-3 caged dogs, letting the dogs potty on the deck. Notified the campground ("mgt") of our concerns since the dogs were persistently barking in what sounded like a distressed manner. Other campers shared same concerns & notified mgt. Mgt investigated & confirmed there were dogs caged inside the trailer, there was a stench (the deck was covered in animal waste), that one dog came out & immediately pooped a green color poop & a dog was wet with urine. Mgt told them to clean the deck, check on the dogs every 12 hours & encouraged them to buy leashes & use the dog park. The occupants were given a power washer & sprayed the waste from the deck, angrily yelling at a young girl to empty a bucket of waste behind their trailer. At this point I also notified the SPCA. Different camper(s) notified the SPCA & law enforcement. Per NY law, nothing could be done since the animals had food, clean water & shelter. Our concerns persisted over ensuing days, plus new ones arose (hearing & seeing the occupants frequently yell at & threaten to hit a young girl). After watching the same issues on repeat for a couple of weeks, I called law enforcement about both concerns. The deputies advised that they checked the animals on a prior visit and the dogs had food, water & shelter. Mgt disagreed that dogs were mistreated & was angry about the optics of having law enforcement show up as it “looks bad for business”. Considering the context, I asked them “what about the welfare of the dogs?”, plus noted that many campers had seen law enforcement at least twice at the campground to address domestic disturbances. One can be evicted by this campground "for no reason at all” as their campground document states. I was evicted in front of the two deputies & with mgt’s assurance of a refund upon leaving for the unused portion of our reservations. Mgt said they should have been called first & not law enforcement. New one for us. Never mind that 1) I had notified mgt upon noticing the issues & yet they elected to not contact law enforcement upon confirming the conditions for the dogs ; 2) none of the campers I talked to had heard mgt state such a “rule”; 3) although their lengthy set of terms & conditions list many rules that must be followed, that particular rule is missing. Upon checking out of the campground, mgt said that they would only give us a refund if we didn't “trash” them in a review. When we objected to this perceived retaliation & said that we would only post about facts and our experiences, they finally agreed to the promised refund. I told mgt that by doing the right thing plus supporting their campers trying to do the right thing for the dogs, it might help their business. I wish I had asked the managers how they would feel about putting their dog in a cage (with food & water & shelter, of course) & then letting him out for potty breaks twice a day…indefinitely…would their definition of mistreatment change? Inconsistent enforcement of the rules here, nearby highway noise and frequent campground construction equipment noise were also annoyances. On the good side, we met some nice campers here, and mgt quickly fixes broken water pipes, electric power & security gate issues.

This is a good place to stop for a night or two. New owners that have made several improvements. New pool and check in center. Security gate and off the main highway so it's very quiet. Management is friendly and very helpful. New bathhouse too. WiFi is free no cable but you can pay a small amount for streaming. There are many seasonals and some are there all year. Poor parking when we arrived in our 34 foot 5 th wheel to check in. Laundry machines were confusing because you had to download an app on your phone and transfer money from your bank account. Too much trouble.

Had our 51st Family Reunion. They bent over backwards to make us feel welcomed. Some of the family rented, or brought there campers to stay at the campgrounds. After our reunion, rode around to look at the campgrounds. Very nice layout.

We held a small family reunion at Camp Catskills over the weekend with both my sister and cousin’s families bringing their own RV and my family renting one from the camp in between. I don’t know which I liked better: staff or facility. The staff was exceptional, both professional and warm and friendly. Our unit was spotless! Such a wonderful home away from home! The campgrounds were spacious and interesting to roam. In spite of the rain, we had a wonderful time and thoroughly recommend it to anyone wishing to get together with loved ones.

The campground is under new ownership. The staff and residents were absolutely wonderful. Very quiet which was a nice change. Very dog friendly, even has a new dog park. The negative is that they are in the middle of redoing the entire campground. The store had almost nothing. Many of the sites were one on top of another. They was less then 10 feet between us and the people next door. My window side had a glorious view of their trailer wall . I think that in time this is going to be a hidden gem. Would I go back, yes, but will wait till next year to see the improvements and hopefully update my review.