Camp Gateway Brooklyn Tamarak and Goldenrod

For a place to camp in NYC its not bad at all. It's on an old air field that still has helicopter traffic but it's cool. Positives... very safe. It's far enough from the hood that you don't have to worry about anything. The ranger is very helpful and cool and the sites have picnic tables and fire pits along with grills. Negatives.... mosquitos are the worst I have experienced and we are from Florida. They don't even care if you cover your self in cutter. Lots of raccoons. They are not afraid of people so )/bringing bring your food and backpacks inside. First night one went in my wife's purse. All in all we camp a lot and I would come back here. Fyi you can not walk to the subway or bus so be prepared to pay for parking in the city. Other notes.... They have camp store, hot showers, clean bathrooms.

Amazing location. I found this randomly while searching 'maps'. This site is part of the larger 'Gateway National Park'. Its fairly Isolated from the rest of Brooklyn but a good place to Male a base and travel from. The camp sits on top of the first NYC airport. Prepare yourself for mosquitoes and raccoons. 'Walk in' sites are pretty good. Make sure you dont book an rv site if you are tent camping. The site is all tarmac! Location has several trails including an interesting location called 'Bottle Beach' part of 'Dead Horse Bay'. Wikipedia the history. Also offered is a hanger that restores old planes. Tour guides are useful to gain access to some of the aircraft. Riis beach is also part of the park and worth exploring.

Nice (for camping afficionato) and affordable ($20 per night, 7 years ago) campground right in the city. Easy access to highways towards Manhattan, Queens and the other NY city attractions. The nearby Floyd-Bennett field museum is definitely an interesting attraction for those into learning about US history.

I wish I could say that this is the weirdest place I have ever camped but it is certainly one of the more interesting. "Camp store"/Registration closes at 1600 and there is no fee box or camp host to register with after hours like they have at other NPS facilities. "Camp store"/Registration is supposed to open at 0900 but NEVER did while I was there. It isn't really a camp store, it is a souvenir shop selling useless NPS junk that happens to also have firewood and ice. Make sure you have everything you need before arriving or you will be taking a ride into Brooklyn to get it. The tent sites have all the usual things you expect at a NPS campground (fire ring, BBQ, picnic table) but you can't park near your site so if you have more than a tent and a sleeping bag, you will be making multiple long trips to your vehicle. The "RV sites" are really just a parking spot on a sectioned off piece of one of the old landing strips so don't expect to do any of the usual "camping" activities like having a campfire. Hands down the most clueless NPS staff I have ever encountered. If you want unsolicited advice on the NYC transit system or where to get a slice of pizza they are a wealth of information... ask them anything even remotely camping related and they turn into a bunch of babbling buffoons. Asked one staffer where the potable water spigot was and she looked at me like I had 12 heads. The "water faucet"... blank stare... "the place the water comes out" (am I playing charades or talking to a federal government employee?)... "what do you need to use the water for?"... "washing my hands before handling food, rinsing dishes, ect."... "You can wash your hands in the bathroom over there"... (pointing to the water container in my hand) "where do I fill this up with H2O?"... "are you camping here" (?no I came here for the water?)... "Yes"... "go to w"... "what is w?" It should not take a two minute conversation to find out about a basic camping task! There really is no other viable camping option anywhere even remotely close so you are stuck with this place. Just don't expect Yellowstone or Yosemite type NPS management. Never thought I would ever say that a place needs Xantera or Delaware North type concessioneers to run a proper campground.

It was such a great experience to be able to camp near NYC. I was looking forward to it for a while and it did not disappoint. There are restrooms and showers on site. You can also buy firewood for about $11. However, finding twigs to start a fire proved to be somewhat difficult. Hammocking could be hard since there are not that many suitable trees. You can walk to the water and watch the sail boats go by or stare at the city lights.