If you are not opposed to roughing-it, communing with nature or just getting away from it all, than Brown Tract Pond in Inlet, NY may be the place for you. There are flush toilets, but that is as far as creature comforts go. Showers are a drive away at another NY State campground. This is primitive camping and primitive peace and beauty, where your family can escape the cell phones, iPods, and Play Stations and spend time with each other. There will still be moments, like when I am not correctly directing my husband as he backs up the camper or when the 10 year old gets to start the fire and not the 7 year old, but we have found everyone is mostly happy campers! They go "old school" and spend their days riding bikes, climbing rocks, building in the sand, climbing a mountain or using their imaginations. Night brings ghost stories, marshmallows, star-gazing and jigsaw puzzles. These are the things that make my husband and I happy!
There are many more things to keep the kids and us busy that are in close proximity. Old Forge is about a 25 minute drive and has shops, like the hardware store, with items that will make kids happy. There is also a movie theater and an amusement park with a waterpark, Enchanted Forest. Bald Mountain is on the way into Old Forge and is an awesome hike with a fire tower at the top. All the kids I know that have hiked it want to go back the next day! There is horseback riding stables just down the road from camping (which is about a 10-15 minute ride on this dirt road). The beach at the campground and a couple rafts kept us occupied for hours and both the kids earned their Junior Naturalist patches. A drive can be made for a day trip to the Adirondack Museum or The Wild Center also. Having been to both, we highly recommend The Wild Center in Tupper Lake. We went on another rainy day so could only enjoy the interior exhibits. We hope to go back and experience the Tree Tops Walk next time we are near.
The hamlet of Raquette Lake, that has a population of 77 residents, is just down the road and provided me with my morning coffee each day. My roughing it would have been much worse without that little drive alone and the caffeine. They also hold the distinction of having one of my Mom's favorites with a twist-a wine tasting cruise on the S.S. Durant. Even though the day was cold and rainy, we stayed warm with the wine and food and soaked up the scenery around the lake. There are plenty of events in town also, with the busiest weekend including a craft fair and book sale at their little library in town. There are always plenty of cars parked in this little hamlet and that is because of boat-access only properties and popularity with paddlers of this large lake with many inlets and outlets. There are also long running children's summer camps on Raquette Lake and National Historic Landmark camps built in the Adirondack style by William Durant.
If you are interested in getting off the grid at Brown Tract or anywhere and need some help planning, let us know at Stowaway!
Some last little things to know:
the spots at Brown Tract are deep, wooded and many are on the water.
Brown Tract offers boat rentals and the pond contains many species of fish.
there are also great golf courses near by.
if you are desperate for wifi we had luck at Indian Rock on the road to Raquette Lake and at the little grocery in Eagle Bay
there is a great little laundromat attached to the store, tavern and inn in Raquette Lake