Chautauqua Gorge State Forest Campground

I love this place and planned on spending several days here, but then my dog started puking! People at another campsite had two dogs that also woke up sick today. She thought it may be because of all the flowers, apparently they are poisonous to animals, although I did not see my dog eat any, she was walking through them often.

The campground only has eight sites, some of them have shelters and picnic tables others don’t. I stayed the night at campsite three and was going to say again but not with a sick dog. There’s a wonderful creek that runs through what seems to be most of the campsites.

They are first come first serve basis and was full Friday night, but not two of its have left.

It’s very wooded and somewhat level. There are several hiking trails that I did not get to go on.

May be a different time of year when these flowers are in bloom, will be back for a visit. It really is beautiful here.

There are two porta potties, but no water. I cleaned up a bunch of trash at two sites, and fire pits. Come on people, metal and glass do not burn, but leave a mess for the person behind you. PACK OUT WHAT YOU PACK IN! 🥳

Beautiful area, cannot recommend enough!! 6-8 different designated free campsites (w/ yellow signs) that you can stay at - all have fire pits and some have tables. There’s also 3-4 pavilions with fire pits for day use. Tons of trails nearby - a cute half mile hike near the pavilions and two other ones at the end of the road. If you hike down the one that goes downhill, it leads to a creek - take a left and hike along the creek - there are SO many little waterfalls and swimming holes. Perfect for cooling off.

ONLY DOWNFALL - Would only recommend for tent camping or van life. The road has a small turnaround which would be tight for big RVs. Also, the ranger came around and said even if you are in a sprinter van, you still have to set up a tent on the site that you are parked in front of because almost all of the sites are primitive camping only. The ranger did come around about every other day and was enforcing this rule.

Peaceful and quiet with good stargazing. Watch for yellow numbers to indicate designated sites, as there are many spots that are not considered sites. Not great for pulling in a camping vehicle (we have a camper van) but perfect for tenting. We arrived late to find no sites available but slept in a grassy parking area that night and moved to a site in the morning. We had to park along the roadside as we couldn’t get the van into the parking area of the site and keep it level. A local did tell us the ranger would make us move but he never came. Pretty park and very clean. Apparently you can hike to the the gorge and there are many trails. Aside from one loud group it was very quiet. Beautiful surroundings and VERY shaded sites! Would definitely return but probably with a tent.

This was our second stop on a cross country trip from NH. The first night, a Sunday, it was pretty full but we pulled our camper can into a parking area and spent the night there, moving to a vacant site in the morning. Definitely better designed for tent camping as most sites don’t allow for pulling more than a small car in, but a beautifully maintained area. Sites are well dispersed and very shaded. Apparently you can hike to the gorge from here, but we didn’t know that lol. There are quite a few trails though, and some gorgeous stars at night. Very quiet area and felt very safe. Very nice sites. There’s also a nice day use area with picnic tables and fire rings. A little difficult to differentiate “designated” sites from non, but look for the yellow numbers on the trees. Overall a great spot, would definitely return! Four stars as it wasn’t accommodating for pulling in camping vehicles. We pulled off to the side in front of our site, and a local told us we’d be spoken to for parking off to the roadside by our site, but nobody ever came.

I grew up nearby, so we would camp at the gorge very often and I have always loved the place. There is a great hike down to the gorge (watch your step!) where you can swim and cool off and lots of beautiful nature all around. It was always busy on summer weekends, but quiet during the week. The last time I attempted to go, the road was closed due to a washout. The website reflected that at the time, but the website now says nothing about closures. I highly suggest it for those who enjoy hiking and have a somewhat small setup. I'm not sure if the road allows for large RVs.