Samuel F. Pryor III Shawangunk Gateway Campground

We stayed here in August 2015 for two nights while visiting the Catskills region. We chose this location for its proximity to the Mohonk Nature Preserve. This is the newest camp ground I have ever stayed in. While I wasn’t exactly head-​over-​heels for the campground, I do recognize a lot of thought went into the construction of it in order to cause as minimal impact on the environment (since it is in the preserve). Things you should know if you are going to stay here:
— No fires. There is a large fire pit in a common area in the evening. It’s nice that they provided this option, but I missed having my own fire at my own site. The one night we tried to go there were a few families there and half a dozen kids running around the fire. Not really my idea of relaxing.
— You don’t get to choose your site. The one we ended up was ok, it could have been worse. We could at least pull our car up to the site. Many sites are walk-​in. There were a few sites that I saw in the middle of a parking loop. They were TINY.
— Our site was tiny, too. There is a level tent pad made with really fine gravel and a border. I would say it was about 12′ x 12′. Our picnic table was right behind it, and there was no where else to move the table.
— There are shower facilities located in one spot on the campground – you have to pay $ 3.00 for four minutes. I grit my teeth at this one, because we were already paying $ 76 for a site for two nights. Charging people more for a shower is sort of ridiculous. I would suggest they give each guest a shower token or something.
— If you have kids, there are no playsets, swings, etc. All they can do is run in the road because the sites are sort of too small to even play in.
Ok, all that being said, the point of this campground is to put you close to the Gunks/​Mohonk. AND IT DOES THAT WONDERFULLY. If you are looking to actively camp (sit around your site, drink, listen to music, etc.) don’t go here. The campground is pretty much a ghost town during the day because everyone leaves to go hiking, climbing, etc. In the evening (at least when we stayed there) it was very quiet – I imagine everyone was tired out from their active days.
The campgrounds are kept so clean. I don’t think I saw a single scrap of trash there. Guests are very respectful, too, and use the bear-​proof recycling and trash areas. In the common area all the picnic tables were clean, the floors were clean, sinks were clean, etc.
In summary, I was bummed by a few things at this campground, but it was still fine and ultimately it gave us close access to the preserve for our day activities which was what we really wanted. Also it is just down the road from a great restaurant, Mountain Brauhaus, which is enough reason alone to stay there.