Verona Beach State Park

I recently went on a weekend long camping trip with my father and stayed at the Verona Beach State Park in upstate New York. My pops, who is now retired, purchased a recreational vehicle and has embraced camping as his new favorite past time. He has asked me several times to join him on an excursion and though I’m not very outdoorsy I finally relented.
We pulled into Verona State Park on a Friday afternoon and even though it was early September and nearing the end of the season, the campground was still fairly crowded. The snack bar and store closed after Labor Day but I spent most of my time at the nearby Turning Stone Casino and didn’t mind missing out on a few amenities.
The park was immaculate, with clean shower rooms and nary a piece of litter in sight. The employees at Verona Beach obviously took their job very seriously and some were a tad overzealous. The workers frequently drove through the campgrounds, patrolling the area and enforcing their rules. I took a walk alongside Oneida Lake after dark and apparently violated one of the sacred rules, receiving a stern warning from the park ranger.
I understand why camps only allow power generators during certain hours; gennies can often be noisy and we should preserve the sanctity of nature. On Saturday night we were caught in the middle of a thunderstorm and it rained for hours. I expected the rangers to be a little more lax on generator hours during the storm, when most campers are stuck inside and need electric to power their televisions and stave off boredom. The television in our RV only picked up local channels so we watched an old episode of Wonder Woman featuring special guest star Leif Garrett. Even during a downpour the rangers at Verona State ruled with an iron first, banging on the door of the RV like an angry police officer all because our generator was left on for a few extra minutes.

$ 6 entrance fee. Park has beach access to Oneida lake. Swimming is available during the summer. Lots of places to hang out and bbq or have family reunions, picnics or just a birthday party for groups of all sizes.
Ample parking for most days. Sometimes in the summer months there is blue-​green algae which causes the swimming area to be closed. Website normally will indicate this so check ahead if you are set on going swimming. This summer they had an inflatable slide so there was something for the kiddos to do besides swimming.
All in all a nice park if you are in the area. Camping is available as well so you can camp out here and spend more time if that is in your plan.