Upstater Destinations: Fox Hill Campground, Spencertown

  |  July 5, 2013
fox hill campground

Fox Hill Campground on GMAP

You won’t find a website for the Fox Hill Campground in Spencertown, eastern Columbia County, so don’t bother looking. You also won’t find any pictures of it online, and we know, because we tried. In fact, we didn’t even know the place existed until just a couple of days ago when we discovered it by happy accident while out on an expedition (okay, house ogling, actually) through Columbia County. It was one of those days that we’ve had so often lately: The air was sultry and heavy, everyone was projectile sweating, the clouds rolled in and out threatening to rain, but somehow held off with not a drop in sight. We were practically melting as we cruised along Route 203 through Spencertown headed east toward the Massachusetts border, desperate for refreshment.

more on the jump…

And then, as if by some divine miracle, we caught a glimpse of a swimming beach off to our right. We slammed on the brakes and swung a U-turn in the middle of the road and turned back toward a huge sign that said “Fox Hill Campground: Beach open daily 11am-7pm”. One does not simply pass up a “Beach Open Daily” sign without stopping to inquire, so we did at the campground’s office/general store. It would cost us $3 a piece to swim there, explained the nice woman working at the register. After digging into the car seats to come up with enough change to pay for admission, we quickly changed into our suits and headed down the hill to the bathing beach.

Just our luck: A bus full of day camp kids pulled in just as our toes hit the water. Soon, the water was packed with noisy, splashing teens, and we suddenly felt very self-conscious about the fact that we were the only adults in the water, swimming around a bunch of children. Ah, well. At least we’re young at heart.

The beach was divided into sections of very shallow, ankle deep, and can’t-touch-the-bottom (which was a blessing; the bottom was rather gooey and twiggy). We were thankful that we could swim out to the far buoy and submerge ourselves completely, unlike some of the bathing beaches in the area (we’re looking at you, Lake Taghkanic beach, where infants can sit in the water and remain dry while adults barely get the tops of their feet wet). There was also a jumping dock on the far corner, and yes, we took the plunge while being stared down by dozens of 12-year-olds who thought we were nuts. However, aside from our bad timing of arriving with a day camp group, we got the distinct impression that if we’d gotten there an hour earlier, we would’ve been completely alone. Regardless, it was a refreshing dip on a suffocatingly humid day and worth every penny of our $6 to get in.

Aside from swimming, you can either RV park or tent camp at Fox Hill. There are laundry facilities on site, which is a big camping bonus, even if you’re only staying for a couple of nights. Call the campground for reservations at (518) 392-3714 since they don’t do the online thing. We plan on taking our kids there for a short camp in the near future. Seems like the perfect family spot. It’s also close to cool Columbia County spots, like Chatham and Kinderhook, which are always a treat to visit.

dan's diner spencertown

Stop at Dan’s Diner in Spencertown on the way to Fox Hill for a bite.

GMAP

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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