Camping at Big Pond
Big Pond is one of the two larger ponds in the Catskills accessible to the public. Located in the Western Catskills, near Alder Pond, it has eight paddle in or hike in tent sites, and some pretty views. I spent the night camping up there on August 27.
Night is Creeping Up on Me. I didn’t realize how quickly it got late at Big Pond, and I had even started dinner. To make matters worst, my white-gas lantern wouldn’t start, so I had to do everything by flash light.
Dark Night Before the Moonrose. All you can see is by the light of the campfire. I didn’t have a lantern, because it refused to start.
Waking Up at Big Pond. Looking out the window of tent prior to dawn, with a little smoke from the fire still smoldering, and lots of fog.
Pond Prior to Sunrise. The fog rises above the pond. It looks perfect for taking photos, so I decide to hop in the kayak, and go for a paddle.
Campsite. Yes, the beer cans are empty, and I am using that pot to boil water for coffee, because I left the coffee pot in the truck. I doesn’t matter much because I use a coffee press to make the actual coffee.
Firepit. This is while I’m making coffee and getting ready for the day.
Paddling Gear Back. With all the camping gear in the kayak, or most of it, including the stove and pot top on the deck. The kayak rode well with all the gear.
Big Pond from Parking Area. It certainly was quite pretty out there, and a great unguarded swimming beach that was packed with people.
Bear Bag. Actually it was a peanut can, with cookies and other things. And despite the bear coming through, he left my site alone, and didn’t even try to get the bear bag that was about 12-13 feet off the ground, suspended from a limb, and 10 feet plus from the tree where it hung.
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Tent. Yes, occasionally I will sleep in a tent. This actually is the second time I’ve slept in a tent this year. One other time I slept in a lean-to and the rest has been truck camping.
Designated Campsite. This is one of eight designated campsites around Big Pond. They are free to use, but are limited to 6 people, and you can only stay at one site for 3 nights without a permit.
Looking Up at the Ash Trees. I was looking up at all the ash trees around the lake, and realizing that within 20-30 years they will all be gone. The maples will most likely replace them, but they also risk the Asian Longhorn Beetle.
Parked at Campsite. It was a pretty blue lake in the morning.
Finally Put That Smoldering Log Out. Remind me again, never to use a big punky old log like that in a campfire. It took a ton of water and rubbing the coals to get them to snuff out.
Blue and Green. I just liked this view from the campsite.
13 Comments
My Aunt Ann owned 2 cabins, up the hill, across from the beach. Stayed there every year in June in 1950’s. Dirt road. No one knew it. There was a dock at beach. Fished every morning in row boat. 6 yrs old. Just experienced nature. Love that place! State took cabins away.
We used to call this lake Beaverkill Lake since it fed the Beaverkill River, a great trout stream. From the pictures I think the campsite is in what we called the orchard since it was part of a farm apple orchard before the farmer died and the farm was sold off as a vacation area with three cabins an old barn and dilapidated house. The owners were bought out by NY state in the Nelson Rockefeller era for use as a camping area along with another area close by called Little Pond. Little Pond was developed for camping but big pond was left with a few camping spots in the old orchard. NY state sold off some of the land around Big Pond to one of the Rockefeller descendants and a few vacation houses were built.
This is a beautiful spring fed lake with all manner of fishing including eels. In the center of the lake it is very deep. Local stories have it that a farmer was driving a sled filled with firewood across the frozen lake one winter and he broke through the ice were it was rotten over the springs in the bottom of the lake. Man, horses and sled were never found. Good ghost story for around the campfire at night!
My cousins and I went to Camp Beaverkill which was right on Big Pond. We had many wonderful summers back in the 1950s. We learned to swim and canoe and camp on Big Pond. Some of us swam the entire length of the lake along the shoreline. It was a beautiful location and we had the best of times. The silhouette of the humpback mountain will forever be in my mind’s eye.
Hey, just wondering why you did not include Big Pond in your interactive map of NYS? And thank you for all of these awesome posts!!!
The campsites didn’t used to exist in the DEC dataset, and I didn’t include it on the campsites I added into the database.
Hello campers!
Anybody know how to reserve camping at Big Pond?
No reservations required, just show up and take a site. If you plan to stay more than three nights call the DEC about getting a permit
How far is the hike in from the parking area?
It’s a very short hike around the lake. Maybe a 1/2 mile. A few of the sites are best accessed via boat, although I guess you could bushwhack or follow herd paths along the shoreline. It’s been a decade since I was last down along the way so my memory is a bit vague.
Hi, thanks for the great review. The trip looked great. If you are to hike in, how far is it ? Also, did you have to make reservations for a site and where did you do that ? Thanks !
First come, first serve.
hey there, was wondering if you paddle to the campsite is it deep or is there some kind of boat launch? looks beautiful to camp. I’ve been ice fishing there but never kayaked it.
The center of the lake is actually quite deep — roughly 60 feet deep. https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/bigpdlkmap.pdf