Glamping at Harriman State Park
As a child I did my share of camping as a Girl Scout. I started off in a cabin, graduated to an elevated tent and then finally to a basic tent on the ground. However, that was when I was a child. As an adult I have no desire to sleep in a tent on the ground. I’m only interested in staying in a cabin and preferably one with a private bathroom.
I had heard a lot about the Harriman Outdoor Center from one of my hiking partners so when I saw that one of my favorite outdoor groups was scheduling a trip there I jumped at the chance to go. I knew a few of the people going from attending previous events with the group so I figured I would be fine.
Harriman is about an hour from my house so I decided I would leave in enough time to get there before it got dark. That was my first mistake. I made it to the town where the Center is located in good time, but what I didn’t know was that I would spend the next hour circling around before I would finally find the road that would take me the last 4 miles I needed to get to the Center. Apple Maps took me to a road that didn’t exist. I tried to switch to Waze only to find there was no cell signal in that area. I drove around until I found people and stopped and asked for directions, but no one knew what I was talking about or where I was trying to go. I drove around some more looking for someone to help me. I stopped at one place, parked and got out to ask for directions only to turn around and see the state police were driving away. The people I asked for directions weren’t able to help me so that was a missed opportunity. I got back in my car and drove around some more until I found some sanitation workers and asked them for directions. They weren’t sure what I was talking about, but gave me directions to a place they thought I might be talking about. It was better than anything else I had to go on so I followed those directions and low and behold they took me to the right spot. Unbeknownst to me I had passed the turn to take me to the Center several times while I was driving around lost. Nonetheless, I was relieved as I had finally made it there!!
It was now dusk and the rest of the group had been there for hours and had been texting me, trying to help me with the directions and worrying about making sure I got there safely. Since I had never been there before I didn’t know that I could drive my car to the front and unload my stuff. Instead I parked my car in the parking lot and walked with all my crap up a hill to the check in building. As I started on my walk a buck came running out of the bushes across the driveway and into the fields on the other side. Now on top of my nerves being shot after being lost for an hour I was now nervous walking to the check in for fear another deer may come out of nowhere. Thankfully, I didn’t see any more deer and check in was also uneventful. Dinner however, was about to end since I got there later than anticipated so I only had a few minutes to grab something to eat. That night the menu was BBQ which consisted of hot dogs, hamburgers and sides. I don’t eat beef or pork so this was not a good look for me. They ended up having a veggie burger and I made that work.
As for lodging, we stayed in Storm King Lodge 1, which had 4 rooms with 1 bunk bed and 2 single beds in each room. There were 2 rooms on each side of the cabin with the area in the middle of the cabin used as a common area. The common area had a long table with 2 benches and seating area with 2 futon style couches and a coffee table. The cabin was equipped with a small refrigerator, but there was no bathroom in the cabin. We had to take a short walk to the shared central bathroom facilities. At night this required that we wear a headlamp since there were no lights at the campsite. The cabin was also not air conditioned so with 20 people inside (4 people stayed in tents) and all the lights on it got pretty hot in there. Since I got there late everyone had already picked out their beds and I was left with a top bunk. I rolled out my sleeping bag and pillow and hung out in the common area with everyone playing cards and talking until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
The next day we woke up early and did yoga by Breakneck Pond which offered one of the coolest backdrops I’ve ever had doing yoga or any type of work out for that matter. We then ate breakfast in the cafeteria before we set off on our hike around the pond. Breakfast consisted of more beef, pork and veggie options so I quickly recognized I would be eating vegetarian for the weekend. The hike around Breakneck Pond was a little over 2 miles, which was supposed to be our warmup for the longer hike we would take the next day. When we got done the hike, we changed clothes and ate lunch before heading out to the pond to enjoy some time kayaking and paddle boating. We wrapped up the evening with dinner at the cafeteria and then more games and talking in the cabin until everyone was too tired to stay up any longer.
Please note the campsite doesn’t offer yoga, it was something offered by the host of our group trip. Breakfast and dinner are included with your stay, however lunch is not but it is available for purchase. Lunch arrangements should be made 7 days in advance. The kayaks and canoes are available free for guests of the Harriman Outdoor Center.
On our last full day, I woke up early and went and sat by the pond and had some quiet time before everyone else got up to do yoga. It was so relaxing sitting by the pond and just listening to the birds and the sounds of the water. Once everyone was up we did our yoga at the pond and then had breakfast before setting out on our hike for the day. We had planned for a longer hike to the lighthouse, but we ended up getting turned around and it started raining so we had to end the hike before we reached our destination. During this hike I realized the importance of learning to read a paper map since we were relying on a GPS map and we ended up losing signal during the hike. By the time we got back to camp the rain had stopped and everyone put on their bathing suits to go hang out in the pond for the rest of the day. I’m not a big fan of swimming in lakes and ponds, but since everyone was in it I got in. We ended up having a really fun time coming up with dance routines in the water to the latest songs and jumping off the platform in the middle of the pond in 15 feet of water. We ended the evening with a costume contest where I was Wonder Woman and the obligatory bonfire where we roasted s’mores.
The next day was check out and I woke up early and sat out by the pond one last time before it was time to head back home. This time a couple other people from the group joined me shortly after as they too wanted to take in the view one last time. We had our last group breakfast and then proceeded to pack up the cabin and say our goodbyes. My three nights of glamping were just enough for me as by then I was ready to go home, shower in my own bathroom and get a good night’s rest on my Tempurpedic mattress. While the weekend provided for some great experiences and memories it also brought new friendships that I didn’t anticipate. I ended up meeting some really great women on the trip and we are still in touch today. We actually all got together a week ago to celebrate one of our birthdays and our one year friendaversary. That’s the thing about life that I love. When you take a chance and step out of your comfort zone sometimes you end up reaping some unexpected benefits and rewards.