NYC Family Camping

We are a NYC family who loves camping. We are married and have two great kids — ages 10 and 13. Like a lot of families, our love of the outdoors really started during the pandemic. At first, we just wanted to get outside without masks, so we began hiking the Pat Dolan Trail in Forest Hills Queens with my sister-in-law. From there we graduated to Forest Park. Forest Park is huge, with miles of trails, and we hiked it in all four seasons. But it’s still smack in the middle of Queens, with the Jackie Robinson Parkway running through it, so eventually we wanted something that felt a little less urban.

We started exploring trails in Westchester — Teatown and Rockefeller were early favorites — and before long, we were ready to go camping.

When we finally went, our first family trip was to a cabin at AMC Harriman — complete with its own bathroom. Definitely more glamping than camping, but it was perfect. We hiked, swam, kayaked, cooked over the Coleman stove and the firepit, and ate every meal outside. We were hooked instantly. We’ve been back to Harriman many times since, in tents and in cabins, and it’s still a magical place.

The truth is, AMC makes people fall in love with camping. The staff and volunteers at Harriman are incredible at what they do. Honestly, I’m glad we started there — because we’ve seen some of the other cabins in the park, and if that had been our first trip, this might’ve been the NYC Familily with no hobby website.

After that, we bought a tent and did our first real tent camping trip. We haven’t looked back since. At this point, we’ve camped at least 50 times across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland — mostly in tents, but also in lean-tos and cabins. The whole family loves it, and we’ve shared trips with friends and extended family, too.

Camping when you live in a NYC apartment and don’t own a car isn’t easy, but we make it work. All our gear has to fit in one armoire, so choosing wisely matters. We’ve also gotten pretty quick at packing — which you learn to do when you’re loading a rental car in the bus lane while angry bus drivers honk at you.

🌲 Why This Site Exists

The point of this site is simple: to share our love of the outdoors — especially camping — and to show where we’ve been, what we pack, and what we eat.

We hope it’s useful for new car campers, especially anyone trying to make it work from the city. If you’re an apartment dweller dreaming of campfires and trails, you’re in the right place.

We have spent at least one night at any campground reviewed. The gear suggestions are either what we use, or the closest we could find to what we use.

You can email us at Queensdadcamping@gmail.com with any questions or suggestions of future posts.