While Tom and I were in central New York, we stayed in Tall Pines Campground near Sidney.  This is not the most interesting part of New York:  it is close to Cooperstown which is the most interesting thing around.  The campgrounds in the more interesting places we tried to stay were booked for the weekend so we were glad to have a place to stay.

While Tall Pines Campground was not in the most interesting place, the charm of this small, independent campground grew on us over the weekend.  Most of the people who stay here are seasonal, meaning they bring their RVs or trailers out for the summer and they come out when they can.  At first this felt odd, because everyone staying at the campground was from the area, but they were all very friendly.

Tall Pines Campground has something for everyone every weekend.  They had their days chock-full of activities and we could see why people would come with their families or grandkids to participate.  There wasn’t much going on in the small towns close by, but there was plenty to do at Tall Pines.  The weekend we stayed was the “Pirate Party.”  There were activities all day long for children, but also things for the adults to do – such as a Treasure Hunt on Saturday evening.  Kids dressed up in costumes and Mermaid Athena from Hawaii came to visit and give out gifts.

Our trailer was in a site next to the pool, with the office building / store / owners home right behind it, so we could see and hear all of the activities, which were clearly announced.  The campground is also located on the banks of the Unadilla River.  They had canoes and floats you could rent for river trips.  We considered canoeing, but the first day we were at Tall Pines we had heavy rain for hours, and the river was very muddy and high.

Tall Pines Campground is in a hilly area of New York, and, while the sites were level, the roads around the campground were very narrow, curved, and steep.  The suggested way out of the campground for us was around a sharp curve angled one way, and a steep hill angled the other way with low-hanging branches.  Not something we wanted to try with our big rig.  We talked to the owners and suggested an alternate exit and they were happy to work with us on it.

One of the fun things about Tall Pines was the old-fashioned Soda Fountain in the campstore.  One night they had “make your own sundae” and Tom and I couldn’t resist that.  They also offered pizza, roasted chicken and BBQ ribs that you could order in the morning and pick up for supper.  For breakfasts they had pancakes and waffles.  Obviously you could eat really well here without going out of the campground.

We enjoyed our stay at Tall Pines Campground and would recommend it to anyone.  It would be especially fun if you had children and were there on the weekend.