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Mickeyfan0805's avatar
Jul 12, 2018

Visiting NYC

Doing some early analysis about adding a few days in NYC to our trip to New England next summer. The routes to and from, and the time in NE, is no issue, but I'm not sure how feasible it is to visit NYC with a camper. Are there campgrounds that are suited for such a visit? Are we best to try to find somewhere to park a few hours out for a few nights and stay at a hotel in the city? Any suggestions would be welcome!
  • Liberty Harbor is probably the best bet all around.

    I recently (over Memorial Day weekend) stayed at Floyd Bennet Field in Brooklyn, part of Gateway NRA, and had a good time of it. Getting there does involve driving through at least some of the New York street system; from the north, I would suggest I-95 to I-278 to Flatbrush Ave all the way down as doable if not enjoyable. Obviously rush hours are best avoided.

    RV camping at Floyd Bennet Field is also more or less a parking lot, with much bigger spaces than Liberty Harbor and no hookups (though there is a dump station). There's a bus to the subway at the entrance to the park as a whole, which is a decent walk or quick drive from the camping area. It's maybe an hour and a half on average to get to midtown Manhattan, depending on how the subway, train, and your schedules all mesh together.
  • See my previous thread and posts in Liberty Harbor. Something different if you don’t mind putting your RV in a tight parking lot.
  • Grew up in Jersey. Stay outside and take the train. Driving sucks, parking sucks and paying to park is even worse.
  • Liberty Harbor is your best bet for seeing the city without spending a couple hours each day on a train or driving in. My opinion, staying in a hotel in the city isn't desirable, due to price, noise, etc. IMHO, take a good look at the convenience of Liberty Harbor.

    Then jump onto I-78 back to the Garden State Parkway and head for the Tappan Zee (now Mario Cuomo) Bridge and New England.
  • I'll echo what Jerry said. We don't take the rig anywhere near NYC. We stay at the West Point FamCamp and take the train into the city. The train ride along the Hudson is beautiful. As retired tourists, we can time our train rides to avoid the commuter rush hours, too. Coming up the east coast heading for New England, we go west of NYC - usually through eastern Pennsylvania, and cross well north of the city before getting back on the main routes.

    Rob
  • Other options are Newburgh KOA which has a bus tour to the city and Croton Park in Croton on Hudson which is within walking distance to the commuter rail.

    I wouldn't drive a camper through NYC on a bet. Bad enough in a car.
  • I am driving through the area in a few weeks and the Good Sam trip planner has some good warnings about the roads. Some of the highways, tunnels, and bridges have restrictions around certain size propane tanks.

    So make sure you know what size tank is on your trailer and if the road you're going to take has those restrictions. I saw warnings around NYC, Boston, and DC at least.
  • Mickeyfan0805 wrote:
    Doing some early analysis about adding a few days in NYC to our trip to New England next summer. The routes to and from, and the time in NE, is no issue, but I'm not sure how feasible it is to visit NYC with a camper. Are there campgrounds that are suited for such a visit? Are we best to try to find somewhere to park a few hours out for a few nights and stay at a hotel in the city? Any suggestions would be welcome!


    In the RV really only one option Liberty Harbor - Post on Liberty.



    Best of Luck,

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